The Criteria for Performance Excellence have evolved significantly over time to help organizations address a dynamic environment, focus on strategy-driven performance, address concerns about governance and ethics, and, most recently, consider the key decisions driving both short-term success and long-term organizational sustainability. The Criteria have continually progressed toward a comprehensive, integrated systems perspective of overall organizational performance management.
The year-to-year changes to the Baldrige Criteria have been evolutionary; however, since the Criteria’s inception over 20 years ago, the changes have been revolutionary. They have evolved from having a specific focus on manufacturing quality to a comprehensive strategic focus on overall organizational competitiveness and sustainability. With each update the awards program must balance two important stakeholder considerations. On one hand, there is a need for Criteria that are at the leading edge of validated management practice to help users address the increasingly complex challenges they face; on the other hand, there is a desire for the Criteria to remain stable in order to provide users continuity in their performance assessments. In 2008, minimal revisions were made, in light of the major revisions made in 2007. Continuing its efforts to balance stakeholders’ needs for both currency and stability, beginning in 2009, the Criteria will be revised every two years, making these the 2009–2010 Criteria for Performance Excellence. The most significant revisions to the 2009–2010 Criteria address three areas of importance: (1) customer focus, (2) organizational core competencies, and (3) sustainability and societal responsibilities.
The concept of customer engagement has received increasing attention as organizations compete in a global marketplace and in competitive local markets. The Criteria questions probe your ability to identify and deliver relevant product offerings to your customers now and in the future. The questions ask about your organization’s customer culture and how it contributes to customer engagement. The questions probe how you listen to the voice of the customer and, more importantly, how you use the information gathered. Is your organization customer focused? While core competencies were introduced as an important concept in the 2007 Baldrige Criteria, their strategic significance was not fully exploited. The Criteria questions now probe the relationship of your core competencies to your organization’s mission, strategy, and sustainability. Is your organization competent in the areas that will deliver its sustainability? Leading organizations are paying increased attention to the sustainability of their environmental, social, and economic systems. The Criteria questions probe how you contribute to the well-being of these systems and what your specific contributions have been. Is your organization fulfilling its societal responsibilities?
