BLOGRIGE

A Time to Reflect

Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon

I am a cheerleader for all that is good about our great country! I still get chills at patriotic events. The Baldrige Award ceremony always brings a lump in my throat, as we celebrate the best our country has to offer and the successes of our free enterprise system at its finest. I am proud to be a first generation American. My parents were in love with their new country and were awed by the melting pot of nations that made us great. I have visited countries around the globe and even had the opportunity to live abroad for two years. There is no country like ours, no diversity like ours, no tolerance like ours, no creativity like ours, and no spirit like ours. Yet, as we face new challenges, I worry about our stamina and will, and our future potential for greatness. All these thoughts mingle, as we prepare to celebrate another year of our vibrant democracy on July 4, 2010.

It all came to light again this last weekend, when my wife and I entertained a friend from India and went to many of the Washington, D.C. landmarks. Two in particular brought these thoughts to mind: Ford's Theater and Arlington Cemetery. Ford's Theater, where Lincoln was assassinated, reminded me of the orderly transition of power after Presidential tragedies; transitions we have unfortunately experienced too often in our history. But it has always been accomplished with dignity, peace, and continuity in leadership. In light of our current challenges, I was particularly impressed by this quote I came across from Lincoln, written for very different challenges: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew."

At Arlington Cemetery we visited John F. Kennedy's grave site. The simplicity and serenity, combined with an eternal flame (of hope) and with a view straight across the Potomac to the Lincoln Memorial reminded me that we are truly privileged to live in the United States. Kennedy said: "To whom much is given, much is required."  This has been the practice of Baldrige Award recipients since the first year of the Program, to share what's best with others across our country, so that they too may strive for excellence in our nation. This is also the practice of the staff of the Baldrige Program and our hundreds of volunteers giving continuously to our country.

I am proud to be the son of immigrants, born to parents who came to this country impoverished and beaten down. I think of that each July 4th as we commemorate our freedom and once again accept a challenge to greatness. A peaceful and happy July 4th to all of you!

Kick-Back with a Baldrige Video and Popcorn

Posted by Zara Brunner

If you are in the market for free, educational resources, look no further.  The Baldrige Program's YouTube Playlist has close to three dozen different video products that can help your organization's improvement efforts. 

You'll find:

• An overview of the 2009 Baldrige Award recipients' best management practices that are applicable to all sectors (this is the video debuted at the opening of The Quest for Excellence 2010).  This is inserted below in case you want to sneak a peek now.
• Short CEO Interviews showcasing leadership
• Highlights, stories, and results for the 2009 Baldrige Award recipients (Honeywell FM&T, MidwayUSA, AtlantiCare, Heartland Health, and the VA Pharmacy Coordinating Center)
• Vice President Biden presenting the Baldrige Award, along with the full Baldrige Award Ceremony for the 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipients
• Results organizations have achieved using the Baldrige framework
• Benefits of serving as a Baldrige Examiner for you and your organization, and the Nation
• And all manner of videos and clips from The Quest for Excellence conference 2009

So take a look, leave us a comment on YouTube, embed the videos into your own website, or share them with others who may benefit from the insights and tips presented.  And, if you're like me, a video/movie is always a good excuse to have some popcorn too.

 

Free to Benchmark You and Me

By Dawn Marie Bailey

 

Have you ever thought that how you benchmark may say something about your organization? How what you benchmark may provide a measurement for what your organization wants to be? For example, do you want to be industry best, industry average, top box, state best, median, or world class? What does your organization want to be?

The American Society for Quality defines benchmarking as a structured process for comparing your organization’s work practices to the best similar practices you can identify in other organizations, and then incorporating those best ideas into your own processes. But is that really all there is to effective benchmarking?

In the Glossary of the Criteria for Performance Excellence, the definition for benchmarks adds another element to the process: "Organizations engage in benchmarking to understand the current dimensions of world-class performance and to achieve discontinuous (nonincremental) or 'breakthrough' improvement." To really understand how benchmarking can lead to such improvement, I looked to the Baldrige Award recipients and found an example in our first-ever health care recipient, SSM Health Care.

When SSM Health Care began its quality journey in 1995, each of its 21 acute care hospitals and three nursing homes had its own mission statement spelling out what each wanted to be, and benchmarking was mostly to medians and averages. Eight years later, the health system had one unified mission statement, a national Baldrige Award for the system as a whole, and a new philosophy on benchmarking—benchmarking to be exceptional.

Sister Mary Jean Ryan, CEO and president of SSM Health Care, a 2003 Baldrige Award recipient, said applying for Baldrige-based state awards that used the Criteria for Performance Excellence helped the system realize it needed one unifying mission statement. The first draft was several paragraphs long. After a lot of revision and the involvement of nearly 3,000 SSM employees, the mission was finalized to 13 words: “Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God.” Sister Mary Jean said the improved mission statement helped guide the system's benchmarking policy.

