Business Awards Attract High Quality Entrants

Business Awards Attract High Quality Entrants

The Judges and Assessors for the Electra Kapiti Horowhenua Business Awards says the quality of the entrants this year made it an extremely difficult task to confirm the 25 finalists, while confirming the winners will be even tougher.

The Electra Kapiti Horowhenua Business Awards is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and organisers are excited by the strong level of interest and support from local businesses for what is New Zealand’s longest running Business Awards programme.

This year there will be 25 businesses competing across the various Awards categories at the gala dinner in Levin on Friday, 10 October.

While this year will see the largest number of finalists competing in the Awards history, Chief Assessor Mark Ternent says it is the quality of these finalists, not the volume, that has impressed the Judges and Assessors the most. “Not only do we have 25 businesses competing, we have 25 go-ahead businesses all keen to benchmark themselves against other similar organisations.”

“The quality has been outstanding and demonstrates a growing business maturity and confidence across our region – I’m really proud of how far our business community has come over the last 20 years. We can be very proud of the level of excellence and innovation being demonstrated by local businesses, many of whom are now competing strongly both nationally and internationally.”

The calibre of entrant this year made the Assessors’ task an extremely challenging one, says Mr Ternent. “The Small Business Excellence Award in particular was hotly contested, while the number of larger businesses entering meant we were able to split the Medium/Large Business category into two separate categories.”

This year also sees the introduction of a new Employer of Choice Award, recognising local businesses who are investing time and resources in the development of their people and teams.

Meanwhile the Customer Choice Awards, introduced in 2013, have once again been keenly contested with close to 2,000 votes cast over a three week period.

Mr Ternent says the Awards are more than just a recognition of business performance. “Each entrant across the Excellence Awards receives a detailed assessment report outlining what they are doing well and where they can look to make further improvements,” he explains. “For many entrants, this is where the real value lies. In fact, there have been many examples of businesses taking this information on board, making improvements, and returning in subsequent years to win their categories.” Feedback reports will be sent out after the Business Awards gala evening on 10 October.

Being the 20th Anniversary, the function on 10 October is set to be a major celebration with organisers planning a number of special touches to commemorate the history of the Awards.

The Awards function is open to anyone who would like to attend and organisers are keen to see a broad cross-section of business and community people at the event.

Tickets go on sale on 8 September and Mr Ternent says to get yours early if you’d like to be a part of the region’s biggest business celebration. “This event has been a sell-out for the last two years so visit www.bkh.org.nz and book early to avoid disappointment. It’s going to be an excellent evening.”

ENDS

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