EFQM NEWSLETTER - JULY 2007
Dear valued member of EFQM,
A high performing organisation can be one of any size. Large global entities are not the only type of organisation that comprise our membership. EFQM is also asking those small and mid-sized organisations to share their stories. First start with our highlight of this month – at the upcoming Forum, Mohammad Yunus will remind us that it sometimes takes one to turn the rules upside down to allow individuals or companies to start growing.
Pindar Set, supplier to Yell Group, shares their lessons learned in their recognition and improvement efforts. New EFQM Members this month include examples of high performing SMEs -- read about the fastest growing accessory specialist in Europe and a leading manufacturer of sports equipment. Look for further examples in our networking events, communities of practice and our written articles in Excellence One.
Enjoy your reading!
Melissa Rancourt
Head of Marketing, Membership Services & Corporate Communications
HIGHLIGHT
Mohammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, will open EFQM’s Forum in Athens on 2nd October. Mohammad Yunus created a new kind of bank – one that would give small loans to those who were the poorest and usually without any collateral. This encouragement and funding would turn the poorest into entrepreneurs. Yunus’ innovative approach has now labeled him as the “grandfather of microcredit”. Yunus is one of four top speakers that will lead our plenary sessions at the Forum.
LEARNING EDGE 2007-
120 EFQM MEMBERS WELCOMED AT
DNV'S PREMISES IN NORWAY
EFQM members met in Oslo last week to participate in this year’s EFQM Learning Edge. The event focused on the theme of Excellence and Risk Management, and was hosted by EFQM member Det Norske Veritas (DNV). The opening speech was delivered by DNV's CEO, Henrik Madsen, followed by Sven Mollekleiv, Head of Corporate Relations & CSR. They had a common message to all participants: all of us have an individual and corporate responsibility to address to the risks that encompass our environment and we should consider zero tolerance for not learning from our failures.
The EFQM Learning Edge event is designed as an interactive event for EFQM Members that promotes active sharing between members, shares our future direction and enables opportunities for constructive networking. As such, the event is over a two-day period and includes plenary sessions, interactive workshops, a marketplace of learning and time for networking over lunch and dinner.
Chris Lebeer, EFQM’s CEO, addressed participants in the beginning and end of the conference.During the closing, Chris brought together some important messages: it is all about leaving a lasting footprint for our organisations – we can do that by understanding that in order to achieve sustainable and profitable growth; an explicit role for leadership is needed along with making the link to organisational development; the reality of risk is a higher cause for individuals and the enterprise and EFQM is here to share what works. By starting with a broader perspective, such as Excellence and Risk Management, EFQM can start to build on the stories from organisations to provide tangible ideas to others, which was our intent for this Learning Edge event.
Other key messages from our parallel sessions on Risk Management in specific sectors and management practices included:
- In the transport sector, the challenge is to attract talent, retain the right knowledge and create synergies through acquisitions and alliances. Areas of concern are how to manage risk and foster excellence in a sector where environmental issues are fundamental for sustainable development.
- Rapid Innovation is key in the IT and Telecom sector with the need to hire, keep and develop highly skilled people. The risk in the IT sector is that it affects ALL other sectors. Data security can impact all of the economy.
- Risk Assessment is not widely used to define CSR strategies and programmes, especially on societal aspects.
- Key areas to address in healthcare are needed in process orientation, resource allocation, communication and standardisation. An approach to risk management and improvement can work in healthcare only when top management is convinced and can influence other stakeholders.
Overall messages on Excellence and Risk Management included:
- We should see the risk management process as a valuable tool for management rather than something they have to do.
- More pragmatic measures are needed for risk management.
- Communication is key – internal and external. We need to create an accepting culture to deal with risk issues before, during and after.
- The Leadership dimension is crucial -- connect to management and put risk management on the top agenda.
- People drive the company and can become the major risk to an enterprise – in any sector.
The presentations at the Learning Edge conference will be made available to participants on the EFQM website. Plans are already underway for our next event in 2008. If your organisation is willing to host such an event, has meeting or training facilities able to accommodate between 100 and 150 people, please contact Vinciane Beauduin at Beauduin@efqm.org.
