Of awards, rewards and swards

I observed a surprise boom of “award ceremonies” showcasing truly deserving recipients and also “others.” I cannot tell with evidence whether one can pay and buy a prestigious award in Sri Lanka. I have politely declined to be involved as a keynote speaker or as the chief guest in several such “suspected” events. Today’s column is all about awards, rewards, and swards. 

Overview

A “sward” is a portion of ground covered with grass, or the grassy surface of the dull looking land, in making it nice looking. What is the relevance of it to award ceremonies? The final showcasing of several reputed leaders who undisputedly deserving accolades whilst inserting several “paid participants” on the equal footing is something one can observe in some so-called elegant events. It is in a way to cover the “dull soil” of haphazardly organising an award ceremony with the “grass surface” of popularly known veterans. I must be truly clear that my intention is not to sling mud at any individual or institution, but to bring a timely topic of the town to the limelight. 

An award as a reward

As the fundamentals of organisational behaviour tell us, rewards (both financial and non-financial) can be a way of motivating people. An award in many recent local ceremonies is typically a non-financial reward involving a trophy, plaque, or any other monument together with a certificate. In a true technical sense, it is an example of “extrinsic motivation” where one is excited by an external reward, a mechanism to motivate individuals, interactive teams as well as institutions. 

Red flags of warning

In perusing the web, I came across several suspected ways of enticing people to receive an award.

Unsolicited congratulations: You receive a congratulatory message out of the blue for a particular award or ranking. 

Website badges and certificates: The award is presented as an HTML badge or winner’s certificate, often with a fee attached. 

Requests for fees or donations: You are asked to pay sponsorship fees, donation, or “dinner fees” to receive the award. 

In the above cases, information regarding deadlines, categories, and eligibility criteria is unclear or poorly communicated. Also, the organisation might be highly unresponsive to one’s inquiries, or one must painfully chase them for updates.

I have come across several such cases in Sri Lanka where giving awards has become a key financial reward for the organisers. The challenge I have is when a person known to me and seeks my advice whether to accept an award from a relatively lesser-known organisation with no formal assessment or evaluation or at least a discussion involved. The ways of checking the credibility of some such “attractively arranged” award ceremonies are also not clear. At times, I wonder whether some have discovered a lucrative revenue stream of “conducing award ceremonies.” 

My point is quite simple. There must be a professionally-designed, transparent process in place to select the truly deserving winners. Typically, it should involve, technical evaluation, objective judging, and assurance of the overall process. If not, the reputation of those who involved will be possibly at stake. What is required is not to curse the darkness but to light a candle. Whilst acknowledging the presence of several professionally conducted award ceremonies, let me share my authentic experience in one event as the Co-chair of the panel of judges in ensuring highest professional standards.

NBEA as a case in point 

This year the National Business Excellence Awards (NBEA) celebrated its two decades of exciting existence. It has so far recognised and rewarded multiple organisations that have shown brilliance with all-round performance. Excellence, as we know, is all about exceeding expectations by raising the bar outstandingly higher. It highlights a continuing journey of commitment, collaboration, and contribution. 

With the right leadership at all levels, crafting and executing strategy begins. An enterprise is expected to have exemplary governance. Ensuring the needed elements such as capacity building, performance management, having local and global market reach, focus on environment, society and governance, would lead to excellent business and financial results. The much-acclaimed framework of NBEA captures all the above as seven key elements depicted as a marking scheme of 1000 points. I remember with gratitude all previous chairs of the panel of judges, who have continuously improved the scheme of recognition with enhanced transparency and accuracy. 

Key aspects 

Based on the published details, the four main objectives of the NBEA can be stated as follows: 

1. To recognise and reward those organisations that have excelled in all-round performance

2. To recognise and reward enterprises that have excelled in each of the excellent criteria such as Corporate Governance, Capacity Building, Performance Management, Global and Local Market Reach, Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Sustainability, and Business and Financial Results

3. To encourage Sri Lankan organisations to emulate those excellent organisations

4. To position Sri Lanka as a country with excellently managed organisations and thereby making it attractive for joint ventures, investments, and as a source for products and services

Any registered business organisation domiciled in Sri Lanka which has been in operation for a minimum period of three years prior to the date of application is eligible to apply. Divisions, units, estates, factories, etc. of organisations, unless they are legal entities by themselves, are not eligible. Also, the overall Gold award winner of the previous year is not eligible to apply for the immediately succeeding three years. We were aware that the Co- chairs of the Panel of Judges are the sole and final deciding authority regarding the evaluation procedures and on the recipients of the awards.

