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The Little Pig Consulting Business Excellence Awards 2024 assessment process consists of 3 parts:

• written application – 40% of the assessment;
• judges’ site visit and presentation from the applicant – 50% of the assessment; and
• 30 second to 1-minute video of the business – 10% of the assessment. (Note: all finalists will be given the opportunity to resubmit a 1 minute video for the gala dinner and for the  Toowoomba Chamber  to promote your business.)

Note:  Judges will be advised that they should reduce applicant scores who exceed word and video limits length limits.  The site visit will give you the opportunity to showcase your business. During the site visit, judges will want to see evidence of your strategy, vision, and values coming to life in the applicant’s business. All judges are to visit each applicant together to reduce disruption to the business.

• • All applications MUST be signed and authorised by a Senior Executive of the company or event applying.
  • All applications must be submitted by Monday 22 July 2024 at 9am. Please note – there will be no extensions this year.
  • Businesses may enter more than one category. A separate application will be required per category that the applicant would like to apply for. Note: While applicants can enter more than one category, it is highly recommended that the applicants enter the category where they can demonstrate a competitive edge.
  • All applications MUST be submitted electronically through this form ONLY, including the signed declaration. Without this signature the application will not be accepted. NO USB’s or hand delivered applications will be accepted.
  • Judges may at their discretion, re-categorise an application, if it is felt appropriate. You will be advised if this change is made.
  • All applications are judged by a selection of independent judges.
  • All applications are confidential, and all judges sign a deed of confidentiality and conflict of interest agreement.
     

Business strategy is key to success. This section is about demonstrating a sound understanding of business goals and objectives including evidence of strategic direction, goal setting and the processes you have in place to achieve them.

In this section of the application describe how you work ‘on’ your business. Focus on planning methods, including when you plan, how you plan, frequency of reviews and who is involved.

Did you:

• submit a summary of your strategic plan or business plan (maximum three pages)
• describe your strategic or business planning process
• outline how you link your strategic plan or business strategy to day-to-day operations
• outline your vision and values and how they are embedded in the organisation and communicated to the team
• describe what benefit your business has received from strategic planning and business planning.

PRO TIP: During the site visit, judges will want to see evidence of your strategy, vision and values coming to life in your business.

Successful businesses know what drives their economic engine and what they need to measure to ensure they are building a long-term sustainable and profitable business.   Metrics are important to a business.  It helps track how a business is performing and how it benchmarks itself.

Did you:

• outline the key indicators on how your business measures its performance
• provide evidence of financial literacy, financial management practices and performance (profitability, liquidity, sustainability of the business) such as graphic representations of financial performance
• demonstrate how you measure customer relationships, customer retention, customer growth
• show the other tools and measures you use to monitor performance
• outline your quality assurance processes and procedures
• outline how your business focuses on continuous improvement.

People are the central component of all businesses. How businesses manage this important resource and the initiatives they put in place to ensure the development and professional progression of their staff is a critical component of excellence in business.

Did you:

• describe your people practices your business has in place for the life span of an employee – from hire until the leave the business
• outline your attraction and retention strategies
• illustrate how you onboard new employees
• describe your training and development programs
• highlight your inclusion and diversity policies and practices and success stories
• outline how you focus on workplace culture and staff engagement and staff wellbeing
• demonstrate your leadership model and how they invest in their leaders.

Note:  Sole Traders who choose not to complete this section will receive an automatic 3/5 score.

Businesses need to understand who their customers are, how to attract them, what their needs are and how to retain/create loyal customers from them.

Did you:

• describe your approach to attracting and retaining customers
• provide evidence of your understanding of your target market and customer needs
• demonstrate your marketing/promotional activities
• outline your unique selling proposition and what gives you, your competitive advantage
• articulate your unique value proposition identifying why your customers need your product and/or service
• show your customer service strategies/ethos
• outline how they keep abreast of customer needs and satisfaction.

A key component of excellence is engagement with and support of the broader Toowoomba community.  The Toowoomba business community has a legacy of engaging and giving back to the community including volunteering, sponsoring local charities and interest groups, and holding events to support and contribute to the development of the local community.

Did you:

• describe how your business engages with and helps to support the broader community
• Describe how your business implements practical environmental actions, to meet your sustainability goals.
• identify what local community support (in-kind, financial etc.) you provide
• show how you are involved in community awards and accolades.

Innovation, entrepreneurship, and resilience enable businesses to respond to challenges, capitalise on opportunities, adapt quickly, create efficiencies, and lead to long term growth and sustainability.  Excellence in business does not necessarily mean being immune to the impact of the business environment, rather it is about the business’ ability to face and recover from adversity and the agility to change and adapt when needed.

Did you:

• demonstrate your innovative practices implemented to drive success
• show your entrepreneurship in the development of a process or practice to enhance their business growth
• highlight the challenges your business faced, and measures put in place to be resilient in the changing business environment
• show your businesses changes and expected long-term impact on operations and overall net benefits
• discuss any unintended outcomes from the changes – positive and negative.

Applicants are afforded the opportunity to sell their ‘business excellence’ by highlighting how their business displays and delivers excellence. 

Did your one-minute video pitch describe:

• who you are
• what your business does
• why you believe you are excellent and an award-winning business.

Note:  All finalists will be offered the opportunity to complete a new video for the Focus HR Business Excellence Awards 2023 Gala Awards Dinner.

(we will do our very best to accommodate your times)