This award is for Lanarkshire businesses trading for less than three years (as at application closing date) with a strong trading performance over the last year, that can also demonstrate a high degree of ambition and potential for further growth in turnover, profit and employment levels.

 If your business can evidence:

• the business concept and your start up process,
• the actual business performance over the past year in terms of actual results to date
• A well-researched business plan that outlines how you take advantage of market opportunities.
• An ambitious and well-defined vision for the future outlining your forecasts for business performance including sales, profits and employment levels.

then this award is for you.

Please tell us why your business should win the Lanarkshire’s Best New Business award by completing the following questions.

1. Describe the gap in the market which led to the formation of your business, how you identified the gap and researched how to get your product / service to that market. (maximum of 450 words)
2. Describe your ambitious vision, business strategies and objectives for future growth, together with how these will be achieved and what has been achieved so far. (maximum of 450 words)
3. Please outline your marketing strategy to attract and retain customers and how your business differentiates itself from your competition. (maximum of 450 words)
4. Please outline any additional information that you feel would support your case for your organisation to win this award. Examples could include challenges that you experienced when setting up in business, fair working practices, accreditations received and sustainable development practices. (maximum of 400 words)

This award is open to new and established Lanarkshire based businesses, and sole traders, with up to 10 employees.

If your business can evidence:

• a strong performance record and team;
• a plan for continued success;
• how your business is different from your competitors;
• strong relationships with customers and suppliers; and
• an ambition to improve your business performance;

 then this award is for you.

Please tell us why your business should win the Lanarkshire’s Best Business (0-10 employees) award by completing the following questions. 

1. Looking at your business performance over the previous year, what makes your business a candidate for Lanarkshire’s Best Business? Describe your business performance and results to date highlighting any particular challenges. Please outline your ambition and plan to build on your success and explain how you will achieve this. Explain how you market your business and how your business is different from your competitors in the market. (maximum of 450 words)
2. Describe your team structure, their roles and contribution to the business success. Explain how your business encourages each team member to be creative and empowered to improve performance. (maximum of 450 words)
3. Explain how strong your relationships are with customers and suppliers and give examples of how these work well. Please highlight key relationships – local, national and international – and any new products or processes in your response. (maximum of 450 words)
4. Outline any additional information that would also support your case for your business to win this award. Examples could include awards you have won, challenges you have overcome, fair working practices, accreditations, sustainable development practices and any other achievements or good news stories. (maximum of 400 words)

This award is open to new and established Lanarkshire based businesses with between 11 and 50 employees.

If your business can evidence:

• a strong performance record and team;
• a plan for continued success;
• how your business is different from your competitors;
• strong relationships with customers and suppliers; and
• an ambition to improve your business performance;

then this award is for you.

Please tell us why your business should win Lanarkshire’s Best Business (11-50 employees) award by completing the following questions.

1. Looking at your business performance over the previous year, what makes your business a candidate for Lanarkshire’s Best Business? Describe your business performance and results to date highlighting any particular challenges the business has had to overcome. Please outline your ambition and plan to build on your success and explain how you will achieve this. Explain how you market your business and how your business is different from your competitors in the market. (maximum of 450 words)
2. Looking at your team, outline what makes it Lanarkshire’s best business team. Describe your team structure and their roles and contribution to your business success.   Explain how your business encourages each team member to be creative and empowered to improve performance. (maximum of 450 words)
3. Explain how strong your relationships are with customers and suppliers and give examples of how these work well. Please highlight key relationships – local, national and international – and any new products or processes in your response. (maximum of 450 words)
4. Outline any additional information that would also support your case for your business to win this award. Examples could include awards you have won, challenges you have overcome, fair working practices, accreditations, sustainable development practices and any other achievements or good news stories. (maximum of 400 words)

This award is open to new and established Lanarkshire based businesses with 51 employees or more.

If your business can evidence:

• a strong performance record and team;
• a plan for continued success;
• how your business is different from your competitors;
• strong relationships with customers and suppliers; and
• an ambition to improve your business performance;

then this award is for you.

Please tell us why your business should win Lanarkshire’s Best Business (51+ employees) award by completing the following questions.

