Judging Fairness
With hundreds of outstanding nominations received annually, fairness of the decision-making process is of utmost importance to the Richmond Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors and the Business Excellence Awards Committee.
The following protocol is used to maintain a balanced process, ensuring fairness for all nominees:
- An independent group of committee members judge the nominations. These volunteers are members of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce (the “Chamber”) and not employed by the Chamber.
- Each category is assessed by at least two of these judges.
- The determination of Finalists in each category is made solely by the Nomination Package submitted by the nominee and assessed using a quantitative scale.
- Determination of Recipient in each category is made through in-person interviews with the three Finalists, external information gathering, and the original Nomination Package. Each Finalist interview will take approximately the same amount of time, ask the same questions, and give each Finalist an equal opportunity to demonstrate their excellence.
- In the case that a judge encounters a conflict of interest, he or she will recuse themselves from discussions related to that area of conflict. This may include changing categories from the one to which they were originally committed. Conflicts of interest may include nominations for:
- their own organization,
- a supplier or vendor,
- a client,
- a competitor,
- a former employer,
- a company for which they hold an ownership stake, or
- a family member.
- At no time will a judge contribute input on a category for which they have identified a conflict. 
- In the case that a board member of the Chamber or a sponsor of the Business Excellence Awards receives a nomination, that company will be assessed fairly, without any favourable bias.
Questions related to the judging process should be directed to Shaena Furlong, CEO of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, by emailing rcc@richmondchamber.ca or calling 604-278-2822.
