The Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service has issued its 2016 (10th annual) call for entries. All customer service, contact center, business development, and sales departments, teams and professionals worldwide are eligible to be nominated, in addition to new products and services used by those professionals. Complete details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

The 2016 awards will recognize achievements since July 1, 2014. The entry kit lists all of the categories and complete instructions on how to prepare and submit entries.

October 21, 2015 is the early-bird entry deadline with discounted entry fees. The final entry deadline is November 18, 2015, but late entries will be accepted through January 12, 2016 with payment of a late fee. Winners of the tenth annual competition will be announced at a gala awards banquet on March 4 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.

New categories for 2016 include:

Sales Distinction Awards Categories: These have replaced the Sales Department categories. Rather than focus on the performance of a named sales department, these new categories recognize sales-related achievements across an entire company or organization. Successes to highlight can be related to revenue growth, customer acquisition, lead development, training, enculturation of product knowledge, and more.

Customer Service Success Awards Categories: If an organization doesn't have a formal customer service function - if "everyone here works in customer service" is their motto - then these new categories have been developed to focus on spotlight on their achievements.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature more than 140 sales awards, customer service awards, business development awards, new product awards, and call center awards categories. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories.

Winners of the 2015 edition of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service included 60K Ltd., Avea Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., DenizBank, DP DHL, Delta Air Lines, Fastjet, FedEx TechConnect, Informatica Corporation, John Hancock Signature Services, Kohl’s Department Stores, Revana, Revenue Storm, and Time Warner Cable, among others.

The 2016 awards will see the return of a the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service, a popular feature in which the general public worldwide will vote for their favorite providers of customer service. All Finalists in the Customer Service Department of the Year categories will be included in people’s choice voting.

The 2016 competition will be judged by more than 200 professionals around the world.

Fabulous@50, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, won the Gold Stevie Award for Event of the Year in the Media Awards categories of the 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

The final deadline for the 2015 Stevie Awards for Women is September 23.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

Although extremely busy with her next event this November, Fabulous@50’s founder, Dianna Bowes, was able to spare a few minutes to talk with us about winning awards, her plans for the future, and her next big event, the Fabulous@50 Experience & Martini Party.

The Fabulous@50 Experience and Martini Party takes place the first Saturday of November every year at the River Cree Entertainment Facility in Edmonton, Alberta. It is a celebration for women, age 40-plus, and their circle of influence. The event brings women of a similar age together to have fun, and to be inspired with a little education from inspirational speakers and great exhibitors.

Expanding Into New Communities
Dianna has big plans for the future of her event. “My plan for Fabulous@50 is to continue to grow in other communities by engaging heart-centered women to join the ranks as licensees and build their own Fabulous@50 community,” she told us. “As well as growing readership of the E-Magazine and online membership, Fabulous@50 will always be about supporting women by bringing them great information and friendship.”

Gaining Credibility
Dianna also won a Bronze Stevie for Women Helping Women - Business/Business Services & Diversified Services in the Individual Awards categories of the 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

“Winning not just one but two Stevie Awards in 2014 was the icing on the cake,” she observed. “It benefited my company by giving us credibility for the hard work we put into developing a great event. And it also supported us in the development of our sponsors and the attraction of exhibitors.”

“The Stevie Awards for Women in Business helps build awareness for our events because of the incredible women involved and nominated for these awards,” added Dianna. “I feel so honored to be a winner of such a prestigious award.”

Growing Every Year
The purpose of the Fabulous@50 Experience is to inspire, educate, and empower women over 40. It is an event that brings together products, services, and speakers that are picked specifically for their demographic. “The 2015 event will be our 7th event, and growth every year has been incredible,” commented Dianne. “From bringing one friend in the first few years, groups have grown to 6 and then 12. Plus companies are providing their female employees with tickets to support their growth and connection. This event is looked forward to by many every year.”

Sponsorship and Support
Fabulous@50 is sponsored by local businesses, and it supports local charities such as the YWCA and Suit Yourself. Helping others is a foundation of Fabulous@50, and members get involved in everything from preparing Christmas gift shoeboxes for inner city kids to organizing an elegant charity auction. The group’s charity of record, Suit Yourself, is an organization that helps women dress for success as they enter or re-enter the working world.

