The Annual Business Awards are the flagship business event for the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore, supported by our Title Awards Partner, Prudential. For over 20 years we have celebrated exceptional businesses, with this year marking our 23rd edition. This year our Awards on 13th October were once again supported by the EDB, Enterprise Singapore, the British High Commission and the Singapore Business Federation.
Please refer to the below descriptions of each category.
BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION OF THE YEAR
This award recognises the organisation which has made the greatest strides in transforming its business operation in the past 12 months into a cost efficient, agile and customer-centric model.
Judges will be looking for:
- Evidence of growth in business results and outcomes
- Evidence of innovation and the transformation of operations/processes
- Outcomes of transformational initiatives
CUSTOMER SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
Have you gone the extra mile for your clients in the past 12 months?
Judges will be looking for:
- Evidence that the organisation puts customers first
- Evidence of a customer-centric business culture with ongoing employee training and process review
- Customer service metrics
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPION OF THE YEAR
This award recognises organisations which promote progressive equality and inclusion values, from the boardroom to the shop floor, and to the demonstrable benefit of all stakeholders.
Judges will be looking for:
- Evidence of diversity & inclusion strategies or initiatives that demonstrate impact beyond legislative requirements
- Evidence of the impact of these initiatives to your people, your customers and the wider organisation over the past 12 months
- Evidence that diversity and inclusion is embedded in the culture of the organisation
- Evidence of measurement, monitoring and evaluation of the strategy
- Evidence to show the organisation’s commitment to attracting new diverse talent whilst encouraging and supporting existing diverse talent
- Evidence of any groups/networks set up to support the initiatives, including feedback from members of any such groups
EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR
This award recognises organisations that have created a stimulating and supportive work environment, and a genuine commitment to the welfare of its employees, resulting in high staff satisfaction levels and a well-motivated, ambitious and integrated workforce.
Judges will be looking for:
- Evidence of clear policies that create a stimulating and supportive workplace
- Evidence of clearly communicated pathways to career advancement for employees
- Evidence of your company values and how employees are aligned with them
- Examples of employee benefits, training schemes and wellbeing support
INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE YEAR
This award can either be self-nominated or nominated by an organisation on behalf of an individual. The individual who enters/is nominated must be employed by a Singapore-registered business. No age brackets apply.
This award recognises a remarkable individual for achievements in the workplace and/or community over the past 12 months.
Judges will be looking for:
- Evidence of recognised achievements
- Impact/results of their activities
- Testimonials from colleagues, business leaders and/or community leaders as appropriate
START-UP OF THE YEAR
This award recognises an outstanding start-up, which must have been registered in Singapore within the past 5 years prior to the awards launch (May 2022).
Judges will be looking for:
- Evidence of the customer value proposition
- Evidence of an outstanding growth trajectory in business results and outcomes
- Projections or evidence of market expansion and export
- Evidence of social impact
SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPION OF THE YEAR
This award recognises organisations with an effective, comprehensive and purpose-driven responsible business programme that is credible, results driven, addresses your core business function and reinforces your commitment to operating in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible manner.
Judges will be looking for:
- Evidence of initiatives and activities demonstrating a commitment to purpose-driven sustainability, improving core business practices and showing support from senior management level down
- Evidence of the impact of the programme over the past 12 months, including elements such as the measurement and reduction of the organisation’s carbon footprint, waste management and overall positive impact on the environment; the motivation, engagement and participation of partners, supporters and supply chain
- Evidence of strategies or initiatives that demonstrate impact beyond legislative requirements
- Evidence of measurement, monitoring and evaluation of the strategy
TECHNOLOGICAL IMPACT OF THE YEAR
This award recognises a company that has identified a problem, market gap or innovation and created an effective and successful solution in the form of products or services using innovative technology.
Judges will be looking for:
- An outline of the problem or market gap which the product or service resolves
- Evidence of the innovative technology which has been developed
- Evidence of the impact or results of the innovation
UK IMPACT IN SINGAPORE
This special award will be voted for live on the evening of the Gala Awards Ceremony.
For this category, we are looking for organisations representing the important relationship between the UK and Singapore, who have made an impact on Singapore's economy and society, contributing to the strengthening of the ongoing relationship between the two countries.
Please familiarise yourself with the following rules:
- The Annual Business Awards are open to any business with a registered office in Singapore. Exceptions:
- Start-up of the Year – the business must have been registered in Singapore within the past 5 years prior to the awards launch (May 2022).
