Update to Winner Selection Policy

Currently, when a Contest Holder does not select a winner within 30 days of the close of their Squadhelp contest - and they do not communicate to Squadhelp that they need additional time for winner selection - the contest is randomly awarded to 1 - 4 Creatives who have the highest ratings in the contest, depending on the total number of creatives with high ratings and the prize amount for the contest.

Even though the process is completed using a randomization algorithm, we continue to get questions and concerns about favoritism.

We will, therefore, put a new process in place this Monday:

  • In situations where a contest winner has not been selected within 30 days of the close of a contest and the Contest Holder has not requested additional time for winner selection - the contest award will be equally split between all Creatives who have at least one name in the contest’s Shortlist. (Example - If Creative L, M, N, O, and P all have one or more entries in the Shortlist and the award amount for the contest is $200, each Creative will receive a $40 award.)

  • If there are no names in the shortlist or it is a design contest, the award will be split equally between all Creatives who have at least one of the highest ratings given in the contest. (Example - If the prize amount is $300, there are no names in the shortlist, and Creative Q, R, S, and T each have one or more Love it ratings - each of these creatives will receive a $75 award.)

  • If the contest only has No thank you ratings and/or unrated entries, the contest award will be equally split between Creatives who participated in the contest and have at least 5 Love It ratings in other contests in the previous month.

While this new process may lead to some smaller awards for individuals contests, the cumulative payouts will become meaningful each month, as you will have more opportunities to receive split awards. We also believe this is the fairest and most transparent approach.

We will also implement a minimum $25 withdrawal amount.

3 Likes

@grant
Does the CH have a limited amount of names that they can shortlist?
If there is only 1 or 2 shortlisted names will that be awarded to just the 1 or 2?
If there are 30 shortlisted, will that be split between the 30?

I foresee plenty of questions on this one. LOL :smile:

3 Likes

Definitely feel there will have to be a limit to how many are shortlisted in order for this to work.

3 Likes

This one I think is where you might get some criticism of favoritism. I know that I personally get so many likes/loves that are quickly lowered to the no thank yous and yet my name in that particular contest might be more of a match that someone who had 5 love its in previously monthly contests. It that is how that part will be judged I doubt I’ll ever get a split again. :sunflower:

2 Likes

Thanks, Grant, for continuing to work on this issue. I look forward to seeing how it plays out.

I have felt after watching how it was going before that the top trending creatives should be the ones who should receive the splits because the system already determines who they are and because it is not based on participation, it is based on results. I believe that is the fairest way to do it and the one that rewards those who hang in there with a CH and get high ratings. The problem with splits has been mostly in contests where the CH rated a ton of loves (or likes). Sometimes the top trending creatives were completely left out of those splits, which I did feel wasn’t fair. (But I DO realize that the system randomly chose people from all of the loves or whatever and I do NOT think there was favoritism at all). Typically a CH does not do that.

I can’t wrap my mind around the new system to see if it rewards the right people or not. It sounds like it may, but it also sounds like we could get $1 after spending hours on a contest, receiving really high ratings and then get abandoned.

Is there a reason why SH won’t simply award the top trending creatives? Did I miss that somewhere? Did people not like that idea before or something?

3 Likes

Grant, clarification, does this mean the minimum award with be $25 on splits or something else?

2 Likes

It would mean that you have to have $25 in your account before you can make a withdrawal. A split could be as low as a few dollars.

2 Likes

Thank you @Arnet, I thought that was what it meant but then I wasn’t sure.

1 Like

The number of names shortlisted wouldn’t make a difference. If creative 1 had 5 shortlisted names, creative 2 had 3 short listed names, and creative 3 had 1 short listed name, the amount would be split into thirds.

1 Like

@arnet I think she was referring to the number of spots on the shortlist, not the number of entries per creative.

On the other thread about the new shortlist feature, Grant said: “All top rated names are automatically moved into a CH’s shortlist when their contest closes.”

I’m curious what qualifies as a “top rated name”. If there is 1 Love It and 1 Like It, for instance, are those both considered “top rated” or is only the “Love It” put in the shortlist?

