Client case study Trouble-free awards management Nursery and Garden Industry Australia grows with Award Force Reviewer: Kobie Keenan, Program Manager Reviewer: Kobie Keenan,Program Manager Fast facts about Nursery & Garden Industry NSW & ACT Industry: Garden industry awards Location: Sydney, Australia Award Force client: Client since 2015 Employees: 0-50 employees Background Recognising excellence in the garden industry 2023 Nursery and Garden Industry Victorias Annual Awards Night. Nursery and Garden Industry Australia Limited (NGIA) is the peak industry body representing commercial growers, retailers and suppliers in Australia. NGIA is charged with providing leadership, support and additional resources to drive key industry initiatives, which meet the goals of the industry strategic plan. The awards work to recognise wholesale/production nurseries, retail garden centers, allied suppliers, apprentices and the next generation of industry leaders from across NSW and the ACT for being the top of their fields. About the program An opportunity to advance and revitalise the sector We sought to make considerable improvements to our program in 2015, including efforts to speed the entry process and align criteria with international standards. When Award Force contacted us, their timing was perfect.” NGIA hosts the Nursery & Garden Awards, which have been running for 21 years to give businesses the opportunity to promote themselves as leaders in the industry. An entry into the awards is made for many reasons. Business improvement is the focus of the program and this is delivered in the form of robust criteria and comprehensive feedback for entrants including rankings, benchmarks and judge’s comments. Other reasons for entering the awards include the promotional opportunities brought about by success, in addition to opportunities to revitalise a team environment and improve staff morale.” Each year, an awards review committee considers feedback from non-entrants and entrants of the program. “This feedback is very important to us and as a result, we sought to make considerable improvements to our program in 2015, including efforts to speed the entry process and align criteria with international standards. When Award Force contacted us, their timing was perfect.” The program offers 11 categories, each with varying judging criteria, and this year had 17 judges to assess the ever-increasing number of entries. The Award Force choice A system that fosters awards growth “The awards program was advancing quickly and our previous online system had not kept up with our needs. As the sole operator of the awards system, I needed something easy that I could operate from anywhere and that would completely align with our goals. Award Force showed me this was possible. With Award Force, I am able to see what the judges see and the system they have configured for us has more flexibility, enabling it to grow with us now and into the future – even across states. The system is forward-thinking, innovative and progressive with a smart build in which our program can grow.” The Award Force results Improved experience for judges, entrants and organisation “Award Force has definitely saved a lot of time. Generally, it’s a more efficient process and falls in line with our own goals of fostering industry business improvement and progression for entrants. As a convenor, my job was made simpler as I have access to the entire awards program from anywhere, allowing me to resolve entrants’ questions and concerns while simultaneously being able to see exactly their status in the system. We have a lot of volunteer judges and the Award Force system is far less onerous of their time. Judges can get access to the entrants’ information, score and give feedback in real-time. Delays are avoided and this has improved the efficiency of the program overall. The Award Force system not only allows me to see entrants, but also those who have shown interest in entering. The result of this feature is a greater ability to communicate with prospective entrants to help guide them and encourage participation in the program. This is very important to us because the concept behind the awards is both to recognise and help businesses improve using the criteria and with support from the judges’ feedback. They do pay a small entry fee; however, the benefits they can get from these expert judges is worth more to them. We are much better able to manage the awards from the outset through to announcing the winners. The way that Award Force has ‘layered’ the system, means every stage in the awards process is easily managed in house and it provides a level of control for us that we haven’t had before. They have built a relevant and functionally superior and flexible system for us. This is our first year completely online and it works amazingly well and we’re able to take industry stakeholders with us on the journey which is great. Award Force is easy to deal with. They worked tirelessly with us, responded to our questions quickly and ensured it all flowed freely. I really only have good things to say about Award Force! They’ve given me a trouble-free year of awards and I am grateful.” Read more testimonials