Awards Leave Some At A Loss

     Notice lately that lots of people and companies are winning awards of one sort or another?
     Trade shows, industry organizations and especially publications right now are handing out awards at what seems like a feverish clip.
     There are awards for everything, from company of the year, to person of the year, to most influential, to lifetime service.
     If the trend continues, don’t be surprised if soon somebody gives out a trophy at some point for attendance.
     Every month and sometimes every week comes another award until it seems that a blizzard of these commendations create upon the general sensibilities, a blur of who won what, when and why.
     The idea of recognizing and awarding exemplary effort is nothing new; in fact handing out awards is as old as organized business itself.
     But right now award giving seems to be a bit over the top.
     First of all everybody appreciates recognition for a job well done.
     There are plenty of deserving efforts put forth that should be recognized.
     But we believe that there are too many awards.
     It really gets thick when companies run “vote for us” advertising as an integral part of their marketing campaigns. Since when did soliciting for votes equate into bonafide excellence in service.
     One vaguely off putting result of the race to awards are winners running full-blown advertising programs of their awards with organizations that gave them the honor in the first place.
     Forgetting everything else, isn’t there something a tad less than believable going on here?
     Advertising programs and event sponsorships and tables to attend a gala that are sold as part of an awards package are a set up, period.
     The guys on the street here in New York City would call it payback, pure and simple.
     Hard working companies and people in air cargo don’t need that kind of grief at what should be a moment of enlightenment and reflection for a job well done.
     If we are to believe awards are legit, we think a great deal more openness and transparency is needed in the award process.
     “Of course there are too many awards,” Stan Wraight (who won an award recently in London) said.
     “There are also too many trade and industry shows.
     “Therein lies the rub.
     “To get people to attend shows, they give out awards.
     “This is not rocket science here.
     “I bet if one airline, logistics company or forwarder were to make a point of attending every one (all advertised as musts for air cargo specialists) you would need one or two full time employees and an annual budget of more than $100K.
     “Sadly today, there is no ultimate or pinnacle of air cargo award.
     “TIACA gives awards but I doubt that any non-TIACA member ever won one.
     “I remember that during my KLM days “Airline of the Year” was the top award, but even that has faded in importance.”
     Heiner Siegmund, Air Cargo News FlyingTypers Senior Contributing Editor gathered:
     “By and large there is no transparency as to what is the criteria for almost all of the awards.
     “Award announcements go something like:
     "Our readers have decided . . .
     “Nobody knows how many of these readers really participated in the surveys.
     “In other words the prerequisites for the vast majority of awards are totally nebulous as example:
     "Best Cargo Carrier of Middle East", "Outstanding Cargo Carrier of Indian Subcontinent,” and so on.”
     “Sometimes the ability to make the most 'noise' wins.
     “Air cargo is growing so fast that many regions are looking for their own award schemes.
     “Good thing would be if the major and most respected cargo carriers would form a sort of informal alliance demanding that the number of awards should be reduced to - let's say - four or five per year honoring different transport and service categories.
     “IATA or some other multinational and neutral body should manage the process by initiating and conducting those surveys in close cooperation with international airfreight and transport media.
     “This would be a better and more credible approach.
     “However, I'm pessimistic of the practicality here since the process would need two players— the media and the cargo airlines.”
     No doubt that there is plenty of constructive thought out there when it comes to the giving and receiving of air cargo industry awards.

     A highly-placed air cargo executive who asked to go unnamed thinks that maybe awards committees need to look a little closer as they go about the business recognizing true winners:
     “We think too much of our senior teams and not enough of the people making it happen every day at the terminals, sales offices and GSA locations.
     “Air cargo needs to recognize the great job all our people do to make this industry successful.”
     “Maybe there should be some new award categories to include a broader spectrum of people and businesses.
     “For example, what would be wrong with selecting the best third-party cargo handling service company or for that matter recognizing the best GSSA’s?
     “Both are every day integral forces in air cargo that rarely if ever, get respect, let alone receive an award.
     “There are plenty of other categories that could and should be considered outside of the aforementioned “narrow band” of award recipients as the industry gears up for the rest of 2008.
     Another top executive in air cargo (unnamed) thinks awards should come in part from customers with some benchmarking:
     “Performance should be based on profitability and the views of our customers.
     “They should decide who is performing best and we should use more analytical methods such as Cargo 2000 or other industry resources to measure performance.”
     That said, we raise one more point here:
     How about bringing back some vestige of the triumphant and beautiful grand trophies that were awarded during the first generation of aviation?

Pictured left to right—The Harmon came into being in 1926 when Clifford B. Harmon, a wealthy sportsman and aviator, established three international trophies to be awarded annually to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix, and aeronaut.   The Harmon Trophy—the aviator's award—is given for the most outstanding international achievements in the preceding year, with the art of flying receiving first consideration.   The Bendix Trophy for cross-country races, sponsored by the Bendix Corporation, begun in 1931. The award was established to encourage aviation progress. Winner of the first race was Major James H. Doolittle who flew from Los Angeles to Cleveland, Ohio at an average speed of 223 miles per hour.   The Pulitzer established in 1920 by American publishing magnate, Ralph Pulitzer, who created a speed contest to encourage U.S. designers to build faster airplanes. GDA

     The Bendix, Harmon and Schneider Trophies are magnificent works of art, simply gorgeous honorariums, given to the likes of Doolittle, Lindbergh and later to others who advanced aviation.
     Air cargo should create a grand award that is both beautiful and believable and passed on from year to year to new generations in the industry.
     Meantime no doubt the air cargo awards trend will continue.   
     PT Barnum, the great American showman, who made the Circus and sideshow freaks famous 100 years ago once said:
     “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
     Surveying the manner in which the industry creates winners and losers out of hardworking air cargo companies and people and, even in some cases expects folks to pay for that honor, to us is just too dumb to be believed.
     Maybe there should also be an award for the award givers as “Best Presenter of Dubious Distinctions.”
     Your move.
Geoffrey Arend