Building a Community
Dianna is looking forward to this November’s event. “I am inspired when I see the ladies enter our events with openness to new experiences,” she explained. “At our November tradeshow, we see ladies who came a few years ago with one friend and are now are making it an annual event for a large group of friends and family of all ages. For me, it is all about the relationships and the building of a community of amazing women.”

About Dianna Bowes:
Dianna Bowes’ vision was not only to change her life, but also to transform others’. As founder of Fabulous@50, a network for women in and around their 50s, Dianna is a guiding light to thousands of women who are members, who come to her events, and who read the Be Fabulous! Magazine.

Following the break-up of her own marriage, and serious spinal surgery, Dianna took a good, hard look at her life and decided it needed a major make-over. Although pain, poverty, and life as a single mother are not the routes many would choose, they were a catalyst for Dianna. She decided her path to self-fulfillment could be inspiring for others. She retrained as a personal life coach and formed a company called Creative On The Move that offered an eclectic mix of graphic design services, event planning, and life coaching.

In 2008, she expanded her outreach by forming Fabulous@50. Her vision is to inspire, educate, and empower women in midlife by bringing them together virtually and in person to network, share, care, and grow. Suit Yourself named Dianna Bowes and Fabulous@50 as their Top Fundraiser in 2011, and Dianna received further accolades when she was named a 2011 YWCA Woman of Distinction in the “Turning Point” category.

About Fabulous@50:
Fabulous@50 is an organization that empowers, educates, and inspires baby boomer women through events, magazines, and an online and offline membership. Founded in 2008 by Dianna Bowes, this vibrant organization is growing at a steady rate and is licensing the business plan to women leaders in other communities. Fabulous@50 is an organization based on the concept of growth through relationships. For more information, go to www.fabulousat50.com/

Freelancer.com is the top winner in the 2015 People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Companies, a feature of The International Business Awards, the world's only international, all-encompassing business awards program which is now in its 12^th year.

The worldwide public vote was conducted this summer, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in a variety of company categories. More than 10,000 votes were cast. All Stevie Award winners in the Company of the Year categories of this year’s International Business Awards were eligible to be included in voting for the People’s Choice Stevie Awards.

Freelancer.com, the Sydney, Australia-based outsourcing and crowdsourcing marketplace for small businesses, won People’s Choice Awards in two categories, and also collected the most votes of any nominee.

The crystal People’s Choice Stevie Awards will be presented to winners at The International Business Awards banquet on Friday, October 23 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Canada. Tickets for the event are now on sale. There, the winners of peer-adjudicated Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards will be presented with their awards along with the People’s Choice Stevie Awards. Stevie winners were selected from more than 3,700 nominations received from organizations and individuals in more than 60 nations.

The winners of the 2015 People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies are:

-          Banking: Odeabank AS, Istanbul, Turkey

-          Business / Professional Services: Freelancer.com, Sydney, Australia

-          Computer Services: ScaleFocus, Sofia, Bulgaria

-          Computer Software: RheinBrücke IT Consulting GmbH, Cologne, Germany

-          Energy: Bahrain National Gas Company (B.S.C.), Manama

-          Financial Services / Insurance: USHEALTH Advisors, Grapevine, TX, USA

-          Health / Pharmaceuticals: OptumCare Operations, Phoenix, AZ, USA

-          Hospitality & Leisure: Creative Lodging Solutions, Lexington, KY, USA

-          Internet / New Media: Freelancer.com, Sydney, Australia

-          Non –Profit / Government: The National Archives (UAE) – Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

-          Transportation: Road & Transport Authority – Rail Agency, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Stevie® Awards held one of its awards galas for its 13th annual American Business Awards competition on Friday night, and announced the winners of its Grand Stevie Award trophies.

Fareportal of New York, NY received the Grand Stevie for organization of the year, for earning the most award points (54.5) in The 2015 American Business Awards. Other top ABA Grand Stevie winners include C-4 Analytics (Saugus, MA) for interactive services agency of the year (11 points), MSLGROUP (nationwide) for marketing agency of the year (21), and MWW (nationwide) for public relations agency of the year (30). This is the third year in a row that MWW has won this award.