- Individual Contribution of the Year – the individual who enters/is nominated for entry must be employed by a Singapore-registered business.
- Companies from any sector and of any size may enter. The British Chamber of Commerce awards consider companies of all sizes on a level playing field
- All shortlisted finalists are expected to be represented at the Gala Awards Ceremony. Discounted finalist tickets are available; a minimum of five(5) tickets should be booked
- Entering more than one category is allowed, provided you meet the category criteria and submit a unique entry
- All entries will be automatically acknowledged
- Entries submitted after the closing date deadline will not be accepted unless previously agreed with the organisers as an exceptional circumstance
- Following the closing date, your application(s) will undergo an eligibility check and be scored against a set of benchmarking standards for shortlisting purposes
- In each category, no more than 5 entrants can be shortlisted as a finalist
- All shortlisted and unsuccessful entrants will be informed. The shortlist will be published via the British Chamber of Commerce communication channels
- Shortlisted finalists in the UK Impact in Singapore category must make themselves available on request for a professional video to be filmed at their location for the purposes of live voting at the Gala Awards Ceremony. Any such video will remain the property of the British Chamber of Commerce and can be used in relation to the awards marketing campaign and awards ceremony production
- Judgement of the winning entrants will be based on the quality of the entry against the category criteria as outlined. An entrant’s previous track record in the awards, whether successful or not, will have no relevance on the outcome of the decision. The judge’s decision is final.
- All details provided in entries including videos will be treated as confidential for shortlisting and judging purposes, and will not be disclosed to any outside party, with the exception of professional videos created for the UK Impact in Singapore category, as outlined above
- Winners will be announced at the Gala Awards Ceremony in October 2022 and not beforehand.
- Award winners and shortlisted finalists will be issued with official branding which may be used in promotional collateral
- All businesses are encouraged to attend the awards ceremony regardless of any status in the competition
Our Annual Business Awards judges are at the height of their industry to ensure our winners are the best in class. The British Chamber of Commerce maintains a formal judging process as below.
Entries
The Annual Business Awards opens for entries on 4 May 2022 and closes on 19 August 2022 when the judging process begins. All entries are eligibility checked to ensure they meet the required criteria of their category before being benchmarked for shortlisting.
Shortlisting
Our Annual Business Awards shortlisting committee consider all entries against the criteria of each category and independently judge each entry on a scoring basis. The highest scoring entries will be shortlisted as finalists in their category. Up to 5 companies may be shortlisted in each category.
Winner Selection
Our expert judges consider all shortlisted entries and make their final winner selection in each category with the exception of the UK Impact in Singapore category, which will be voted for by the audience at the Virtual Awards Ceremony. The judge’s decision is final.
Thank you to all of our Partners for their support with this years edition of the Annual Business Awards.
Title Partner: Prudential
Prudential have been the Title Partner of our Annual Business Awards since 2018. An indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-based Prudential plc, Prudential Singapore is one of the top life insurance companies in Singapore, serving the financial and protection needs of Singaporeans for over 85 years.
Category Partner: Diversity & Inclusion Champion of the Year: Barclays
Barclays is our Official Diversity & Inclusion Partner. A transatlantic consumer and wholesale bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, Barclays has a strong presence in their two home markets of the UK and the US. With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 83,500 people.
Video Partner: AsiaWorks
AsiaWorks is a creative video agency, founded over twenty years ago by a vibrant and talented group of producers, journalists and cameramen. They are video specialists with round-the-clock offices in Bangkok, Jakarta, and Singapore, providing high-quality regional video production services with an unrivalled network of crew, creatives and production professionals across Asia.
Media Partner: Expat Living
Supporting Partner: Singapore Economic Development Board
The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), a government agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, is responsible for strategies that enhance Singapore’s position as a global centre for business, innovation, and talent.
Supporting Partner: Enterprise Singapore
Enterprise Singapore is the government agency championing enterprise development. They work with committed companies to build capabilities, innovate and internationalise. They also support the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups. As the national standards and accreditation body, they continue to build trust in Singapore’s products and services through quality and standards.
Supporting Partner: British High Commission
We develop the important and longstanding relationship between the UK and Singapore. We provide consular services to British nationals, answering over 11,000 enquiries yearly.
Supporting Partner: Singapore Business Federation
The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) is the apex business chamber championing the interests of the Singapore business community in the areas of trade, investment and industrial relations. It represents 27,200 companies, as well as key local and foreign business chambers.