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Mar 5, 2024

An awards program checklist — overview & free template

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A lot goes into organizing a successful awards program and missing a step (or five) is more likely than you think, especially if you’re a first-timer. While an intuitive awards software solution like Evalato streamlines the whole process and takes care of all the grunt work, having a solid checklist will help you stay on top of things at all times. 

Set up your awards program framework 

A checklist will help you set the foundation of your awards and make some important decisions that will define your whole process. 

One simple example — will you make your awards paid? This type of decision will impact your program budget, marketing, communication, and even your choice of awards software, should decide to use one. Taking this decision at a later stage could potentially disrupt your process.

Evalato pro tip: If you are on the fence about free vs. paid awards, Evalato’s enhanced category structure supports a mix of free and paid categories, getting the best of both worlds.    

Keep track of each program phase 

This is where a checklist really comes in handy. An awards program has 4 main phases, each with its own steps. 

  • Registration — the time when people register for your program  
  • Submission — the time when your entrants work on and submit their applications
  • Evaluation — the period allocated for judging and/or public voting 
  • Results announcement — the most-anticipated part of your awards, be it an online reveal or an awards ceremony. 

Evalato pro tip: You can use Evalato’s automatically generated webpage to communicate important deadlines or announce them on your website and embed Evalato’s registration form.   

The big picture and the details

In short, an awards program checklist helps you hammer out every little detail while making sure that you never lose sight of the big picture. If you want to see how the Evalato awards management software can help you with both, check it out for free or book a demo

Or if you want to go straight to planning your awards, we got you covered with a free checklist template. 

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