The Stevie® Awards have announced the winners of the Best of the IBA Awards in The 2014 (11^th Annual) International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition.

Nominees in the 2014 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. 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 11^th Annual International Business Awards banquet at The Westin Vendôme Hotel in Paris, France on October 10. 

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 3 points, a Silver Stevie for 2 points, and a Bronze Stevie counting for 1.5.  The winners are:

Organization of the Year: Quality, Systems, Inc. Irvine, California, USA. With 68.5 total points, Quality Systems, Inc. is the most honored organization in the 2014 IBAs.

Public Relations Agency of the Year: MWW. MWW offices around the world won a total of 42.5 points.

Marketing Agency of the Year: Weber Shandwick. Weber Shandwick offices worldwide won a total of 39.5 points.

Interactive Services Agency of the Year: Plasenta Conversation Agency, Istanbul, Turkey (31.5 points)

Top 10: After the winners of the above prizes, the following entrants earned the most award points in the 2014 IBAs:

1. MSLGROUP, worldwide (35.5)
2. CallidusCloud, Pleasanton, California, USA (32.5)
3. Akbank TAS, Istanbul, Turkey (31.5)
4. Maras Group, Adelaide, Australia (31)
5. LLORENTE Y CUENCA, Madrid, Spain (27.5)
6. Odea Bank A.S., Istanbul, Turkey (26.5)
7. Ooredoo Group, Doha, Qatar (25.5)
8. Accenture, worldwide (24.5)
9. Oxford City Football Club, Lake Worth, Florida, USA (23)
10. ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (22)

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.

For more information about The International Business Awards, including a complete list of all Stevie Award winners in the 2014 IBAs, visit www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in six programs: The American Business Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. 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 Twitter @TheStevieAwards.

The National Field Support division of TELUS Communications in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, won the Gold Stevie for Support Department of the Year in the Support Awards categories of The 2013 International Business Awards.

(The 2014 International Business Awards is still accepting entries.  Review the entry kit here.)

According to Mark Klotz, Director of TELUS Communications’ National Field Support, winning a Stevie Award represented an international acknowledgement of his team’s formidable accomplishments, and has contributed to further success in three areas. “First, the team achieved an all-time high team-engagement score, 7% above the ‘best employer’ index that we benchmark ourselves against,” Mark reported.

“Secondly, it elevated our already amazing culture to a level where front-line agents are driving unprecedented levels of continuous improvement. Lastly, it greatly benefited our customers, because the hope of being recognized by the Stevie Awards for a second year in a row has driven my team’s desire to push the envelope on all our key metrics.”

Providing Technical Support
The TELUS National Field Support (NFS) department trains specialists that capture and resolve anomalies that prevent orders from automatically provisioning in the myriad of complex systems.  They repair these anomalies to meet the customer needs prior to their due date.

These specialists also provide technical support to field technicians by aiding the installation and repair of TELUS products and services for consumer and small business markets in a timely and responsive manner.

The Pressures of Constant Change

Communications service providers are under continual pressure to optimize operational costs, gain agility, and offer superior services to customers. The business of providing voice, data, and TV services requires specialized skills on advanced provisioning systems in order to provide customers with the best possible service in a highly competitive telecommunications industry.

Making Life Simpler for the Customer
The constant evolution of technologies also puts pressure on the team to proactively evolve their skill sets. This evolution has enabled NFS to remain the support team of choice.

We asked Mark what changes in technology he thought would most affect telecommunications customers in the future.

“I see the integration of services, applications, and content as one of the biggest changes coming down the pike,” Mark observed. “This will allow customers to take advantage of more flexible and personalized services and will make their lives simpler than ever before.”

Driving Continuous Improvement

Setting extremely high standards has enabled the National Field Support Department to answer 91% of customer calls within 20 seconds with an average speed of 15 seconds. All calls are directed to a live agent, and 99.6% of all proactively resolved orders meet the service level agreements, demonstrating the TELUS commitment to the customer. Any orders not meeting the level required are handled in real-time by an agent to maintain customer commitment.

