Final Entry Deadline Today for the Stevie® Awards for Women in Business

Posted by Liz Dean on Fri, Sep 28, 2012 @ 11:13 AM

Today, Friday September 28, is the final entry deadline for the 2012 (9th annual) Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run. 

To begin your submission process, you should:

1. Request an entry kit. 
The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to this year's awards. All entries are submitted online. You can begin by registering here.

2. Review the categories.
All female entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature more than 80 categories to recognize achievement in many facets of worklife, including:The Stevie Awards for Women in Business

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

Three tips to help you make the most out of your entries include:

1. Determine Who or What You Want to Nominate, and in Which Categories
Decide which individuals, organizations, or work  that you will nominate, then select the most appropriate categories for those entries. 

2. Use the 2011 Stevie-winning Entries as Models
2011 Stevie-winning entries are examples of entries that judges scored highly, and we recommend that you emulate their style, tone, and structure.  Click here to go to the list of 2011 honorees.

3. Prepare Your Entries
Stevie-winning entries are:

a. Well-written.  They are terse and succinct.  Their tone is modest, even when describing the most impressive accomplishments.
b. Focused on a few accomplishments.  Describe in detail just a few accomplishments, instead of listing many accomplishments in brief.
c. Accompanied by supporting information.  Provide links to online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in your entries.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are judged by many leading women entrepreneurs, executives and luminaries in business.  More than 200 professionals worldwide will participate in the judging process this year.

The 2012 results will be announced at an awards dinner at Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 9.

Need help answering  your last minute 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: website awards, marketing awards, PR awards, stevie awards for women in business, women awards, women in business awards, best entrepreneur, entrepreneur of the year

One Day to Stevie® Awards for Women in Business Final Entry Deadline

Posted by Liz Dean on Thu, Sep 27, 2012 @ 10:51 AM

Tomorrow, September 28, is final entry deadline for the 2012 (9th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run.

All entries are submitted online. You can begin by registering here.

All female entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature more than 80 categories to recognize achievement in many facets of worklife, including:Stevie Awards for Women in Business

Winners of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Women in Business included, among others: Charly Leetham of Ask Charly Leetham, Canberra, Australia (Entrepreneur of the Year), Sarah Yansura of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR (Employee of the Year), Melissa Burton of FTF Sweets Ltd, Heysham, United Kingdom (Entrepreneur of the Year in EMEA),America Works of New York, Inc.'s Dr. Lee Bowes (Lifetime Achievement Award), Rockin' Green's Kimberly Webb (Best Entrepreneur), and Jack Morton Worldwide's Tara Back (Best Executive). A complete list of 2011 honorees is available at www.stevieawards.com/women.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are judged by many leading women entrepreneurs, executives and luminaries in business.  More than 200 professionals worldwide will participate in the judging process this year.

The 2012 results will be announced at an awards dinner at Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 9.

Need help answering  your last minute 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: website awards, marketing awards, PR awards, stevie awards for women in business, women awards, women in business awards, best entrepreneur, entrepreneur of the year

WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN PEOPLE’S CHOICE STEVIE® AWARDS FOR FAVORITE COMPANIES

Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Sep 26, 2012 @ 10:02 AM

Awards to Be Presented at Gala Ceremony on October 15 in Seoul, South Korea

Fairfax, VA – September 26, 2012 – More than 30,000 votes were cast in the 2012 People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Companies, part of The 9th Annual International Business Awards, the world’s top business awards program. 

People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite CompaniesThe worldwide public vote was conducted over the past three weeks, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners of crystal People’s Choice Stevie Awards in 20 categories.  The big winner this year is International Armoring Corporation of Centerville, Utah, USA, which won in three categories.  Other winners include ActionCOACH, Delta Air Lines, FreeConferenceCall.com, LifeLock, Samsung Electronics, Shinhan Card, and Unilever, among others.

The complete list of People’s Choice Stevie Award winners is available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

Nicknamed the Stevie® for the Greek word “crowned,” the awards will be presented to winners at The International Business Awards banquet on Monday, October 15 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Seoul, South Korea.  Tickets for the event are now on sale.  More than 250 nominees and their guests are expected to attend.

