The Liverpool ECHO is on the lookout for the best businesses in Liverpool to enter the Regional Business Awards for 2022.
The awards - which will be presented at a glittering celebration at Liverpool's Titanic Hotel - have been running for more than 25 years and have honoured some of the biggest names in Liverpool's business world.
Now the ECHO and sister business news site BusinessLive have launched the awards for 2022 - and they're open for nominations now.
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The awards are set to be staged on Thursday, May 26, at the Rum Warehouse, Titanic Hotel, Liverpool.
Supported by headline sponsor , the awards are also being sponsored by BusinessLive, and .
Past winners of the Business Person of the Year award have included shipping tycoon Sir Michael Bibby, while companies honoured have ranged from giants such as Jaguar Land Rover to dozens of innovative small firms.
Now we want to hear your story about what has taken your business to the next level and made a difference to Merseyside's economy. And we want to hear how firms have changed and innovated to make their way through the impact of the pandemic.
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Eleven categories have been carefully curated to ensure all aspects of the region's business community are recognised, with many awards being open for entries from all sectors.
The closing date for nominations is Friday, April 22, and
The awards night will be the event of the year for the region's business community, with chances to chat and celebrate with other finalists and attendees.
Maria Breslin, editor of the Liverpool Echo, said: “We want to celebrate the great businesses that do so much for Liverpool. And we want to celebrate those businesses, large and small, that have shown such strength and imagination during the pandemic and are now looking to the future.”
The categories for this year's awards are:
Start-Up Business of the Year
The Start-Up Business of the Year award will go to an organisation that has been established within the past two years.
A business that can clearly demonstrate evidence of entrepreneurship and/or innovation. A business that has defied challenging economic conditions to succeed, grow and thrive and is able to evidence future growth potential.
Business of the Year (up to 50 employees)
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This award is for a business which employs up to 50 people and has had a positive impact on the region's economy.
The judges will be looking at all aspects of a company's performance, paying particular attention to managerial and financial performance, evidence of success against targets set, potential for growth, long-term plans and company strategy, product and service development as well as staff training and development.
Business of the Year (over 51 employees)
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This will be awarded to a profitable, growing business, with 51 or more employees, which has a positive impact on the region’s economy.
The judges will be looking at all aspects of the company's performance, paying particular attention to managerial and financial performance, evidence of success against targets set, potential for growth, long-term plans and company strategy as well as product and service development.
Innovation and Technology Award
This award celebrates new ideas, processes, products, services, technologies and applications that have had an impact on an organisation's success over the past 12 months.
Applications will be measured against:
• Originality of the innovation, its impact, practicality of its application and the measurable benefits to the business.
• All aspects of an innovative new product/service launch, including research and development, launch activity and the actual or likely commercial success of the product/service.
• Key success factors will include; degree of innovation, time taken to market, design process/best practice, market edge, USP, potential for growth/competition and profitability.
• Other factors might include job creation/safeguarding, environmental sustainability, use of teamwork, project management capability, customer delight/novelty factor and use of market research. Development to prototype stage only is expressly excluded from this award.
Young Business Person of the Year
For business people aged 30 or under (on December 31, 2021). This category is looking to recognise business leadership, entrepreneurship, creativity and vision for the future.
Judges will be looking for a successful entrepreneur or a senior manager who has made a significant impact on their business, who has set and achieved objectives within its business plans and established a position of sustainable profitability and success. Please state your date of birth on your entry form.
Business Person of the Year
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The Business Person of the Year will be an exceptional individual, either a successful entrepreneur or senior manager who has made a significant impact on their business and can demonstrate outstanding achievement whilst inspiring others around them.
Judges will be looking for entrants over the age of 30 who have set and achieved objectives which demonstrate commercial success, ambition, energy, skill and vision.
A person who has led the development and implementation of practices to strengthen the organisation whilst providing exceptional and inspirational leadership that creates a sense of direction and momentum for development within the business.
Corporate Social Responsibility Award
This award will recognise the business which has demonstrated responsible business practices across the four areas of local community, environment, their people and supply chain.
Judges will look for evidence of a contribution to the overall well-being of the community, its environment and general quality of life.
Applicants must demonstrate a working partnership using positive influences to support suppliers and other partners to adopt best environmental, workplace and community practice.
Customer Focus Award
The Customer Focus Award aims to honour firms which give great service and are truly dedicated to their users.
Judges will be looking at how their customer service strategy has increased growth or market share and improved financial performance. A business that has embedded ethical or sustainable practice, enhanced customer delivery and engagement and shown effective leadership and management skills to engage and motivate staff.
Environmental and Sustainability Award
This category recognises outstanding performance in environmental responsiveness and sustainable activity.
The winner of this award will be a company that is working towards sustainable development goals and can demonstrate the impact. A business that is taking active green steps towards more environmentally-conscious operations and ethics.
Our judges want to feel inspired by your powerful story and are looking to see where you’ve come from, the obstacles you’ve faced, what motivates you to keep going and what your biggest achievements are.
Diversity and Inclusion Award
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This award recognises organisations for harnessing a truly diverse workforce that excels in their commitment to equality and inclusion across all strands of diversity.
The category will cover excellence in all areas of diversity including age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race and religion.
The judges will be looking for a vanguard in business that can demonstrate an effective inclusion and diversity strategy that goes beyond legal compliance and seeks to add value to an organisation, contributing to employee wellbeing and engagement.
Lifetime Achievement Award
This award will go to the business person who has made a positive and lasting contribution to their business, the local economy and community – over a number of years.
Our judges want to hear about individuals who have made a lasting contribution to and made a significant impact to the region’s business community.