Businesses – Entry Criteria
The business entry criteria is outlined below.
The maximum word count is 2500 words including the Business Summary section. The number of words per criteria are just a guide. Business entrants may allocate more words to a particular answer over another.
Please note: All the criteria carry the same weight when the judges score your entry.
Online Form: It is an online entry application. Click Here to submit your answers to the below criteria. You must submit your answers to the entry criteria in the online format. Do NOT upload a separate document with your answers. It is recommended that you document your responses in a word document to allow you to share with your team for input. Your answers to the entry criteria can then be copied and pasted to your online application. It is always good to have a back-up! The online written entry accounts towards 50% of your total score.
First Time Entrants – Complimentary free review service
If you are a first-time entrant or have never been a finalist of the business awards (including individual entrants), you are able to email your written entry (word format only) to the awards team for initial feedback from our appointed review judges. Draft entries will be accepted from the 2nd to the 31st of June 2025. This is a free service. Email: gbea@geelongchamber.com.au Once you have received your feedback from the review judges, you will need to formally submit online by 4pm, 11th of July, 2025
The business summary section will not be scored by the judges. However, your responses may be used for marketing purposes e.g. content for media releases, social media, features on the GBEA website, awards presentation etc. Please note: All other parts of your submission will be kept strictly confidential and will only be viewed by the judging panel.
1. Please provide a general overview of your business
Tips:
– Assume the judges do not know your business.
– Explain what your business does and include the number of employees.
– What is your unique selling proposition versus your competition?
2. Please share why your business is considered excellent?
Important Items
Please provide the following (if applicable):
– Business website address:
– Name of business Facebook page:
– Name of business Instagram page:
– Name of Business LinkedIn page:
Please note: The judging panel will not be viewing your website and social media platforms. This information will be used by the awards team and partners to tag businesses when finalists and winners are announced.
Entrant Photo
It’s important that we have a publication-ready photo should we require to promote you on our website, social media or other mediums. Please provide a photo of your team, or yourself if you are entering as an individual. If this is not possible, we recommend a photo that represents your business – such as employees at work or your office/worksite.
Please supply us with a minimum of 1 high resolution colour photo:
High Resolution (ideally minimum HD 1920×1080 pixels) (JPEG or PNG)
Do not edit the photo with graphic elements
Do not provide graphic layouts / collages
We may edit and crop your photo for different mediums. Try to keep subject(s) central to avoid lost detail.
Business Logo
Should we require to promote your business on our website, social media or other mediums, we require your business logo. Logos will be displayed in full-colour on a white background. Please supply us with your business logo:
Vector Format preferred (EPS, SVG, PDF)
OR
High Resolution image (minimum HD 1920×1080 pixels) (JPEG or PNG)
1. Business Achievements – 400 to 450 words
Please note: You are NOT required to state actual results in dollars ($), use percentage terms (%)
2. Describe your business achievements over the last 3 years.
Tips:
Consider the following areas:
– Awards
– Capital expenditure
– Changes to your costs and expenses
– Financial achievements
– New employees
– How do you measure against industry competition?
– Revenue generation
– Organisational restructure
Please note: The judges are aware of the impact of COVID-19 to all businesses. As a result, you won’t be marked down due to closing businesses etc during this time.
Please base your responses to the remaining questions from 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025 period.
3. Describe innovative practices you have introduced.
Tips:
Innovation – example of new growth, products or services, use of technology including AI.
An innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (goods or services) or process, use of technology including AI, new marketing method, or a new organisational method in business practices, workplace organisation or external relations.
3.0 Describe your sustainability & environmental initiatives & accomplishments.
Tips:
Describe any efforts to:
• Make your power or lighting more efficient and/or use clean energy.
• Optimise water usage and implement conservation measures.
• Work towards a circular economy by designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, reducing and recycling waste and regenerating natural systems.
