City of Whittlesea Business Awards

Love your customers? Tell us how your business has delivered customer service excellence in 2023. Customers are vital for any successful business, and we know you all have different ways of ensuring your customers keep coming back. Tell us how you excel in customer service.  The Judging Panel will assess your entry based on:

• how you engage with your customers
• systems and procedures to receive and record customer feedback and satisfaction, this could be through an external feedback provider or in-house.
• your customer service policy or charter.
• your customer ratings through feedback, i.e., Trip Advisor, Trustpilot, Net Promoter Score, and in-house data collection tools.
• customer testimonials.

Businesses have to keep evolving to stay relevant in the market. Has your business launched a new product or service, entered a new market, or introduced a new way of working in 2023? Tell us how you have demonstrated innovation and enterprise and why your business should win this award. The judging panel will assess your entry based on:

• examples of new products you have launched
• examples of new services you have introduced
• examples of new ways of working you have adopted
• how these new products or services improve your business performance
• how these new products or services enhance the customer experience
• how the business arrived at the design and implementation of the product, service, or way of working.

Has your business made improvements in 2023 to ensure it can achieve a sustainable future? Tell us how your business reduces the impact on the environment within its operations and why it should win this award. The judging panel will assess your entry based on:

• your strategies and activities clearly show your business has developed and embraced becoming sustainable
• how your business includes the circular economy within its operation
• examples of day-to-day methods that reduce the impact on the environment
• future plans that pave the way for further sustainable policies
• examples of how your business has implemented operational changes to include environmentally friendly practices
• how initiatives have created new roles within your business, connected directly to sustainability and the circular economy.

Local communities are strengthened by an active business community, and we want to award a business that has made a positive impact on the local community in 2023. How does your business contribute to the local community? The judging panel will assess your entry based on:

• the work your business has undertaken with the community and how that has benefited the municipality
• percentage of local City of Whittlesea residents within your workforce
• how your business supports or works in partnership with other businesses that are within the City of Whittlesea.

The City of Whittlesea is a diverse area with people from many ages, abilities, backgrounds, genders, and beliefs - all calling the municipality home. How does your business represent, embrace, or foster such a diverse community? Tell us how your business exemplifies workplace diversity. The judging panel will assess your entry based on:

• a breakdown of your workforce's, genders, abilities, nationalities, education, sexual orientation, and background
• initiatives that make your workplace attractive to people from the CALD community, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
• your workforce training programs - provide examples of activities you have carried out with training and placement providers to engage with different jobseeker cohorts
• how do you work with local education providers to support your workforce through training and development?
• tell us about your workplace diversity policy and how this is implemented in your day-to-day operations.

The Home-Based Business award is open to any registered business who have up to 3 employees and whose primary place of work is in the business owner’s home. The Home-Based Business Award recognises individuals and businesses that have not only embraced the unique challenges of operating from home but have also excelled in various aspects of a business – such as innovation, community contribution, customer service, sustainability, and diversity.  Drawing on the main award categories tell us why your business should win this award. The judging panel will assess your entry based on:

• customer service - Initiatives that ensure customers are at the centre of all business engagements
• innovation and enterprise - how new products, services, or ways of working have impacted customer service delivery and/or business performance
• sustainability and environment - initiatives in place to demonstrate your commitment to a sustainable environment
• community contribution - the work your business has undertaken with the community and how that has benefited the residents of the City of Whittlesea
• diversity – your home-based business practices that represent, embrace, or foster the diversity of the City of Whittlesea community.

Thursday the 18 May 2023 saw the inaugural City of Whittlesea Business Awards take place at Mantra Epping. The evening was attended by 180 guests with 30 businesses shortlisted across six categories and it provided a great opportunity to recognise the importance of our local business community and reward those businesses who show excellence in their field.

View Business Award 2023 night photo gallery 

Download your photos and share them to your socials' tagging in the City of Whittlesea.

2023 Business of the Year - Repurpose It

From left to right - George Hatzimanolis MD, Erin Ford, Aristos Karavias GM, Tanya Hall and John McCluskey from Repurpose It.

Start Up - Winner Brewer Sisters

Start Up Finalists 

• Dahlia & Thyme Studio Florals
• Lady Sevin Cafe
• Zest Property Partners
• Beauty By Dua

And the winner is...