As Mark puts it: “The high quality training, the 365-days/year availability, the stringent service level agreements, and the ‘no phone call goes to voice mail’ policy have made the NFS team into a premier support team.”

Enhancing the Customer Experience
Mark reports that his team continues to challenge the status quo and bring forward innovative ideas to help enhance the customer experience. Says Mark: “Despite the unremitting evolution of technologies and processes, the team continues to deliver high levels of success.”

Staying Organized
Mark’s favorite business app is Evernote. “It helps me stay organized using ‘notebooks’, which can include images, photos, and notes,” he told us. “I can seamlessly sync Evernote on my Windows, iOS, and Android devices. There are also several other useful apps that integrate easily into Evernote.”

Inspired By Change

Mark is excited about the future. “The constant pace of change and emergence of new technologies inspires me every day,” he told us. “With that change comes the challenge to constantly prepare and anticipate methods and processes to integrate new technologies with existing ones while making it seamless and transparent for our customers.”

About Mark Klotz:
Mark Klotz has led the National Field Support team through the optimization of office locations and the implementation and integration of the outsourced portion of the team. He is the department’s biggest advocate of change and has instilled within his leadership team a culture of constant evolution.  His thought-provoking challenges continue to raise the bar for the department. Mark brings to the team experience from Information Services, and from Consumer and Business Marketing, Marketing Communications, Channel Management, Strategic Planning, Sales Incentive Management, and Call Center Operations.

About TELUS:
TELUS is Canada’s fastest-growing national telecommunications company, with $11.4 billion of annual revenue and 13.3 million customer connections. In support of its philosophy to “give where we live,” TELUS, its team members, and its retirees have contributed more than $350 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 5.4 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. TELUS was honored to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

Beats Electronics, SunTrust Bank, and Yahoo, Inc. Among Winners of Gold Stevie® Awards;New Product and Tech-related Winners to Be Announced at Second Event in San Francisco on September 12

The 12^th Annual American Business Awards^SM announced Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Award Winners last Friday night, June 13, at the first of two gala award ceremonies taking place this year.

Friday evening’s ceremony took place at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park Hotel and honored winners in categories for customer service, human resources, corporate communications, live events, publications, videos, and selected categories for company/organization, management and marketing.  Winners in all new product and technology-related categories, and other management, marketing, and company/organization categories, will be announced at an event at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco on September 12.

The American Business Awards, the top business awards program in the U.S., 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, corporate communicators, support staff and customer service teams.

Notable Gold Stevie Award Winners announced on Friday include:

­   Communications, IR, or PR Executive of the Year: Susan Johnson, AT&T Inc.

­   Marketing Department of the Year: Univision Communications Inc.

­   Public Relations Agency of the Year: PMK*BNC

­   Company of the Year - Food & Beverage: Checkers and Rally's Restaurants, Inc.

­   Executive of the Year - Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations: Amanda Currie, Adconion Direct

­   Customer Service Department of the Year: Wells Fargo Treasury Management Client Delivery

­   Global Issues Campaign of the Year: Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

­   Support Team of the Year: Electric Insurance Company

­   Best Consumer Event: NASCAR, Inc.

­   Best Public Relations Video: Peabody Energy

­   Most Innovative Company of the Year - More Than 2,500 Employees: Yahoo, Inc.

­   Human Resources Team of the Year: UST Global

AMD won five Gold Stevie Awards on Friday, more than any other organization, while Quality Systems, Inc. took home four. Winners of three Gold Stevie Awards are Medtech College and MWW.  Organizations who took home two Gold Stevie Awards are Accenture, Angel MedFlight Worldwide Air Ambulance, AT&T, BDS Marketing, CapitalOne ShareBuilder, Engility, Hager Fox Heating & Air Conditioning Co., Home Instead Senior Care, Makovsky, NASCAR, Inc., Pacific Life, Renters Warehouse, SCRA, Slack and Company, and Univision Communications.

More than 3,300 entries were submitted to The 2014 American Business Awards, and 240 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners. 

For a complete list of the Stevie Award winners in this year’s American Business Awards visit www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Every new product or service nominated in The 2014 American Business Awards will automatically be included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products.  Voting will open to the general public on July 7, and the winners will be honored at The American Business Awards ceremony in San Francisco on September 12.

