Previous Winners & Judges Feedback
Samuel Leeds
Outstanding Entrepreneur
Commenting on Samuel Leeds, the winner in the Outstanding Entrepreneur category, the chairman of the judges said: :
““Samuel Leeds is one of the UK’s youngest property entrepreneurs who has achieved incredible success at a young age through sheer hard work and his Christian faith. He bought his first property at only 17, and today, ten years later, he has more than 50 properties, a property investment training school, a letting agency, a construction company and has written two self-help books. Samuel’s business ventures are not about creating wealth for himself: he simply sees it as a means to helping others in need in Africa and the UK. Congratulations to Samuel for being a go-getting entrepreneur with a big heart.””
Dubai Statistics Centre
Outstanding Non-Executive Director
Commenting on Mr Meshal Ibraham Al Hammadi, Dubai Statistics Centre, the winner in the Outstanding Non-Executive Director category, the chairman of the judges said: :
““Since joining Dubai Statistics Centre in 2009, Mr Al Hammadi has had a huge impact across the organisation and greatly improved performance. In his current role as Director of the Resources & Corporate Communication Department, he has brought in many new initiatives for staff and clients including day care for children and a new website and mobile application for customers. Mr Al Hammadi has demonstrated that he is a highly driven and talented individual who has turned the organisation around and transformed it into a leading innovator and role model in Dubai.” ”
Dubai Statistics Centre
Best Employer
Commenting on Dubai Statistics Centre, the winner in the Outstanding Employer category, the chairman of the judges said: :
““Dubai Statistics Centre believes that people are at the heart of a successful organisational and through its ‘Happiest Work Family’ initiative and its ‘Positive is our Energy’ slogan, it has created a culture of cooperation, openness, loyalty, belonging and engagement. By establishing a centre of excellence, it has helped the organisation excel and achieve its business objectives. The outcomes are astonishing and for six years in a row Dubai Statistics Centre has come first in the Dubai government employees’ happiness index. Congratulations to the management team at Dubai Statistics Centre for making the organisation a great place to work.””
Chiswick Park
Best Corporate Social Responsibility
Commenting on Chiswick Park, the winner in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility category, the chairman of the judges said: :
““Chiswick Park’s ‘Enjoy Tomorrow’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative places caring for the environment and making a difference to local communities high on its agenda. With 9,000 people working at the campus, saving energy and recycling is a top priority. Almost 60% of waste is recycled, new LED lighting has cut energy consumption and rainwater is recycled. Chiswick Park, run by Enjoy-Work property management company, is an innovator in CSR and a role model for other business parks to follow.” ”
National Care Group
Best Employer
Commenting on National Care Group, the winner in the Best Employer category, the chairman of the judges said: :
““National Care Group is a caring company that looks after its employees just as well as its customers. It offers its staff of 2,000 a range of benefits and a well-being programme, plus a wide range of development opportunities including formal and online courses. The success of the organisation is based on two-way communication and continuous training of staff. Congratulations to National Care Group for supporting its staff to grow their knowledge, take control of their career and take it to the limit.””
APT Training & Consultancy Ltd
Best Employer
Commenting on APT Training & Consultancy Ltd, the winner in the Best Employer category, the chairman of the judges said: :
““APT Training & Consultancy, a provider of post qualification training in mental health, has created a friendly yet professional working environment that attracts and retains the best staff. As well as enjoying working in APT’s offices located in the beautiful Leicestershire countryside, staff are offered a wide range of benefits including bonuses, social events and health and travel insurance. Most importantly, APT puts a huge amount of effort into sourcing the right person for the job and providing continuous training. Congratulations to APT for obtaining the Investors in People Gold Award in 2018 and creating a great place to work.””
- What are the benefits of winning awards?
- How to write a successful award entry
- What are the best awards to enter?
- How to start your business awards programme
- How to impress the judges
- Success stories
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National Care Group
Best Customer Focus
Commenting on National Care Group, the winner in the Best Customer Focus category, the chairman of the judges said: :
““National Care Group is a game-changing care organisation that supports young people and adults with a range of physical and neuro disabilities to become the best they can. National Care Group is only two years old and has won a host of awards for treating each person as an individual and developing bespoke programmes for them. Its motto is ‘delivering national services locally’ and all services including residential and home care are designed to be of the highest quality and affordable. Congratulations to National Care Group for making life better for those with disabilities.””
Regent Group
Best Small to Medium-sized Business
Commenting on Regent Group, the winner in the Best Small to Medium-sized Business category, the chairman of the judges said: :
““Congratulations to Regent Group for making vocational and higher education up to postgraduate level more accessible to everyone. Its concept of creating local universities with small campuses for up to 1,500 people is helping to bridge the skills gap. The idea of its local university model is that students can live at home, which drastically cuts the cost of going to college. Only founded in 2000, growth has been incredibly strong and it now has four campuses in London, a virtual college in the UK and two campuses in Toronto, Canada with more in the pipeline.””
