Frequently Asked Questions

Does Baldrige work?

Baldrige is about results, and the results of Baldrige Award winners prove that it works. Here are just a few examples (you can get more details in the profiles of winners at the Baldrige program's Web site):

• Customers: Several are market share leaders - one company grew market share 50% in six years; another exceeds customer expectations twice as often as its competitors; healthcare winners rank in 99th percentile in patient satisfaction; eighth-graders' enthusiasm for learning reading and science jumped from 42% to 82% in one year; parent satisfaction up from 62% to 96%
• Employees/Staff: Turnover cut in half; nurse retention to 99%; average 75 hours or more of training per employee per year; employee satisfaction "best-in-class"; faculty satisfaction at 96%
• Quality: Quality ratings 21% higher than closest competitor; 100+ awards for excellence - for one company; service delivery 13 times faster than competitors; among highest public high school graduation rates in the country
• Financial: Revenue doubled in four years; revenue grew 15% per year since 1998; profits up 54% while industry declined 35% -return to top-

How does Baldrige compare to Six Sigma, Lean, ISO, and other quality programs?

The greatest difference is that Baldrige is not prescriptive. Quality programs use a prescribed methodology to improve performance. A Baldrige assessment identifies the opportunities for improvement, which organizations may address through one or more quality programs. There have been Baldrige Award winners that use Six Sigma, Lean, and ISO to help them achieve success. The Baldrige Criteria do not prescribe any of these programs, but each can help improve performance in one or more areas of your management system. -return to top-

 

Why do Baldrige and not one of the other improvement programs out there?

The Baldrige model is recognized as the best in the world at defining the key elements in an effective management system. Other quality programs work on a few elements in that system but none is as comprehensive or as widely tested and improved as the Baldrige model. While it does not preclude doing Six Sigma, Lean, ISO, or some other approach to address areas to improve, it helps leaders understand how all parts of their management systems are working, which need to be improved, and where to start. If you start with another approach, you often miss out on this systems perspective. -return to top-

 

What if we're not interested in winning an award?

You're in the majority. Every organization I've worked with embraced Baldrige because they wanted to improve performance. Some never apply for an award. Others decide, usually after doing a few self-assessments, that they want to get state or Baldrige examiner feedback. A few get to the point where their management systems are world-class and they want the recognition to honor a lot of hard work and commitment, so they apply for the Award. And winning it certainly doesn't hurt their marketing efforts. -return to top-

 

What if we're too busy to take on Baldrige training or an assessment?

If you want to gain market share, increase profitability, improve customer/patient/student satisfaction, be an industry leader, achieve world-class results, or gain in the other ways you measure success, and if that's not going to happen if you keep doing what you're doing, then you need to take time for Baldrige training and/or an assessment. On the bright side, leaders and managers in organizations that have integrated the Baldrige model waste a lot less time on fighting fires. -return to top-

 

Will integrating Baldrige change how our organization works?

Yes. These are the most common changes I've seen in organizations that have integrated the Baldrige model:

• They "think process" instead of fixing isolated problems or finding someone to blame.
• They really, really know what their customers, patients, students, and stakeholders require instead of assuming they know.
• The work they are doing today aligns with the action plans, goals, strategies, and mission/vision of the organization, and that alignment means everyone is focused on what the organization must do to succeed.
• They value employees/staff by defining responsibilities, providing training, recognizing and rewarding performance, nurturing involvement, and seeking satisfaction.
• They practice data-based decision making.
• They communicate internally and externally more often, with more information, as they build inclusivity.
• They lead in their communities and industries and on a national stage, which was one of the goals of the Baldrige program. -return to top-

How do I get my leaders to do Baldrige?

The first thing I would do is to learn about Baldrige. Read the Criteria and the profiles (or better yet, the award application summaries) of relevant Baldrige Award winners. If your leaders don't know much about Baldrige, get copies of the Criteria and distribute them. See if you can get a Baldrige winner to speak to your leaders or, better yet, get your leaders to visit one or more award-winning companies. Have a Baldrige expert address your leadership team, something I've done for a number of organizations. Frame the big problems your organization is having in Baldrige terms: poor processes, no timely or reliable data, little real understanding of what our customers want, efforts going in too many directions, results that are flat or trending in the wrong direction. Point out that these big problems are problems with the system and they can't be fixed for the long term unless you understand the system first, and that's what Baldrige is all about. If none of this works, start integrating the Baldrige model into your business unit, division, department, work unit, and/or team. Nothing is quite as persuasive as an inside success story. -return to top-