MAKING BEST USE OF MEMBERSHIP
Automotiv Community of Practice Meeting at Volvo – 21st June
The EFQM Automotive Community of Practice meeting was held, by kind permission of Volvo, at their headquarters in Gothenburg on 21st June. The meeting was preceded by a networking dinner in a beautiful restaurant overlooking the River Gota. We were delighted with the positive response to this event as we were able to welcome 20 delegates from many automotive industries including Autoliv, BMW, BP, Claas Guss, Dana, Fujitsu Microelectronic Europe, MAN, Renault, Robert Bosch, Siemens and Volkswagen.
The day began with an interesting introduction to Volvo, the history of its organisation and its products. This presentation was delivered by Mr. Albie van Buel, CEO of Volvo. The morning continued with several presentations on supplier development as seen from the perspective of both the OEMs and first tier suppliers.
During the afternoon we were all taken round the plant by the ‘blue train’! A representative from BMW then delivered a presentation on their organisation’s Journey to Excellence, following their successful award at last year’s EFQM Forum.
At the end of the day, it was agreed that the next meeting should follow a format whereby it would be held over two days, perhaps with a topic discussed in general on the first afternoon, followed by the dinner and then some sessions of problem solving and best practice sharing the next morning.
If you would like more information on this particular Community of Practice, please contact either Hervé Legenvre at Legenvre@efqm.org or Sue Sweet at Sweet@efqm.org.
The 2nd edition of the Police Community of Practice - June 8th
Hosted by the Belgian Federal Police on 8th June, this second edition of the police CoP brought together participants from the Basque region, the United Kingdom and Belgium. The topic of the working group, as agreed during the first meeting in Budapest last November, was self-assessment and peer review.
The first session of the day was to prepare a draft proposal of the mission and values of the police working group. In a nutshell: the Police CoP is “an ambitious and advanced group of professionals representing the police forces and services who promote, co-ordinate and implement excellence in policing and performance improvement. They are held together by a common interest in excellence in policing and are driven by a desire and need to share problem solving, experiences, insights, templates, tools and best practices”.
The following agenda was built around presentations on the assessment experiences of the participants, followed by Q&A sessions. An additional concept ran throughout the day: “Fish and Shop”, which consisted in paying a particular attention to all the best practices of others in order to favour subsequent benchmarking contacts and opportunities. The key learnings from the day can be summarised as follows:
- The inspection and monitoring role evolves toward performance management
- Ensure you have a structure to be assessed before you start: define the mission and values, etc.
- The need to train the people involved in the self-assessment effort before starting
- The added value of peer review once all units have been assessed to stimulate the horizontal sharing of best practices
- The Learning and Development Excellence Guide shared by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary. Based on the EFQM Model, it enables to assess and review the learning and development function of police services (now available in Excellence One).
The next meeting, which the Basque Police kindly offered to host, will be on performance measurement. It is scheduled for the first week of December. For more information on the Police CoP, please contact Geni Luengo at Luengo@efqm.org or +32 2 775 35 30.
Rail Community of Practice - Meeting in Lyon, 15 June
On 15 June, the Rail Community of Practice held its meeting in Keolis premises in Lyon, France. Keolis runs four metro lines, two funiculars, two tram lines, 59 bus routes, nine travel centres and the gare de Vaise interchange in Lyon. After a presentation by Keolis to set up the scene, participants had the chance to visit the control centre and travel with the metro on a normal line as well as on the fully automated line. They also got to try the new tram line.
Keolis took this opportunity to show the interchange station they built that connects trains, parking, metros and buses, all through the same facility. A great achievement done in collaboration with SNCF.
In the afternoon, Jacques Rapoport, Managing Director of Keolis Lyon, shared with the participants the strategic achievements and issues of this integrated transport network. The presentation was directly followed by a another one from SNCF on the development of the Lyon Regional Express Network.
The group comprises organisations from across the supply chain of the rail industry and covers countries as diverse as Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany and Greece.
More detailed information about this Community of Practice is available on our website.
If your organisation belongs to the rail industry and you are interested in taking part in this networking group, feel free to contact us at info@efqm.org.
Benchmarking on CRM using the Philips PST Tools
In tune with its members, EFQM decided – following several benchmarking requests on the topic of CRM – to organise a pilot two-day benchmarking group on CRM, on September 17 and 18, 2007.