All organizations honored in the 34 industry-specific Company of the Year categories of this year’s International Business Awards were eligible to be included in voting for the people’s choice awards.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.

Sponsors and partners of The 2012 International Business Awards include Competence Call Center and the Korea Business Communicators Association.

Topics: business awards, International business awards, company of the year, People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Co

STEVIE® AWARDS ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF BEST OF THE ABA AWARDS

Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Sep 26, 2012 @ 10:02 AM

Top Overall Award Winners in The 2012 American Business Awards Are Named

Fairfax, VA, September 26, 2012 – The Stevie® Awards have announced the winners of the Best of the ABA Awards in The 2012 American Business Awards, the U.S.A’s premier business awards competition. This new addition to the ABAs' repertory of awards includes five best-of-competition prizes that are awarded to the organizations that submitted the best body of work to the competition, in their own name or in the names of one or more clients. 

The American Business Awards honors an all-inclusive spectrum of American business people and organizations -- from non-profits, emerging start-ups, major public companies and government agencies, to corner-office executives, product developers, marketers and web development teams.

Nominees in The 2012 American Business Awards were not able to apply for the Best of the ABA Awards directly.  Winners were determined by a points system based on the total number of awards won in the ABAs, with a Gold Stevie Award win counting for 3 points, each Silver Stevie Award for 2 points, and each Bronze Stevie win counting for 1.5 points. LifeLock, Organization of the Year

The winners of the Best of the ABA Awards this year are:

Organization of the Year: LifeLock, Tempe, AZ.  With 61 total points, LifeLock is the most honored organization in the 2012 ABAs.

Public Relations Agency of the Year: MWW, East Rutherford, NJ.  MWW offices across the U.S.A. won a total of 32 points for nominations in their own name or in the names of their clients.

Marketing Agency of the Year: Slack and Company, Chicago, ILSlack earned 16 points, tops among all marketing services agencies in this year's ABAs.

Interactive Services Agency of the Year: BGT Partners, Miami, FL.  With 11.5 points, BGT Partners is the most honored of this year's field of interactive agency contestants.

Top 10: After the winners of the above prizes, the following organizations earned the most award points in the 2012 ABAs:

1. Quality Systems, Inc., Irvine, CA (49.5 points)
2. John Hancock, Boston, MA (36)
3. Nutricap Labs, Farmingdale, NY (32.5)
4. PetRays Veterinary Telemedicine Consultants, The Woodlands, TX (32.5)
5. VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA (30)
6. iolo technologies, Los Angeles, CA (25)
7. Accenture, Chicago, IL (22)
8. Achievers, San Francisco, CA (10)
9. DRC, Reston, VA (18)
10. American Institute of CPAs, Durham, NC (16)

Best of the ABA winners have been granted the exclusive right to use a unique Best of the 2012 ABAs logo.

More than 3,000 entries were submitted to The 2012 American Business Awards and more than 270 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners, who were honored during ceremonies in June in New York and September in San Francisco.

For a complete list of The 2012 American Business Awards winners in all categories visit: www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Entries for the 2013 edition of The American Business Awards will be accepted starting this October 22.

About the Stevie® Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com, and follow the Stevie Awards on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube

Sponsors and partners of The 2012 American Business Awards include American Support, Business TalkRadio Network, CallidusCloud, Citrix Online, Dynamic Research Corporation, iolo technologies, John Hancock Funds, LifeLock, PetRays, Primus Telecommunications Group, SoftPro, and VerticalResponse.

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Topics: American business awards, ABAs, Best of the ABAs, The Stevie Awards, Organization of the Year, PR Agency of the Year, Marketing Agency of the Year, Interactive Services Agency of the Year

Top 5 Reasons to Enter the Stevie® Awards for Women in Business

Posted by Liz Dean on Mon, Sep 24, 2012 @ 03:00 PM

The final entry deadline for the 2012 (9th annual) Stevie® Awards for Women in Business is this Friday, September 28, so we thought we would share five reasons why you and your organization should submit entries. (The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run. If you haven't yet done so, you can request your entry kit here.)