Last night’s presentations were taped and will be broadcast by Biz Talk Radio (www.biztalkradio.com) on Tuesday and Friday nights.

About the Stevie® Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  A sixth program, the German Stevie Awards, will debut later this year.  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 2014 American Business Awards include Biz Talk Radio, CallidusCloud, Citrix Online, Cvent, Engility, John Hancock, LycaMobile, PetRays, and Softpro.

Yesterday was the final entry deadline for the 11^th annual International Business Awards, the world’s top business awards program.

By popular demand, we have decided to universally extend the final entry deadline through Wednesday, July 9.  No additional late fees or penalties will be required, and late entries will not be penalized in any way in the judging process.

GET THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

The IBAs typically receive nominations from organizations in more than 50 nations and territories and are the world’s only completely international business awards competition. All organizations and individuals worldwide are eligible to submit entries.

This business awards program features a wide range of categories to recognize achievement in every aspect of the workplace, including

• Customer Service Awards
• Company/Organization Awards
• Creative Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Management Awards
• Marketing Awards Categories
• New Product Awards
• Corporate Communications, IR, and PR Awards
• Support Awards 
• Web Site Awards, Smartphone and Tablet App, and other media awards

See the full list of International Business Awards categories.

Nominations should cite achievements since January 1 2013. There is no eligibility timeframe for app and web site entries - it does not matter when they were first published.

Winners of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards will be announced on August 13, and the winners celebrated at a gala banquet at the Westin Vendome Hotel in Paris, France on October 10.

Do not hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in The 2014 International Business Awards.

The first of two awards banquets for The 2014 (12th Annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards programs in the U.S.A., will be staged next Friday, June 13 at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago.

* Get your tickets here

* Reserve guest rooms at the Fairmont Hotel here

The customer service, human resources, live events, publications, public relations & corporate communications, support and video awards categories, and selected categories for company/organization, management, and marketing, will be presented in Chicago next Friday.

The app, IT, new product and service, and website awards categories, and other selected categories for company/organization, management, and marketing, will be presented at a second event on September 12 in San Francisco.

So who's coming to the gala in Chicago next week?  Here's a current list of the organizations who've already confirmed their attendance.

7-Eleven
97th Floor
AAA Auto Club Group
ABM Franchising Group
AccountingDepartment.com
Acorda Therapeutics
Adconion Direct
AECOM
AHC
All Florida Paper, Inc.
AMD
American Medical Response
American Solar Direct
AT&T
Avention
BackBay Communications
Bankers Warranty Group/Bankers Financial Corp
BDS Marketing, Inc.
Benefitmall
Best Doctors, Inc.
Bloom Health
Bloomin' Brands
BMO Capital Markets
Borro
Capital One ShareBuilder
Cars.com
Checkers & Rally's Restaurants
Cisco Systems
Citrix Systems
Cub Cadet
CyraCom International, Inc.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
Dean Evans and Associates
Digital Grin Communications
Diligent Board Member Services
Echelon Design, Inc.
Electric Insurance Company
Empire Today
Endurance
Engility
EPS Financial
Experian Marketing Services
Extraordinary Events
Fazoli's Restaurants
FBMC Benefits Management
Fiksu
FleishmanHillard (for AT&T)
Fora Financial
Google, Inc.
Graebel Companies, Inc.
Grand Canyon University
Grass Roots Meetings & Events, Inc.
Grow Marketing
Hamilton Jewelers
HighPoint Global
Home Instead Senior Care
HRsmart
Hyatt Legal Plans
Hyundai Motor America
IgnitionOne
Information Builders
Insperity
Integral Ad Science
InVNT
Isagenix
Kowa Pharmaceuticals
L.C. Williams & Associates
Level 3 Communications, LLC
Locus Telecommunications, Inc.
Lyris
Makovsky Integrated Communications
MarketBridge
Marriott Vacations Worldwide
MassMutual Financial Group
mBlox
Medtech
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Minacs Marketing Solutions
Monitronics
MOSAIC Rehabilitation, Inc.
Move Management, Inc.
MWW
Nongshim America
NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORPORATION
Omnitracs, LLC
One Eighty
Oswego Community Unit School District 308
Oxford City Football Club, Inc.
Pairelations, LLC
Pepco Holdings, Inc.
Petplan
PetRays / CardioVet
PrintingForLess.com
ProcessPro
Quality Systems, Inc.
Realityworks, Inc.
Redbud Financial Group
Renters Warehouse
Roof Diagnostics Solar
Roth Staffing Companies, L.P.
Ryan, LLC
Saatchi and Saatchi
SCRA
Sentient Interactive
Sentric, Inc.
SignUpGenius
SingleHop
Slack and Company
Snowbound Software
Squaremouth
Squarespace
Stratus Interactive
SunTrust Banks, Inc.
Tallie
TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES
TechnologyAdvice
Teletrac, Inc.
Terapeak
The 5th Avenue Theatre
The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
The Remi Group, LLC
The Webster Group
TIAA-CREF
Trex Company
Trupanion
U.S. Green Building Council
UAE Embassy - Consulate Division
UAE Embassy - Police Division
USHEALTH Advisors
Utah Basement Kitchen & Bath
Velie Law Firm
Virtusa Corporation
Washington Street Properties
Wells Fargo Bank
Wheels, Inc.
World Water Works, Inc.
Xcelus
Yext (Representing Citibank)