The underlying basis for this benchmarking group will be the “Philips Process Survey Tool for Marketing and Sales”. Process Survey Tools are a means of measuring the maturity levels of key business processes. They are practical tools aimed at helping managers to improve their planning and decision-making processes, as well as giving them guidance on how to improve the processes.
Each participant will therefore carry out an assessment of their CRM processes before the meeting. As a result, they will come up with a score for each of the 12 elements to assess, an overall score, pinpointing their strengths and areas for improvement and the next steps to be taken in order to address the latter.
The event itself will be two-fold: on the one hand, each participant will deliver a presentation on the element for which they achieved the highest score, followed by Q&A sessions; on the other hand, workshops on the improvement steps for the most common areas for improvement, identified by participants through the assessment, will be organised. In addition, a guest speaker will deliver a presentation on “How to set up a CRM Management Software Tool”.
The PSTs are available as a free download to EFQM members, for internal non-commercial uses, on Excellence One.
For more information on this event, please contact Jonathan Denys at Denys@efqm.org or +32 2 775 35 48.
EFQM Assessment Masterclass launched
On June 6-8 2007, EFQM launched its new Assessment Masterclass. This course, targeted towards individuals seeking to acquire more advanced assessment skills, responds to the needs of already-experienced assessors to further develop skills to conduct highly efficient and effective assessments, based on the latest EFQM tools and methodologies. It also introduces the EFQM’s new application process, also known as the “2005+” approach. EFQM members can find out more about the 2005+ approach by logging in to Excellence One.
Among the participants to the first edition of the Assessment Masterclass was Mr. James Clopton, Manager Organisational Development at IGP Pulvertechnik AG in Switzerland. Already a well-experienced assessor, Mr. Clopton decided to attend the course to "further develop his skills and gain further insight on how award assessors work in practice".
Among the new benefits he identified to us over the phone, he particularly highlighted the new tools and documents offered to him, such as the site visit subject cards and a CD Rom rich with documentation and tools, some of which he has already begun to use in his own organisation. During the training, participants got to better understand "the importance of going beyond mathematical analysis of data", and how to further develop and follow their ‘gut feeling’ in performing assessments. To address the overwhelming amount of information covered in the intense three-day course, Mr. Clopton would recommend this course to be combined with a long-term ‘coaching’, where the group of assessors could work individually and meet at regular time intervals to discuss and review their progress.
The next edition of EFQM’s Assessor Masterclass will be on 12-14 September 2007. If you would like more information on this course, please visit our webpage, or contact Pierre Echard at Echard@efqm.org, or phone at: +32.775.3550.
EFQM Excellence Award 2008 – Key dates
We have moved the EFQM Excellence Award 2008 key dates slightly earlier in order to better meet applicants and assessors' needs.
- Applicant workshop – Early September 2007*
- Call for Assessors – From September to end of November 2007
- Applicant intent to apply – 16th November 2007
- Qualification file due – 16th November 2007
- Final submission documents – 25th January 2008
- Assessor briefing events – Late February/ Early March 2008*
- Site visit – 19-23 May 2008
- Jury – End of June 2008*
- Feedback reports delivered – 30th June 2008
- EFQM Forum – 28-29 October Paris, France.
*exact dates to be confirmed
If you are considering to apply to the EFQM Excellence Award 2008, please contact Samuli Pruikkonen for further information at Pruikkonen@efqm.org or by phone at +32 2 775 3519.
NETWORKING
EFQM Forum 2007
Athens, Greece – 1-3 October 2007
The Forum programme, this year, is a combination of plenary and parallel sessions. The parallel sessions are interactive and, by design, different in content and structure – from traditional presentation sessions and panel debates through to marketplace sessions and practical learning experiences. Each of the interactive sessions will be aligned with one of the fundamental concepts behind achieving sustainable Excellence and High Performance.
Results:
Sustainable Results – A marketplace featuring organisations from diverse sectors, each of whom will share their secrets to reaching and sustaining excellent results. This marketplace will highlight five organisations who will share their secret to success – from the private and public sector, from Europe and beyond Europe.