"We've spent considerable time making improvements based on our Baldrige feedback. We've figured out how to deploy a consistent message throughout our organization," said Sister Mary Jean. "And we now benchmark against the highest-performing companies, whether or not they're in health care. Best of all, we've figured out how to translate our mission imperative—that is 'exceptional health care services'—into specific and measurable goals."

So is your process for benchmarking effective, leading to "breakthrough improvement"? How does what you benchmark drive your organization and what you want to be?

It's Baldrige Criteria Revision Season....

Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon

...And I am energized! We have been receiving suggestions for revisions from Examiners at Examiner training in May and are now seeking input through our LinkedIn site. Bob Fangmeyer has posted a blog about our upcoming Improvement Days. Your input is wanted!

As our team approaches these revisions, I always like to remember who the true audience is for the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. I am reminded of the old Seinfeld episode (am I dating myself?): Baldrige Criteria for you! No Baldrige Criteria for you! While the Baldrige Criteria are used to select recipients of a Presidential award for performance excellence, they are really written to serve an educational purpose. That purpose is to help all organizations think about a systems approach to organizational performance management and  consider everything necessary within that system to achieve sustainability and to strive for excellence.

Our intent is that the Baldrige Criteria requirements direct an organization to a holistic approach to management for any organization, with full implementation (as documented in the Scoring Guidelines maturity levels) representing the quest for excellence and role model performance.

Furthermore, the educational role of the Baldrige Criteria requires that they also serve a role in teaching students of management, whether pursuing a degree or independent knowledge, how to construct and assess an organizational management and leadership system. And, of course, the Baldrige Criteria must reflect the leading edge of validated management practice—the key word being "validated." So the Criteria must be responsive to the challenges of the times and anticipatory of the future that sustainable organizations will face. And, finally, the questions in the Baldrige Criteria must be answerable. It is amazing how many questions can be posed that no organization could possibly answer.

It's that simple. Join us in the exciting journey. And please keep the big picture systems approach in mind for you and for all of us!

Are the Criteria Still Relevant Today for U.S. Manufacturers?

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey

Although some reports indicate that the economy is improving, I find it disheartening that many U.S. manufacturing jobs lost could simply be gone for good. The world economy is changing, and many jobs have changed or simply moved on.

The question to ask then is whether the Criteria for Performance Excellence are still relevant for U.S. manufacturers?

To help me answer that, I remembered an old quote from quality guru Dr. Joseph Juran, "Let me recall the staggering benefits which are waiting for the [United States]:

• Regaining market share
• Bringing back the jobs we exported
• Wiping out the bulk of our trade deficit

Those are goods which deserve the unified support of all of us. The activities surrounding the Baldrige Award have been a valuable contribution toward reaching those goals."

The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence provide just the road map U.S. manufacturers need toward those goals today, as they did when Juran made this statement. The Criteria are not prescriptive, and they do not guarantee results. But they can help organizations think about the key drivers of improvement and innovation (or simply stated, sustainability), with thoughtful reflection on managing by fact, focusing on results and creating value, and focusing on customers.

The Criteria ask some key questions that may be particularly relevant for U.S. manufacturers, for example

• how you decide what to outsource (or support with external resources) based on your areas of greatest expertise?
• how your disaster and emergency preparedness system considers prevention, management, continuity of operations, and recovery?
• how you prevent defects, service errors, and rework to minimize losses?
• how you plan for early indications of major shifts in technology, markets, or customer preferences?

"We already know what to do in order to close the quality gap [among world manufacturers],"Dr. Juran said. "That knowledge has come to us not from philosophic reasoning—it has come from our role models—those few companies that have launched successful quality revolutions and have become quality leaders. Some of them, notably Baldrige Award winners, have published their results, which are stunning."

Can these and other key questions found in the Criteria for Performance Excellence help drive the improvement or sustainability efforts of U.S. manufacturers today? Only the future will tell, but with the Criteria as a road map, maybe reports of improvement in the economy might hold true.

Baldrige is "A Huge Return on Your Investment"

Posted by Jeff Lucas

Probably the one thing we are asked for most often is proof-positive that utilizing the Baldrige approach yields improved business results. The slide above and the description below were both presented by Jerry Rose, Vice President of Cargill Inc. at the Quest for Excellence XXII.  Cargill is the largest privately-held company in the world and runs a Business Excellence program modeled on the Baldrige Award Process.  Proof doesn't get much more positive. 

