The Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year
This award is designed to identify the UK-based Small to Medium Sized business that has maintained consistent growth and strong financial performance, understands its customer, has full buy-in from staff, and has delivered on its core strategic objectives.
Open to all organisations with no more than £25 million turnover in their last financial year, this Award will go to the company that best demonstrates the following:
- An established market position
- Significant growth or expansion
- Potential for sustained growth
- Innovation in products, services or processes
- Customer and staff engagement
- Effective leadership and management
- An ethical approach to business
- Strong business results
Scoring
While each entry form has been tailored to each category, they have been designed to draw out achievements in seven core areas. Scoring for these core areas are weighted according to the criteria for each category. For each entry in the Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year category, judges will compare the extent to which each candidate has demonstrated excellence in the following core areas:
Core criteria Proportion of overall score
Growth 20%
Innovation 15%
Engagement – staff 15%
Engagement – customer 15%
Leadership 10%
Ethics 10%
Financial performance 15%
Judging
All entries for a National Business Award are initially scored by a short-listing panel of up to 3 independent judges, with the highest scoring candidates selected as finalists. In the event of a tie, the chair of judges may contact each candidate for further information to help the short-listing panel determine which makes the final cut. All finalists are then invited to present live to a panel of judges who will determine an overall winner based on the entry form, the presentation and responses to the judges’ questions. The judging panel selected for the Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year Award will comprise up to five peers with experience and expertise specifically related to this category. Judging panels typically include a specialist editor or journalist, head of a relevant network or trade association, a senior consultant specialising in this area, someone who invests in or funds enterprises, and a previous winner in this category.
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