Tomorrow’s Future is today’s growing SME – this panel session emphasises that a high performing organisation can be from any size and from any sector. Entrepreneurs are high-risk takers and use creativity and innovation. What can large organisations learn from these examples? What plans do these organisations have to take them from midsize to larger? Hear from small and mid-sized organisations, each with a story to tell about their success in their market.
Leadership:
Can Value-Based Leadership be a realistic driving force today? – from the Athenian Democracy to the Grameen Bank, this panel session will show that management based on an ethical vision and long term values can create an excellent organisation and lead to success.
Innovation:
Reboot the Workplace – An interactive presentation that demonstrates the change of technology on the workforce. How has technology altered individual productivity? In a world of video conferences and the newest technology, T-Systems Multimedia has created a learning community in which they experiment with their own technology. Bring your mobile! This promises to be an interactive and surprising session.
Customer:
To Serve or Create Markets – A panel session that shows how only a small group of customers can help an organisation innovate. How can an organisation identify these unique customers? How can a large organisation create a culture that supports innovation and learning? How do the best companies manage to both serve and create markets?
Partnership:
The value in value chains – A marketplace session of organisations that demonstrate how partnerships with their suppliers, customers and society have been the secret behind their success.
Society:
Can corporations both be and be perceived as responsible? – A panel debate to discuss the differences between being a responsible corporation and communicating responsibility. Corporate responsibility focuses both on the approach as well as results. The panel will include both the corporate and NGO perspective.
Can personal integrity make a difference in corporations? – A panel debate to indicate how personal integrity can influence corporate ethics. Systems might set the framework of corporate responsibility, but personal integrity of each employee defines corporate ethics. You may be surprised to hear about our debate.
Agility:
Renovating and reinventing the organisation – Two presenters will show that while organisations have a good sense of their direction, they should also continuously check and readjust their course. How can an organisation create a culture of renovating and reinventing?
Process:
Manage by Process – Two presenters will demonstrate that while organisational structures may come and go, it is the excellence of the key business processes of an organisation that maintain the delivery of products/ services. What differentiates excellent organisations from the rest is not just an ingrained commitment to improvement of process, continual or breakthrough, but also the speed of execution of change.
People:
The War for Talent – Two presenters will demonstrate how high performing organisations see the "right type" of people as crucial to the success of their business and develop a strategy to recruit these people and retain them.
Ignite Passion and Creativity in your Workforce – A marketplace session to demonstrate how learning can be different. How can you motivate your people but also train them at the same time? Five organisations demonstrate how games have changed traditional learning – "borrow" some ideas from game boards, creativity sessions and comic books.
More detailed information on the Forum and the registration form are available online at http://www.efqmforum.org or contact Vinciane Beauduin at Beauduin@efqm.org.
Two Good Practice Visits at EFQM
Best-Practices in 'People Development and Involvement' at T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH- Germany, 21 August 2007
Our first good practice visit will be held at T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH, Germany, on 21st August 2007, in Dresden, Germany. T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH (T-Systems MMS) in Dresden is a public limited company wholly owned by T-Systems Business Services GmbH. They were Prize Winner in People Development and Involvement and in Continuous Learning, Innovation and Improvement respectively in 2005 and 2006.
Best Practices in People Development and Involvement and in Corporate Social Responsibility at Grundfos- Denmark, 11 September 2007
The next good practice visit will take us to Grundfos, one of the world’s leading pump manufacturers. Furthermore, Grundfos manufactures electric motors for the pumps as well as develops and sells state-of-the-art electronics for control pumps and pump systems.
Using the EFQM Excellence Model for ten years has proven to be the motor of their improvement process. Now, every employee is involved in assessment, target setting and improvement activities. Business Excellence has helped them to reach world-class level in both practice and performance. The Fundamental Concepts of Excellence underpinning the Model are now a natural part of their daily way of working. Grundfos was the 2006 Award Winner and Prize Winner in CSR and in People Development and Involvement (category: Large organisations, Business and Operationnal Units).
The full programme and registration form for these two Good Practice Visits is available on our website. Should you have any queries, feel free to contact Vinciane Beauduin at Beauduin@efqm.org.
