As the Be Inspired Business Awards, or BIBAs, gather momentum, this year’s crop of volunteer judges will soon take part in rigorous training to ensure that they meet the highest standards of fairness, objectivity, transparency, and impartiality.
The BIBAs is the most prestigious business awards competition in Lancashire, and the organisers at the North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce are fiercely committed to maintaining its integrity which is why it insists on training its judges.
The training will take place at the Anderton Centre near Chorley, Lancashire, and will be delivered by Chamber representatives and past judges. It is focused on the protocols and guidelines that have been established to ensure that the awards are always judged fairly and impartially.
Mark Whittle at the Chamber will facilitate the session and said: “We’re always lucky to have such a dedicated and professional group of judges for the BIBAs, who volunteer their time and expertise to make it a success. It’s important that they are equipped to make informed decisions and that they adhere to the strict judging protocols that we have in place, which is why they undergo training with us before we let them loose on scoring the entries and interviewing applicants.”
Mark went on to say that the judges were selected based on their expertise and experience in the business world, and that the training was designed to reinforce the importance of fairness and impartiality in the judging process, which has been carefully designed to eliminate bias. “The BIBAs is a celebration of the very best businesses in Lancashire, and we want to make sure that the awards are judged with the highest standards of integrity so that only the truly deserving go on to win,” he said.
The Anderton Centre, which provided the venue for the training, is a well-known training and conference centre that specialises in team building and leadership development. The centre has state-of-the-art facilities and is situated in a beautiful location surrounded by 80 acres of woodland.
David Germain, Director of the Anderton Centre, said: “We are really pleased to be involved in the training of the BIBAs judges. The Anderton Centre is committed to promoting excellence in business, and so it’s great that we can contribute by making our facilities available to host the judge’s training.”
FW Capital, one of the sponsors of the BIBAs, also praised the training and the dedication of the judges. ““As a firm that supports growing businesses across the North of England in a highly regulated and transparent environment, we are proud to be associated with an event that places such a high value on integrity and fairness in the judging process.” said Steve Molyneux, Investment Executive.
The judges training takes place on Thursday 27th April.
Applicants will find out if they’ve made it through to the next stage of the competition on Tuesday 2nd May, with the first round of judging, the interviews, beginning on Thursday 18th May.