Want to network with this impressive group of organizations? Get your tickets here.

Stevie® Awards to Be Presented This Fall in Paris

The Stevie® Awards today issued the call for entries for The 11th Annual International Business Awards, the world’s premier business awards competition, which attracts nominations from organizations in more than 50 nations and territories each year.

All individuals and organizations worldwide – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small – may submit nominations to The International Business Awards.  The entry deadline is 14 May.  Late entries will be accepted through 11 June, and results will be announced in mid-August.  Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.  

Stevie Awards will be conferred at three levels of distinction: Gold, Silver and Bronze.  Several Grand Stevie Awards also will be conferred as best-of-competition prizes.  Stevie Award trophies, made by the company that makes the Oscar and other major international awards, are among the world’s most coveted prizes. Stevie Award winners will be selected by an international judging panel of more than 200 executives.

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace.  Categories include:

• Management Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• Public Relations Awards
• Web Site Awards, Smartphone and Tablet App, and other media awards

Because 2014 Stevie Award winners will be celebrated on Friday, 10 October at the Westin Vendôme Hotel in Paris, France, all organizations in France may submit an unlimited number of entries to the IBAs this year without having to pay the entry fees.  French organizations should use the promotion code “Paris” where indicated in the online entry process.

The 10th Annual International Business Awards were presented in October 2013 in Barcelona, Spain.  Top Stevie winners last year included Accenture (USA), Best Doctors, Inc. (USA), Burson-Marsteller (Australia and the UAE), Coca-Cola Turkey (Turkey), Finansbank A.S. (Turkey), Ignacio de las Cuevas S.A. (Spain), Jack Morton Worldwide (UK and the USA), KW Digital (Sweden), LLORENTE & CUENCA (Spain), Maras Group (Australia), Nu Skin Enterprises (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan), Reading Room (Singapore), RTR Rete Rinnovabile (Italy), and Weber Shandwick (Hong Kong and the UK). 2013 results are summarized here.

About The Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  A sixth program, the German Stevie Awards, will debut later this year.  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 Twitter @TheStevieAwards. 

We have published the full-text of the Gold Stevie Award-winning entries from the 2014 (8th Annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's premier sales awards and customer service awards.

READ THEM HERE.

Here’s a preview of some of the Gold Stevie-winning entries you'll find online now:

Company: Strategy to Revenue, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Category: Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year
Nomination Title: DHL Global Forwarding - Quest for Sales Excellence

Strategy to Revenue (STR) was engaged by DHL Global Forwarding (DGF) in September 2012 to transform the global sales force to become the number one in the logistics industry as part of their 'Good to Great' business strategy.

In order to fully understand the current situation, STR worked in collaboration with the DHL Global Sales Training team to analyze the sales process, existing selling models and concepts used in the field, and identify the gaps to drive high performance...