1. Looking at your business performance over the previous year, what makes your business a candidate for Lanarkshire’s Best Business? Describe your business performance and results to date highlighting any particular challenges the business has had to overcome. Please outline your ambition and plan to build on your success and explain how you will achieve this. Explain how you market your business and how your business is different from your competitors in the market (maximum of 450 words)
2. Looking at your team, outline what makes it Lanarkshire’s best business team. Describe your team structure and their roles and contribution to your business success.   Explain how your business encourages each team member to be creative and empowered to improve performance. (maximum of 450 words)
3. Explain how strong your relationships are with customers and suppliers and give examples of how these work well. Please highlight key relationships – local, national and international – and any new products or processes in your response. (maximum of 450 words)
4. Outline any additional information that would also support your case for your business to win this award. Examples could include awards you have won, challenges you have overcome, fair working practices, accreditations, sustainable development practices and any other achievements or good news stories. (maximum of 400 words)

This award is open to all businesses based in Lanarkshire that go above and beyond to offer excellence in customer service.

If your business can evidence:

• an outstanding commitment to customer service;
• an ability to meet and exceed customer expectations;
• a plan for continued success;
• an ambition to improve your customer service;and
• customer service is at the core of your business;

then this award is for you.

Please tell us why your business should win the Excellence in Customer Service  Award by completing the following questions.

1. Please explain the current level of customer service offered by your business, how this has been exemplary over the last year and your ambition to improve upon this. Please also provide an overview of your customer service performance over the last year and give examples of how the business has adapted to ensure that customer services levels have been retained. (maximum of 450 words)
2. Describe how your business measures and manages your online and offline customer service levels. Outline how your business deals with complaints and positive feedback, and how this has impacted on your business. Please give specific examples. (maximum of 450 words)
3. Looking at your team, outline how it excels in customer service. Describe your team structure, their roles and contribution to your business success.   Explain how your business encourages each team member to be creative and empowered to improve performance.  Describe your staff development activity and how you keep your staff motivated to ensure continuing excellence in customer service. Provide examples of where this has been successful. (maximum of 450 words)
4. Outline any additional information that would also support your case for your business to win this award. Examples could include awards won, challenges you have overcome, fair working practices, accreditations and sustainable development practices. (maximum of 400 words)

This award is open to all Lanarkshire based businesses that manufacture or produce food and drink products. (Restaurants are encouraged to apply for other categories such as the Customer Service Award or Best Business categories.)

If your business can evidence:

• high quality food and drink products;
• a contribution to local food and drink sector;
• an explanation of the market opportunity and financial results; and
• an ambition to improve your business products and performance;

then this award is for you.

Please tell us why your business should win the Lanarkshire Food and Drink Award by completing the following questions.

1. Looking at your business performance over the previous year, describe your business performance to date. Outline your ambition and plan to build on your success and explain how you will achieve this. (maximum of 450 words)
2. Outline your food and drink products and how you make sure you deliver a consistently high quality to your customers. Explain how strong your relationships are with customers and suppliers and give examples of how these work well. Please highlight key relationships – local, national and international. (maximum of 450 words)
3. Explain how you market your business and how your business and products are different from your competitors in your market. (maximum of 450 words)
4. Outline any additional information that would also support your case for your business to win the Lanarkshire Food and Drink Award. Examples could include awards you have won, challenges you have overcome, fair working practices, accreditations and sustainable development practices. (maximum of 400 words)

This category is looking for innovative initiatives that bring organisations closer to future proofing their business models.

This category is open to all businesses that have successfully developed innovative products, technologies or services; adapted an existing one for new markets, or have developed innovative business processes, models or ways of doing business.

Entrants will show a high degree of creativity and dynamism and will be exploring ways to exploit their innovation to its fullest potential.

If your business can evidence:

• Creation of a new innovative product, process or service, or a new way of working or adaption of an existing development within the circular economy in the last three years.
• A clear written description of the development (layman’s terms as far as possible) and its background, including any details of protection obtained.
• Commercial relevance of the development and actual or projected commercial success, demonstrating how this initiative has helped future proof the business.

then this award is for you.

1. Describe the innovative product, process or service, adaptation of an existing or development of a new way of working developed within the last three years. (maximum of 450 words)
2. Provide a clear description of the development, its background, including any details of protection obtained (maximum of 450 words)
3. Outline the commercial relevance of the development and projected commercial success, demonstrating how this will future proof your business and also future plans or strategies for research and development in the next three years. (maximum of 450 words)
4. Outline any additional information that would also support your case for your business to win this award. Examples could include awards you have won, challenges you have overcome, fair working practices, accreditations, and sustainable development practices. (maximum of 400 words)

This award is open to all Lanarkshire based businesses, and we would particularly encourage applications from social enterprises, employee-owned businesses and co-operatives, from all sectors. Making a positive impact on the local community may or may not be the business’ main purpose.