• Produce or supply goods or services which achieve positive environmental outcomes (e.g.
greenhouse gas emissions, reductions, energy efficiency, reduced waste, reduced material use or are
designed for a longer life).
• Track the benefits of your environmental activities (e.g. costs savings, carbon emissions
reductions, reductions in water use or waste, improved staff/customer satisfaction due to your sustainable initiatives, increased awareness among staff/customers/suppliers).
• Engage with staff and/or the community on sustainability, environmental practices or clean economy practices through committees/meetings (e.g. education programs about the local impacts of climate change, tree planting, volunteering activities etc encouraging the community and your network to adopt to sustainable practices).
• Engagement and influence with your customers, suppliers, contractors and partners to reduce waste, conserve water and save energy, increase renewable energy consumption, protect natural spaces and reduce carbon emissions.
• Describe the processes, including training, for your business to achieve the environmental
and/or sustainability outcomes you’ve achieved.
1. Who is your target audience?
Tips:
– Who is your customer or your target customer and where do they come from? How do you understand your customer?
2. Describe your marketing strategy?
Tips:
– What is the market you operate in and why? (i.e the opportunity to sell your product or service, competitive landscape).
– What is your unique selling proposition and what makes you different to your competitors?
– Distribution channels – How/where do you sell or distribute your product or service? i.e. shop front, online, wholesale, direct to consumer?
– Promotional strategy – how do you promote your business and or create demand for your product and service? What tactics do you deploy (i.e. sales and promotions, giveaways?)
– What advertising channels do you use? (i.e. print, online, digital, social media, email, radio, outdoor advertising, sponsorships, PR, ambassadors). Over what time period does your promotional activities run?
– How do you manage your marketing activities – do you self-manage or seek support of a 3rd party?
– How do you measure success of your marketing and promotions effort?
– Can you share results from a successful marketing campaign you ran?
3. Describe your digital marketing strategy?
Tips:
How do you demonstrate the effective use of digital tools and techniques to produce strategic, resourceful content to engage people and create meaningful interactions.
1. Describe your approach to customer service?
Tips:
– Describe your overarching philosophy towards customer service. How does it guide your interactions with customers? Provide examples.
– Explain the methods you employ to quantitively measure customer service. How do these metrics inform your service improvement strategies? Provide examples (i.e. guest surveys, feedback etc).
– Discuss how you cultivate high service standards within your organisation. What role does effective management play in upholding these standards?
– Detail your process for handling customer complaints, with an emphasis on strategies that prevent issues from recurring. Can you provide an example where handling a complaint led to improved customer service or product?
– Explain how you cultivate customer loyalty. What specific strategies have you implemented to ensure customers return to your business?
– How do you acknowledge and leverage positive feedback to motivate your team and improve customer service?
2. Describe your approach to addressing inclusiveness and accessibility.
Tips:
– Social Inclusion policies and practices (for example equitable access to services, promoting a positive attitude towards diversity, offering choices to accommodate different needs, establishing partnerships with community organizations, ensuring clear and effective communication accessible to all, and providing equal opportunities for employment, advancement, and participation).
– Physically accessible to everyone: For example, barrier-free entrances, accessible rest rooms, and navigation paths within the space.
– Adherence to Universal Design Principles: Designing your products, service and environment to be usable by the widest range of people without the need for adaptation or specialised design. Key principles include flexibility in use, simple & intuitive use, low physical effort, and adequate size and space for approach and use.
– Accessible information for customers: Provide information about your products, services and facilities in formats accessible for all customers, including those with sensory, cognitive or learning disabilities. For example, braille, large print signs, audio descriptions and easy to understand language, as well as digital accessibility in websites and mobile applications.
– Positive attitude towards people with disabilities: Demonstrate a welcoming and respectful attitude towards individuals with disabilities. This includes training staff to communicate effectively and sensitively with people who have various types of disabilities, ensuring that all customers feel valued and respected.
– Staff training: Conduct training for staff on how to assist and interact with people with disabilities, including understanding the correct etiquette and language to use, and how to offer assistance without assuming incapacity.
– Feedback mechanism: Implement a feedback mechanism where customers can share their experiences and suggestions for improvement.
– Representation in marketing: Include people with disabilities in your marketing and advertising campaigns to reflect diversity and signal inclusivity.
– Community Engagement: Partner with organisations that support people with disabilities to understand their needs better and collaborate on initiatives that promote inclusivity.
3. Describe your approach to addressing corporate social responsibility.
Tips:
How do your employment practices support your local community?
– Are your employees paid well?
– Do you offer reasonable, flexible, or customisable, working arrangements that go beyond legislated minimums?
– Do you have an employment policy that preferences employees that live in your area/locality/local community?
– How many training positions (apprentices, trainees, interns etc.) do you maintain?
– What are your employment policies relating to diversity and inclusion?
Are your products or services designed, sourced, produced, and marketed ethically and honestly?
– Are your products or services (customer / user experiences) designed for ease of use, safety, and quality?
– Are your products or services made with quality, ethically, locally sourced inputs?
– To what degree are your inputs sourced locally and how/why was that decision made?
– What do you do to ensure your supply chain is free from exploitation?
– Are you able to demonstrate truth in advertising principles?
Do you conduct your business activities in compliance with good corporate governance principles?
Can you demonstrate your commitment to conducting business with reference to any or all of the following principles:
– Transparency – open communication concerning business activities
– Accountability – clearly defined roles and responsibilities and processes to hold people to account for their decisions/performance.
– Integrity – Does your business do the right thing? Does it display high ethical standards?
– Fairness – Do you have equitable access to information, opportunities, and resources, fair and transparent processes?
– Responsibility – Consider the economic, social, cultural, and environmental impacts of your business.
– Independence – Do you have a board? Do you have independent directors? Are your financials independently audited?
– Compliance – How do you ensure compliance with all laws, regulations, industry standards, policies and procedures?
– Stakeholder Engagement – How do you engage and maintain engagement with your stakeholders?
Can you demonstrate your record of addressing stakeholder concerns in an open, honest, and timely manner?
Philanthropy and Corporate Donations/Giving
– Who do you support and why?
– Do you partner with any other business to deliver goods or services to charitable organisations?
– Do you provide support to multiple sectors? (sporting, charitable, social welfare/disadvantage etc.)
– How do you provide support? (Financially, in-kind, loan out employees, allow employees extra paid time off to volunteer, etc.)
Economic & Social Impact
– What is/are the economic, social or cultural impacts of your CSR efforts?
– Do you measure your social return on investment (SROI)?
Please note: If you are a home-based or micro business, please address the following questions on how you develop, support, and monitor your productivity and skills or how you add these values to your customers and clients.
1. Outline your business strategies
Tips:
– How do your company’s employee practices align with its overall business strategy and objectives?
– Can you provide examples of how your employee initiatives contribute to achieving your company’s strategic goals?
– Describe how your company’s culture fosters innovation and supports the implementation of new business initiatives.
– Can you discuss the role of employee feedback and engagement in shaping your company’s strategic decision-making processes?
– How do you integrate employee performance metrics and feedback loops into your strategic planning and execution?
– Describe any specific employee-focused initiatives that have directly contributed to improving business performance or achieving key milestones.
– What measures does your company take to ensure that employee values and behaviours align with the core values and strategic direction of the business?
– What is your company’s recruitment strategy for attracting and keeping talent?
2. Explain why your business is an Employer of Choice.
An Employer of Choice business strives to create a workplace that maximises the full potential of its people by providing opportunities to grow and advance them both personally and professionally
Tips:
– How does your company prioritise employee well-being and work-life balance?
– Can you provide examples of initiatives or programs aimed at promoting employee satisfaction and engagement?
– What types of benefits and perks does your business offer to support employee retention and happiness?
– How does your business foster a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion?
