Page 10 - CSA INDEX - Autumn WInter 2021

CSA Gala Awards –

Myths Need Exploding

By Keith Barker, Tectonic Techniques

I happened to bump into the boss of one of the smaller Corporate Members a while ago and after the usual pleasantries we got to
talking about work (don't we always?). Chatting about the sort of contracts he was involved with, I mention the CSA Awards and
suggested he enter one of his jobs for the ‘Project of the Year’ category.
He quite readily dismissed the idea, suggesting that his projects were usually run of the mill, of reasonably short duration and didn't
grab any headlines. As such, he hadn’t considered putting forward an entry for the Awards because he felt he had no chance of winning.

This belief concerned me on two counts. Firstly, I was disappointed that people might actually think that way about our awards
programme, and secondly, I was curious as to why. So I asked a fellow CSA Committee Member to explain the main entry criteria, and
his response was both forthright and encouraging. He said:

1. The size of the project is irrelevant.
2. It doesn't have to be a particularly innovative or ground-breaking building - it's the way in which the project was man-aged that
counts - not the gravitas of the job.

3. A key element is the online entry form which has to be completed:
• Think carefully about what you write.

• Using standard phrases in a ‘copy & paste’ job from the company brochure doesn’t necessarily do you any favours.
• Give plenty of detail about why it was such a good project - what made that job stand out.
• A testimonial from the client, will always add weight to any entry.

He made some other interesting points as well, namely:
• The judging process is based purely on the information presented via the entry forms, which offers a level playing field for everyone.

• The judging is totally transparent so people can't influence things for their 'mates'.
• Each judge has responsibility for scoring each entry, against the pre-set judging criteria, but it is the combined aggregate score of
all the judges that determines the results.
• The totalling of the scores takes place after the judging session, so none of the judges know who the winners are in advance of
the ceremony.

The person Charing the Judging Panel is not a CSA member company, or associated with any of the members, and so it completely impartial.
So, armed with this information, and having always being keen to explode possible myths and prejudices, I would suggest that the
saying ‘you can’t win it, if you ain’t in it’ is really quite apt in this scenario. Please don’t think there is little point in entering because a
certain other company is likely to win, as that is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you haven’t bothered to enter, that certain other company
must surely have a far better chance of winning.
With such a strong and transparent entry/judging process in place, every nomination is assessed on its relative merits, and so each one
has an equal chance and do remember, just by making the list of finalists you’ll be rewarded with a bucket load of publicity – which has
to be of commercial value to any business, large or small.

CSA Awards website – www.csa-awards.co.uk.

Keith Barker – MD – Techtonic Techniques & CSA Marketing Sub-Committee Chairman