  1. Stevie Awards for Women in BusinessImprove employee morale.  
    Applying for The Stevie® Awards is a simple and affordable way to recognize your organization and employees.
  2. Company size equality.  
    You don't have to be a big company to win a Stevie!  Small organizations have an equal opportunity to win Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevies.
  3. Access to your industry's leaders.  
    Many of the world's top business leaders will review your nominations during the judging process.
  4. Impress potential clients.
    Your work will not only be reviewed and honored by peers and competitors, but also by potential clients! 
  5. Global recognition and free publicity.   
    Gold Stevie Award winners will have the opportunity to make a 30-second acceptance speech before an audience of 200+ of executives from across the world.

What's your number one reason for applying for the Stevie Awards for Women in Business?

Topics: website awards, marketing awards, PR awards, stevie awards for women in business, women awards, women in business awards, best entrepreneur, entrepreneur of the year

One Week to Stevie® Awards for Women in Business Final Entry Deadline

Posted by Liz Dean on Fri, Sep 21, 2012 @ 09:31 AM

The final entry deadline for the 2012 (9th annual) Stevie® Awards for Women in Business is September 28.The Stevie Awards for Women in Business

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run. To begin your submission process, you should:

1. Request an entry kit. 
The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to this year's awards.

2. Review the categories.
All female entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature over 80 categories including Best Entrepreneur, Best Young Entrepreneur, Best Executive, Mentor or Coach of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Employee of the Year, Best Overall Company of the Year, and Most Innovative Company of the Year, among others.

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

Winners of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Women in Business included, among others: Charly Leetham of Ask Charly Leetham, Canberra, Australia (Entrepreneur of the Year), Sarah Yansura of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR (Employee of the Year), Melissa Burton of FTF Sweets Ltd, Heysham, United Kingdom (Entrepreneur of the Year in EMEA), Ann Kaplan of iFinance Canada (Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year), Lynn Agnello of the Phoenix Suns NBA team (Executive of the Year), The University of Southern Mississippi (Community Relations Campaign of the Year), and Wipro Limited, Bangalore, India (Women Helping Women Award).  A complete list of 2011 honorees is available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are judged by many leading women entrepreneurs, executives and luminaries in business.  More than 200 professionals worldwide will participate in the judging process this year.

The 2012 results will be announced at an awards dinner at Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 9.

Need help answering  your 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: website awards, marketing awards, PR awards, stevie awards for women in business, women awards, women in business awards, best entrepreneur, entrepreneur of the year

Two Days Left to Vote in the People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Companies

Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Sep 19, 2012 @ 03:46 PM

Friday, 21 September, is the last day to vote in the Second Annual People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Companies, as part of The International Business Awards, the world’s premier business awards program.

People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite CompaniesVoting will close at 11:59PM on 21 September; vote now at http://peopleschoice.stevieawards.com.

This is a worldwide vote in which the general public will get to choose one favorite company in more than 30 categories including:

  • Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations
  • Consumer Products
  • Electronics
  • Internet/New Media
  • Non-Profit or Government Organizations

All organizations honored with Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie Award in the IBAs' 34 Company of the Year categories are automatically included in People's Choice voting. People's Choice winners will receive a special People's Choice Stevie Award trophy allowing for honorees in the Company of the Year categories to have the opportunity to receive a second award, as voted by the general public.

2011 winners were celebrated at the International Business Awards gala in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Past winners include Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ActionCOACH, Beiersdorf AG, and Türk Telekom, among others. 2011 results are summarized, at http://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/bid/62803/Winners-Announced-in-People-s-Choice-Stevie-Awards-for-Favorite-Companies.

Winners of the crystal People's Choice Stevie Awards will be celebrated at the International Business Awards gala on Monday, 15 October at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Seoul, South Korea.

Which companies will you be voting for in this year's People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Companies?