The Grand Stevie Awards were presented to the organizations that submitted the best body of entries to The American Business Awards this year, in their own name or in the names of one or more clients, with a Gold Stevie Award win counting for three points, a Silver Stevie win for two points, and a Bronze Stevie win counting for 1.5 points. The organizations with the most points won.

Besides Fareportal, C-4 Analytics, MSLGROUP, and MWW, Grand Stevies were also awarded to the 10 other organizations with the most points in the 2015 competition. There were a few ties this year which resulted in 11 members of the top 10. They are:

1. Tied at 23.5 points: AT&T (Dallas, TX) and Accenture (Chicago, IL)

3. Quality Systems, Inc. (Irvine, CA, 21.5)

4.   Tied at 19.5 points: Isagenix International (Chandler, AZ) and SoftPro (Raleigh, NC)

6.   Dell Inc., Round Rock, TX (19)

7.   Capital One Investing, Seattle, WA (18)

8.   Engility, Chantilly, VA (17.5)

9   Three-way tie at 17 points: Cisco Systems (nationwide), Davies Murphy Group (Burlington, MA), and Finn Partners (nationwide)

Friday’s gala was the second of two American Business Awards ceremonies this year. The first took place in Chicago on June 22 and honored winners in disciplines such as customer service, human resources, corporate communications, information technology, live events, publications, and selected categories for company/organization, management and marketing.

The American Business Awards honor 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 200 executives attended Friday’s event at San Francisco’s Julia-Morgan Ballroom. Stevie Awards were conferred in five levels of distinction: Grand, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and People’s Choice. See the press release issued earlier today for a summary of the other Stevie Award winners.

For a complete list of all 2015 American Business Awards’ Stevie Award winners visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

More than 3,300 entries were submitted to The 2015 American Business Awards and more than 200 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

Entries for The 2016 American Business Awards will be accepted starting in October.

The 13th Annual American Business Awards announced Stevie® Award winners on Friday at its event focused on outstanding new products and technology-industry categories, including technology organization management.

Friday’s gala was the second of two American Business Awards ceremonies this year. The first took place in Chicago on June 22 and honored winners in disciplines such as customer service, human resources, corporate communications, information technology, live events, publications, and selected categories for company/organization, management and marketing. The American Business Awards honor 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 200 executives attended Friday’s awards banquet at San Francisco’s Julia-Morgan Ballroom at the Merchants Exchange Building. Stevie Awards were conferred in five levels of distinction: Grand, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and People’s Choice.

The Grand Stevies were awarded to the organizations who received the most awards overall – Gold, Silver or Bronze – in the ABAs this year. Fareportal (New York, NY) was presented with the Grand Stevie for Organization of the Year. The winners of the other Grand Stevie Awards will be named in a followup press release today.

Prositions Inc. (Urbandale, IA) and Workplace Answers (Austin, TX) were the top Gold Stevie winners on Friday, with three each. Winners of two Gold Stevies include Agiliance, AT&T, Auto Integrate, Discovery Education, Fareportal, Five Elements Robotics, and TangoMe.

Other notable Gold Stevie Award Winners announced on Friday include, among others:

- New Financial Service: Azul Systems’ ReadyNow!
- Integrated Mobile Experience of the Year: Fidelity Mobile® for Apple Watch
- Telecommunications Service of the Year: Broadview Networks' MyOfficeSuite
- Technical Innovation of the Year - At Organizations With 1,000 or More Employees: Ernst & Young’s EY ACA COMPASS
- Tech Startup of the Year: SeedInvest
- Marketing App of the Year: FrontFlip’s Marketing App
- New Cloud Application/Service: Verifone Cloud PS
- New Business-to-Business Services: Language Line’s eLanguage Proficiency Test
- Company of the Year - Computer Software - 500 or More Employees: Epicor Software Solutions
- New Computer Hardware Product: Imation's IronKey Workspace W700
- Executive of the Year - Computer Software - Up to 500 Employees: Jordan Kretchmer, CEO and Founder, Livefyre

Winners of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, which were determined by more than 16,000 votes in July and August, were announced in August and presented their crystal People’s Choice Stevie Awards on Friday.

More than 3,300 entries were submitted to The 2015 American Business Awards and more than 200 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

Entries for The 2016 American Business Awards will be accepted starting next month.