Customer Service - Winner Ristic Real Estate

Customer Services Finalists

• Quest Epping
• King of Paws
• Farm Vigano
• Stafford Engineering

And the winner is...

Innovation & Enterprise - Winner Whittlesea Community Connections

Innovation & Enterprise Finalists

• Mantra Epping
• Social Living
• Enterprise Tooling
• IntelliTrac

And the winner is...

Sustainability & Environment - Winner Repurpose It

Sustainability & Environment Finalists

• Hanson Landfill Services
• That's Amore Cheese
• Social Living
• Eco Green Group

And the winner is...

Community Contribution - Winner LINK Community and Transport

Community Contribution Finalists

• Whittlesea Physiotherapy and Clinical Pilates
• A Grade Resumes
• Amy Bajada
• Brotherhood St Laurence

And the winner is...

Workplace Diversity - Winner Costa Mushrooms Exchange

Workplace Diversity Finalists 

• Abruzzo Lab
• Floridia Cheese
• Edlyn Foods
• Whittlesea Community Connections

And the winner is...

Start Up

Launching a new business is always daunting and this award is for business who have been operating since July 2021. Tell us how you started and how the business has grown into a sustainable business.

To demonstrate how your Start Up business has moved from an idea into, the business it is today the Judging Panel will assess your entry based on:

1. The performance of your business since its launch, examples could include the number of customers.
2. The growth of your business from the business plan stage to implementation to current day.

Customer Service

Love your customers? Tell us how your business has delivered customer service excellence in 2022. Customers are vital for any successful business, and we know you all have different ways of ensuring your customers keep coming back.

To demonstrate how you excel in customer service, the Judging Panel will assess your entry based on:

• How you engage with your customers.
• Systems and procedures to receive and record customer feedback and satisfaction, this could be through an external feedback provider or in-house.
• Your customer service policy or charter.
• Your customer ratings through feedback, i.e. Trip Advisor, Trustpilot, Net Promoter Score and In house data collection tools.
• Customer testimonials.

Innovation & Enterprise

Businesses have to keep evolving, has your business launched a new product or service, entered a new market or introduced new ways of working in 2022 that has made positive impacts to the overall performance of your business.

To demonstrate how your business has been leaders in Innovation and Enterprise, the Judging Panel will assess your entry based on:

• Examples of new products you have launched.
• Examples of new services you have introduced.
• How do these new products or services improve your business performance.
• How do these new products or services enhance the customer experience.
• How the business arrived at the design and implementation of the products or services.

Sustainability and Environment

How has your business made improvements to the way it operates in 2022 to ensure it can achieve a sustainable future?

To demonstrate how your business includes the impacts on the environment within the operation and how you focus on being sustainable, the Judging Panel will assess your entry based on:

• Your strategies and activities clearly showing how your business has developed and embraced becoming sustainable.
• How your business includes the circular economy within its operation.
• Examples of day-to-day methods that reduce the impact on the environment. 
• Future plans that include the inclusion of further sustainable policies. 
• Examples of how your business has implemented operational changes to include environmentally friendly practices.
• How any initiatives have created new roles within your business, connected directly or indirectly to sustainability and the circular economy.

Community Contribution

Local communities are stronger with successful businesses, and we want to award a business that has made a positive impact in the local community in 2022. How does your business contribute to the local community initiatives?

To demonstrate how your business impacts the local community, the Judging Panel will assess your entry based on:

• The work your business has undertaken within the community and how that has benefited the City of Whittlesea. 
• Percentages of local City of Whittlesea residents within your workforce.
• Highlight how your business supports or works in partnership with other local businesses.

Workplace Diversity

The City of Whittlesea is a diverse area with people from many backgrounds calling the municipality home, how does your business represent such a diverse area?

To demonstrate how your business impacts the local community, the Judging Panel will assess your entry based on:

• A breakdown of your workforce, gender, disability, nationality, education status sexual orientation and background.
• Initiatives that make your workplace attractive to people from the CALD community, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
• Your workforce training programs, provide examples of activities you have carried out with training and placement providers to engage with different jobseeker cohorts.
• How you work with any local education providers to support your workforce through training and development.
• Your workplace diversity policy and how this is implemented in your day-to-day operation.