NZ Franchise Awards - who will win this year?

While some franchise awards internationally seem to be based upon reputation rather than systems and results (even today, some countries call for entries a scant two weeks before the winners are announced rather than three months as is normal here), the movers behind the initial New Zealand Franchise Awards were keen to ensure that the New Zealand Awards had real relevance to franchisors and franchise buyers.

After establishing the concept, in 1997 the judging process was further developed using a new system based upon the Malcolm Baldrige international quality criteria and with the assistance of one of the few New Zealanders to have won such an award. The criteria measure entrants across six key areas: Leadership & Planning; Customers & Market Focus; Information & Analysis; People; Processes; Results. The Awards were further developed ten years later with the appointment of the Business Excellence Foundation to manage the Awards process - a link that continues to this day.