This Friday, September 11, the new product and technology awards banquet of The 2015 American Business Awards, the top honors in business in the U.S.A., will be staged at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco's historic Merchants Exchange Building.  Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Award winners in categories for apps, new products and services, and the management of technology-industry companies will be presented.

Also to be announced are the top overall honors in this year's ABAs: the Grand Stevie Award winners, for Organization of the Year, Interactive Agency of the Year, Marketing Agency of the Year, Public Relations Agency of the Year, and the Top 10.  Grand Stevie Award winners have been determined by the total number of awards won in the ABAs this year, including those to be announced this Friday and those announced in Chicago this past June.

The presentations will be taped for broadcast by BizTalkRadio at 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday, September 15.  Download the BizTalkRadio smartphone app to listen in!  Available for iOS and Android.

Also download your copy of the program book that will be distributed at Friday's banquet:

Here's a list of the organizations that have already reserved their tickets for Friday's awards gala.  Only a handful of tickets are still available.

ADTRAN Inc. Huntsville AL
Agiliance Sunnyvale CA
Articulate  New York  NY
AssetLock Centennial CO
AT&T Inc.  Dallas TX
Auto Integrate Itasca IL
BayPoint Benefits San Francisco CA
BDNA Mountain View CA
BioIQ Santa Barbara CA
Biscom Chelmsford MA
Bloomz Inc Redmond WA
BMO Capital Markets  Chicago  IL
Brainshark Inc. Waltham MA
Broadview Networks Long Island City NY
CallidusCloud  Dublin CA
Capsilon Corporation San Francisco CA
CCA and B LLC Atlanta GA
CD2 Learning  Overland Park  KS
Cisco Systems Inc. Research Triangle Park NC
Cision Chicago IL
CitiusTech Inc.  Princeton  NJ
Credit Sesame Mountain View VA
Darktrace Cambridge United Kingdom
Datapipe Inc. Jersey City NJ
DigiCert Inc. Lehi UT
Digital Air Strike Scottsdale AZ
DreamWare Inc.  Naples  FL
EffectiveUI Denver CO
Electric Cloud San Jose CA
Element Fleet Management Sparks MD
EMD Millipore  Billerica  MA
EMD Millipore Billerica MA
Engility  Reston VA
Exact Sciences Madison WI
Fareportal  New York NY
Five Elements Robotics Wall NJ
GE Software San Ramon CA
GTT Communications Inc. McLean VA
GuideWell Connect Jacksonville FL
Harbortouch Allentown PA
Ignite Sales Dallas TX
Imation Campbell CA
Infor  New York  NY
Infor New York NY
InMoment  Salt Lake City  UT
InsightSoftware.com Denver CO
Interactions Corporation Franklin MA
Internap Atlanta GA
IQMS Paso Robles CA
iText Software Corp. Cambridge MA
LanguageLine Solutions Monterey CA
Maximum Games Walnut Creek CA
Métier Healdsburg CA
Omnitracs LLC Dallas TX
Opmantek  Charlotte  NC
ORBCOMM Rochelle Park NJ
Prezi  San Francisco  CA
PROS Inc.  Houston  TX
Prositions Inc. Urbandale IA
QuickPivot  Boston  MA
ReachLocal Woodland Hills CA
RES Software  Radnor  PA
Shoutz Inc.  Austin  TX
Smith & Nephew Fort Worth TX
SoftPro Raleigh NC
SolidFire Boulder CO
SYSPRO Costa Mesa CA
TangoMe Mountain View CA
Tata Consultancy Services  Edison  NJ
Telerik  a Progress company  Boston  MA
The Control Group San Diego CA
Thomson Reuters New York NY
TouchCommerce Agoura Hills CA
Tracx New York NY
TriNet Group Inc San Leandro CA
UnitedHealthcare Minnetonka MN
Utopic Software Tampa FL
Virtela  Greenwood Village CO
Wheels Inc. Des Plaines IL
Workplace Answers Austin TX

Entries for the 2016 edition of The American Business Awards will open in October.

The 2016 (10th annual) Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service is open for entries. All customer service, contact center, business development, and sales departments, teams and professionals worldwide are eligible to be nominated, in addition to new products and services used by those professionals.