Topics: business awards, International business awards, company of the year, People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Co

10th Annual American Business Awards Announces Winners in New Product and Technology Categories

Posted by Liz Dean on Tue, Sep 18, 2012 @ 09:05 AM

Apple, Cisco, PayPal, VerticalResponse Among Winners of Gold Stevie Awards

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, September 18, 2012 – The 10th Annual American Business AwardsSM announced Stevie® Award winners last night at its first event to focus on outstanding new products and services and on achievements in technology industries.The Stevie Awards

For the first time, The American Business Awards were presented at two awards ceremonies this year.  The first ceremony took place in New York City on June 18 and honored winners in categories such as customer service, human resources, corporate communications, live events, publications, and selected categories for company/organization, management and marketing.  Winners in all new product and technology-related categories were announced at a new event in San Francisco last night.

The American Business Awards honors an all-inclusive spectrum of American business people and organizations -- from non-profits, emerging start-ups, major public companies and government agencies, to corner-office executives, product developers, marketers and web development teams.

More than 250 executives attended last night’s awards banquet at San Francisco’s Julia Morgan Ballroom.  Stevie Awards were conferred in three levels of distinction: Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Notable Gold Stevie Award Winners announced last night include:

  • ­New Telecommunications Product of the Year: ADTRAN’s Virtual Wireless LAN (vWLAN®) Solution
  • ­Company of the Year - Computer Hardware: Apple Inc.
  • ­New Cloud Application/Service of the Year: Carbonite Business and Business Premier
  • ­Best Online Press Room: Cisco's Technology News Site
  • ­Computer Software Website of the Year: HubSpot’s Marketing Grader
  • ­Company of the Year - Internet/New Media: IAC/InterActiveCorp
  • ­Tech Innovation of the Year: Life Technologies’ Ion Torrent semiconductor sequencing technology
  • ­Tech Innovator of the Year: David Marcus, President, PayPal, Inc.
  • ­Executive of the Year - Computer Services: Steven T. Plochocki, CEO, Quality Systems, Inc.
  • ­Most Innovative Tech Company of the Year - Up to 2,500 Employees: FireEye, Inc. and Unity Technologies, Inc.
  • ­Fastest Growing Tech Company of the Year - Up to 2,500 Employees: YouSendIt

VerticalResponse won three Gold Stevie Awards, more than any other organization last night. Winners of two Gold Stevie Awards are Acquity Group, Brainshark, Inc., Citrix, DRC, FireEye, Inc., LifeLock, Qualcomm Incorporated, Terralever, and ZAGG Inc. 

The ABA’s 2012 Difference Maker Award, an honorary Stevie Award, was presented to LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.

Winners of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, which were determined by more than 98,000 votes in July and August, were announced last week and presented their crystal People’s Choice Stevie Awards last night.

More than 3,000 entries were submitted to The 2012 American Business Awards and more than 270 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners. 

For a complete list of The 2012 American Business Awards winners announced last night visit:  www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Next week the Stevie Awards will announce its Best of the ABA prizes, which will be awarded to the organizations with the best overall showing across all categories in The 2012 American Business Awards.

About the Stevie® Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com, and follow the Stevie Awards on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube

Sponsors and partners of The 2012 American Business Awards include American Support, Business TalkRadio Network, CallidusCloud, Citrix Online, Dynamic Research Corporation, iolo technologies, John Hancock Funds, LifeLock, PetRays, Primus Telecommunications Group, SoftPro, and VerticalResponse.

Topics: business awards, American business awards, stevie awards, ABAs, stevie winners

Less Than Two Weeks to Stevie® Awards for Women in Business Final Entry Deadline

Posted by Liz Dean on Mon, Sep 17, 2012 @ 04:54 PM

The final entry deadline for the 2012 (9th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run is quickly approaching on September 28.

If you haven't  yet done so, you can request your entry kit here. The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to this year's awards.

All female entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature more than 80 categories to recognize achievement in many facets of worklife, including:Stevie Awards for Women in Business

Winners of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Women in Business included, among others: America Works of New York, Inc.'s Dr. Lee Bowes (Lifetime Achievement Award), Rockin' Green's Kimberly Webb (Best Entrepreneur), Jack Morton Worldwide's Tara Back (Best Executive), Mitchell Personnel Solutions' Trace Mitchell (Best Asian Entrepreneur), and Agloves (Best New Company of the Year). A complete list of 2011 honorees is available at www.stevieawards.com/women.

