Judging Criteria

JUDGING CRITERIA

Judges will consider the structure, presentation and clarity of each entry. Entries should not exceed 1000 words in total and should relate to work undertaken between October 2023 – February 2025.

ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE ENTRY FORM WILL REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL TO JUDGES.

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INITIATIVE/TRAINING/DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

Judges want to recognise initiatives that tackle workplace problems, support staff, promote well-being and reward good work that builds strong relationships and employee engagement. The judges will be looking for clear objectives, creative and effective implementation and tangible and demonstrable results in the initiative award categories.

Please complete the following section providing details of the initiative/development/training. Please note entries must not exceed a total word count of 1000 words in this section.

All information provided will remain confidential to the judges before and after the event and will not be shared with anyone outside of the judging panel allocated to review your entry.

Each entry must include information under the following headings:

Overview of Initiative/Training/Development

Please provide the judges with clarity and context around the initiative/development you have implemented and who the entry was designed e.g., a particular demographic with your business, a team or department etc.

Objective(s) & budget (1-10 points)

Tell us what you were looking to achieve from the initiative/scheme/policy or campaign. What issues were you hoping to solve? What budget if any did you allocate to the implementation of the initiative?

Strategy & Implementation (1-10 points)

Please provide details on the strategy for the initiative/development and how this was implemented. Judges will be looking for a clear communication strategy and effective deployment of the initiative/training or development programme.

Results & Evaluation (1-10 points)

Please relate these to the objective(s) stated above. What impact did your initiative have on the employees and overall business? Results must be tangible with clear examples and testimonials where possible to support the results. Please provide actual numbers rather than percentages wherever possible.

Why should your initiative/training/development initiative win this award? (1-10 points)

What do you think sets your entry apart from the other entries being judged? Judges will in particular be looking for the thing that makes this initiative different to the others, what is unique?

Please detail any supporting documents you are including as part of your submission.
Optional – please upload to the online entry portal when submitting this entry for

Any entries that do not include information under these headings will be marked down. If appropriate you may include up to three pieces of supporting materials.

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VOI/TOOL AWARDS

How do we effectively monitor and report on the impact of company culture on the business, and on the efficiency of initiatives, flexible working and HR influences? Judges want to hear about the tools that are effective in helping transform company culture.

Each entry must include information under the following headings:

Overview of Tool

Provide a synopsis of what the tool does and how it adds value to the end user.

Total Budget

Detail costs associated with running the tool/technology and how much you intend to sell the tool for.

Existing Problems & Target Audience (1-10 points)

Include details outlining the problems that this tool/technology solves and how if at all these problems were previously dealt with. Detail who the target customers or users of this product are.

USP & Features (1-10 points)

Outline what is the tool/technology’s unique proposition. Highlight the major features that are unique to the tool that helps solve a customer problem or benefit the customer positively.

Key Metrics (1-10 points)

Detail what key metrics have you used to measure whether this tool/technology is successful? I.e., does it save money, make things faster, and generate more revenue?

Why should your tool win? (1-10 points)

What single thing about your tool or technology is not done by anyone else? What makes it stand out to be award-worthy?

Any entries that do not include information under all of these headings will be marked down. If appropriate, you may include up to three pieces of supporting materials.

We also ask you to send a ‘UK Company Culture Awards’ log-in to allow judges to be able to test and evaluate your product if they feel necessary.

Please note judging is based on the application form and the judges’ industry knowledge of the tools. They are a highly experienced judging panel with in-depth industry knowledge so the tool log-ins requested are for any judges who feel that want to delve deeper into any claims/functionality detailed in the entry.

Please note if you’re unable to provide a login, please contact [email protected].

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WORKING ENVIRONMENT AWARDS

The working environment is an integral part of company culture, it is a space that encompasses the values and beliefs of your organisation. Safe, warm, fun, and inclusive – we want to know how your environment came into being, how it has evolved and how it supports the productivity and ethos of your business.

