Our annual FHT Excellence Awards are back this year, offering you a chance to be noticed for your hard work in the holistic therapy community.
It’s never been more important to showcase your work and show the many ways professional therapists can make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of others. We pride ourselves on having a strong, qualified and determined membership, and it’s time to celebrate you.
We are very aware of how modest our members are and that you perhaps feel more passion towards making a difference to your clients’ lives than gaining public recognition for the work you do – and rightly so, caring for and supporting others is exactly what our profession is all about. But, there are also some very real and far-reaching benefits when it comes to entering the FHT Excellence Awards. Belonging to the FHT and being listed on our Accredited Therapist Register helps to demonstrate your professionalism, but awards also play an important role. Winning, or even being short-listed, for an award provides both you and the FHT the opportunity to promote best practice to the world, as well as the therapies you are so zealous about. Publicising the story behind each winner shows the world at large what best practice looks like, and how therapists can work as part of a multi-disciplined team to help improve patient-centred care and treatment outcomes.
So, whether it’s trade or business, local or national, big or small, if you haven’t put yourself forward for an award before, here are six good reasons why you should give it a try…
1. Promoting the therapies you love
With awards comes publicity, which is a great way to show potential clients, employers and healthcare commissioners the amazing benefits different therapies offer. If you are uncomfortable with the thought of putting yourself forward for an award, think of it as putting your favourite therapy forward instead. If you work for a charity or similar, this will gain recognition, too. And remember – those who are finalists or highly commended can often gain just as much publicity as the award winner.
2. Promoting best practice
In our annual FHT survey, we always ask, ‘What concerns you most as a therapist?’ and two key issues always come to the fore. The first is poor standards in training and practice, and how this impacts the reputation of professional therapists. The second is lack of recognition from medical and other professionals, which can hinder integrating therapies into mainstream care.
Belonging to the FHT and being listed on our Accredited Therapist Register helps to demonstrate your professionalism, but awards also play an important role. Publicising the story behind each winner shows the world at large what best practice looks like, and how therapists can work as part of a multi-disciplined team to help improve patient-centred care and treatment outcomes.
3. Promoting excellence in education
Awards that centre around education, such as FHT Student of the Year and Tutor of the Year, help to champion those training providers who are going the extra mile to ensure students completing their courses enter the industry with the skills to practice competently and professionally. This is vital in helping to protect the industry’s reputation and public safety.
4. Funding therapy services and research
Sadly, many therapy services rely on charitable donations and other sources of funding in order to continue supporting their clients. An award can help demonstrate the value of your work and strengthen your application for further funding. Similar benefits can be enjoyed by those involved in therapy research.
5. Good for business
Winning an award is a great way to boost your business. There is nothing vain or selfish in gaining some recognition and publicity for your hard work. Local media usually has a strong appetite for success stories involving members of the community. Being shortlisted or winning an award could mean appearing in the press or on local radio, gaining good exposure for your business and hopefully some new clients. If applying for work opportunities, it will also boost your CV and help to ‘set you apart from the rest’.
6. Good for existing clients and staff
Entering an award means stepping back and looking at your business from the outside in. It will help you identify what you’re doing well and what could be improved. Even if you don’t win, this is a really useful business exercise. If you do go on to win, knowing that you have been recognised as ‘the best’ in industry will impress clients who already use your services, and could encourage repeat business and recommendations. If you’re an employer, celebrating and sharing your award success with staff can be inspiring and motivational. An award can also be a great way to attract new talent if you’re looking to grow your team.
This is your year – enter now!
Simply visit our website today and let us know a bit more about yourself or the person you’re
nominating by filling out the entry form for your specific award!
Entries are open to all FHT members and accredited course providers. You can enter in more than one award.
Entries open on Monday 1 May and close on Friday 30 June 2023.
We look forward to hearing your responses. Good luck!
For any queries about Excellence Awards, please email marketing@fht.org.uk for more guidance.
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