For release: Monday 20 April 2015
Media Release: 2015 Westpac Northland Business Excellence Awards
Strive for Success, achieve it through the Awards entry process and inspire others to do the same
The New Zealand Chambers of Commerce Northland is calling for entrants for the 2015 Westpac Northland Business Excellence Awards. There is no cost to enter the awards, you do not need to be a member of the Chamber and there are significant benefits to entering.
“We are celebrating business success in Northland and believe that all entrants benefit from participating in the awards. The awards allow each business to unlock their secrets to success by examining themselves, identifying their strengths and weaknesses and developing plans to further improve their businesses. It is also an invaluable tool to raise your businesses regional profile,” says New Zealand Chambers of Commerce Northland CEO Tony Collins. “It’s really all about recognising the pursuit of excellence and the continuous journey that each business undertakes to demonstrate the constant process of improvement”.
“As well as raising their business profile and celebrating their success, each category winner receives a marketing and media package valued at over $2,500 add value back into the business and promote their win,” continues Mr Collins.
Businesses will again be grouped and measured against businesses of similar scale to ensure like sized is evaluated against each other. This year there will be a new category that recognises the role innovation plays in making a great businesses and all entrant’s will also be eligible to be considered for the Innovate Northland category that celebrates a great idea.
No one knows a business better than those who own, operate or work within that business each and every day. What these people may not know is the best way to express this knowledge within the entry format and in manner that allows for it to be judged against the assessment criterion. To demystify the entry process the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce Northland, in partnership with Westpac, will run a series of workshops throughout Northland to walk the entrant through the process.
“In the past there have been some outstanding entrants and winners from outlying districts. We would like to see this strong regional representation continue. If you know of a business that you believe would benefit from this event, please encourage them to enter” says Mr Collins.
For more information visit the awards website www.northlandbusinessawards.co.nz or contact the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce Northland.
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Key Dates:
Entries open for Business Awards Categories:
Monday 20 April 2015 (Last day for entries Friday 14th August 2015)
Entries open for MoreFM Customer Choice Nominations:
Monday 3rd August 2015 (Last day for nominations Friday 25th September 2015)
Call for Nominations to The Northern Advocate Business Hall of Fame:
Monday 3rd August 2015 (Last day for nominations Friday 25th September 2015)
Entrants Networking Evening:
Wednesday 7th October 2015
Awards Presentation & Gala Dinner evening:
Friday 23th October 2015
Judging:
Monday 24th August 2015– Monday 5th October 2015
Notes to media:
Information about the Judging process
The criterion used this year is a modified version of the Baldrige system and this allows for a robust and quantifiable measurement of a business’s performance, which can then be used to compare the entrant against like and unlike businesses
Information about Workshops
The time and venue of these is still to be finalised but everyone who complete an Awards Expression of Interest Form will be kept advised as to when these workshops will take place.
At these workshops the entrants will be instructed by past judges, businesses coaches and past entrants on how to best present their business when completing the entry form. Where possible, sample answers will be used as examples to illustrate the information that the judges will be looking for. We believe that there is no reason that an entrant could not leave these workshops with a rough cut of their entry that requires only minor additional work to complete.
Following the workshops which will be 1.5 to 2 hours in duration, all entrants will have access to further coaching as and when required. This year Terry Sage from Business Coaching New Zealand has made his services available to those who need him to help finalise their entries. Terry has been involved in the awards for a number of years and his experience will be of value to anyone entering for the first time
For further information contact:
Tony Collins
ceo@northchamber.co.nz
027 444 1010
09 459 1945
