Apple iPhone Voted Product of the Decade

Posted by Liz Dean on Thu, Mar 29, 2012 @ 02:01 PM

Nearly 900 votes were cast to answer March's poll question, What’s the top new product or service of the past 10 years? As part of our 10th anniversary celebration, the Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards, has introduced a monthly poll series to celebrate the events, people, organizations, and products that shaped our lives over the past decade.

You voted Apple's iPhone as the top new product or service of the past 10 years with 39% of all votes cast. Apple iPhone

Other products and services included in the poll were:

BlackBerry - 17%

Crest WhiteStrips - 1%

Crocs - 2%

Guitar Hero - 3%

iPad - 17%

NetFlix - 3%

Skype- 11%

TiVO  - 2%

Toyota Prius Hybrid - 5%

We will introduce April's poll question, Which is the top company of the past decade? next week on the Stevie Awards' Facebook page.

Topics: iPad, business awards, stevie awards, facebook, poll, Apple, BlackBerry, Crest WhiteStrips, Crocs, Guitar Hero, iPhone, NetFlix, Skype, TiVO, Toyota Prius Hybrid

Deadline Today for The 2012 American Business Awards

Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Mar 28, 2012 @ 04:59 PM

Today is the entry deadline for The 2012 (10th Annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. If you haven't yet entered this year, the web site will be open all night to accept your entries. Request your entry kit here and you will receive it right away. Can't make today's deadline? Don't worry, we'll continue to accept entries through April 25 with a late fee of $35.00 per entry.
The Stevie Awards
The American Business Awards honors all facets of workplace, our award categories include: app awards, company / organization awards, customer service awards, HR awards, IT awards, management awards, marketing awards, new product awards, PR awards, and website awards. See all of our business award categories.

All ABA entries are submitted directly online through your account. You can begin by registering here.

If you have any questions regarding the submission process, we have several helpful resources including a step-by-step video on how to submit entries,  past winners' entries for your review, and  7 tips on submitting winning entries to help you make the most out of your entries.

As always, don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to prepare and submit entries. You can reach us at + 1 703-547-8389 or email us at help@stevieawards.com and we'll get back to you right away.

Topics: customer service awards, hr awards, business awards, app awards, website awards, marketing awards, PR awards, American business awards, business award, it awards, new product awards, management awards

1 Day to American Business Awards Deadline

Posted by Liz Dean on Tue, Mar 27, 2012 @ 01:46 PM

The entry deadline for The 2012 (10th Annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., is tomorrow, Wednesday, March 28, 2012.

The submission process is easy. To start, you should:

1. Request an entry kit.
 The entry kit will have all of the information you need regarding entry preparation and submission.

2. Review the 2012 ABA categories.
The ABAs have several categories that honor organizations, departments, teams, individuals and much more. Our awards categories include:

See all business award categories.

3. Submit your entries. Select your categories, write your submissions according to the instructions, and submit your entries.

If you have any trouble selecting categories or submitting entries, you can contact us at + 1 703-547-8389 or email us at help@stevieawards.com.

Late entries will still be accepted through the final entry deadline of April 25 with a late fee of $35.00 per entry. 2012 Finalists will be announced in early May and 2012 ABA winners will be announced at one of our two awards ceremonies. Our traditional banquet will be held at the Marriott Marquis in New York City on June 18th and our second ceremony where we will honor our tech awards winners will be held in San Francisco at the Julia Morgan Ballroom on September 17th. Click here to see the ABA calendar.

Topics: customer service awards, hr awards, business awards, app awards, website awards, marketing awards, PR awards, American business awards, business award, it awards, new product awards, tech awards, management awards

6 Days Left to Submit Your American Business Awards Entries

Posted by Liz Dean on Thu, Mar 22, 2012 @ 03:31 PM

March 28 is the entry deadline for The 2012 (10th annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards competition in the U.S.A. 

If you haven't downloaded the 2012 entry kit, you can find it online here. We also recommend that you watch the video How to Enter The 2012 American Business Awards for step-by-step instructions on how to successfully submit entries.

The ABAs have categories to recognize achievement in all facets of the American workplace, including awards for individuals, teams, departments, and organizations. Types of award categories include:

See all ABA categories here.

