Last minute legacies
01 June 2010
Everyone has their own ways of managing their email overload and it doesn’t usually involve reading every message as it arrives. But I’ll make an unusual request – please read this today.
Why the urgency? Because today is the last day to enter for the 2010 e-Lagacy awards.
Of course if you have managed your email in such a way that you are not reading this on the 2nd of June then it is already too late. All I can ask is that you look out in a few weeks’ time for our announcements of finalists and voting procedures so that you can have a say in who deserves recognition as the industry’s finest.
But back to those who are reading this on a fine Wednesday morning. Why enter for the e-Legacy awards, you might ask? What’s in it for me? How much does it cost? Have I got time to do this on a day when I promised I would only come in to the office for a couple of hours before taking the kids on a half-term day out?
I believe the e-Legacy awards are relevant to every company and if they are not then they should be. Clearly a company exists in the vast majority of cases to make a profit. There are many contributing factors to achieving this and amongst those I am picking out product design, sales and marketing, operating efficiency, reduced material and energy costs, and an enthusiastic and well-trained staff as some of the key criteria. The reason for picking these is that they are the fields that can benefit, and are rewarded, by the e-Legacy awards.
Some of these are obvious. It is good product design and implementation that could win the medical or security categories, and to win such an award becomes a direct marketing tool when looking for new business. A similar argument applies to alternative energy – a category we have introduced in 2010 in recognition of the leaps being made in renewable energy technology.
But while some companies make products that we can see benefits society as a whole, the other categories are more about how the companies operate – encapsulating the spirit of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). While I personally find this expression slightly cumbersome and having that ‘management speak’ twang, it is the fashionable way of expressing good behaviour.
Companies who buy into CSR are those that see beyond how much initial investment and time it costs. Operating a factory efficiently, minimising the energy used, recycling where possible, reducing waste by better use of raw materials all take a bit of time and thought, but the investment required can usually be off-set with a calculable pay-back time.
Those who invest in their staff through training are giving themselves a workforce who has the ability to provide growth and inspiration from within as well as having the ability to do their jobs in the best and most productive fashion.
Even those companies who go down the seemingly altruistic route of investing in local communities, the environment and education do not do so out of the goodness of their hearts. Companies need people to work for them and to buy their products. A student who has been familiar with a certain piece of equipment or software that has been donated to his or her university, is perhaps more likely to specify that equipment as a fully-fledged engineer out in industry. Equally someone is more attracted to working for a company that has the perception of being ethically or morally sound, which is where investing in local communities or the environment can play a part.
If your company, or your suppliers, tick any of the boxes above, the e-Legacy awards are relevant to you. If not then maybe it is time to start exploring why not – it is no surprise to see that the role call of previous finalists and winners is made up of many of the most commercially successful companies in the electronics industry – and I can assure you, although we don’t publish the names of unsuccessful nominations, that this is true of most entrants as well.
As to the other questions at the top of this article, entry to the e-Legacy awards is free and it is not an onerous task either. All you need to do is enter 200 words (about a quarter the size of this article!) in the web site and attach a picture. If either judges or voters want any more information they can always visit your website. If there are any problems with this you can email me the words with the attached picture directly as long as you specify which category you wish to enter into.
The e-Legacy awards, now in its fourth year, have been a real success story. It has shown our industry at its best. It provided encouragement and inspiration for those still to embrace CSR or those still in the early days of adoption. For all the reasons above, if you think your company has something it should be proud of, visit http://www.epdonthenet.net/awards.aspx and let us know about it.
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