The 2016 awards will recognize achievements since July 1, 2014. The new Entry Kit Brochure lists all of the awards categories and provides further details on how to submit entries.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

October 21 is the early-bird entry deadline with discounted entry fees. The entry deadline is November 18, but late entries will be accepted through January 12 with payment of a late fee. Winners of the tenth annual competition will be announced at a gala awards banquet on March 4 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.

There are a number of new categories for 2016, including:

Sales Distinction Awards Categories: These categories have replaced the Sales Department categories. Rather than focus on the performance of a named sales department, these new categories recognize sales-related achievements across your entire company or organization. You choose the successes you wish to highligh t. They can be related to revenue growth, customer acquisition, lead development, training, enculturation of product knowledge, etc.

Customer Service Success Awards Categories: If your organization doesn't have a formal customer service function - if "everyone here works in customer service" is your motto - then these are the categories for you.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature more than 140 sales awards, customer service awards, business development awards, new product awards, and call center awards categories. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories, which include:

•         Sales Individual categories such as Senior Sales Executive of the Year and Sales Operations Professional of the Year
•         Sales Team categories like Global Sales Team of the Year and Field Sales Team of the Year
•         Sales Achievement categories such as Sales Turnaround of the Year and Outbound Marketing Program of the Year
•         Customer Service and Contact Center Individual categories such as Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year and Customer Service Leader of the Year
•         Customer Service and Contact Center Team categories like Contact Center of the Year and Customer Service Management Team of the Year
•         Customer Service and Contact Center Achievement categories such as e-Commerce Customer Service Award and Award for Innovation in Customer Service
•         Customer Service Department categories in 11 industry groupings
•         New Product and Service categories like Best New Business Intelligence Solution and Best New Relationship Management Solution
•         Solution Provider categories such as Sales Consulting Practice of the Year and Incentive, Rewards, or Recognition Provider of the Year

2016 will see the return of a popular feature of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. In addition to the possibility of receiving a peer-reviewed honor in the Customer Service Department of the year categories, all nominated customer service departments that are chosen as Finalists also will be included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service. Online voting will open to the public worldwide in mid-January and will continue through early February. We will provide Finalists in these categories with tools to help you encourage your fans, followers and customers to vote for you. The nominee with the most votes in each category will receive a special crystal People's Choice Stevie Award.

The Top 10 Awards are ten best-of-competition prizes that will be presented to the organizations that submit the best collection of entries to the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, in their own name or in the names of one or more clients.

Winners of the 2015 edition of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include DenizBank, DHL Express, Delta Air Lines, FedEx TechConnect, Informatica Corporation, John Hancock Signature Services, Kohl’s Deparment Stores – Credit Division, Revana, and Time Warner Cable, among others.

Learn more about how you can win a Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service:

The Stevie® Awards have announced the winners of the Best of the IBA Awards in The 2015 (12^th Annual) International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition.

Nominees in the 2015 IBAs were not able to apply for the Best of the IBA Awards directly. Winners were determined by a points system based on the total number of awards won in the IBAs with a Gold Stevie win counting for three points, a Silver Stevie for two points, and a Bronze Stevie win for one-and-a-half points. 

This year's Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners in The International Business Awards were announced on August 13. The winners of the Best of the IBA Awards will be presented with Grand Stevie Award trophies at The 12^th Annual International Business Awards banquet at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Canada on October 23. 

Winners of the Grand Stevie Awards are:

Organization of the Year: With a total of 72 award points earned by Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie-winning entries submitted by DHL offices in 22 nations, Deutsche Post DHL is the winner of the Grand Stevie Award trophy for Organization of the Year.

Public Relations Agency of the Year: With a total of 69 points earned by Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie-winning entries submitted by their agencies and offices in China, Europe, India and Singapore, Weber Shandwick is the winner of the Grand Stevie Award trophy for Public Relations Agency of the Year

Marketing Agency of the Year:  Will a total of 64.5 points earned by Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie-winning entries worldwide, MSLGROUP is the winner of the Grand Stevie Award trophy for Marketing Agency of the Year.

Interactive Services Agency of the Year:  With 39 points, Plasenta Conversation Agency, of Istanbul, Turkey, is the winner of the Grand Stevie Award trophy for Interactive Services Agency of the Year for the second year in a row.

