The Judging Process
A new, fairer, judging process
This year’s awards will have a new, more detailed and fairer judging process. The first step will see the My Business team work with a panel of business experts to develop a shortlist of five finalists for each category. Those experts will include My Business columnists, representatives of the SME Association of Australia as well as representatives of industry associations and people with special experience relevant to the award.
Awards criteria
Novelty – This year we are looking for unique businesses. You won’t need to demonstrate that there’s no business on the planet like yours, but we will be looking for businesses that have their own style. We’ll also mark down businesses that have won My Business Awards (or other small business awards) in the past, to encourage first-time entries. But rest assured previous winners will not be disadvantaged.
Creativity – This criteria will assess the degree to which entrants express brand values and creativity in all aspects of their presentation, to the public and to the judges.
Innovation – Judges will assess the extent to which an entry represents a new approach to business challenges. Any business can follow best practice: this criteria will reward those who have pioneered methods that made their business stand out.
Outcomes – Entrants will be asked to demonstrate the outcomes their business has achieved. Judges will value demonstrable growth, be it financial, geographical or in staff skills. Outcomes will have a heavy weighting so that the awards celebrate measurable achievements.
Bonus points
The 2014 My Business Awards will offer bonus points for businesses that go the extra mile with their entries. Videos, large numbers of friends (for entries that use social media) or creative campaigning for the awards will be able to score bonus points with the judges. One tactic we feel will be adopted by several entrants is posting a supporting video to YouTube – how hard can it be to add a little video to an entry now that just about every phone includes a camera?
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