The 2012 results will be announced at an awards dinner at Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 9.

Have last minute questions? Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2012 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Topics: website awards, marketing awards, PR awards, stevie awards for women in business, women awards, women in business awards, best entrepreneur, entrepreneur of the year

WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN PEOPLE’S CHOICE STEVIE® AWARDS FOR FAVORITE NEW PRODUCTS

Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Sep 12, 2012 @ 10:13 AM

Awards to Be Presented at Gala Ceremony on September 17 in San Francisco

Fairfax, VA – September 12, 2012 – More than 98,000 votes were cast in the 2012 People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, part of The 10th Annual American Business Awards, the U.S.A.’s top business awards program. 

People's Choice Stevie AwardsThe nationwide public vote was conducted this summer, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in 30 categories.  Among the winners, which will each receive the coveted crystal People's Choice Stevie Award at a gala ceremony in San Francisco on September 17, are:

-      Favorite Smartphone: Apple iPhone 4S

-      Favorite Business-to-Business Product: Humana Integrated Proposal System

-      Favorite Collaboration/Social Software: Mindjet Connect

-      Favorite Financial Service: FreeMonee

-      Favorite Media/Entertainment Product or Service: appsbar

The complete list of People’s Choice Stevie Award winners is available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Nicknamed the Stevie® for the Greek word “crowned,” the awards will be presented to winners at The American Business Awards’ new product and tech awards banquet on Monday, September 17 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco.  Tickets for the event are now on sale.  More than 200 nominees and their guests are expected to attend.

All organizations honored in the new product awards categories of this year’s American Business Awards were eligible to be included in voting for the people’s choice awards.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.

Sponsors and partners of The 2012 American Business Awards include American Support, Business TalkRadio Network, Callidus Software, Citrix Online, Dynamic Research Corporation, iolo technologies, John Hancock Funds, LifeLock, PetRays, Primus Telecommunications Group, SoftPro, and VerticalResponse.

Topics: American business awards, stevie awards, ABAs, product of the year, new product awards, iPhone 4S, Mindjet Connect, FreeMonee, appsbar, Humana Integrated Proposal System

Want to Be a Judge for the World's Top Honors for Women?

Posted by Liz Dean on Tue, Sep 11, 2012 @ 11:06 AM

We invite you to apply to be a preliminary-round judge for the 9th annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run.  Interested?  Apply here.

How does preliminary-round judging work?

  • You Be The JudgeAll judging is done online so judges will be able to review nominations on their own time and at their own pace.
  • Judges will be assigned categories based on their experience, function, and industry.
  • There is no limit to how many (or how few) nominations judges can review.

What are the benefits of being a Stevie Awards judge?

  • Judges get an inside look at how other organizations and individuals are achieving success and confronting challenges. 
  • All active judges will receive a certificate of appreciation, suitable for framing.
  • All judges will have a chance to win two free tickets to the November 2012 awards dinner in New York City.

Need more information?

Apply to be a judge and be a part of a worldwide coalition of business heroes.

What's your top reason for applying to be a 2012 Stevie Awards for Women in Business  judge?

Topics: judging, preliminary judging, stevie awards for women in business, awards judging, judges, female entrepreneurs, female executives

How Women in Business Awards Winner Trains Veterans for Redeploying into the Workforce

Posted by Liz Dean on Tue, Sep 04, 2012 @ 04:21 PM

Métier, Ltd., of Healdsburg, California, USA, received a Stevie® Award for Community Involvement Program of the Year in the company awards categories of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, while founder Sandra Richardson was named Mentor of the Year in 2010. (The final entry deadline for the 2012 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run, is September 28. Request your entry kit today.) Here we look at how she and her company are helping veterans. Metier

As a founding partner of Métier, the PPM Company™, Sandra Richardson has united her foundations in traditional Human Resources management with her innovative desire to build a fresh, effective approach to career development and employee mentoring.