Hungarian Association for Excellence (EFQM Partner Organisation) pioneers and hosts the 1st Committed to Excellence networking workshop
What benefits have the successful organisations derived from participating in Committed to Excellence? What would they have done differently? What approaches and strategies are useful to motivate and encourage organisations to engage? How can EFQM’s Partners and their successful organisations learn from each other? These and many other topics were discussed during the workshop held in Hungary 6-8 June 2007.
EFQM’s Partners across Europe convened for the 1st Committed to Excellence networking workshop in Siófok, a resort overlooking Lake Balaton. The venue was the Conference Centre of Kodolányi János University College, one of the first private universities in Hungary to be awarded EFQM’s Recognised for Excellence.
The international workshop was a useful opportunity for the Partners and their successful organisations at Committed to Excellence to share experiences as deliverers and recipients of EFQM's recognition schemes. Participants to the workshop were from eight countries across Europe: Hungary, Belgium, Czech Republic, England, Poland, Spain, Turkey and Russia. The long term goal of this gathering is to establish a learning network.
Ms. Karolina Sugár (President of the Hungarian Association for Excellence) closed the meeting by soliciting ideas and learning points. It provided a forum for the exchange of information and ideas among EFQM Partners and successful organisations. 
The environment and the small number of the attendees facilitated close networking which is always beneficial during a workshop. The event was overall a success, especially since it was the first time this meeting was organised. It also provided the chance to view the spectacular Balaton coastline on an enjoyable boat trip during the networking dinner.
Are you interested in getting more information about EFQM Partner organisations? If so, then please contact Yemi Makinde at Makinde@efqm.org.
Lessons Learnt:
Pindar Set Inc. – Committed to Excellence
Pindar Set Inc. (US) is one of three business/subsidiaries of The Pindar Organisation, GA Pindar & Son Ltd, which operates in three locations situated on three continents – Europe (UK), USA and Asia (India).
The activities and operations of the company are dedicated to one customer, Yell Group plc, which operates within the 'classified advertising directory market'. This unique business relationship with Yell Group Plc has been effective since 1979. Pindar Set Inc. (US) is especially responsible for Spec ad creation and pagination and proofing for company-wide needs.
Since gaining the ISO-9001 Standard for its Quality Management System in 2003, Pindar Set added a Risk Management and Business Continuity process, with the aim of achieving a coherent and integrated approach to it excellence initiatives. Quality Management is key to driving performance and achieving the continued confidence of the company’s sole client (Yell Group Plc has been twice the recipient of the EFQM Excellence Award – once as Yellow Pages, the next and more recent time as Yell Group PLc). In 2006, the IT Department achieved level 3 in the ITIL consolidated set of service management best practices. The UK operations also achieved EFQM’s Committed to Excellence.
About Pindar Set: Pindar Set, as a company, is part of the Pindar Organisation, GA Pindar & Son Ltd, founded in 1836. Today, the Pindar Organisation remains in family ownership and employs over 1750 people in the UK, USA and India. Pindar Set has been a member of the EFQM since June 2005.
NEW EFQM MEMBERS
Bandridge Europe N.V.- Netherlands
The Bandridge Group is Europe's fastest growing accessory specialist. Of Dutch origin and 100% privately owned, they have more than 40 successful years in local distribution. Now they provide accessory and connectivity solutions to the Consumer Electronic market in Europe, Africa, Middle East, Far East and Oceania. Facing tremendous growth, the company has decided to adopt the EFQM Excellence Model as their quality system for its complete coverage of all business aspects.
For more information: www.bandridge.nl
Suunto- Finland
Suunto, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Helsinki-based Amer Sports Corporation, is the leading manufacturer of sports instruments for a variety of sports, including skiing, hiking, diving, sailing and golf. Their strategy consists in focusing on sports activities where advanced measurement technology, data processing and specific algorithms can create significant benefits for active participants. To maintain its cutting-edge competitiveness, Suunto intends to conduct yearly self-assessments against the EFQM Excellence Model as from 2008, and to capitalise on the networking and learning opportunities.
For more information: www.suunto.com
Sandnes Kommunalteknikk- Norway
The Sandnes Kommunalteknikk, in other words the Department of Municipal Infrastructure of the Local Authority of Sandnes, has more or less 30 employees. Sandnes is the ninth largest municipality and the eighth largest town in Norway. The Sandnes Kommunalteknikk has developed their own management model– called the Sandnes Model – over the past few years. They see in EFQM an opportunity to benefit from the experiences of other members across a wide range of sectors, notably through EFQM events such as the Learning Edge recently held in Oslo, Norway.
