The International Best Practice Competition (IBPC) aims to assist, encourage and recognize individuals, teams and organisations that have been responsible for creating and/or managing the introduction and deployment of best practices. Practices that are graded 4-Star ★ ★ ★ ★ and above are considered a best practice with 7-Stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ indicating world-class.
Best practices can be on any aspect of work that your organisation excels at. For example, crisis management, remote working, employee well-being, sustainability, response time, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, teamwork, customer service, branding, social responsibility, governance, future foresight, knowledge management, product development, customer focus or supplier relationships.
For 2024, the International Best Practice Competition (IBPC) will be recognising best practices that achieve:
- 7 Stars (this is the pinnacle achievement)
- the highest Star Rating for a particular category (as long as the category winner is assessed as at least 5 Stars indicating a best practice at an international level).
The IBPC Committee will determine for which categories recognition will be given dependent on how many applications are received in each category. This is currently set at twenty-one categories, but this could be reduced or expanded dependent on the number of applications. The categories are:
- Leadership
- Governance
- Social Responsibility
- Environmental Sustainability
- Strategic Planning and Deployment
- Performance Measurement and Management
- Customer and Market Focus
- Design of Products/Services
- Supplier Relationships and Partnerships
- Education, Training, Development, and Learning
- Employee Teams, Empowerment, Motivation, Satisfaction
- Employee Health, Safety, and Wellbeing
- Workforce Planning, Recruitment, and Retention
- Process Management and Improvement
- Change Management
- Innovation Systems and Approaches
- Innovation Projects
- Management of Assets
- Risk Management
- Digital Transformation
- Automation and Technology
Whilst applicants are asked to record which categories their best practice fits into, it is ultimately the decision of the IBPC Committee to determine the most appropriate category.
Also, special recognition has been introduced for the highest Star Rating for a best practice submitted by an SME (50 employees or less). There are also Pioneer Prizes for applicants that submit the most best practices that achieve a high Star Rating.
For applicants that have submitted three or more Social and Environmental Responsibility best practices, they are also encouraged to apply for the Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) Excellence Award
The IBPC award criteria examines these areas:
- Clarity of the Best Practice – What is the best practice? Is the scope/boundary of the practice clear (therefore what is included as part of the practice and what is excluded)? Has the context of the best practice been explained, therefore the challenge or opportunity the best practice is addressing?
- Level of deployment – When was the practice designed and implemented? How was it designed and implemented? Has it been deployed in all targeted areas? How well is it understood and applied by relevant personnel? How many staff and/or customers or suppliers does it affect?
- Innovation – What is innovative about the practice? Does the practice indicate a breakthrough in how the processes, products or services were designed, implemented, operated, or sustained? Is it a new practice, is it a practice that was gradually improved over time, or is it an idea or practice that was adapted from another organisation?
- Best Practice performance (Results) – Are results shown indicating performance before and after the introduction/improvement of the practice? Are both non-financial benefits (e.g., increased motivation or satisfaction, reduced staff turnover, greater productivity, less complaints) and financial benefits (e.g., $ saved, $ increase in revenue) reported? Are the results directly related to the best practice (cause/effect)? Has trend data been shown that indicates improvement since the practice was implemented?
- Best Practice evidence – Has the practice been validated as a ‘good/best’ practice? For example, was it adapted from another organization through benchmarking or has the practice and its performance been compared against benchmarks/industry norms? Has the practice received any recognition or award or been praised during external audit feedback or have customers/suppliers given favourable feedback on the practice in comparison to the practices of other organisations?
- Review/next steps planned – How will the practice be sustained or evolve as necessary? Do they have a system for regularly reviewing the practice and its performance? What lessons have been learnt from implementing the practice? What future improvements are planned?
The IBPC Best Practice Certification Criteria is used for assessing the applications:
- International Best Practice (Role Model, World-Class, Wow!) (7 Stars, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★)
- International Best Practice (Outstanding) (6 Stars, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★)
- International Best Practice (Excellence) (5 Stars, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★)
- Local Best Practice (Excellence) (4 Stars, ★ ★ ★ ★)
- Competence (Professional) (3 Stars, ★ ★ ★)
- Progressing (Minor Deficiencies) (2 Star, ★ ★)
- Deficient (Major Deficiencies) (1 Star, ★)
Click the following links for an entry form or to review the format/timeline of the award or to view the entry fee and benefits
