Top 10 Applications

Obtaining the most votes for your award nomination is just the beginning.

By becoming one of our successful Top 10 finalists you will progress to the next stage... the judging!  As a finalist you will be given a month to provide our expert panel of judges with a more detailed application outlining why you deserve the award.  These applications will be used to determine our Top 5 finalists who will be featured at our Awards Ceremony in February 2012.  

To help you stay one step ahead, and prepare to be one of those lucky top 10, we have summarized below the key information you will be asked to provide as part of this process.

Best Company

• Explanation of how you have motivated and empowered employees to grow your business.
• The challenges your business has faced and how you overcame them.
• How you balance your drive for profit and growth with caring for your employees and community.
• Your company’s achievements in the last two years. 
• The vision and goals of your small business.
• Details of your finances and how you plan to finance future growth.

Best Community Impact

• Demonstrate how your business has had a positive impact on your local community.
• Identify how you have reinvested in your local community.
• How you measure the social, environmental and financial outcomes of your business.
• Share examples of your diversity and inclusion work.
• Provide three peer references who consider you to be a leader in your community.

Best Concept 

• Your ‘elevator pitch’.
• Details of your management team.
• Who your target market is and how they will benefit .
• Who are your competitors and why are you different.
• What your growth potential is.

Best Employer

• Explanation of how you have motivated and empowered employees to grow your business.
• Your employee related challenges and how you’ve resolved them.
• How you balance your drive for profit and growth with caring for your employees and community.
• Your employee recruitment strategies.
• Your policies for improving employee welfare.
• Your company’s achievements in the last two years. How you have retained your employees.

Best Green Business

• Describe what qualifies you to be a recipient of the award.
• Demonstrate how your leadership has provided support for energy and environmental policies in your business.
• List the key efficiency and sustainability projects and improvements you have made to your business over the last three years.
• Describe your ongoing commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency.
• Demonstrate your influence over key stakeholders including suppliers and customers.

Best Online Marketer 

• Describe your campaign’s email marketing and social media integration strategy.
• Demonstrate how your campaign has increased customer engagement.
• Outline the specific goals of the campaign and how they aligned with your overall company goals.
• Provide an estimated value of investment amount for the campaign, in dollars and/or time and resources.
• Describe the positive results of the campaign and its overall impact on your company.