For more information: http://www.sandnes.kommune.no/
The Dubai Quality Group- UAE
The Dubai Quality Group was set up as a non-profit business organisation by the Department of Economic Development, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum. The Group offers many programmes throughout the year with the objective of improving quality and service among its member organisations. Since its inception in February 1994, the DQG has grown to include more than 1,500 individuals representing over 300 prominent organisations, from both the private and the public sectors.
For more information: www.dqg.org/dqg/
Bank Albilad- Saudi Arabia
Bank Albilad is a Saudi joint stock company, with a corporate capital of 3 billion Saudi Riyals. Their aim is to be among the leading national banks, preferred both by the private and the commercial customers, through their commitment to serve society. Their core values are based on customer focus, business values, operational excellence and organisational transformation to achieve the value growth strategy and advanced financial position both in local and regional markets.
For more information: www.bankalbilad.com
Upgrade Human Resources- Germany
Based in Munich, Upgrade Human Resources is a HR consultancy specialising in small and medium-sized businesses. They support clients by providing them with solutions for human resources development and health in the workplace. They offer high-level competencies in the fields of staff performance and motivation: retention, team development, executive training, coaching.
For more information: www.upgrade-hr.com
ACHIEVERS OF EXCELLENCE
EFQM congratulates the following organisations which have been awarded:
Recognised for Excellence:
5 Stars
- ENUSA, Industrias Avanzadas S.A - Spain
4 Stars
- Vignobles Despagne Naujan et Postiac - France
- Worthington Cylinders GmbH - Austria
- Fundacion Revillagigedo - Spain
- Colegio San José- Valladolid - Spain
- Colegio Kostka- Santander - Spain
- Colegio APÓSTOL SANTIAGO JESUITAS- Vigo - Spain
- C.E. La Merced y San Francisco Javier- Burgos - Spain
- Autonome Provinz Bozen - Südtirol Land-, forst- und hauswirtschaftliche Berufsbildung - Italy
3 Stars
- SIREIX Pont du Casse - France
- SIKIG Saint Etienne d'Orthe - France
- Caves Coopératives de Blasimon - France
- Aeropuerto de Malaga - Spain
- JSC "Krasnyi Yakor"- Russia
Committed to Excellence:
- Alsterdorf assistenz west gGmbH - Germany
- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bibliothek - Germany
- Volkshochschule Baden-Baden e.V. - Germany
- IRRE TOSCANA - Italy
- ITCG "Don Innocenzo Lazzeri" - Italy
- OÜ EST-DOMA - Estonia
- STATISTIKAAMET - Estonia
- BAI ESCUELA DE EMPRESA Y COMUNICACIÓN S.A - Spain
- AUTOESCUELA NAZARET, S.L. - Spain
- Colegio MARÍA AUXILIADORA (CÁDIZ)- Spain
- Colegio MARÍA AUXILIADORA (JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA)- Spain
- Colegio NTRA SRA DEL ROSARIO (TRINITARIAS)- Spain
- Colegio PIO XII- Spain
- Colegio SAN JUAN BOSCO (JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA)- Spain
- GLOBAL LIFT EQUIPMENT- Spain
- GONZÁLEZ Y CIA ASCENSORES, S.L.- Spain
- Hosp. Sierrallana. Und. de Cirug. Mayor Ambulatoria y Hosp. de Día Quirúrgico- Spain
- Amt für Wirtschaft des Kantons St.Gallen- Switzerland
- Departementssekretariat Finanzdepartement Schwyz- Switzerland
- Die Schweizerische Post Swiss Post International, SPI Schweiz- Switzerland
- CAP AFNOR Saint Denis- France
- KHORUS PACKAGING Eysines- France
- PISO- France
- PISO Léognan- France
- SARL MARTIN Cestas- France
Awarded by EFQM:
- Pindar Set Inc. - United Kingdom
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
During the month of June we added three new articles to Excellence One - EFQM's knowledge base for best management practices. All articles are online on http://excellenceone.efqm.org.
Leadership Gym: Human interaction as an enabler for breakthrough in quality
In the complex, unpredictable business environment that we experience today, quality and innovation hardly take place through detailed planning and predetermined processes. We claim that learning, quality and innovation fundamentally are a result of human interaction, the core enabler for excellence. Human interaction can be developed by establishing diverse teams, improved dialogue, a listening culture and a systematic use of interaction tools.
What quality managers should know about management control
If quality models, such as business excellence models, are widely used, and their improvement potential seldom challenged, the quality management discipline has not yet elaborated any theory on the incidence the different organisational contexts may have on the use of the latter. This article broaches the benefits making allowances for organisational context can bring.
The Learning and Development Excellence Guide
Nowadays, organisations are forever more on the look for state-of-the-art tools to assess and review their Learning and Development function. Shared at the last EFQM Police Community of practice, which took place in Brussels on 8th June 2007, this Learning and Development Excellence Guide designed by the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary is articulated around the nine criteria of the EFQM Excellence Model and its scoring method hinges on a Radar-like system.
If you want to submit an article, share resources or comment on Excellence One, please contact Marie-Gabrielle Hubler at Hubler@efqm.org or Tel:+32 277 53 528.
GETTING TO KNOW OUR MEMBERS
Mr. Kevin Goodman,
Stagecoach South Western Trains Ltd
Name: Mr. Kevin Goodman
Job Title: Head of Business Excellence
What do you consider as the hottest topic in business currently that is truly making a difference? Why?
The hottest topic relevant to our business is the impending “High Level Output Statement” that the United Kingdom Government is due to publish in July. It will outline the key long-term strategy and direction for the UK rail industry and will obviously impact on our organisation.
What are the biggest challenges your organisation is facing?
The biggest challenge we are facing in our organisation is the continuous growth in passenger demand. The network has reached near capacity and without significant investment in infrastructure, it will be difficult to meet future demand. Overcrowding could also seriously impact on our customer satisfaction result.
How has the EFQM Excellence Model helped you to achieve your requirements?
The EFQM Excellence Model was critical in Stagecoach winning the South Western Rail Franchise. Our bid document was written and submitted against each of the criteria of the Model and scored by the UK Government using the RADAR scoring Matrix.
What are the biggest challenges you have encountered in achieving business excellence?
The biggest challenge in achieving Business Excellence is the one of translating the elements of the Model into the deliverable levels of the organisation. Directors and senior managers have adopted the principles at a strategic and tactical level. However, at an operational level, staff need the Model explained in a language relevant to their role.
Can you give me an idea as to how do you overcome these challenges?
To overcome these challenges, our dedicated Business Excellence team has undertaken a round of presentations to key teams within the organisation. During these presentations, we have introduced the basics of the Model, the RADAR matrix and aligned their use to practical examples related to the teams. We have also supported the business with an intranet site dedicated to Business Excellence.
Can you give me an example of one thing your organisation is good at? SSWT has a very clear vision statement: “To give our customers the best service they have every had”. This is supported by our values of Honesty, Respect, Teamwork, Communication, Professionalism, Recognition and Learning. Both our vision and values are very well embedded throughout our organisation and understood by all our employees.
What aspects of your job do you like the most?
One of the best element of my job is the opportunity to be involved in all areas of the SSWT business, from frontline departments, such as train crew, to support departments like marketing. Another aspect that I enjoy most is working with people who show such a great willingness to engage in the business excellence process and to learn.
What’s the one thing about yourself that is not common knowledge but you don’t mind sharing?
I was adopted at birth, though I have only ever seen my parents as my mother and father.
Do you have a source of inspiration and, if so, who or what?
I have never really had a single source of inspiration. I have always found that you could take something from almost everybody you meet, particularly if you learn to be a good listener.
What is your motto?
Treat all individuals how you wish to be treated.
What has been the biggest achievement of your life?
Without a doubt, the biggest achievement of my life was the birth of my son Rory. He can put everything else into true perspective with a simple smile or comment.
How do you relax?
Outside of work, I am passionate about sports. My main hobby is scubadiving.
JULY
| 18-20 |
European Assessor Training course |
AUGUST
|
22-24 |
European Assessor Training course |
SEPTEMBER
| 12-14 |
European Assessor Masterclass |
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