I don't want to muck up the power of these results with my interpretation, so here it is direct from the folks that made it happen:

Cargill color-codes its businesses based upon their degree of deployment of the Baldrige Criteria. Gold represents businesses with a high degree of deployment; Blue represents businesses with partial deployment; and White represents businesses beginning the Baldrige journey.

The slide shows that the Cargill businesses with a high degree of deployment of the Baldrige Criteria have achieved 30% cumulative earnings after taxes vs. budget vs. 13% for Cargill businesses with partial Baldrige deployment and -12% for Cargill businesses just beginning use of Baldrige.

So, in Jerry’s words, is there payback? Yes.  According to Jerry, “deciding to embrace the Baldrige program in your company is a commitment to a journey. It takes time, it takes dedication and it takes resources. What I know for sure is that there is a huge return on your investment.”

The Real Small Businesses of Baldrige

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey

 

I noticed last weekend that another small business in my town had gone out of business. In fact, during my commute to work, I've been noticing quite a few for-lease signs.

This economy is tough, and it impacts every one of us; some more than others (how embarrassing to admit that I sometimes watch the obscenely indulgent Real Housewives as a way to completely escape this reality?). But instead of lamenting the current economy, I thought I would look to role models for best practices or simply for hope that with solid products and processes, small business can succeed. And where else to look for role models than to our very own Baldrige Award recipients in the small business sector.

MidwayUSA, a 2009 Baldrige Award recipient in the small business sector, knows when and where corrective action needs to be taken to satisfy its customers because it monitors measures, such as on-time delivery, that are reviewed by each department head and the company's president. No wonder its customer retention is at an all-time high of 98 percent.

MidwayUSA's CEO Larry Potterfield says that use of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence is the answer for business. "If I were in charge of the world, all organizations in America would adopt the Baldrige Criteria and pursue the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. If America is to compete in the world, it's got to improve its performance, and the Baldrige Criteria is the tool to do exactly that."

Ken Schnitzer, Chairman and CEO of Park Place Lexus, a 2005 Baldrige Award recipient in the small business sector, says "Excellence is hundreds of small things done right." No wonder the Grapevine, Texas, dealership's new-car client satisfaction index reached 99.8 percent--the highest of any U.S. Lexus dealership, and satisfaction among preowned vehicle clients reached 98 percent.

And Texas Nameplate, a 2004 Baldrige Award recipient in the small business sector, counts 70 percent of its top 50 customers as having bought from the company for more than 10 years, a show of customer loyalty. Stoner, a 2003 Baldrige Award recipient in the small business sector, also has seen tremendous customer loyalty, with the average retention of top customers, which account for over 60 percent of its business, at over 98 percent.

Sales for MESA, a 2006 Baldrige Award recipient in the small business sector, have increased 93 percent since 2000, with total revenues growing from $14 million to $27 million at the time it received the Baldrige Award. And Pal's Sudden Service, a 2001 Baldrige Award recipient in the small business sector, reports, "Even in the current economic situation, with substantially decreased sales and profits throughout the hospitality industry, Pal's sales continue to increase." At the time it received the Baldrige Award, PRO-TEC, a 2007 Baldrige Award recipient in the small business sector, posted a profit for 12 consecutive years in "a struggling industry."

What do all of these small business have in common? They all use the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence to drive improvement. I can only wonder whether there would be fewer for-lease signs if other small businesses considered the Criteria as well.

You CAN Change the World!

Posted by Bob Fangmeyer

Have you ever said to yourself “if only schools paid attention to…  if only business leaders focused on…   if only health care organizations would…  if only the government could…  things would be so much better.”

Well, here is your chance to make a difference.

The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence are recognized around the world as the standard of excellence for business, health care, education, and nonprofit organizations. Millions of copies of the Baldrige Criteria are downloaded each year, influencing the management practices of untold numbers of organizations. Every two years the Baldrige Criteria are updated in order that they remain at the leading edge of validated management practice. 

The Baldrige Program collects suggestions for improvement to the Baldrige Criteria through a number of activities, including a series of events collectively known as Virtual Improvement Day. Would you like to your great ideas to be considered for inclusion in the standard of excellence for organizational performance? Then please join the discussion! We have on-going threaded conversations around the criteria requirements, other components of the Criteria for Performance Excellence booklet, Baldrige award process, and other Baldrige Program activities.  

 On LinkedIn

On LinkedIn, share your ideas in the discussion threads within Improvement Day 2010, a subgroup of the Baldrige Improvement Discussion Group:

• If you are a member of the Baldrige Improvement Discussion Group, visit the Improvement Day 2010 subgroup
• If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, go to LinkedIn, click on Join LinkedIn Today, and create a profile. Log into your account, search for the Baldrige Improvement Discussion Group, and ask to join the group. Once you have joined, click on the Subgroup tab and chose Improvement Day 2010.

