The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, which is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), helps organizations address a dynamic environment, focus on strategy-driven performance, achieve customer and workforce engagement, and improve governance and ethics, societal responsibilities, competitiveness, and long-term organizational sustainability. It offers you a comprehensive management approach that focuses on results in all areas, organizational and personal learning, and knowledge sharing.

 

 

The Baldrige framework is a set of guidelines and criteria designed to help organizations improve their overall performance and achieve their goals. It was named after Malcolm Baldrige, who served as the Secretary of Commerce under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1987. Baldrige was a strong advocate for promoting excellence and quality management in American businesses, and he played a key role in establishing the framework that bears his name.

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At its core, the Baldrige framework consists of seven categories: leadership, strategy, customers, measurement, workforce, operations, and results. Each category includes a set of questions and criteria that an organization should strive to meet, such as:

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• How does your organization ensure that leaders are guiding and inspiring the workforce to achieve its mission and goals?

• How does your organization determine customer needs and expectations and ensure that it is meeting or exceeding them?

• How does your organization measure and analyze its performance in key areas such as financial results, customer satisfaction, and workforce engagement?

• How does your organization ensure that it has a skilled and motivated workforce that is aligned with its mission and goals?

• How does your organization manage its operations and resources to achieve high performance and efficiency?

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By using the Baldrige framework, organizations can identify areas for improvement, establish best practices, and track their progress over time. It provides a holistic approach to quality management that can help organizations achieve sustainable success and excellence, and it continues to be widely used by businesses, non-profits, and government agencies across the United States and around the world.

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Baldrige Excellence Framework booklet

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The Criteria for Performance Excellence is a unique leadership and performance management framework to empower your organization to accomplish its mission, improve results, and become more competitive. It enables leaders to actually see the systemic nature of their organization in real time. The criteria is the foundational assessment tool used for both the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and PiPEx.  The booklet includes guidelines for responding to the Criteria and a glossary of key terms. Additionally included are the Core Values and Concepts (beliefs and behaviors found in high-performing organizations).

Learn from the Best

Don’t take our word for it – find out about winning organizations who have made a significant improvement in their organization and communities through application of the Baldrige Criteria. Find out more about Baldrige Award Recipients.

 

One of the best ways to learn is to read about past recipients.

Baldrige Award Recipients

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Links:

• Baldrige Performance Excellence Program

• Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence

• Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence

• Baldrige Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence

• Baldrige Award Recipients

• Blogrige - The Official Baldrige Blog