– Describe the opportunities for professional development and career growth available to employees.
– How does leadership communicate with and support employees throughout the business?
– Can you share any employee testimonials or feedback that highlight your positive workplace culture?
– How does your business encourage collaboration and teamwork among employees?
– What measures does your business take to ensure fair and transparent processes for performance evaluation and promotion?
– How does your company handle feedback and suggestions from employees to continuously improve the workplace environment?
3. Describe your practices to support a workplace culture focusing on health and wellbeing.
Tips:
– Describe how you communicate and model your commitment to health and wellbeing for employees
– How is management involved with health and wellbeing? How do you communicate with staff?
– Explain how your workplace provides activities to support health and wellbeing in one or more of the following areas: physical health, alcohol, smoking, healthy eating, skin cancer, injury prevention, sexual health, oral health?
– Are resources committed to health and wellbeing programs (e.g. staffing, programs, budgets)?
– Describe how you assess the benefits to your employees and workplace
– Has your workplace assessed the health and wellbeing needs of its workers?
– Has your workplace evaluated or measured any past or present health and wellbeing programs?
4. Demonstrate your understanding of, and commitment to protect the health and safety of your employees and clients
Tips:
– What did you do to protect staff from both physical and psychological harm?
– How do you reduce health and safety risks in your workplace?
– How do you identify the risks?
– What are your health and safety reporting procedures?
– What health and safety education activities do you do with your employees?
– What are your training and supervision requirements?
1. Outline your financial management
Tips
– Do you have set financial goals/objectives?
– How do you set those goals/objectives?
– How often do you review them?
– Do you have a plan?
– Do you have a vision?
– How do you maximise your return on investment?
2. What are your financial management procedures and controls?
Tips
– How do you measure your financial performance?
– How do you monitor the financial performance?
– What tools do you use?
– What are your financial procedures in relation to budgeting & forecasting, cashflow management, stock control, profit creation, funding and debt management, capital expenditure?
– Do you meet with accountant or financial controller regularly?
– Do you set KPI’s for your business and continuously measure them?
– Do you benchmark your KPIs? For example, with the ATO
– Do you use accounting software and CRM?
– Have you set up an efficient billing system?
– How do you control debtors/creditors?
– Do you use debt collecting services?
3. Financial Table
– BONUS 5 marks will be awarded to your written entry if you can fully complete the financial table.
– It is NOT mandatory to complete this table; however, it does demonstrate to the judges that you have an excellent understanding of your financial position.
– We DO NOT need to see the calculations, just the percentage (%) of these calculations.
– The below table is not included in your word count.
– The judges are NOT comparing your financial results with another business (as this is not possible given business are in completely different industries).
– If you are shortlisted as a finalist for Business of the Year, you may be required to provide written confirmation from your accountant that the below ratios accurately represent your business.
The ratios are based on your last set of financials (For example, you can enter 2022/2023 financials if this was the financials last lodged.
Financial Ratios
Gross profit margin(gross profit / sales X 100)
Example
$400,000/$1,000,000 X 100
Percentage
40%
Liquidity ratio(current assets/current liabilities X 100)
Example
$500,000/$450,000 X 100
Percentage
111%
Solvency ratio
(cash/current liabilities X 100)
Example
$200,000/$450,000 X 100
Percentage
44%
Return on total assets
(net profit/average total assets X 100)
Example
$100,000/$600,000 X 100
Percentage
16.67%
4. Outline your risk strategies and practices.
– Risk categories could include business risks, competitor risks, market shifts, supply chain issues, leased premises, IT & cybercrime risks, financial risks, governance risks, regulatory risks, technology risks, human resources risks.
– How has the business establish and maintain a risk management framework?
– Do you document policies and procedures in relation to risk?
– Do you monitor those policies and procedures regularly?
For example, has the business identified appropriate risks, analysed them for severity & likelihood? Have you developed action plans to mitigate these risks and monitored effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies?