Business Awards FAQs

Taking place every two years, the awards are North Canterbury’s premier business event and celebrate all that is great about business in North Canterbury. We honour the best businesses in our region and bring the business community together for a great night out at the awards ceremony.

Even the process of entering is useful as it provides a structured opportunity to sit down and reflect on where you have come from, what you have achieved and what makes your business fantastic.

Entrants have reported improved staff morale, increased awareness of their business and subsequent increases in sales and partnerships. Entrants have also told of gaining a stronger feeling of participation in the North Canterbury business community, meeting other business owners and finding out about other local businesses that they weren’t aware of.

There is also, of course, the chance of glory in being crowned the best in your category or the MainPower Supreme Award winner.

Online entry forms will only be available from June 13th to August 15th.

The entry form does take several hours to fill out, but you can save your progress any time and continue later. Entrants report that while it is a decent piece of work to fill out the entry form, it is hugely rewarding as it gives you an opportunity to sit down and really reflect on all you have accomplished.

All entries then go to our panel of expert judges. The judges will then decide which businesses will be shortlisted. Those businesses will be invited to attend the gala dinner at the MainPower Stadium in Rangiora on October 31st where the winners and runners-up will be announced.

It’s free to enter the awards – the only cost to you is time.

If you are shortlisted as a finalist, you will be invited to purchase Gala tickets ($195+GST). There is no obligation to attend the awards gala, but it’s a great night and there is no better feeling than going up to accept your award. We encourage you to bring staff to the gala. A big night out with a chance of winning an award is great for morale and cohesiveness

Businesses and social enterprises of all types and sizes compete in the business awards, from small one-man-bands to major franchises employing hundreds of people. They cover the gamut of industries. There are commercial businesses and not-for-profit organisations that run in a business-like manner.

We judge each organisation on their merits, taking into account the size, age and support available to each business. We measure your organisation against where we would expect it to be at the current stage rather than by size or maturity.

This means that a small business has just as much chance of winning as bigger, more mature businesses, as long as they are run well and are achieving their goals.

The application form is made up of three sections. The judges use a scoring guide to help them decide who the winners and runners up are in each category. Each question has more detail and explanation in the application form. The examples listed below are a summary version so that you can get a feel for what will be asked. Throughout the application form there are ‘upload boxes’ where you can attach files to your application if you think that is appropriate.

Section One – Organisational Excellence – 25% of score for category award

This section aims to discover how well your organisation operates in general:

• What is your unique selling point?
• What is your vision for the next 5-10 years?
• How do you go about creating your strategy?
• How do you build loyalty with your stakeholders?
• How do you promote your product or service?
• How good are your processes and systems?

Section Two – Category Excellence – 50% of score for category award

The questions in this section change based on the category you decide to compete in.  They ask specific questions to help you show why you should be considered as the best in your field.

Section Three – Financial Results – 25% of score for category award

This section is not judged on highest revenue or profit, it’s judged on how well your financial picture meets your goals and how well you manage your money. You are expected to upload a copy of your accounts for the judges to look through and there are questions on how you set your budgets, how well your financial results compare to your budgets and what your key performance indicators are.

Your financial details provide a window into a great deal of information about your business. Without them we simply cannot assess your business.

Providing your accounts is an essential part of the application process and if you do not do so your application will not be accepted.

Context is everything. Even if you made a loss, that will not necessarily damage your chances of winning if your business is still being run wisely, there is a good reason for the loss, and you can show that your fortunes are likely to improve. Sometimes a year of loss is deliberate – you may have made large capital purchases or have restructured your business operations. The more you can explain about your situation, the easier it will be for the judges to fairly assess your application.

Even if you simply had a bad year last year it is still worth applying. The likelihood is that most businesses in your category are in the same situation. The profile boost you get from entering may be enough to help improve your situation.

Of course.

The only people who see your application are the two co-ordinators (Guy and Miles) and the judges.

Everyone signs a confidentiality agreement which states that they will not use, exploit or disclose any of the information you provide.

After the awards any physical and electronic copies of your application are destroyed.

Let’s be honest: The North Canterbury News People’s Choice Award is a pure popularity contest. Businesses with a large and loyal customer base and some marketing nous are far more likely to succeed in this category. But this award is not about winning. We encourage you to look at it as an excuse to promote the fact that you are part of a business awards event, and to touch base with all your clients, customers and suppliers to let them know you are competing and to ask them to vote for you.

Competing in this award is a genuine opportunity to shamlessly promote your business and to grow your mana with the people you want to impress. Even if you don’t think you will win, this award acts as a great excuse to put your name out there and grow your customer base.

Worth entering? We think so!

For the rules around entering the North Canterbury News People’s Choice award go to our Entry Guidelines page.