As the NCC states, all award winners will be permitted to use the award logo on their promotional material for a period of three years from the date of winning the award. Also, every winning enterprise is to be listed in the virtual hall of fame hosted on the website dedicated to the National Business Excellence Awards until next National Business Awards Ceremony. Further, winners will be included in the Chamber’s automated mailing list and will be entitled to receive all Chamber journals, newsletters, and other communications in the preceding year.

Since there were only a limited number of awards, all others who competed will be invited to participate in a seminar, after the event, on how they could better prepare themselves for the next National Business Excellence Awards competition.

Specialty of awards 

“Akin to the lotus that blooms in all its glory above the impure muddy water whilst remaining un-smeared.” That is how the NCC describes the Business Excellence Awards Trophy to honour those Sri Lankan business houses that have excelled in their fields of business.

The symbolic meanings associated with the specific features of the trophy are interesting to note. The tiered base symbolised the initial ascent of the business ladder from the formative stages of a company’s life where an input of much dedication and hard work would have been observed. Rapid growth would have followed to the upper levels of the ladder in terms of quality and fame as denoted by the pillar of the trophy. 

The intricate details go even further. The pillar tops out to an inverted set of steps where the landing depicts stability. This supports an intricately handcrafted lotus blossom with hand embossed petals of traditional motifs. The inverted sets of steps are created to symbolise the stupendous effort needed to rise to the very top akin to climbing an overhang of rock on a mountain face. The summit contains the previously mentioned lotus bloom in all its splendour denoting the purity, prosperity, fame, and glory that the business houses which have reached the highest levels of excellence enjoy.”

Evaluation details 

We could observe an evolved framework tested and proven over years is being used for evaluation. It covers the following salient features, as depicted below: 

Leadership and strategy: As a key driver for other deliverables, this is seen as the start for excellence. 

Corporate governance: Successful institutionalisation of corporate governance with needed compliances were expected. 

Capacity building: Capital investment and other initiatives to create capacity for future growth were looked into. Investing in people and technology both were considered 

Performance management: Successful implementation of best practices in performance management was investigated.

Local and global reach: Width and depth in the local and global market were expected to achieve.

Environment Social Governance (ESG): In moving beyond Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), sustainability initiatives were considered.

Business and financial performance: Financial stability, steady growth, balanced business portfolio, growth of value addition and performance against the industry were evaluated as final deliverables. 

The Classification of Awards comprised of over 80 elements. The Main Awards for overall excellence included Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Winner and Runner Up were selected for Criteria Awards inclusive of capacity building, performance management etc. The Category Awards (Winner, 1st Runner Up, and 2nd Runner Up) were selected from Micro, Small, Medium, and Large sectors. The Sector Awards (Winner and 1st Runner Up) were the broadest covering a large number of sectors including agriculture and plantations, banking, construction, gem and jewellery, healthcare and related services, hospitality and tourism, ICT services, insurance, printing and related services, non-banking and financial services, infrastructure and utilities, trading, education and many other sectors. 

As was the practice, there was a technical team who evaluated each of the application submitted using a 1000-point scheme. The panel of judges had discussions with the parties invited who fulfilled the minimum threshold level. Overall assurance of the process was also done. I enjoyed co-chairing the panel of judges with Lasantha Salgado, a multi-faceted professional. 

Way forward 

“Recognition is the symphony that celebrates the unique melody of each individual soul,” so said Leo Parker. An authentic effort of showcasing truly deserving winners in their professional spheres should always be encouraged. At the same time, the bogus ways of diluting the real spirit of rewarding should be discouraged. How to do that effectively needs serious brainstorming, with possible regulatory interventions. 

(The writer, a Senior Professor in Management, and an Independent Non-executive Director, can be reached at [email protected], [email protected] or www.ajanthadharmasiri.info.)