If your business can evidence:

• any initiatives demonstrating social or environmental wellbeing in your local community, and the impact they have made;
• a plan for continued success; and
• an ambition to improve your community impact;

then this award is for you.

Please tell us why your business should win the Lanarkshire Community Impact Award by completing the following questions.

1. Looking at your community impact activity over the previous year, what makes your business a candidate for this Award? Explain your organisation’s objectives and how your business has positively impacted the community. Give examples of social or environmental impacts to date.   (maximum of 450 words)
2. Please detail the project(s) that you feel have made positive societal or environmental impacts on your community and what these impacts are. Please include examples and at least one testimonial from local people who have benefited. (maximum of 450 words, excluding testimonial)
3. Explain how the project(s) are developed, delivered, co-ordinated and promoted. Outline your ambition and plan to build on your success and explain how you will achieve this.  (maximum of 450 words)
4. Outline any additional information that would also support your case for your business to win this Award. Examples could include awards won, challenges you have overcome, fair working practices, accreditations and sustainable development practices. (maximum of 400 words)

This award is open to all Lanarkshire businesses, including social enterprises, in all sectors, which can show commitment to most, or all of the following:

• commitment to the continual learning and development of your staff;
• flexible working practices/policies;
• paying, or actively working towards paying the Real Living Wage in the next 12 months;
• employee health and wellbeing policy;
• taking positive action to reduce the gap in overall pay between men and women – as well as improving gender equality in the workplace;
• engagement with local authority employability programmes and national employability initiatives e.g. Routes to Work, Routes to Work South, Developing the Young Workforce, Foundation/Modern/Graduate Apprenticeships and the Young Persons Guarantee Scheme.

Please tell us why your business should win Lanarkshire’s Employer of the Year Award by completing the following questions.

1. Looking at your business performance over the previous year, what makes your business a candidate for this award? Provide details of how you recruit new staff, your retention rates, working environment and how your business rewards performance. Please outline your ambition and plan to build on your success and explain how you will achieve this. (maximum of 450 words)
2. Looking at your team, describe your staff structure and their roles. Detail your staff development activity and how you keep your staff motivated to ensure continual development. What practices did the company put in place over the last year to promote and support the mental health and wellbeing of your employees? Provide examples of where this has been successful. Explain how your business encourages each team member to be empowered to improve performance. Please include a testimonial from at least one member of staff. (max 450 words excluding testimonial)
3. Provide details of your commitment to equal opportunities within your organisation including the recruitment process, for example how you engage with long term unemployed or involvement with any of the latest initiatives in relation to young people gaining employment. Please detail any flexible working practices and confirm you pay the national minimum wage/any aspiration to pay the real living wage and highlight any steps that your organisation is working towards to help reduce the gender pay gap. (maximum of 450 words)
4. Outline any additional information that would also support your case for your business to win this award. Examples could include awards you have won, challenges you have overcome, any accreditations achieved and sustainable development practices. (maximum of 400 words)

This category is for businesses that can demonstrate they are being proactive towards establishing sustainable, carbon neutral practices that are aligned to help achieve, or are on track to realise, the Scottish Government’s net zero emissions target of 2045.

This category is open to all businesses, irrespective of size or industry sector, that have or are successfully innovating and pivoting to develop either technology, services, products, internal business operations or existing systems that serve to support meeting the net zero goal for the Lanarkshire region.

Businesses applying for this category should be able to highlight solutions that have been actively implemented, or that are currently underway, which will help drive the objective of reducing emissions of all greenhouse gases.

A successful entrant will be able to demonstrate that they are actively improving and adding value to their business through sustainable practices. Judges will be looking for evidence of interventions to both internal operations and with product and/or service delivery/development.

1. Describe the innovative product, process or service, adaptation of an existing or development of a new way of working, or new sustainable business activities undertaken to reduce your carbon footprint, including the potential size of the emissions reduction it is capable of delivering. (maximum of 450 words)
2. Describe how the sustainable business activities are currently maintained and supported within your business to ensure optimum impact, and your future sustainable business goals and plans to achieve them. (maximum of 450 words)
3. Describe how your product, technology or service compares with alternatives in the market and any challenges you have identified and overcome. (maximum of 450 words)
4. Describe how your sustainable business activities are measured and what impact they have had. Please consider how this has impacted beyond your own organisation, and the broader co-benefits it has achieved. (maximum of 450 words)
5. Why do you believe your company/organisation deserves to win the Green Business Award? (maximum of 400 words)