Congratulations to the National Champions in the European Business Awards
01.08.2013
The National Champions for 2013/2014 were announced this week by the organisers of the prestigious European Business Awards (EBA).
And this time, it was no easy task for the jury. There were so many applicants to choose from. In total, 2,175 businesses from 34 European countries were nominated, and the National Champions are 527 companies representing 31 countries across Europe. In the Czech Republic, 38 companies were selected and nominated, out of which 12 have now become National Champions. We are proud to say that the National Champions also include five companies nominated by RSM CZ. We congratulate the winners on their success: Kofola ČeskoSlovensko a.s., TEDOM a.s., Pražské služby a.s., Etnetera a.s., and Grafton Recruitment.
Jannis Samaras of Kofola ČeskoSlovensko is delighted by the award: “We entered this competition as a team and I see the award as a thank-you to all our employees in the company who work a bit harder than what is usual. Despite the very harsh market conditions, we still come up with new ideas that are able to appeal to Kofola’s new as well as existing customers. Instead of price wars, we opted for high-quality products, and we are really glad that we are considered to be a successful firm.
Josef Jeleček of TEDOM has a similar view of success: “My answer to the question what this, so far partial, success means to us will probably sound like a cliché but it is really the way I feel. In particular, it means responsibility. TEDOM has successfully developed for 22 years, and throughout that time, it has achieved a considerable reputation outside as well as inside the company. We are seen as a sound and reliable partner and we wish to retain this position in the future. We are fully aware that this is going to be more and more difficult – the company is growing, we are doing business all over the world. In addition, the European power engineering industry has been affected by market-distorting subsidies for renewable resources and long-term planning has become almost impossible in our sector. We will have to focus on regions outside Europe, which means regions that are very far away and thus more difficult to operate.”
Pavel Pešek of Pražské služby comments on the success as follows: “It is a great honour for our company to succeed, to move forward in the European Business Awards international competition, and to be a National Champion. It is an important sign for us that we are going in the right direction and our results are considered to be outstanding, even from a global perspective.”
Ondřej Čihař of Etnetera reveals the reasons for entering the competition: “The European Business Awards is one of the most prestigious and international competitions. We see such interesting competitions as a good way of drawing attention not only to what we do but most importantly the way we do it. A secondary nevertheless valuable effect is feedback. As early as in 2006, we successfully participated in the EBA – we were placed among the Top 10 twice. After 7 years, we came to the conclusion that we had a topic again that might be intriguing (our aim is to build and move Etnetera forward in accordance with the freedom at work principle.”
But this is not the end for the National Champions. All of them will now be requested to submit video presentations and will be evaluated by a second panel of judges who will award the best organisations with the Ruban d’Honneur. This status is awarded to the top 10 companies in each category (a total of 100 companies): Business of the Year, International Entrepreneur of the Year, Innovation, Customer Focus, Growth Strategy of the Year, Employer of the Year, Environmental and Corporate Sustainability.
“We will have to think more about our products and services and improve them to make them still competitive and exceptional in the future. But this applies to everyone in general; general propositions must be fulfilled in specific companies and with something exceptional for which the customer is willing to pay. And this is what business is all about. Well, I am very curious about the further progress of the competition and where our company will finally end up,” concludes Josef Jeleček.
However, the best of the best are not selected by a jury of experts only. The general public will also have an opportunity to vote and influence the results. The company receiving the highest number of votes in each of the 31 countries will be announced as the National Public Champion and will move forward in the competition for the European Public Champion’s Award.