Entries submitted after March 28, through the final deadline of April 25, will be assessed a late fee in addition to any entry fee. 2012 Finalists will be announced in early May and the 10th Annual business awards winners will be announced at one of our two awards ceremonies. We will hold our traditional banquet at the Marriott Marquis in New York City on June 18th and have a second ceremony in San Francisco at the Julia Morgan Ballroom on September 17th where we will announce our tech awards winners. Click here to see the ABA calendar.

Need help answering  your ABA submission questions?  Email us at help@stevieawards.com  or call us at + 1 703-547-8389 and we'll get back to you right away.

Topics: customer service awards, hr awards, business awards, app awards, marketing awards, PR awards, American business awards, it awards, company awards, new product awards, tech awards, web site awards, management awards

Watch Video of the 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service

Posted by Liz Dean on Mon, Mar 19, 2012 @ 10:11 AM

The Stevie® Awards is pleased to announce that videos clips of the 6th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world’s leading sales awards, customer service awards, and contact center awards program are now available to view on YouTube.

Watch the 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service awards presentations here.

Stevie Awards 150 resized 600More than 350 professionals attended the business awards banquet which took place on Monday, February 27th at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our 2012 sales award & customer service award video clips showcase business award acceptance speeches made by individuals and organizations from around the world, including:

Rob Jeppsen of Zions Bank, Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Director of the Year
Rob's speech started the night off by recognizing the team effort behind all individual awards.

MarketBridge, Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year
MarketBridge's enthusiastic team accepts the Gold Stevie Award and expresses their gratitude for their strong partnerships.

Joey Romaine of Groupon, Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Young Customer Service Professional of the Year
Honored for his efforts as a young professional, Joey Romaine keeps the awards show lively and the audience entertained.

Vodafone Turkey, Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Department of the Year, Telecommunications
Traveling from Istanbul, Turkey, Vodafone Turkey's humble speech brought to light the importance business awards have globally.

International Checkout Inc., Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Telesales Team of the Year
Jackson Strobel, VP of Sales & Operations at International Checkout, and his "lean machine" sales team show the audience that size doesn't matter.

The 6th annual corporate awards banquet was the first to showcase our three levels of distinction: gold, silver and bronze as part of our 10th anniversary celebration. Previously, only overall category winners have received Gold Stevie Awards.

Want more sales and customer service awards celebration? Watch all acceptance speeches, listen to the live recording and view photos from the event.

Topics: customer service awards, business awards, corporate awards, stevie awards, business award, Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, sales awards, contact center awards, sales award, customer service award, YouTube

Watch the Video "How to Participate in America Means Business"

Posted by Liz Dean on Fri, Mar 16, 2012 @ 10:53 AM

We've created a video called "How to Participate in America Means Business." You can watch it here.

The video is a recording of our March 13 webinar of the same name. America Means Business is a new event by the Stevie Awards about how to start and create a business. It will take place in New York June 13-15, and there are opportunities for your organization to speak, exhibit, and sponsor.


We're particularly looking for speakers on topics such as:

  • Getting started in business, and all that that entails
  • How to raise money to start a business
  • How and when to hire staff
  • Management issues related to business start-ups and growth
  • Technology issues that should concern entrepreneurs
  • How to use social media and other web media to grow a business and a brand
  • The importance of branding and marketing and how to develop a marketing plan
  • Why public relations and publicity should be on a start-up’s priority list
  • How to develop a sales plan and supercharge a sales effort
  • How and why startups should excel in customer service
  • How to develop and follow a product development and management plan

Watch the video to learn how to participate.

Topics: speaking opportunities, entrepreneurs, growing a business, America Means Business, entrepreneurship, starting a business, American business awards, stevie awards

How a Stevie Awards Winner's Philanthropy Helps Client Relationships

Posted by Liz Dean on Thu, Mar 15, 2012 @ 05:25 PM

Salesforce.com Foundation of San Francisco, California, USA received a Stevie® Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year - More Than 2,500 Employees in the company awards categories of The 2011 American Business Awards. (The 2012 American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., are currently accepting entries. Request an entry kit here and submit your entries by the March 28 deadline.) Here we look at what makes Salesforce.com's CSR program stand out.

Salesforce.com's Philanthropic Model
The Salesforce.com Foundation is considered by many to be a global leader in integrating philanthropy and business through its 1/1/1 integrated philanthropy model. This ground-breaking 1/1/1 integrated model—now being replicated by companies around the world—sets aside 1% of salesforce.com’s employee time, 1% of equity, and 1% of product for nonprofits.