@LisaMac - There is no limit to the number of entries that can be shortlisted, and whoever is included in the shortlist will be included in the award split. If there are 30 creatives in the list, the award will be split 30 ways, and if there is one Creatives in the list, they will get the award.

@LorinsEggshells - If an entry, at any time, has received a Love it rating, it will count toward the 5 Love it ratings for winner selection. It does not matter if the rating is changed later.

@Commulinks - There are just too many scenarios when Top Trending does not play out for winner selection.

Example One: One Creative has 3 Love it ratings and the next Trending Creative has 6 On the right tracking ratings.

Example Two: There are two Creatives who have one Love it rating and 12 who have one Like it Rating. Only one of those 12 is shown on the Trending board.

@Commulinks - There will no longer be a minimum award amount in split contests. The $25 amount is the minimum which you can withdraw from your account.

@Commulinks - Over time, the total amount that a Creative receives from the new process will be very similar to the amounts received from the current processes. However, the new process simply removes any room for luck, as there is no longer random selection involved.

Example - For a Creative to receive a $5-split award in a $200 Contest, it would mean that there were 39 other creatives that were also in the Shortlist or awarded one of the highest ratings. Using the previous policy, you would have a one-in-ten chance of receiving the split award. In the end, statistically, if this scenario occurred 10 times, you would either get $50 once or $5 ten times ($50).

2 Likes

@Therold - A top rated entry is an entry with one of the highest rating in the contest. In your example, only the Love it entry would be automatically moved to the Shortlist.

2 Likes

I am not liking this new process :frowning: And I also don’t feel there is any favoritism at all by SH in choosing winners. I notice some creatives complain a lot here, which is fine, but they are not even one percent of the majority voice of all the creatives of SH. @grant SH is the most easiest and awesome platform I have ever join. I am proud to be called a SH Creative but it is downgrading to get a $2 or $5 award.

6 Likes

I guess I’ll wait and see, but I agree that it’s hard to get excited over a $2 prize…I know Squadhelp is just trying to be responsive to creatives’ complaints, but a lot of us liked things the way they were. You could go a long time without winning, but when you did, at least it was more than pocket change.

7 Likes

[quote=“Nelmag, post:14, topic:2284”]
SH is the most easiest and awesome platform I have ever join.
[/quote] Thank you! :slight_smile:

In order to make these payouts more meaningful, we will award these contests twice a month. This way, many Creatives will see multiple small awards come in at one time, creating a larger payout.

2 Likes

“What’s not to like?” said in a George Costanza voice.

The new policy simply cuts the pie into smaller pieces in some instances. This will encourage people who never win a contest but get ever so close to winning now and then to at least get something. A dollar here, a dollar there, it adds up.
Maybe it will encourage more creatives to stick around, to try again, to not give up. Maybe people will put in a little extra effort, try just a little harder, think just a little longer.

5 Likes

It’s my opinion , and because many of us still like the things SH do the way they were

1 Like

As someone that has only won two contests awarded by CHs in a year but someone also with a higher rating and one that is relatively top trending on a few contests a month and someone has won split contests – I am not a fan of this. If it weren’t for the split contests, I wouldn’t have won at all in contests where I had several likes or love its and worked really hard only then to have the contest abandoned. I realize this means I may WIN more but the amount would be much lower which means it’s maybe not even worth the amount of effort I put in. I see both processes as fair, honestly, but this one just means that more people will win but win less money on contests that some of us already are actually working hard at with a chance to not benefit at all as it is. In all honesty, I guess I am one that would rather not get anything in a case like the way it was, than get only a few dollars. But that’s just me.

7 Likes

I’m afraid I have to agree with Nelmag and Rareworthy. In a case where someone wins a small $2 or $5 prize and the minimum withdrawal is $25, if you don’t win often, how long will that few dollars sit there before it can be withdrawn. Yes a few dollars is better than nothing but if you can’t withdraw it is it really worth it? I don’t believe there was any favoritism at all in the previous winner selection process. How many changes will have to be made before everyone is satisfied? I don’t think that will ever happen.

8 Likes