awards category guide 2019 - ngage solutions · your guide to entry in 4 easy steps closing date...

Awards Category Guide 2019

A Buckinghamshire Business First Event

Any questions? Email [email protected] or call 01494 927158

2019

Awards Categories 2019

Apprentice and Young Person Employer of the Year

Digital Innovation Award

Corporate Social Responsibility Award

Excellence in Customer Service Award

Growth Business of the Year

International Trade and Export Award

Low Carbon Workspace Award

New Business of the Year

Small Business of the Year

Student Entrepreneur Award

Best in Aylesbury Vale District

Best in Chiltern and South Bucks Districts

Best in Wycombe District

Company of the Year



2019

Your guide to entry in 4 easy steps

Closing date for entries

Tickets for the AwardsCeremony go on sale

Finalists announced

Ceremony

18/04/19

18/07/19

25/07/19

09/10/19

Key dates for your diary How to enterStep 1 - Check the ‘Category Guide’, select upto 2 categories plus a ‘Best in District Award’ and enter at: bbf.uk.com/buckinghamshire-business-awards

Step 2 - Get hints and tips on how to make the most of your entry from previous winners, judges and PR experts. Watch our top tips video bit.ly/BBATopTips

Step 3 - Download and complete – ‘A GeneralInformation Form’ and the relevant ‘Category Entry Form(s)’

Step 4 - Return your entry forms to [email protected] by midnight on 18th April 2019.

Apprentice and Young Person Employer of the Year Award

Entry Questions A word limit of 600 will be applied to each question

You will be asked to: 1. Describe your organisation’s commitment and future plans for taking on young people and providing training to them.

2. Describe the benefits that employing people under the age of 24 has brought to your business.

3. Give examples of how your young employees have benefitted from the training you have provided.

4. Advise why you consider yourselves an exemplar employer for the provision of training to young people.

5. Provide any further comments that you believe are relevant to your application and the judging criteria.



This award is open to all employers who has employed or provided work experience for a young person under the ageof 24 (at the time of recruitment) since September 2017 which has involved training. The following types of relevantwork opportunities include: apprenticeships, traineeships, work experience and general part time work. The award

wishes to recognise companies providing excellence in training and career opportunities in the county.

How to enter

Step 1 - Check the ‘Category Guide’, select upto 2 categories plus a ‘Best in DistrictAward’ and enter atbbf.uk.com/buckinghamshire-business-awards

Step 2 - Download and complete – ‘A GeneralInformation Form’ and the relevant ‘CategoryEntry Form(s)’

Step 3 - Return your entry forms [email protected] by midnight onThursday 18th April 2019 Further details of the timeline, judging process and the Terms and Conditions can be found in'Your Guide to Entering theBuckinghamshire Business Awards 2019'.

What will the Judges be looking for?

• Commitment - Demonstrates commitment to training the young workforce; to embedding a training culture in the company; to the range/number of Apprenticeship frameworks supported (as appropriate); to future training opportunities, providing career prospects for young people

• Business benefits - The training has enabled the business to improve, grow and perhaps even survive; the benefits are measurable and quantifiable

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2019

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Digital Innovation Award

Entry QuestionsA word limit of 600 words will be applied to each question

You will be asked:

1. What new digital innovation/s have you introduced to your business and why?

2. What were the main objectives for introducing it/them?

3. What were the specific challenges faced in introducing it /them and how were these overcome?

4. Were your objectives reached?

5. What relevant results can you share?



How to enter

What will the judges be looking for?

• An understanding of the benefits of taking up the new digital technologies• Evidence of benefit/potential for business growth from it/them• The business has gained an acceptance from the workforce for the change• An ability to exploit digital innovation to enhance business growth

Businesses and organisations that enter this category will need to demonstrate:• Why the new digital innovation was needed• How the company overcame change to incorporate the new innovation/s• The benefits derived from it/them




2019

This award recognises businesses that have introduced new digital technologies to their companies which have improved their productivity / efficiency / profitability. Businesses in this category need to evidence why change

is necessary to their business, the innovation introduced and the benefits derived from it.

Corporate Social Responsibility Award

Entry Questions A word limit of 600 words will be applied to each question

You will be asked:

1. What is your organisational Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy for working with worthy causes?

2. Which cause(s) has the company been working with?

3. How have you been working with the identified cause(s) during the past 12 months?

4. How have employees and managers been involved in this work?

5. What benefits has the company received from CSR activity?

6. To include any testimonials you have received directly from those whom the company supports or further comments that you believe are relevant to your application and the judging criteria.



How to enter

What are the Judges looking for?