Top 10: Among all other organizations honored in the 2015 IBAs, these are the top Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners and thus will also be presented with Grand Stevie Award trophies:

1. Ooredoo, Doha, Qatar (55.5 points)
2. LLORENTE & CUENCA, Madrid, Spain (48.5)
3. CallidusCloud, Pleasanton, CA, USA (45)
4. HANAROADCOM, Seoul, South Korea (37)
5. Fareportal, New York, NY, USA (35)
6. (Three-way tie at 29.5 points)
            -Accenture, Chicago, IL,  USA
            - iFinance Canada, Toronto, Canada
            - boogy the event company, Istanbul, Turkey

9. (two-way tie at 28 points)
            - Cisco Systems, worldwide
            - PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies, Manila, Philippines

“These 14 organizations have demonstrated that they understand the value of seeking public recognition for the achievements of their executive teams and their employees, by nominating them for Stevie Awards in a wide variety of categories,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. “Many of their nominations have been applauded and highly-rated by the judges, and we’re pleased to be able to honor them with Grand Stevie Award trophies.”

The International Business Awards feature a wide variety of categories to recognize achievement in every facet of work life, including management awards, new product awards, marketing awards, PR awards, customer service awards, website awards, and more.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements in the 2015 IBAs were determined by the average scores of more than 200 professionals worldwide in the three-month judging process.

For more information about The International Business Awards, including a complete list of all Stevie Award winners in the 2015 competition, visit www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

High-achieving organizations and executives around the world have been recognized as Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Award winners in The 12th Annual International Business Awards, the world's only international, all-encompassing business awards program.

Nicknamed the Stevies from the Greek word "crowned," the awards will be presented at a gala event on Friday, 23 October at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Canada. Tickets for the event are on sale now at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners were selected from more than 3,700 nominations received from organizations and individuals in more than 60 nations. All organizations worldwide are eligible to compete in The International Business Awards, and can submit entries in a wide range of categories, including management awards, company of the year awards, marketing awards, public relations awards, customer service awards, human resources awards, new product awards, IT awards, web site awards, and more. 

More than 200 executives worldwide participated in the judging process this year to determine the Stevie winners.

The top Gold Stevie Award winners this year are MSLGROUP worldwide, with 10; Weber Shandwick worldwide with eight; Accenture (USA) and LLORENTE & CUENCA (Spain) with six; CallidusCloud (USA), DHL Express globally, Dubai Statistics Center (United Arab Emirates), Hanaroadcom (South Korea), and the PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies (Philippines) with five; and boogy the event company (Turkey), Kale Group (Turkey), Plasenta Conversation Agency (Turkey), and Strategic Public Relations Group (Hong Kong) with four Gold Stevie wins each.

Winners of three Gold Stevie Awards include the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (United Arab Emirates), Agiliance Inc. (USA), Bahrain National Gas Company (Bahrain), Cisco Systems (USA), Dubai Police H.Q (United Arab Emirates), Ooredoo (Qatar), PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Indonesia), Roshan, (Afghanistan), RSA Insurance (Canada), the Seegene Medical Foundation (South Korea), TangoMe (USA), Thai Life Insurance Plc. (Thailand), Veeam (USA), and WNS Global Services Pvt. Ltd. (India).

A complete list of all 2015 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners by category is available on our website.

"We are pleased to once again honor many of the world’s best organizations, professionals, and their achievements," said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. "This year we’ve seen that organizations around the world, and especially in emerging markets, are becoming much more skilled at summarizing and evoking their achievements in award nominations. I know it has been a delight for the judges to read and comment on these stories of success, and we look forward to honoring on stage the Stevie winners who join us in Toronto on 23 October."

During the week of 24 August the winners of the Best of the IBA Awards, five best-of-competition prizes, will be announced. Winners will be determined by a tally of the total number of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevies won by organizations, and will be presented with Grand Stevie Award trophies in Toronto.

Floor Wijburg, Co-founder of Yes We Care, is a member of The 2015 International Business Awards Final Judging Committee for the Company/Organization Awards categories. We talked to her about her experience as a Stevie Awards judge, and about Yes We Care, which provides international labels for companies that are doing good for others.

Floor Wijburg believes in the power of doing good business in an economy where businesses will not only be measured based on their economic value, but also on the value they add to society.