Company: Kohl's Department Stores - Credit Divison, Menomonee Falls, WI
Category: Contact Center of the Year (Over 100 Seats) - All Other Industries
Nomination Title: The Kohl's Charge Contact CenterThe Kohl's Charge Contact Center

The Kohl’s Charge Contact Center, a 900+ seat environment with four locations, provides Retail & Customer Service and Operational Support to 25+ million Kohl’s Charge Card customers and 1,158 retail store locations. 3 balanced elements define the Kohl’s unique Contact Center Strategy…

Company: PostNet, Denver, CO
Category: Sales Growth Achievement of the Year
Nomination Title: PostNet

PostNet CEO Steve Greenbaum, and co-founder Brian Spindel led PostNet’s re-imagined franchise model from its origins as a mail and parcel store to a full-on Neighborhood Business Center. When consumer sales declined in the recession, PostNet seized an opportunity in a new breed of customers: laid-off workers who decided to go into small business ownership. Validation of this new target customer came from extensive market research and an analysis of the top-performing franchises that were already mainly focused on servicing the needs of small businesses in their communities...

Company: Delta Air Lines, Atlanta, GA
Category: Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year
Nomination Title: Rachel Bible, Dallas/Ft. Worth Customer Engagement Specialist

Chris Kyle, a United States Navy SEAL, known as the most lethal sniper in American military history, was tragically shot and killed on February 2, 2013 at a shooting range in Texas. To honor this war veteran, Mr. Greg Marra, known as America’s Sculptor, completed a life-size sculpted image of Chris Kyle and was raising funds to have it transported from Sarasota to Dallas/Ft. Worth, where it would be cast in bronze and eventually presented to Mr. Kyle’s family.

Business partners of Mr. Marra contacted Delta to make flight reservations to attend a ceremony where the statue would be viewed. When Dallas/Ft. Worth Specialist Rachel Bible heard the story, she inquired if Mr. Marra also needed reservations. Rachel offered to conference in Mr. Marra to assist him but was told he wasn’t ready to make his reservation due to lack of funds. Rachel realized quickly that the flight had a limited number of seats left on it, and overwhelmed with compassion for the situation, elected to pay for Mr. Marra’s ticket herself...

Company: Turkish Economy Bank, Istanbul, Turkey
Category: Best Use of Technology in Customer Service
Nomination Title: TEB SME TV

TEB SME TV is the first internet television of the banking sector in Turkey. The objectives are to help development and growth of SMEs in Turkey, to offer suggestions to expand their visions, to share success stories and growing trends in business. It presents these facilities by providing hot news on many topics including marketing & sales, foreign trade, information about industry, R & D incentives, meeting the SME’s needs of information and training focusing on the latest developments...

Company: CGS, New York, NY
Category: Contact Center Leader of the Year
Nomination Title: Tom Walsh, Executive Directory

Tom Walsh is an outstanding call center site director for CGS’s Edison, NJ call center, where he is responsible for the 170 person technical support help desk for a multinational photography and imaging company. Through thick and thin, he manages his people with enthusiasm and care while managing the business with attention to results. He thinks creatively and works within the constraints of a call center operation to constantly re-invent and improve...

Company: FreshBooks, Toronto, ON Canada
Category: Customer Service Management Team of the Year
Nomination Title: FreshBooks Management Team

FreshBooks’ customer service management team consists of Senior Support Manager, Steve Bujouves and Support Managers, Grace Antonio and Tim Chan (lovingly known 'round these parts as Chim).

This past year presented a difficult challenge for the team. To meet the needs of a growing user base, the Support Team needed to double (yes, double!) its size this year to 22 people. The hardest thing to keep intact when growing the team so quickly is ensuring customers *consistently* receive extraordinary experiences every time they contact FreshBooks. The focus for 2013 was consistency...

Entries for the 2015 edition of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service will open in July.  Join the mailing list now and you'll be emailed the entry kit as soon as it's available.

