Interviewers: Mariham Magdy & Mahmoud Mansi
“The more we learn about the planet and its ecosystems, the more we appreciate the importance of sustainability. We all share the same world; we all have a duty to look after it for future generations…”
Aleksandar Ilić
ABOUT THE INTERVIEWEE
Aleksandar Ilić is one of Awards International’s brightest young talents. After a successful stint as their Marketing Manager, in 2019, he took on his most exciting challenge yet: becoming head of operations in the Middle East. In this role, he’s delivered several of the Gulf’s most celebrated awards programmes: the Gulf Customer Experience Awards, Gulf Sustainability Awards, Gulf Real Estate Awards and International Business Excellence Awards.
He’s also the Managing Director of Customer Experience Magazine (CXM), an online publication that shares news, updates and best practices from a wide variety of CX thought leaders.
THE INTERVIEW
Aleksandar Ilić: Thank you very much! Well, the reason behind the Gulf Sustainability Awards is simple. At Awards International, our mission is to recognise the inspiring efforts of individuals, teams and organisations in important fields – so it only made sense to create an event that focuses on the largest issue humanity is facing today! Sustainability and CSR should be top of the agenda at every organisation, and we want to play our part in spreading the word and recognising companies that go the extra mile.
Aleksandar Ilić: A lot of things! Our event format is built around knowledge sharing and developing professional connections – finalists all present their initiatives on the same day, and we encourage our guests to watch other presentations and learn from each other’s approaches.
So you’ll be competing, finding out how you compare to others, but you’ll also be able to hear companies sharing all sorts of sustainability best practices. We want all our guests to come away from the awards with greater levels of appreciation and inspiration for what they do – plus of course, recognition for their outstanding work.
Beyond that, we want to be a champion for sustainability in the Gulf, by amplifying the stories of our winners and giving people reasons to believe in a greener future!
Aleksandar Ilić: Behind the scenes, we have our amazing Dream Team – all the staff at Awards International who work tirelessly to make the awards a success.
Our Awards Consultants are in close contact with all our finalists, making sure they have the information and assistance they need to take part with ease. And of course, we give our judges a detailed briefing before the event to make sure they keep the scoring fair and impartial.
The Events team – led by my wonderful colleague, Marija Prokic – ensure everything runs smoothly from a logistical standpoint. But really, I think the awards work because everyone in our business – whether in marketing, sales, events, or any other area – all work together with the same goal in mind: to create a memorable and inspiring experience for everyone who takes part.
Aleksandar Ilić: As one of our finalists said: “What gets recognised gets reinforced.” We think it’s crucial for teams to receive recognition for their hard work – it gives them the drive to achieve even more great things!
Taking part is also great for team building: you’ll have to work together to share your story, communicate your results and impress the judging panel. And if you win, it’s a very special moment indeed, one that will live long in the memory.
These things alone mean it’s worth taking part – but the knowledge sharing and networking opportunities on offer make the awards truly unmissable. So really, my message to the sceptics is this: come along to GSA and see how wrong you are!
Aleksandar Ilić: Before the awards, we invite delegates to attend webinars that help them write a successful entry. This is useful for their awards submission, of course, but has wider applications as well – it’s all about communicating your company story effectively.
At the event itself, many companies choose to have Open Presentations, which means other guests can watch them present their initiative. This is a crucial aspect of the awards – we want our delegates to learn about the Gulf’s most innovative sustainability practices and give them lots of useful ideas to implement in their own businesses. By organising a series of talks from leading influencers in the Gulf, we also make sure that our guests leave the awards having learned a great deal. And we firmly believe that people learn most when having fun – so we pull out all the stops to make it a highly enjoyable experience!
Then two weeks after the awards, every finalist receives a detailed feedback report from the judging panel. This contains expert feedback on their initiative – what they did well, and where there’s still room for improvement. Reading these comments helps our finalists keep improving as they continue their sustainability journeys.
Aleksandar Ilić: Our judges are independent business professionals, and they apply to judge with us. We select them based on their sustainability expertise, but of course, they have complete autonomy when it comes to giving their scores.
To improve the process, we always listen to feedback from our judges and finalists. We have Steering Councils for various Awards International events, as well as the Advisory Board for the Gulf Sustainability Awards – their advice ensures our judging procedures get better every year!
Aleksandar Ilić: The more we learn about the planet and its ecosystems, the more we appreciate the importance of sustainability. We all share the same world; we all have a duty to look after it for future generations. When we discover that we’ve been living unsustainably, there’s no point denying it – we should face up to it and work together towards a solution.
I think that’s the key to implementing sustainability – sustained collaboration by people with a clear goal in mind. As with any problem, you need to identify it, understand what you can do to change it, then mobilise all your resources to make a difference. That means communication, teamwork and a healthy dose of determination – and I see all these qualities in our GSA winners.
Aleksandar Ilić: I would start by asking a simple question – what have we done well? Once you understand what that is, you’ll realise you have a story to share.
Telling this story is such a beneficial process: you’ll learn a lot along the way, plus there’s the chance to become a sustainability champion! To impress the judging panel, my main piece of advice is this: show them your results! There’s no point talking in general terms about your initiative – you need to show the judges the hard numbers behind your sustainability success.
And finally, to get the most out of the awards, bring your whole team with you! It’s always more special to celebrate together.
Among the global ethical awakenings in our recent century, and among the glorious creative and business erections, the magnitude of the Human Resources aspect has proven to be greatly valuable.
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