Asked about her award-winning Community Involvement Program, Sandra commented: “The Protectors to Project Managers program is a great example of how we structure our corporate giving programs at Métier.  We want to give to our community, but also produce a return on investment.  This program helps the wounded service member, their families, the military support organizations, our local community, and the project management profession.  It’s a win-win-win for everyone involved.  We are living in a project-centric world, so the skills they obtain are valuable and make a positive impact, whether or not they ultimately decide to change their profession to project management.”

Background
She and business partner Douglas Clark have established a career-development and employee-mentoring program that focuses on a results-driven approach. Métier employees have ongoing coaching sessions with their managers as often as every week, and at least once a month instead of the traditional annual performance review. Employees are encouraged to schedule “skip-level” coaching sessions with directors and executives. In addition, Métier has a third party executive coach for regularly scheduled and ad hoc coaching sessions.

Promoting from Within
Rather than hiring from outside of the organization, Métier prefers to nurture and mentor its employees. The impact on both the employees and the organization has been dramatic. Métier has promoted the majority of its management from within, including every member of Métier’s executive leadership.  This has also translated into results for the organization. Métier has increased its client base by 48% over the past year and achieved the highest SaaS customer retention rate in the industry.

Giving Back to the Community
Métier develops their social responsibility programs to provide the greatest return on investment for each philanthropic dollar invested.  Métier developed their award-winning program, Protectors to Project Managers, in order to give back to America's veterans.  The program offers project management training, Project Management Institute (PMI®) certification, and professional development coaching to Wounded Warriors to prepare them for new careers as certified project managers. 

Project Management Skills In Demand
Project management was named as one of Money Magazine’s “Best Careers in America” in 2010 and was also ranked as #2 in “Hot Skills for 2011” by Computerworld.  According to a 2010 Computerworld report, people with project management skills would “be sought by 43% of Computerworld's survey respondents who plan to make new hires,” and by even more in a poll taken by Monster.com.

A New Career for Veterans
Métier’s Protectors to Project Managers program contributes more than just monetary donations. Instead, the program capitalizes on the company’s deep industry knowledge to give veterans an opportunity to jump-start a new career in project management.

Métier's investment in project management training not only assists the veterans, but also helps the U.S. economy to be more efficient by adding a larger number of certified project managers to the workforce.   

Making Meaningful Connections
Métier employees—dubbed Métians by the company—get to see the tangible impact of their work in this program. 

Jason Graham, senior consultant for Métier, was the leading instructor of the 2012 Protectors to Project Managers class. Through Métier’s philanthropic program, Jason has been able to share his knowledge of project management while making meaningful connections with America’s veterans along the way.

Jason had the opportunity to work with an outstanding group of veterans.  However, there was one veteran in particular who broke new ground for the program under Jason’s instruction.  This particular veteran became so comfortable with the material that he learned during the 10-week class that he requested to skip the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam and go straight for his Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.  With Jason as his project management teacher and coach, this individual successfully obtained his PMP certification in record-breaking time. 

Extending the Program
Métier already has plans to extend the program to other military branches next year, including to Navy and Marine Service Members.

About Sandra Richardson:
Sandra Richardson is one of Métier’s founders and the Chief Marketing Officer responsible for the marketing and business development teams. Her leadership has contributed to the rapid growth of Métier. Under Richardson’s purview, Métier has earned a five-time position on the Inc. list of fastest-growing privately-held companies in the country and has been named an industry leader by third party analysts. 

Richardson has received many accolades, including being profiled as a ‘Top Techie to Watch’; nominated for the Entrepreneurial Excellence Award for Working Woman magazine; and receiving the Entrepreneur Leadership Award from Women in Technology (WIT).

About Métier, Ltd.
Métier, The PPM Company offers cutting edge project portfolio management (PPM) solutions.  Ranked as a PPM leader by third party industry analysts, Métier's software and services can mature any organization, regardless of size.  Métier is the thought leader in the PPM industry and holds an extensive portfolio of industry-enhancing patents.  In addition to numerous awards for innovative corporate culture, Inc. Magazine has consistently ranked Métier as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S.  For more information about how your organization can workforward®, please visit www.metier.com or call 1.877.965.9501. 

Topics: stevie awards for women in business, company awards, Métier, Ltd, Sandra Richardson, Mentor of the Year, Community Involvement Program of the Year