• Track record of support towards social, economic, educational or charitable issues• A significant impact on the cause(s) during the last 12 months. This could be through direct activity such as providing a service or improving an existing one, or philanthropic giving.• Fundraising for local or national charities and worthy causes• Commitment and/or volunteering of staff• Company commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility

The award recognises those businesses who have a strong track record of playing their responsible part in society and giving back to it, through fund raising, active support from company employees and/or providingopportunities for worthy causes, for which there is no direct financial benefit to the company.




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2019

Excellence in Customer Service Award


You will be asked:

1. How is customer service embedded into your organisation? This should include how customer service is treated as a priority

2. How has your organisation been creative in defining the customer experience? Also include how the organisation deals with complaints

3. What policies/good practice protocols are in place to ensure that staff are providing a positive customer service experience?

4. To provide any testimonials, quotes or surveys that demonstrate your positive customer service culture



How to enter


• How the company has planned and invested in a culture of positive customer service• Policies and good practice protocols• How the organisation communicates with the customer• How effectively it deals with customer complaints• Evidence of excellent customer service through surveys, testimonials, quotes

This award seeks to recognise excellence in customer service and a business which can:• Demonstrate that customer service is treated as a priority• Show that the company has a positive customer service culture• Demonstrate how customer service has improved over the last 12 months

Winner of 2018 Excellence in Customer Service AwardIan Inglis, Director of Bluebird Care, said:

“It’s wonderful that our fantastic staff have been recognised for their hard work and dedication to our clients, demonstrating that care canbe an aspirational career which is richly rewarding by making a difference to people’s lives every day.”




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2019

Growth Business of the Year


You will be asked to:

1. Describe how your business/organisation has grown in the last years

2. Describe your routes to market and/or distribution channels

3. Describe your staffing structure and job appropriate training for staff

4. Describe your future business plan and describe how you will put it into practice



How to enter


• Evidence of business growth and sustainability• Innovative ways of promoting products and creating routes to market• Creating employment and proven development of staff • A robust business plan plotting future growth and business sustainability

This Award is open to any business within the county who have grown or scaled up since October 2017. The definitionof a scale up refers to business which have shown rapid growth with the potential and ambition to continue that trajectory. This award is open to any business:• With a more than 10 employees• That has grown jobs or sales by 20% plus per annum over the last 3 years

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Winner of 2018 Growth Business of the YearGraham Parr, Managing Director of Gartec, commented:

“We’ve seen significant growth over the past three years increasing turnover by 31% since 2015 which is due to the hardwork of our team. We are all thrilled to have won Growth Business of the Year which recognises the achievements of thecompany.”

2019

International Trade and Export Award


You will be asked:

1. How have you expanded/introduced trading internationally or working with overseas companies within the past 24 months?

2. How are you planning to continue this expansion within the next 3-5 years?

3. How has trading internationally affected your sales revenue/ market growth?

4. What innovations or unique selling points have you exploited through international trading?



How to enter


• Demonstrates an understanding of the issues of working with overseas companies• Has evidence of the business growth from working internationally• Can demonstrate an ability to exploit innovation or unique selling points for working internationally

Businesses and organisations that enter this category will need to show that:• They have expanded their markets beyond that of the UK and/or are working with other international companies• They have successfully launched or expanded their non-UK operations or collaborations within the last 24 months• They have significantly increased their overall sales revenue as a result of international working

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Winner of 2018 International Trade and Export AwardHuw Davies, Sales and Marketing Director of CSL Digital, commented:

“We were genuinely taken aback to win this award and the whole team is delighted. To be recognised by an organisation such asHeathrow is a huge honour and will go a long way to helping us further expand the business into new territories.”




2019

Low Carbon Workspace Award


You will be asked:

1. Describe the measures you have implemented and the savings you have achieved

2. Describe the process the company took to making the decision to implement the above measures

3. Explain how staff members have been included in any decisions and how the results have been shared across the company by the incorporation of the new measures

4. Describe your future environmental plans for your company



How to enter


• Demonstrable evidence of improvements to waste generation, energy/water consumption• The company has a clear environmental goals• Plans for further sustainable improvements to the company• Buy in throughout the company for environmental best practice

The Low Carbon Workspace category is open to any business that has reduced the environmental impact of their premises or operations, by improving water or energy efficiency and/or reducing waste generation, since January 2017. The judges will be looking for evidence of such improvements and will be interested in the

additional benefits these measures have brought to the business, e.g. improved productivity, increased sales etc.

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Funded by:




2019

New Business of the Year


You will be asked:

1. What inspired you to open a business and in particular, this business?

2. What makes your company stand out from your competitors?

3. What is your competitive advantage?

4. What early successes have you achieved and what obstacles have you overcome?

5. What is the most important lesson that you have learned in the past year?



How to enter


• How start-up was achieved• Growth to date• Strength and stability of business• Understanding of the market in which they operate• Vision/strategy for future development• Funding arrangements and investment plans for the business

This category is open to any business that started trading a�er January 1st 2017. The business cannot bean expansion of an existing business, have simply undergone a name change, or simply be

operating from a new location.