The founder of salesforce.com, CEO Marc Benioff, believes that creating a sustainable philanthropic model doesn’t just require monetary commitments, but rather the culmination of all that a company has to offer—most notably an employees’ time and expertise—in order to make a strong impact on each nonprofit that the Foundation serves.

The business awards winner has made tremendous strides since its inception. From a numbers perspective:

  • 250,000 employee hours have been donated to nonprofits. Salesforce.com gives employees six paid days per year to volunteer for organizations of their choice, and organizes team volunteering events to help employees connect with their communities;
  • 11,000 nonprofits are using donated Salesforce licenses to better serve their missions; and
  • More than $23 million in grants have been awarded. Funds are dispersed via several distinct grants, including matching gifts for employee donations, employee-championed projects, and funding for technology projects focused on youth development.

The Positive Impact of Philanthropy

While the business award winning company has grown to over 5,000 employees, it still keeps philanthropy at its core through its best CSR program practices, which creates a positive impact on its entire community. From integrated volunteering opportunities for employees, partners, and customers at its annual user conference of more than 25,000 attendees, to Susanne DiBiancahelping the homeless learn to use salesforce.com to become more employable, there is an altruistic spirit amongst the salesforce.com community, spearheaded by the Foundation’s work to “to do good while doing well.”
   
According to Susanne DiBianca, executive director and co-founder of the Salesforce.com Foundation, 2010 was a marquee year for the salesforce.com Foundation.  As a result of salesforce.com’s business success, the Foundation was able to significantly increase its impact on the nonprofit community as well as be recognized for having the CSR program of the year.

American Red Cross
The 1/1/1 integrated model is what makes the Salesforce.com Foundation unique, and nowhere can this be seen more clearly than with the Foundation’s work with the American Red Cross, the U.S.A.'s leading disaster recovery organization. Through Salesforce.com’s product, time, and grants, the Foundation is helping the American Red Cross to respond to the magnitude of need created by disasters around the world. 

There are more than 60 American Red Cross Chapters across the U.S.A. using donated and discounted Salesforce licenses to run their organizations, from tracking thousands of volunteers and partners handling tens of thousands of public inquiries in the event of a disaster, to fundraising, and health and safety operations.

A large number of Salesforce.com employees dedicate their time and expertise to the American Red Cross as well as raise money through partnering with the organization. For example, the corporate award winner's employees raised $200,000 to help the Japan earthquake and tsunami victims, and raised $250,000 for the Haiti earthquake.  As a result, Marc Benioff received the Humanitarian Award from the Red Cross Bay Area Chapter March 9, 2011.
       
A New Phase
The company award winning foundation has recently embarked on a new phase to achieve not just sustainability, but also growth through its CSR awards winning approach. The company made the strategic decision to adopt a social enterprise model in an effort to scale its 1/1/1 model. The Foundation is essentially set up as a Salesforce.com reseller so it can now provide steep discounts to nonprofits, nongovernmental organizations, and higher education institutions beyond the initial 10 free license donations.

Organizations that purchase discounted licenses from the corporate awards winner not only receive affordable technology to efficiently manage data and relationships, but also contribute to the growth and success of all nonprofits using Salesforce.com. The revenue from these discounted services goes right back into the Foundation to fund grants, product development, and employee volunteer programs. As a result, everyone is working together to create lasting, worldwide social change.

About Suzanne DiBianca:
Suzanne DiBianca is executive director and co-founder of the Salesforce.com Foundation.  She directs all Foundation activities and serves as the liaison to community, business and government organizations. Previously, DiBianca was a principal at CSC Consulting Group in the Strategic Services Division, where she worked with Fortune 500 companies to improve organizational performance and enhance leadership capabilities. She also served as the program and marketing director for Partners for Democratic Change, a non-profit organization that provides skills for effective conflict management and alternative dispute resolution to NGOs and government officials abroad. DiBianca serves on a number of boards and advisory councils, including the World Affairs Council's Global Philanthropy Forum, the Entrepreneurs Foundation, the Business Advisory Council to SFUSD and Goodwill Industries.

About Salesforce.com:
With 100,000+ customers, Salesforce.com is the enterprise cloud computing company that is leading the shift to the social enterprise. Social enterprises leverage social, mobile, and open cloud technologies to put customers at the heart of their business. Salesforce.com has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia.  For more information call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.