PJ Lhuillier
Best Communication
Commenting on PJ Lhuillier, the winner in the Best Communication category, the chairman of the judges said: :
““Philippines-based microfinance company Cebuano Lhuillier’s Valentine’s day digital competition to win a date with actor and heartthrob Alden Richards, the company’s brand ambassador, has created a whirlwind of a PR campaign. Invented by the company’s digital team, the competition instantly appealed to its female customer base and was cleverly designed to maximise online posts about the event. The highlight was the video launch of the date itself on 14 February, which reached more than three million people. Congratulations to Cebuano Lhuillier for warming up customers to the brand and creating a fun, exciting competition.””
Dubai Statistics Centre
Outstanding Employee
Commenting on Ms Najeeba Husain Abdulla Al Marzooqi, Dubai Statistics Centre, the winner in the Outstanding Employee category, the chairman of the judges said: :
““Ms Najeeba Marzooqi is a star employee who has excelled in all her statistical roles and shows great devotion to her employer. She has taken responsibility for many key government programmes, represents Dubai Statistics Centre at meetings with external organisations and has introduced innovative new ways of working that have cut costs and improved the quality of statistics. As an expert in statistics, it is admirable that Ms Marzooqi has played a leading role in running a statistical awareness programme for schools and universities. Ms Marzooqi is a talented individual who has an exceptional career ahead of her.””
Garanti Bank
Best New Product / Service (less than 2 years old)
Commenting on Garanti Bank, the winner in the Best New Product / Service (less than two years old) category, the chairman of the judges said: :
““Garanti Bank’s one-stop motorcycle loan must be the fastest in the market, taking only 10 minutes to complete at point of sale by contracted dealers. By making the online auto loan system available to dealers, it makes them more appealing to consumers helping them attract more business. And it’s helping Garanti Bank win more business too. The company already has 10% of the Turkish market and this is expected to zoom ahead and at least double.” ”
Birevim
Best New Product / Service (less than 2 years old)
Commenting on Birevim, the winner in the Best New Product/Service less than two years old category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“Congratulations to Turkish lender Birevim for inventing a brilliant new loan product for larger items and achieving spectacular growth and customer satisfaction. Customers pay a single 9% commission based on the value of the purchase and there are no interest rates and customer can choose their repayment plans. With such flexibility and no exposure to rises in interest rates, Birevim only launched in 2016 yet its innovative new products are so popular that it is seeing stronger growth than the banks.”
Director of Marketing, Solihull College
Winning a Best Business Award has provided us with a platform to raise our profile via the media. Since winning we have secured press coverage in key national and regional publications regarding the great work we are doing and we have attracted students to the college that may not have otherwise heard about us.
I would recommend the Best Business Awards to any dynamic organisation that wants to prove to stakeholders that it is delivering.
co-founder of Concert Live
If you are a young business without much marketing spend, then entering awards can be a cost-effective way of generating positive marketing and PR, because you are thrown into the spotlight. It also offers a seal of approval.
Potential customers can look at that and think “I’m happy to do business with this company”, because they have that recognition.
Director, Computerlinks
Experience has shown that an award gives massive credence to our business, particularly when talking to new customers and vendors that have not dealt directly with us in the past. With existing partners, it reinforces the fact they have made the right choice to work with us.
If I equated the benefits of winning an award to other forms of channel marketing, we would probably have to spend tens of thousands of pounds to get similar levels of impact.
Turkish Economy Bank (TEB)
Best Product / Service Range
Commenting on Turkish Economy Bank (TEB), the winner in the Best New Product/Service category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“With small farmers the most vulnerable to climate change, TEB has launched a bespoke weather report service for farmers called Benim Havam that enables them to respond to minute changes in weather to help them protect their crops. The Turkish bank asked its small farmer clients what would help them the most and they said more precise weather predictions. The weather reports are issued every two days and already more than 4,000 small farmers have signed up. Benim Havam is a vital service that is helping farmers modernised their practices and secure the supply of fresh food for the country.”
Boundless by CSMA
Best Health & Safety
Commenting on Boundless by CSMA, the winner in the Best Employer category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“Membership club Boundless by CSMA has seen startling results after undergoing a cultural transformation and becoming people focused. By creating a work environment that encourages people to do their best; profits, staff engagement, new memberships and customer retention have soared to new highs. The most effective changes are to communicate the company’s strategy to staff and encourage them to reach their full potential. The restructuring and empowerment of staff has revitalised Boundless and given it a new lease of life.”
Birevim
Best Innovation
Commenting on Birevim, the winner in the Best Innovation category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“At a time when the Turkish economy started to falter, Birevim has seen spectacular growth by bringing out ground-breaking products for niche markets. Birevim means a ‘home of my own’ and that is what it has given to those who struggle to buy their own home. Instead of interest, customers pay an upfront fee of 9% and can choose their own repayment plan. The loans can be used as a mortgage or for other items such as cars. Congratulations to Birevim for giving poorer people the opportunity to improve their lives without overburdening themselves with debt.”
