About and Key Dates
The bnz Great Lake Taupō Business Awards - Business Categories are an application based awards programme that seeks to robustly discover and reward the businesses that are a cut above the rest.
As long as you’re a business who operates within the Great Lake Taupō District, you’re eligible to enter.
Use the process of entering the Business Categories as a means of energising, motivating and building your team for the future. You can highlight your success to current and potential clients, suppliers and staff and the exposure of winning the awards is huge.
This year the winners from each of the Business Categories will receive a spot to attend The Icehouse’s Achieving Business Growth Workshop valued at over $1,000!
The self review process and the judge’s feedback adds great value to your strategic and business planning and you’ll also receive an independent perspective of your businesses strengths and improvement opportunities at no cost.
Categories
For the purpose of the Business Categories, there are two sectors under which businesses fall. You’re either a SME; a business that has an annual turnover under $1m or you’re a large business and your annual turnover is over $1m. The application form and process is exactly the same for both categories.
Cost?
There’s no cost to enter. Just the investment of your time.
Thanks to our valued sponsors of the Great Lake Taupō Business Awards the awards run cost neutral. The primary objective is to reinvest back into our business community, supporting and assisting in the growth of our local economy.
How do I enter?
- Download this entry form, get your team together and start writing!
- You complete the entry, answering the questions in the various boxes. Keep your answers concise and succinct. Refer to other documents that you have to support your answer rather than include them.
- You send both digital and hard copies of your entry pack – which include all the information necessary for the judges to gain an immediate impression of your business.
- You can include graphs and pictures if you wish.
- There is no maximum or minimum size to the entry in pages or number of words.
- The content you submit that will be rewarded, not the presentation
- You can lodge your entry with the Awards Convenor or directly with The Icehouse
TIP: use your whole team to bring the information together. It’s a great team building exercise!
How long will it take me to enter?
How long it takes you does depend on how easy it is for you to gather the information you need, but the best entries are usually succinct.
We’re not looking for a large document, and too much supporting collateral. We have made it easy by providing a standard template to complete.
The process of entering is usually helpful for your business so the time you take to enter is never wasted.
Seminars & Workshops
We are offering workshops and seminars throughout the duration of the awards that you and your team can attend. They’ve been designed to help you thru the awards process and give you some ideas on how your business could grow.
Judging
It’s important to have someone who sits in a position of complete neutrality to undertake the judging of the BNZ Great Lake Taupō Business Awards.
The judge of the bnz Great Lake Taupō Business Awards – Business Categories is Dr Leith Oliver from The Icehouse.
Dr Oliver judged the entries in the inaugural Business Categories in 2011 and is excited to continue the relationship with the Taupō business community in 2012.
Dr Leith Oliver visited Taupo on Thursday 12th April, for the first of our Speaker Series. His presentation can be viewed here---> Assessing the Heart of the Business System. It is recommended that you use this document as a reference point when completing your entry form.
Feedback
Every entrant receives judges’ feedback. We consider this very important. Many companies use the judges’ feedback as part of their continuous improvement programme. Many use it as a pathway from year to year towards winning the awards. This will be provided after the Gala Awards dinner on the 27th July.
Can I enter both the Service Excellence and Business Categories?
You may submit an entry for the business category and enter into the Service Excellence Category if you are a business that is located in the town centre.
You may enter the Service Excellence Award Category without having an entry in the Business Category.
Only those business that enter the Business Categories will be eligible for the Unison Overall Business of the Year Award.
Key Dates for Service Excellence Categories
- April 3 Tuesday 5.30pm Awards Launch, BNZ Taupō
- April 3-June 15 Entries open for Business Categories
- Seminars – all held at the BNZ Taupō, in the evening. Please check our Events page regularly for updates.
- On the 12 April Dr Leith Oliver, The Icehouse Judge for the Business Categories shared his expertise and recommendations for anyone thinking of entering the Business Categories. You had the opportunity to ask questions here. Please contact the Awards Convenor or Chamber of Commerce if you have any questions.
- June 15, Friday Business Category entries must be submitted by 5pm either directly to The Icehouse or to the Convenor of the awards.
- July 6, Friday Business Category Finalists Announced
- July 6, Friday Tickets for Gala Dinner go on sale
- July 13, Friday Financials to be sent to The Icehouse by Business Category Finalists
- July 27, Friday Business Awards Gala Dinner