By E-mail

If you can’t create a LinkedIn account or prefer not to, please e-mail your improvement suggestions to iday@nist.gov.

At Virtual Improvement Day Events

The Program will consider all recommendations during Virtual Improvement Day events on July 27 and August 2 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. EDT. If you would like to participate in one of these events, please send an e-mail to iday@nist.gov expressing your interest. We’ll keep you posted on plans to add a third date.

With All the Attention to Health Care, What Happened?

Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon

The word is out on customer satisfaction for the first quarter of 2010. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index almost every industry improved. But, the overall result was flat because of a decline in satisfaction with hospital care.

Amazingly, customer satisfaction with telephone and cable tv providers rose to their highest levels in ten years (see my June 3rd blog post)! But this blog post is about health care.

According to the ACSI, the hospital industry declined five percentage points to 73, the lowest level in six years. Hospital outpatient care remained steady, but inpatient and emergency room care saw sharp drops.

These data appear to agree with Press Ganey's Hospital Pulse Report which indicated that satisfaction surveys representing 3 million patients in 2,000 hospitals reached a six year high in 2009. We'll have to await their 2010 results. Nevertheless their study also revealed, for the third year in a row, the top priority for improvement is responses to the specific concerns and complaints of patients.Press Ganey states,"Anecdotal evidence also suggests that more savvy patients are turning to Hospital Compare, the federal government’s public database of quality and patient satisfaction, when they need to choose a hospital for care." And they are expecting better value for their health care dollar. Is this contributing to the recent changes seen in the ACSI?

Data in Press Ganey's Emergency Department Pulse Report similarly indicate gains in 2009 patient satisfaction, but also report an average length of stay of 4 hours and 3 minutes, up 27 minutes since 2002. Again, is this contributing to the recent changes seen in the ACSI?

So, what does this all mean? I think it means that greater pressures on cost control, individual patient out-of-pocket expenses, health care quality, and transparency will require hospitals and health care systems to develop an integrated systems approach to the delivery of health care and to being patient centric, rather than health care centric. Is this achievable? You bet it is and the health care organizations who are adopting the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence are documenting their gains.

Let's look at some proof:

Heartland Health (HH)

• Heartland Health has achieved 90% ratings in overall outpatient satisfaction and in key drivers of outpatient satisfaction between 2006 and 2009.

• Members have rated HH’s Community Health Plan above the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) 90th percentile for health care and specialists’ care.

• HH is ranked in the top 15% of hospitals nationally for patient safety according to the HealthGrades (an independent health-care-ratings organization) “Best Hospital Scores.”

• In promoting quality improvement and deploying its core competencies as part of the organizational culture, HH applies Six Sigma methods within its Process Improvement Model to control costs; prevent rework and errors; and minimize the costs of inspections, tests, and audits. Cost savings as a result of process improvements have increased from approximately $8 million in fiscal year 2005 to more than $25 million by fiscal year 2009.

AtlantiCare

• AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center achieved Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services national top-10% performance in 2008 for patient care measures related to congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and pneumonia.

• AtlantiCare was recognized in 2008 by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center as a Magnet nursing organization, receiving the nursing profession’s highest honor for the second time.

• For the past four years, AtlantiCare Home Health has been awarded HomeCare Elite™ status by OCS (formerly Outcome Concept Services), based on quality outcomes, quality improvement, and financial performance. This designation places AtlantiCare Home Health in the top 100 nationally out of 8,222 Medicare-certified ed home health care agencies.

• From 2000 to 2008, system revenues grew from $280 million to $651 million, reflecting an 11% compound annual growth rate, compared to a State of New Jersey average of 5.6%. During this time period, AtlantiCare’s medical center volume increased from about 34,000 to over 56,000 discharges—also more than twice the state average.

If you want to learn more about how these and other health care providers are achieving excellence, view their application summaries and then translate their best practices into your environment.

Well Worth the Wait

Posted by Jeff Lucas

Some things just seem to take too long to get here.  For your kids it might be their birthday.  For me it includes the World Cup (still hours away; is Oneywu really fit?) But you can cross one thing off that list:  we now have the public release of the Baldrige Resource Library.  

This is going to be a wonderful resource for anyone out there interested in Performance Excellence.  It already includes over 1,000 documents and videos categorized by subject and industry. Perhaps the most awesome feature of all is that YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE!.  All it takes is a brief registration.

Lots of individuals dedicated a tremendous amount of time to make this a reality, and if I try to list them I will almost certainly miss someone, so suffice it to say that this couldn't have happened without the contributions of the Alliance for Performance Excellence, the American Society for Quality, and the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. 

So jump in, read some articles, watch some videos, upload some resources and be sure to tell your colleagues.