DJS (UK) Limited
Best Information Technology
Commenting on DJS (UK) Limited, the winner in the Best Information Technology category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“Innovative finance/technology company DJS (UK) Limited has transformed the lending application process by building a new underwriting platform and a new scorecard system that eliminates human error and more accurately assesses customers. The scorecards are segmented into targeted groups of customers and, once fully tested, the big advantage is that they can be fully deployed within minutes. Additionally, all customer information is now held in one place, creating new efficiencies. Congratulations to DJS for improving the underwriting process and helping the company to provide faster decisions on risk for short-term loans and better customer service.”
KEDS Academy
Best Corporate Social Responsibility
Commenting on KEDS Academy, the winner in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“Kosovo Electricity Distribution Services (KEDS) has bridged the gap in educational facilities in Kosovo by setting up its own academy in partnership with Bogazici University of Istanbul. KEDS Academy is unique in that it offers both theoretical and practical lessons for university level and high school students, which helps to make them more employable. Since the academy opened in 2014, more than 200 students have graduated with most moving into employment. Not only is this a great idea, by equipping people with the right skills, KEDS Academy is having a profound impact on the rebuilding of Kosovo.”
DJS (UK) Limited
Best Small to Medium-sized Business
Commenting on DJS (UK) Limited, the winner in the Best Small to Medium-sized Business category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“DJS (UK) Limited has seen a massive improvement in all aspects of its business performance following the implementation of an innovative, new customer administration system including a bespoke customer relation management system. The new system has resulted in calls with clients exceeding expectations rising to 89% from 54% while productivity in the number of calls made by agents rose by 28%. DJS (UK) Limited is now on a firm footing to take on any new challenges that comes it way.”
EyeKandy
Best Innovation
Commenting on EyeKandy, the winner in the Best Innovation category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“EyeKandy’s augmented reality (AR) product for shopping called Point and Place is a total gamer changer. It allows shoppers to see a product, such as a sofa, in their home on their phone via an app or it can be used in store on a tablet. Only launched in June 2018, Point and Place has taken the retail market by storm. Some stores have already reported a 30% increase in sales from clients using Point and Place. Congratulations to EyeKandy for using technology to help lift retail sales.”
Boundless by CSMA
Best Employer
Commenting on Boundless by CSMA, the winner in the Best Employer category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“Membership club Boundless by CSMA has seen startling results after undergoing a cultural transformation and becoming people focused. By creating a work environment that encourages people to do their best; profits, staff engagement, new memberships and customer retention have soared to new highs. The most effective changes are to communicate the company’s strategy to staff and encourage them to reach their full potential. The restructuring and empowerment of staff has revitalised Boundless and given it a new lease of life.”
Qualsafe Group
Best Small to Medium-sized Business
Commenting on Qualsafe Group, the winner in the Best Small to Medium-sized Business category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“Qualsafe is an agile, innovative publishing and qualifications company that has raised standards of training in first aid, health and safety and pre-hospital treatment to platinum level. By bringing out award-winning and market-leading new training products and qualifications, Qualsafe has seen strong, steady growth. Its e-learning for first-aid trainers is exceptional and ensures that they are kept up to date with new practices. Well done to Qualsafe for raising standards in first response training and helping to save more lives.”
DJS (UK) Limited
Best Customer Focus
Commenting on DJS (UK) Limited, the winner in the Best Customer Focus category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“After introducing a new in-house customer admin system with its own custom-made customer relationship management (CRM) system, DJS (UK) Limited has placed customer focus high on its agenda. Its aim is to deliver the right outcomes and provide customers with the most suitable short-term loan. Contact agents now have more time to deal with clients and calls are up by 28%. Agents are also able to make the right decisions instantly because of better information from the CRM system. Congratulations to DJS (UK) Limited for undertaking such a massive customer admin project inhouse and achieving great feedback from clients.”
Scott Lester founder of EyeKandy and Flixmedia
Outstanding Entrepreneur
Commenting on Scott Lester founder of EyeKandy and Flixmedia, the winner in the Outstanding Entrepreneur category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“Scott Lester literally rose from sweeping the floor in a technology company to owning the building the firm was based in and founding two highly successful, international technology/media firms. His first company Flixmedia helps companies maximise sales across all channels and now operates in 80 countries. His latest venture EyeKandy uses augmented reality to promote products and is also a resounding global success. Congratulations to Scott for delivering cutting-edge advanced technology tools that supports retailers around the world and for making a huge contribution to the UK and international economies.”
Bridgetime Transport
Best Employer
Commenting on Bridgetime Transport, the winner in the Best Employer category, the chairman of the judges said: :
“The fact that the nomination for this award came from staff speaks volumes and shows that they really appreciate Bridgetime Transport’s considerate policies. Despite growing from a handful of people in 2002 to 90 today, Bridgetime has retained its family values and treats staff like one big family. The company aims to take on people and apprentices from the local community in Cwmbran, Wales and those who lack work experience are also given a chance to prove themselves. As well as being a great employer, Bridgetime also supports local activities and charities. Bridgetime Transport is not only the largest employer in the vicinity, officially it’s the best employer.”