Winner of 2018 New Business of the YearSteven Gregory, Founder and Owner of FitLife Health Club, said:

“We genuinely didn’t expect to win this award so it was a lovely surprise. As business owners we don’t o�en get the chance to reflect on what we’ve achieved over the past 18months so to have been rewarded in this way shows we’re doing something right!”




2019

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Student Entrepreneur Award


You will be asked:

1. Complete an Entry Form 2. Produce a Pitch Deck (set of presentation slides) explaining a new and exciting business idea you would like to start.

Candidates must be working towards the relevant qualifications in a further education environment.

The successful candidate can / and will start in September 2019 if desired and an application for the course at University of Buckingham does NOT need to go via the UCAS process .



How to enter


The University of Buckingham are looking for candidates who can demonstrate the following:• A passion for entrepreneurship• A creative and innovative approach to life• A great mind for business• Enthusiasm for learningThe scholarship is worth up to £25,000 to BSc Business Enterprise Honours Degree applicants (available for September 2019, January 2020 or September 2020 applicants).

Win a £25,000 Scholarship to study BSc Hons Business Enterprise (BBE). The BBE is a 2 year undergraduate degree programme. Start and run your own business and achieve an honours degree.

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Step 1 - Download and complete the entry for from bbf.uk.com/bba2019

Step 2 - Produce a Pitch Deck (set of presentation slides) explaining a new and exciting business idea you would like to start.

Step 3 - Send your Pitch Deck by email to [email protected]

Step 4 - Do this before the deadline of 18 April 2019

Step 5 - Successful candidates will be shortlisted and invited to pitch to a panel of experts within three weeks following the respective deadline in April 2019.

Step 6 - The winner will be notified in May and the name will be announced at the Business Awards Ceremony on October 2019

Further details of course information can be found at www.buckingham.ac.uk/business/bsc/businessenterprise

2019

Small Business of the Year Award


You will be asked:

1. How has your business grown in the past two years?

2. What are the organisation’s key strategic objectives and what has been done to work towards achieving them?

3. How have you analysed your market and used this data to respond to change?

4. What is your strategy/vision for the next three to five years?



How to enter


• Current business performance• Growth over the past two years• Potential for future growth in years ahead• Examples of management responses to changes in market• Stand-out quality that makes the business a potential award winner

The small business category is open to any business that employs fewer than 20 full time employees or equivalent.

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Winner of 2018 Small Business of the Year AwardAlison Deverill, Managing Director of Design Difference, said:

“We are delighted to have won this award. Determination, hard work, innovation and creativity have enabled Design Difference to grow the business and its client base. Design Difference is competing with high end London agencies, and winning the contracts, so we are incredibly proud.”




2019

Best in District Awards


This category can be entered by ticking the relevant box onthe ‘General Information Form’ to let us know that you arehappy for your entry to be submitted to your localDistrict Council.

You will be asked to:• Describe what sets your business out above others in your sector?• Describe what sets your business out above other businesses in the district?

Best in District can also be entered in its own right should acompany not wish to enter any other specific category.



How to enter

The Districts are looking to recognise and reward the excellent businesses in their district.

They will be judging:

• The company’s growth and performance• The way the business gets involved and makes a positive impact within the wider community • The training and development of their staff • Plans for future growth

Buckinghamshire’s four district councils are demonstrating their commitment to supporting a vibrant economiccommunity by offering businesses based in each of their districts the chance to be crowned ‘the best of the best’.

Dependent upon where your business is based, you can enter either:• Best in Aylesbury Vale District • Best in Wycombe District• Best in Chiltern and South Bucks Districts




2019



Company of the Year

2019

‘Company of the Year 2019’ will be awarded to the business that, in the opinion of the judges, best represents Buckinghamshire in terms of its success, commitment and contribution both to the local community and economy. Previous winners include, Ashridge Group (2018), Silverson Machines (2017), Monodraught (2016), CoCredo (2015) and Global Infusion Group (2014).

The winner of this category will become an Ambassador member of Buckinghamshire Business First, for one year.

Michael Garvey celebrates with Ashridge Group, the 2018 Company of the Year

Recommend a business

Do you know a great local business that deserves recognition? If so, please let us know who they are and we will contact them and encourage them to enter the awards.

Please use the recommendation form on our website: bbf.uk.com/buckinghamshire-business-awards

Take your first steps to success in 2019Enter the

Buckinghamshire Business Awards



Further details and all entry forms can be downloaded here

bbf.uk.com/buckinghamshire-business-awards

Any questions? Give us a call on 01494 927158 or

email [email protected]

Closing date for entries is 18th April 2019, Midnight!

2019

awards category guide 2019 - ngage solutions · your guide to entry in 4 easy steps closing date...

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