Topics: csr awards, best csr, csr program of the year

How CSR Awards Winner Is Reducing the Environmental Impact of Commercial Transportation

Posted by Liz Dean on Mon, Mar 12, 2012 @ 01:39 PM

Donlen of Northbrook, Illinois, USA, received a Stevie® Award for Corporate Environmental Responsibility Program of the Year—Up to 2,500 Employees in the company awards categories of The 2011 American Business Awards. (The American Business Awards are now accepting entries. Download your entry kit here and submit your 2012 ABA entries by the March 28 deadline.) Here we take a closer look at what steps fleet financer and management provider, Donlen is taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

DonlenAs a global provider of fleet management solutions, the corporate awards winner was concerned with the following facts:

  • Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are the leading cause of climate change;
  • The commercial fleet industry currently manages nearly 3,000,000 vehicles, and one-third of GHG emissions in the United States come from the transportation sector; and
  • The average fleet produces nearly 9,000 metric tons of GHG annually, which is equivalent to the GHG emissions produced by burning 1,012,373 gallons of gasoline.

In 2010, Donlen stepped forward as an industry leader and became a member of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), collaborating with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in a CGI Commitment to Action titled “Commercial Fleet 20% GHG Emissions Reduction,” and launching Fleets for Change, a fully independent website and robust reporting database.

Utilizing significant Donlen resources, Fleets for Change works with companies to help transform the environmental impact of the U.S. commercial fleet industry. This five-year commitment will help to reduce fleet emission levels by 20%, generating a reduction of more than 500,000 metric tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Pledging Reductions
Any company that is committed to working to track and reduce GHG is welcome to join Fleets for Change. After joining, participants pledge reduction levels then upload their fuel usage and MPG data into a secure database. There, they can not only track their progress against their own goals, but anonymously benchmark against similar fleets with regard to vehicle type and/or class, industry, fleet size, and other criteria. (No company names or identifiers are ever disclosed to other participants.) Access to this cross-industry and fleet data is unprecedented in the fleet management industry.

Creating Change
The organization awards winner's commitment to creating meaningful industry change is easily recognizable through their Fleets for Change initiative:

  • This is an industry-wide initiative open to any fleet that wishes to participate, whether or not they are a Donlen customer. Fleets for Change is a fully secure, independent site.
  • There is no cost for a company to participate in Fleets for Change. Donlen is underwriting all associated costs of the site, database, reporting, and analysis.

  • Donlen is committed to protecting the security of participant information: no individual data is identified or used for any purpose other than confidential reporting by Fleets for Change to the Clinton Global Initiative.

Best Practices
For companies needing assistance to identify their reduction goals and strategies, business award winner, Donlen offers best practices based on extensive experience helping their customers to develop and implement sustainability initiatives. For their customers, Donlen consultants provide performance metrics, benchmarking data, analytical support, facilitating discussions around lifecycle costs and cost reduction. These effective strategies, some of which are shared with Fleets for Change participants, help to measure and reduce fleet GHG.

Corporate award winner and CEO Gary Rappeport spearheads Donlen’s innovation and unparalleled success in the fleet industry. His focus on employee and customer satisfaction, corporate social responsibility, and environmental consciousness has put Donlen in the forefront of workplace excellence, and allowed Donlen to experience unprecedented growth under his leadership.

“The transportation industry is responsible for 28% of the overall greenhouse gas emissions in the United States,” stated Rappeport.“As a leader in the fleet management industry, it’s important that Donlen takes the initiative to help reduce commercial fleet GHG on a broader scale. The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) offers us the ideal venue to address this critically important issue, and we're proud to collaborate with EDF to be part of the larger work of CGI.”

About Gary Rappeport:
Chief Executive Officer Gary Rappeport joined Donlen in 1986 and held a variety of roles prior to taking the leadership position in 1996. Named Executive of the Year-Services in The 2009 American Business Awards, Gary is committed to both employee and customer satisfaction, and developed the Donlen Service Success Chain in which annual goals are set and achievements benchmarked. Gary received a Bachelor's degree in Finance at the University of Florida and an MBA in Finance and Information Systems at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is a member of the Chicago Chapter of the World Presidents’ Organization, and serves as chairman of the American Automotive Leasing Association. Gary is on the Dean's Advisory Board of the University of Wisconsin Business School. He is an active member of The Sierra Club and is diligently involved with Children's Oncology Services, Inc. Prior to joining Donlen, he held sales and management positions at NCR and HP.

