The Baldrige Criteria describe a process model. Six of the seven Criteria Categories ask powerful questions about the key processes necessary to operate a high-performing organization. Your responses to those questions are evaluated based on the effectiveness of your approaches, how widely and consistently they are deployed, how systematically they are refined, and how well they are aligned with your organizational needs.

The Process Management Category asks how you design your work systems and how you design, manage, and improve your key work processes. The best way to evaluate how well you do this is through a Baldrige assessment using the Baldrige Criteria. You can find out how to do that here. If you cannot do a full assessment but want insight into how to improve process management, here are 10 critical questions to ask and answer:

1. How do you design and innovate your overall work system (how the work of your organization is accomplished)?
2. How do your work systems and key work processes (your most important internal value creation processes) relate to and capitalize on your core competencies?
3. What are your key work processes?
4. How do you determine the key requirements for these processes and what are they?
5. How do you design and innovate your work processes to meet these requirements?
6. How do you ensure that the day-to-day operation of these processes meets their key process requirements?
7. What are the key performance measures and in-process measures used to control and improve these processes?
8. How do you control the overall costs of your work processes and prevent defects, service errors, and rework?
9. How do you improve your work processes to improve performance, reduce variability, and improve products, services, programs, and/or outcomes?
10. How are work process improvements and lessons learned shared with other units and processes to drive learning and innovation?

To read the world-class responses of Baldrige Award recipients to these questions, click here and then click on the award application summary you wish to review. Go to Category 6, Process Management, to learn how the organization embeds a process model.

To learn more about process management, click on these articles:

• Identifying Key Work Processes
• 3 Steps to Finding Your Key Processes
• The Process Matrix
• 5 Powerful Process Questions
• The Power of Process
• My Personal Baldrige: Process
  

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