Here at the Queen’s Awards office, in an attempt to debunk a host of recurring myths, we would like to talk about some of the most popular misconceptions surrounding The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.
The first myth bubble we would like to burst is the idea that existing winners can only re-enter the Awards once their 5 year use of the emblem period has expired. This is of course not true and existing winners can apply each year and every year if they so wish, providing they meet the criteria for the category they’re entering. The 5 year period relates only to the use of the emblem and, if they win in consecutive years, the period of emblem usage simply extends.
The second tall tale to add is the belief that only large scale manufacturers/blue chip companies tend to win this Award. In reality, you only have to look at the list of previous Award winners to see that this is again, another urban legend - in 2013, 80 of the 152 winners were small firms (2 to 49 employees) and 50 were medium sized (50 to 249 employees).
We would also like to put the proverbial nail in the coffin as to the perception that there is a cap to the number of businesses that can win the business Award. You may find it reassuring to know that there is in fact no upper limit of business winners and it is only for the Enterprise Promotion individual Award that there is a maximum of 10 given each year (and potentially one for Lifetime Achievement).
And whoever said that you could only enter one category? We know it might seem a little greedy to some but any business can enter more than one category if they meet the respective criteria and can demonstrate outstanding performance in any of the 3 categories.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is the belief that you can enter the Awards using the pdf documents on our ‘Information’ page. We can’t emphasise enough that entries and nominations must be made online – you need to log in to your account and complete the form there. The pdfs are for drafting and reference purposes only.
This blog will self-destruct in 20 seconds (oh no… that’s a different film).
Subscribe to updates from this blog, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Leave a comment