About Donlen:
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Hertz Corporation (NYSE:HTZ), Donlen (www.donlen.com), with headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois, is a global provider of fleet financing and management solutions. Since 1965, Donlen has offered its clients highly personalized and responsive customer service, and their workplace excellence has been recognized as one of Crain's Chicago Business "List of 20 Best Places to Work in Chicago" each year from 2009-2011, a Leader on "The Global Outsourcing 100®" list by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) for five of the last six years, a National Association for Business Resources "101 Best and Brightest Places to Work For in Chicago" each year from 2007-2011, the 2012 Gold Stevie® Award winner for Business Intelligence, and the 2012 Silver Stevie Award winner for Front Line Customer Service Team of the Year in the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Topics: business awards, corporate awards, American business awards, business award, corporate award, Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, company awards, organization awards, executive of the year, Donlen, Gary Rappeport

3 Weeks Left to Submit Your American Business Award Entries

Posted by Liz Dean on Fri, Mar 09, 2012 @ 10:56 AM

The entry deadline for The 10th Annual American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., is quickly approaching – it’s Wednesday, March 28, 2012. You can start submitting your entries today here.

How the submission process works:

  1. Request your entry kit. 
    Once emailed to you, the kit will be your guide on everything you'll need to know about how to prepare and submit your entries.
  2. Review the 2012 ABA categories.
    Pick who you would like to recognize and why they should be recognized. We have categories highlighting organizations, teams, departments, and individuals, as well as:
  1. Submit your entries.
    Select your categories, write your submissions according to the instructions, and submit your entries.

Benefits of submitting a business award entry:

  1. More chances to win
    All Finalists in the Best New Product or Service categories will automatically be included in the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, a public vote that will commence in July. The People's Choice Winners will be honored at the new tech awards ceremony in San Francisco on September 17. Finalists in the Best New Product or Service categories will have an opportunity to win two awards: a Stevie® Award, as voted by your peers, and a crystal People's Choice Stevie Award, as voted by your customers.
  2. New award distinctions
    The American Business Awards banquets will showcase our three levels of award distinction: Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards. You can learn more about the new awards here.
  3. Multiple awards banquets
    The 10th Annual corporate awards will have two awards ceremonies. We will hold our traditional banquet at the Marriott Marquis in New York City on June 18th and have a second ceremony in San Francisco at the Julia Morgan Ballroom on September 17th where we will announce our tech award winners.

Helpful resources to make your submission process easier:

  1. Step-by-step video on how to submit entries
    Watch our helpful video tutorial on how to successfully enter submissions.
  2. Review past winners' entries here.
    They're great models for how you should write your entries.
  3. 7 tips on submitting winning entries
    Read our tips on how to submit winning entries.

If you have any questions regarding your ABA submissions, call us at + 1 703-547-8389 or email us at help@stevieawards.com and we'll get back to you right away.

Not going to make the March 28th deadline?
Don't worry, you can still submit entries through April 25 with a $35.00 late fee.   Click here to see the ABA's calendar.  

Topics: customer service awards, hr awards, business awards, corporate awards, app awards, marketing awards, PR awards, American business awards, business award, corporate award, it awards, company awards, new product awards, tech awards, web site awards, management awards, tech award

Vote in Our Poll: Top New Product or Service of the Past 10 Years

Posted by Liz Dean on Tue, Mar 06, 2012 @ 09:06 PM

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards, has just published the third poll in our monthly poll series highlighting people, organizations, events, and products that have shaped our lives over the past decade.  We bring you these polls as part of our 10th anniversary celebration of the start of the Stevie Awards movement.

Our March poll asks, What’s the top new product or service of the past 10 years?
After careful consideration, we've narrowed the choices to the following ten. Vote now for your choice on our Facebook page:

a) BlackBerry

b) Crest WhiteStrips

c) Crocs
Stevie Awards Poll
d) Guitar Hero

e) iPad

f) iPhone

g) NetFlix

h) Skype

i)TiVO

j) Toyota Prius Hybrid

Results of our poll will be announced at the end of March.

Which do you think is the top new product or service of the past 10 years?

Topics: iPad, business awards, stevie awards, facebook, poll, BlackBerry, Crest WhiteStrips, Crocs, Guitar Hero, iPhone, NetFlix, Skype, TiVO, Toyota Prius Hybrid