We are pleased to share that the acceptance speeches and winner interview clips from the awards gala celebrating the 2014 (8th Annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's premier sales awards and customer service awards, are now available to view on YouTube. The gala took place on February 21 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

• Watch the winner interviews
• Watch the acceptance speeches
• Download the awards dinner program book
• Browse and download photographs of the awards banquet

A complete list of all Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards by category is available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

Here are some of the Gold Stevie-winning interviews you'll find online now:

Kohl's Department Stores - Credit Division, Winner of the Gold Stevie® Award for Contact Center of the Year (Over 100 Seats) All Other Industries

 

 

Revana, Winner of the Gold Stevie® Award for Sales Oursourcing Provider of the Year

FreshBooks, Winner of the Gold Stevie® Award for Customer Service Manager of the Year, Customer Service Team of the Year - Business Service Industries, and Customer Service Management Team of the Year - All Other Industries

(mt) Media Temple, Winner of the Gold Stevie® Award for Contact Center Solution - New Version

 

Box, Inc., Winner of the Gold Stevie® Awards for Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year - Technology Industries - Computer Software - 100 or More Employees

 

Winners in the eighth annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, an international competition recognizing excellence in disciplines that are vital to business success, were unveiled last night at a gala ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada attended by more than 470 executives from around the world.

DP DHL, with Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award wins for activities worldwide, in Mexico, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S.A., among other nations, was the most honored organization this year, thus earning the top Grand Stevie Award trophy. Other Grand Stevie Award winners, in descending order, include VIZIO, Inc., Delta Air Lines, John Hancock Signature Services, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, Turk Economy Bank, Salesforce, Richardson, EMKAY, and PetRays Veterinary Telemedicine Consultants.

Among other Stevie winners, Blinds.com, CubeSmart, FreshBooks, Lennox Industries, and RBS Citizens won three Gold Stevie Awards each. Winners of two Gold Stevies include Akbank, AMD, and Marriott Vacation Club.

A complete list of all Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards by category is available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

Winners in the fifth annual People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service, as determined by more than 430,000 public votes, were also awarded at the event to organizations including CardioVet, Constant Contact, JobVite, and India’s TATA Motors Ltd., among others.

The presentations were recorded and will be broadcast by the Biz Talk Radionetworks (http://www.biztalkradio.com) at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, February 26.

The awards are presented by the Stevie Awards, which organizes several of the world’s leading business award shows including the prestigious International Business Awards and the new Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

Over 1,500 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition, an increase of 36% over 2013. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 129 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges. Entries were considered in 43 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Customer Service Department of the Year; 43 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year to Sales Department of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers.

More than 130 members of seven specialized judging committees determined the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging, that took place January 27 - February 5.

About The Stevie Awards
The Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: The American Business Awards, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. A sixth program, the German Stevie Awards, will be introduced later this year. 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 http://www.StevieAwards.com, and follow the Stevie Awards on Twitter @TheStevieAwards.

Sponsors and supporters of the 8th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include the Biz Talk Radionetwork, Competence Call Center, and ValueSelling Associates.

Awards to Be Presented at the Banquet on February 21 in Las Vegas

More than 430,000 votes were cast in the 2014 People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service, part of the 8th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top sales awards and customer service awards.

The worldwide public vote was conducted between January 23 and February 14, 2014, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in 11 industry categories.  The winning organizations are:

• Airlines, Distribution & Transportation: TATA Motors Ltd

• Computer Hardware & Services: Constant Contact

• Computer Software (Up to 100 Employees): CardioVet

• Computer Software (100 or More Employees): Jobvite

• Financial Services: Paycor

• Healthcore and Related Industries: PetRays

• Hospitality, Leisure, & Tourism: Marriott Vacation Club International

• Public Services & Education: Salt Lake County

• Retail: SquareTrade

• Telecommunications: Vonage

• All Other Industries: CardioVet

The crystal people's choice awards will be presented to winners at the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service banquet on Friday, February 21 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets for the event are now on sale.  More than 400 executives from around the world will attend.

All organizations honored in the Customer Service Department of the Year categories of this year’s Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service were eligible to be included in voting for the people’s choice awards.

Sponsors and supporters of the 8^th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include the Business TalkRadio Network, Competence Call Center, and ValueSelling Associates.