She was able to spare some time from running the organization she co-founded, Yes We Care, based in The Netherlands and New York, to answer some questions about judging in The 2015 International Business Awards; how businesses can become more philanthropic; and what Yes We Care is doing to help add to the value of this.

An Inspirational Experience

“I very much enjoy being able to participate as a judge for The International Business Awards,” Floor told us. “It’s inspiring to learn in-depth about all the participating businesses, the work they do, and the passion they put in to it. Besides this, I focus in particular on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the sustainability of their endeavors.”

“It gives me great pleasure to see all the wonderful efforts businesses around the world are putting in to this process,” Floor continued. “If I can help in evaluating these businesses and rewarding good practices in this way, I’m more than happy to give my time as a Stevie Awards judge. My wish is that more businesses around the world will participate, and increase their contribution to CSR each year!”

Sharing Insights and Expertise

When asked if she had any advice to people who might be interested in being a Stevie Awards judge in the future, Floor said “My advice would be: go ahead and do it! It’s a highly rewarding process to be able to participate as a judge. Don’t underestimate the time you’ll need to put in, however. Thorough evaluation requires you to weigh a lot of factors when judging the entries. There’s no room for half work. But … is there ever in business? So my recommendation is: apply and share your insights and expertise as a judge.”

Not Just A Trend
Floor also has good advice for businesses about becoming more philanthropic. “Doing good deeds is not just a trend anymore: it’s a force that will shape the world of business in the future. On the other hand, 99% of businesses don’t have the time to set up a detailed structure for their philanthropic activities. What they want is to do good because they like to do so, because they feel it’s the right thing to do, or because they know it enhances their business. At Yes We Care, we understand this. That’s why we have designed an easy and effective system that gives businesses everything they need to maximize their doing good without having to lose focus on their core business.”

Maximizing Impact

The big question for most businesses is not how to do good, but how to sustain, grow, and maximize their impact. As Floor explains: “That’s why we want to make sure businesses get the tools and optics they need, so they can clearly see the structure of their good activities and optimize their impact. The Yes We Care license is a business tool designed to support businesses in their efforts to do good things. We quickly and easily identify the doing-good activities and convert these activities into numbers that anyone can instantly grasp. We provide businesses with optics to maximize their impact in society, and to highlight these good activities for their customers, employees, and stakeholders.”

Three Good Reasons To Care

The Yes We Care license leverages the power of doing good with three main features:

PROMOTION: 90% Of Consumers Switch Brands

A staggering 90% of consumers would switch brands to one that is associated with a good cause, given similar price or quality. Most companies lack time to show their good deeds actively, however, and thereby reduce their impact. The Yes We Care label provides businesses with a new dimension that will elevate a company’s reputation and its success.

RESULTS: When Businesses Know Better, They Can Do Better

Measuring and monitoring the impact of a business is essential to its long-term health. The people at Yes We Care know which ratios and calculations are most vital, and focus on those areas to provide direct insights. For most businesses, it is extremely rewarding to see their good activities translated to the value they add for society, stated in a value everyone can grasp.

CONNECTION: Connected By Doing Good

Yes We Care gives businesses the tools and services they need to meet personal philanthropy goals in their business and to connect with a professional community so they can share knowledge and build new relationships. It enables them to build a bigger professional network.

In summation, Floor tells us: “Candidly, we can say that Yes We Care will change the perceived value of businesses, as well as the total amount of value that will be added by businesses to society.”

About Floor Wijburg:

Floor Wijburg is co-founder and CEO of Yes We Care. Driven by the desire to create a better world, Floor is intent on making an impact. Through her theoretical knowledge and practical experience, she knows how to encourage people and businesses to be socially involved. She frequently appears in the media, where she is interviewed on topics such as corporate social responsibility and civil society. She gives international presentations on topics like CSR and Social Involvement. As a judge for The Sustainability Award in 28 cities, she and members of the specialized committee judge companies for the local impact, economic profitability, and the social change they establish.

About Yes We Care:

Yes We Care is the international label for companies who are doing good for others. Yes We Care offers consumers and businesses across the world insight into three important areas of doing good: Who, what, and where. As the only organization in the world with this mission, Yes We Care is a pioneer in the field of letting the best companies join forces worldwide in doing good and feeling good. It gives them the opportunity to show the world they really care. For more information, go to www.yeswecare.com.