Our focus on quality has manifested itself in many different ways. Clear evidence of this increasing focus is our desire to achieve wider recognition for the investment we have made in people and quality. This has led us to submit entries to aim to win the prestigious Leicestershire Business Awards in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

The Leicestershire Business Awards are a wide reaching recognition programme open to all Companies, with no restriction on size, age or a particular industry. Entrants are encouraged to choose from a broad range of categories including:

• New Business
• Sales and Marketing
• Investing in Leicestershire
• Success through People
• Enterprise through Innovation
• Contribution to the Community
• Entrepreneur of the year
• Business of the Year

Submitting an entry for the awards demands commitment and time and cannot be treated lightly. It is a comprehensive “audit” of your business, or a specific aspect of the business. In compiling your entry document you provide practical examples of techniques, approaches, strategies etc in action. The 3 finalists are short-listed from the entries received for each of the eight categories and these Companies are then visited by a team of judges, each with a specific background and expertise in the category they are judging. This visit allows the judges to get a feel for the business and to the test the content from the entry document in action by speaking with a range of people across a number of topics.

In 2005 we entered the awards for the first time. We made it through to the final 6 in the Success through People category. This category aims to reward businesses of any size where there is evidence of significant business improvement and success through effective and efficient people development.

Like any good “learning business”, the feedback we received from our first entry was taken on board and we decided to enter the same category in 2006.

In 2006 we were have been selected as one of the 3 shortlisted finalists, with the winner being announced at a prestigious dinner in April attended by over 750 local business people. Although we did not win the Success Through People Award category in 2006 we have entered again for the 2007 award and our team are determined to show the Award Judges our continued investment in people in the last 12 months.

Regarding the Award, Graham Clarkson, Managing Director had this to say: At Clarkson Wayman Ball Limited we have a real "people" focus and have put in effective training and development plans for all employees. People operate in a supported learning environment whereby they develop for their own benefit and for the benefit of the Company. If we are fortunate enough to win the Success Through People Award in 2007 it will be a vindication of our core values and beliefs".