Award submissions are hard work – but worth it

Do you sometimes wonder if award submissions are worth it?

Well to be honest, business awards are not for the faint-hearted. You need to complete application forms, assemble everything into a suitable presentation and submit it.

It does take time and effort to enter awards. The first thing is to read the terms and conditions, then the application form and start assembling your material.

The quality of your written entry is vital! Often it might be the only chance you have to put your best foot forward. In other awards a judge might come in to scrutinise and review your business.

Below are just some of the benefits of entering your business for an award, whether it’s the Hunter Region BEC Annual Awards or one of the other business awards available in the Hunter.

• It helps you and your team feel positive. Nominating for an award gives you a chance to reflect on accomplishments and feel proud of them, even if you don’t win. It’s a chance to celebrate and helps create a positive work environment. Feeling positive and happy helps your team to work better, which in turn helps the business do better.
• It’s great publicity and helps promote your business. Winning an award is something to talk about and it attracts attention. People will be attracted to try and find out about your business simply because you are a finalist or a winner. Not only can it help attract customers, it can help to attract and retain great staff.
• It helps you improve your business. Completing the entry forms can be like a business health check. You can use it to assess how you’re going and think about areas where you can improve. If you involve staff with the submission it will encourage continuous improvement from them as well.

If you’re bold enough to enter business awards and good enough to win, clearly the euphoria of taking home the trophy makes it all worthwhile.

The Hunter Region Business Excellence Awards have now opened and will close this year on Friday, 29 July 2016. Entries are open to businesses across the Hunter.

Entry packs are available for download from our website. Alternatively you can call us on 4936 2557 and we’ll post or email your application out.

Winners will be announced on Friday, 23 September 2016.