Source: Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology
Toi Ohomai has teamed up with the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce to help Bay businesses gain quality insights into their progress and performance.
James Paterson from the Faculty of Business, Service and Design earlier this month worked alongside Director KPMG Private Enterprise, Wellington, Sven Parnell, to assist with entries for the Westpac Tauranga Business Awards 2020.
Hosted by Tauranga Chamber of Commerce, the annual awards recognise and celebrate leading Bay of Plenty businesses that demonstrate excellence in operations, function creatively and are financially sustainable. Award categories include Innovation in Business, Digital and Technology Innovation, Emerging Business, Social Enterprise and Sustainable Business Practices.
The judging for the awards was a new process this year. It included enlisting the expertise of a head facilitator, Sven, who visited each business to gain an understanding of their inner workings. A pitch weekend was then held where each of the entrants had a chance to put forward their best ‘elevator pitch’, and answer questions regarding their operations and business model from a panel of judges.
James and Sven spent a week touring a number of local businesses to see how organisations create extra value for customers, staff and other stakeholders.
“We visited some phenomenal businesses last week, some of which have traded less than three years, and others who have been trading for years with multi-million-dollar balance sheets,” James said.
“While the scale of operations was often different, owners had much in common: passion and drive for what they produced; commitment to staff; and their ability to deliver greater value by doing things differently and more efficiently than others in their industry.”
James was thrilled to see owners showed positive attitudes, despite challenges posed by Covid-19 lockdowns.
Finalists and award winners will be announced during a ‘Love Local’ dégustation on Friday, 13 November at Trinity Wharf Hotel. The winners will be announced after the event on the website: businessawards.org.nz
Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology is proud to be a category sponsor for the awards.
