Fun and rewards in Westpac awards

By ELLEN READ

About 50 North Shore businesses have taken their first step towards business excellence.

They braved driving rain on a Wednesday night last month to attend a pre-entry workshop for the Enterprise North Shore Westpac Business Excellence Awards.

Judges, sponsors and past winners explained the different categories - including tourism and export awards for the first time - and the criteria for entry.

Although the awards are deadly serious and have great marketing and publicity spin-offs, the advice from convener of judges Gordon Lamont, from Canon, was that firms should have fun entering them.

Past winner Murray Thoms from Envision Presentations told the potential entrants that last year's victory - in the innovation category - raised his firm's profile and he now uses the fact that they are an award winner on their company stationery.

"We've done quite a bit of business since where people have asked specifically about the awards."

Westpac sponsors and supports regional business excellence awards throughout New Zealand. The scheme runs until October.

Entries for the North Shore awards close on June 19.

Companies do not have to have attended a workshop to enter.

www.enterprisens.org.nz