Excellence in People Development

• Total word count should be no more than 2000 words excluding questions.
• All entries must be electronic and supporting information is not permitted.
• A maximum of 5 insertions e.g. tables, graphs or photos may be attached at the end of the entry form.
• This online form contains 9 questions. Please ensure that you answer all questions.
• Any entries not adhering to the rules of entry will be eliminated at the next round. Click here to read the Rules of Entry
• All entries for this category from Chamber of Commerce Herefordshire and Worcestershire members will automatically be submitted into the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) awards ( www.chamberawards.co.uk ) with the potential to win not only this category but the overall award for Outstanding Achievement with a £50,000 cash prize. Please tick the box if you do NOT wish your entry to be put forward for the BCC Awards
  Please tick this box if you do not wish to be forwarded to for the British Chambers of Commerce awards.
• As part of the judging process, all entries will be reviewed by Business Link West Midlands. Reviews may take the format of a telephone call or a visit to your premises. As soon as we receive your application your details will be forwarded to Business Link who will contact you direct.

Company Name

Contact Name

Position

Company Address

Postcode

Email Address

Website Address

Telephone Number

Mobile Number

Fax Number

Business Sector

Nature of Business

Main product/service

No. of full time employees

No. of part time employees

Legal status of company

Year trading began

Turnover for 2008

Turnover for 2009

Projected turnover for 2010

Net profit for 2008

Net profit for 2009

Projected net profit for 2010

Please provide a brief description of your business, the products or services it supplies, its customers and the markets that it operates in. You should cover:

• The nature of your business
• Your products and services
• Your customers
• Markets that you operate in

Please outline the overall trend in your sales turnover and profit development together with a brief description of key events that have led to these changes where appropriate

• How your sales turnover has developed
• How your profit has developed
• The key events that have led to any changes. Please provide an explanation

3What are the objectives for your business over the next 3 years? You should cover:

• Main objectives for the next 3 years
• How these will be achieved
• Effects that these will have on the overall business

Please outline your methods for assessing the skills requirement within your workforce e.g. training needs analysis and skills development plans. You should cover:

• How you assess the skills requirement within your organisation e.g. training needs analysis, skills development plans etc.
• Give examples of a circumstance that stimulated the need to introduce or review employee development plans.

Please provide a description of your company’s approach to employee development. How does this link with your business objectives/mission statement? Why is employee development important to your organisation? Who in your organisation is involved in employee development? You should cover:

• Details of your company’s approach to employee development
• Explanation of how this links with your business objectives/mission statement
• An outline of why employee development is important to your organisation
• Details of who in your organisation is involved with workforce development, e.g. senior management, line managers, everyone etc.

Please outline any specific employee development activities or strategies that have proved particularly effective for your business. You should cover:

• Details of specific workforce development activities or strategies that have been effective in your organisation
• An outline of how and why these strategies were developed
• Feedback from staff on workforce development activities or strategies
• Details of Accreditation Standards such as Investors in People, EFQM etc.

Please detail the impact that your employee development strategies have had on your business e.g. reduced staff turnover, improved retention, reduced recruitment costs, and improvement to business growth and profits. You should cover:

• Evidence of the impact that your employee development strategies have had on your business