You have to be in it to win it!

With just over a week to go until the deadline for our 2013 Inspiring Hertfordshire awards, we are getting very excited about discovering some new centres of business excellence, outstanding individuals and showcasing some amazing talent in the County!

For some experienced award winners, it isn’t just about delegating the task of completing of a form, and hope and see, it’s part of a strategic journey to showcase the organisation as an excellent employer, and or outstanding company to do business with, or to gain recognition for outstanding performance and achievement. This not only gains a huge amount of publicity, leading to new business opportunities but also plays a significant role in attracting the cream of talent, and boost confidence and morale internally. For SME’s that may find they really haven’t got the time, we learnt from finalists last year in the same position who claimed by investing time into the business, to analyse where it had come from, what it had achieved this year, and more importantly the vision for the future, was worth every penny in time.

What was evident was the consistent approach across all the finalists and winners in how outwardly facing they were in the local community, with board level commitment to engaging with the local community, building local relationships with schools, and local charities, and embedding a culture that fosters supporting local prosperity. Whatever category the finalists and winners entered there was a clear vision for growth in this area, they weren’t merely reacting to local opportunities but had a clear business plan and strategic objectives for raising customer excellence, or growing International trade , and even a KPI for winning awards.

If you haven’t yet downloaded your entry form, there’s still time, www.hertschamber.com and we are delighted to have the support from leading businesses across the county as 2013 sponsors and judges;

Server Choice, Smart source, Ashridge, Goldsmith Centre, Breeze and Wyle’s UH , Exemplas, Simply health, Aldwyk Housing, and Cllr Sharon Taylor, Locality budget and Stevenage Borough Council, and Dacorum ‘Look No Further’ sponsoring our new Tourism Award.

I hope 2013 will be an Inspirational year for Hertfordshire businesses and hope we will have the opportunity to showcase many of you at our awards dinner on the 16th May, at Porsche Hatfield, and wish you further success in the Comets’ own Hertfordshire Business Awards launched later this year.