If you and your team are working remotely how have you re-created and re-positioned your environment? Judges want to see details and photographs of the UK’s best workplaces.

Each entry must include information under the following headings:

Overview

Tell us about your working environment, and how the environment creates and encourages a positive culture – please include pictures or floor plans where relevant. Who benefits from this working environment e.g., a team, department, or entire business? 

Objectives & Budget (1-10 points)

Tell us what you are looking to achieve from your working environment e.g. increased productivity, wellbeing etc. and the budget allocated to implement.

Results & Evaluation (1-10 points)

Please relate these to the objective(s) stated above. What impact does your working environment have on the employees and overall business? Results must be tangible with clear examples and testimonials where possible to support the results. Please provide actual numbers rather than percentages wherever possible. 

Why should your working environment win this award? (1-10 points)

What sets your working environment apart from the other working environments being judged? What makes it unique?

Any entries that do not include information under these headings will be marked down. If appropriate you may include up to three pieces of supporting materials.

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INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Please complete the following sections providing details of the individual that you are entering. Please note entries can be self-nominated or nominated by a third party and must not exceed a total word count of 1000 words in this section.

All information provided will remain confidential to the judges before and after the event and will not be shared with anyone outside of the judging panel allocated to review your entry.

Individual Objectives (1-10 points)

Tell us what the individual has looked to achieve and any targets that have been set in relation to improving or maintaining your company culture. We recommend showing targets as quantifiable metrics e.g., ‘Increase conversions from 150 to 300 a month’ rather than ‘Increase conversions by 10%’.

Details of any recent achievements (1-10 points)

What makes your nominee stand out? Please include details of any achievements you feel make your nominee award worthy. What are you proud of?

Details of any challenges faced and how these were overcome (1-10 points)

What challenges were unique to you and how have you overcome them. What was the end result of overcoming these challenges?

Why should this individual win this award? (1-10 points)

What do you think sets this individual apart from the other individuals being judged?

Please detail any supporting documents you are including as part of your submission.
Optional – Please upload to the online entry portal when submitting this entry form.

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TEAM/AGENCY AWARD

Each entry must include information under the following headings:

Overview of the Agency/Team

Please include numbers, staff turnover, roles etc. Judges will be looking to see your core values.

Details of team/agency culture initiatives (1-10 points)

E.g., flexible working, holiday schemes, training and development, incentive schemes, rewards packages, CSR and volunteering initiatives. Judges will be looking for details on how the agency/business/team unifies its culture to align with the business’ overall core values. 

Details of any challenges faced and how these were overcome (1-10 points)

What challenges were unique to the agency/team and how have you overcome them? What was the end result of overcoming these challenges?

Evidence of positive impact/results of any initiatives (1-10 points)

E.g., increased productivity, staff retention, staff promotion and development Please relate these to the objective(s) stated above. What impact do your initiatives have on the employees and overall business? Results must be tangible with clear examples and testimonials where possible to support the results. Please provide actual numbers rather than percentages wherever possible. 

Why should you win this award? (1-10 points)

Please detail what you feel makes you stand out amongst others and why you feel your entry is award-winning. What makes you unique? What gives you the competitive edge? What makes you the best agency/team to work for? 

Any entries that do not include information under these headings will be marked down. If appropriate you may include up to three pieces of supporting materials.

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ETHICAL, TRANSPARENT, FAIR

Don’t Panic Projects, based in the UK, is one of the world’s most ethical and transparent awards organisers. Working with International, industry experts (who cannot enter the awards themselves) their robust, two-step judging process includes remote pre-scoring and virtual or face-to-face final judging sessions.

In partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University the entry process, categories and criteria are refined and developed to ensure the process is fair and trustworthy. Judges sign a judging code of conduct to ensure confidentiality and to provide peace of mind for entrants.

Don’t Panic is proud to display the Awards Trust Mark, an independent accreditation programme that validates the ethical process operated on all their awards.

Don’t Panic believe UK Company Culture Awards must have validity so that clients, business partners and employees can trust the system.