BAHBAs 2018: a chat with Fiona Graves

Ahead of the Brighton & Hove Business Awards, we chatted to Fiona Graves, Events Director, to find out about the awards, the event and why you should be entering. 

Tell us a bit about you and your role at the BAHBAs.

I am the Events Director at Platinum Event Management, a division of The Platinum Publishing Group and the owners of the Brighton and Hove Business Awards. I have worked the events industry for over a decade and my portfolio includes an array of high-profile clientele such as the development of the national Sky Sports Living for Sports Awards, Sussex Business Awards, Brighton and Hove Business Awards and the UK Startup Awards.

How can winning awards really help businesses?

Winning a business award or just being shortlisted for that matter speaks volumes for any business. The benefits are endless, for example:

• Exposure for you and your organisation – the opportunity to take advantage of PR and marketing activity around the awards and your involvement.
• Seal of approval - it reassures clients that they have made a good choice in working with a business that has been recognised with a prestigious award.
• Networking - it creates opportunities to build contacts, meet and network with other award participants, sponsors, press and other influential businesspeople.
• Reward and motivate your team - entering awards provides an immediate boost to workplace morale, even more so when you involve your team in the entry process. Many entrants will also find the process of entering is beneficial to a business.
• Recruitment – you attract better quality applicants, and you see an improvement in the attraction and retention of talent.

What’s special about the Brighton & Hove business community?  

While Brighton & Hove is renowned as being a creative tech-hub, our business scene is thriving with ever more successful companies across a range of sectors. From the professional services, to events, environmental industries, visitor attractions, start-ups and retail, Brighton & Hove has it all. The leaders that drive these businesses demonstrate that combining passion and business nous with fun and individuality can be a real recipe for success.  It is Brighton & Hove’s personality that puts it among the UK’s favourite cities, and that personality is reflected in our business community.

What advice would you give to businesses who aren’t sure if they should enter the BAHBAs?

You might be weighing up the pros and cons of spending the time to enter the BAHBAs but we believe it’s time well spent! The BAHBAs are supported by the city’s leading organisations and are firmly established as a benchmark for excellence in today’s competitive business environment.

This year’s list of 15 categories to enter include the highly coveted Company of the Year, Best Independent Retailer, Professional Services and Employer of the Year.

Businesses can enter up to three categories and deadline for submissions is 25th April 2018.

This year, Brighton Chamber has its very own category: Chamber member of the year. To find out more about this and the other categories on offer, head to the website.

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk