Award Categories Contents
The categories for this year’s Financial World Innovation Awards mark a shift towards recognising socially useful change programmes in the financial services industry. They are aimed both at rewarding high-level strategies to enhance value for customers, communities, staff and shareholders, and at recognising the efforts and successes of the project teams who deliver real change within their institutions.
The award categories are grouped in themes. An award will be presented to the winner of each category. Additionally, in exceptional cases, a merit award will also be given in recognition of an outstanding runner up.
The best overall programme will be recognised with the gold award for innovation.
category 1 Community Participation
award number 1.1 Social responsibility and community building
Corporate social responsibility initiatives have been adopted across the industry for many years now and some wonderful projects have emerged as organisations interact with local, national and global communities. How does your organisation enhance social development in local communities? What projects, skills, or staff participation are encouraged and supported by your organisation?
award number 1.2 Innovation in social enterprise and inclusion
A social enterprise is a business that focuses primarily on social objectives, not shareholder value. Its surpluses are principally reinvested in the business or in the community. Social inclusion aims to help those who are marginalised in society, either physically, socially or financially. Community investment, micro-finance, co-operatives and inclusion initiatives often have different banking needs or stipulations such as ethical restrictions. Does your organisation help social enterprise bodies to manage their financial needs, or does it invest in projects to support the marginalised? How has your organisation differentiated its offering to provide outstanding support in this sector?
award number 1.3 Innovation that contributes to environmentally acceptable policies and actions
'Green issues' are high up on both corporate and political agendas. Consumption levels, waste management and environmental impact awareness are under scrutiny. How has your organisation addressed environmental issues? No recycled ideas here please: just genuine innovation in sustainable business initiatives. How are you integrating sustainability into your business and managing your stewardship of resources?
category 2 Improving the Customer Experience
award number 2.1 Innovation in the delivery of financial products – Mobile and internet banking
Many banking initiatives over the past few years have centred on mobile and internet channels, harnessing rapidly progressing technologies and lifestyle changes to offer products and services in new customer-friendly ways. Do you believe that your organisation has been better than the competition in providing its customers with mobile and internet-based products and services? Why? How have you done this? Has it involved transforming your delivery channels? Show us the evidence that demonstrates your success and explain how it has benefited both customers and the organisation, including its financial impact.
award number 2.2 Innovation in the delivery of financial products – Banking services
Do you believe that your organisation has been better than the competition in providing its customers with products and services? Often changing internal mechanisms for doing business have been involved in the way products are created and delivered. Have you transformed your delivery channels, procedures or operations to change the way financial products are delivered or to offer more flexibility to your customers? Show us the evidence that demonstrates your success and explain how it has benefited both customers and the organisation, including its financial impact.
award number 2.3 Excellence in customer service
This award is supported by 
Excellence in customer service has become all the more important to ensuring a customer can receive an appropriate, efficient and memorable service that will boost their opinion of their personal financial services providers. What have you done to go the extra mile in customer service and build confidence in your organisation, while providing benefit to the bottom line?
award number 2.4 Excellence in customer communication
How do you ensure that your customers really understand what you are telling them? Do you measure this? If so, how? Tell us about your initiatives to ensure proper and appropriate communications with your customers.
award number 2.5 Innovation in product design – Retail banking
This award is looking at new or adapted products within the Retail Banking sector. What was the perceived gap in the market that warranted such an innovation? Did it attract new custom? Why? What was its key raison d'etre? Examples might include ethical business practice, potential return on investment for both the customer and your organisation, tax efficient, competitive differentiation, etc. What have you been doing in this area that merits an award?
award number 2.6 Innovation in product design – Business banking
This award is for product developments within the Business Banking sector. How has your organisation identified market needs and innovated to fulfil them? How have your products been designed to attract more business? Have they been successful in creating customer satisfaction, competitive advantage, return on investment and other benefits for your organisation? Tell us why your business banking product is a winning creation.
award number 2.7 Innovation in supporting customer decision-making
With low interest rates, an ageing population and more confusion than ever about financial services, helping customers to make critical financial decisions that affect their future has become even more important. What has your organisation – bank, building society, IFA or other financial services company – done differently that has helped customers to understand the broader investment issues as well as the specific products so that they can make an informed decision? How do you know that your innovation has worked?
category 3 Enhancing Business Performance
award number 3.1 Excellence in change management
Change is always with us and an organisation that stands still is one that is destined to fail. However, poorly implemented change can be damaging, whereas skilfully executed change can bring outstanding results: it is examples of these that this award will attract. How has your organisation managed change? What has been the impact? Tell us about your successes and how they have affected both the performance and therefore the finances of your organisation.
award number 3.2 Transforming performance or customer service through technology – Mobile and internet
Technological advances or a light bulb moment for an existing technology can be a springboard for innovation that can provide instant differentiation between one organisation and another. Behind the scenes, these projects may be large or small but a successful initiative can use technology to create value, enhanced customer service or a new way of doing business that can improve business for both organisation and customer. How has your use of mobile or internet technology transformed your organisation?
award number 3.3 Transforming performance or customer service through technology – Banking services
This award is supported by 
For this award we would like to hear how you have harnessed technological change to transform your organisation's customer services outside the realm of mobile or internet technology. What new or newly applied technologies have you applied to your banking offering? How has technology created value? How have these technological changes improved and streamlined business processes and/or customer service channels?
award number 3.4 Excellence in risk and management control
This award is supported by 
To win this award we will need convincing evidence of good practice in managing risk. This can be at either a micro or a macro level, or indeed both. What have been the benefits of such controls? How have you enhanced your risk management regime?
award number 3.5 Innovation in staff participation
This award looks at the way the great potential of staff to evaluate, improve and drive change within their organisations to create better ways of working, innovative solutions to problems and initiatives to move the organisation forward. In doing so, they become empowered, motivated and a sense of organisation pride is generated as they take ownership of their roles within the organisation. We would like to hear about the ways that you have channelled the ideas, knowledge and enthusiasm of your staff, whether within a department, individual site or a whole organisation to bring benefit and positive change to the organisation, its staff and its stakeholders.
award number 3.6 Innovation in staff development
In recent years, the Innovation Awards have seen and rewarded initiatives that have recognised the value of the staff to an organisation and successfully helped to develop their potential for individual and corporate benefit. Initiatives such as innovative training programmes that have improved staff performance; and programmes to support and improve staff motivation and inclusion have featured on our shortlists and won the coveted trophy. Tell us what is happening in your organisation to develop the staff in the running of the business, in improving performance or in team building, and how these innovations have benefited the organisation.
category 4 Banking and Finance for Smaller and Medium-sized Enterprises
award number 4.1 Excellence in SME customer service
With many SMEs struggling to meet the challenges of the recession, a good relationship with the bank is a key requirement for business success. Have you improved the services you provide, opened up new channels, maybe offered new advisory services for business customers? What benefits have these changes made to your customers?
