MassExcellence—Welcome to our Award Program Page!

The Next Award Cycle Schedule

Recent Award Recipients
2007
2008
2009
Action Ambulance, Inc.
Berkshire Medical Center		 Maybury Material Handling Action Ambulance Service, Inc.
Gemini Industries, Inc.
American Eagle Federal Credit Union

 

An application to the prestigious MassExcellence Award Program is not just about recognition. Our Program has much more value because companies going through the award process itself are taking a solid action forward to becoming a world-class organization! The award process begins an assessment process conducted by a specialized team of examiners who will develop a feedback report for your senior leadership to use in business planning. The assessment provides a comprehensive review of your business systems against the Baldrige Criteria categories of Leadership, Strategic Planning, Customer and Market Focus, Information and Knowledge Management, Workforce Focus, Process Management, and Results. This process is an opportunity in learning for all your key stakeholders!

What about those quick pat-on-the-back “feel good” awards. Is that accomplishment part of a system that is going to last? Will that award have a connection to your employees – or cause a downturn in morale? Will that award help make their job better or easier? Very often it’s forgotten, and the PR people apply for the next one. You may have created some marketing hype over it, but it is doubtful that you accomplished anything in terms of building long-term sustainability.

An award from MassExcellence is recognition how the work is accomplished throughout the entire company! Everyone in your organization including your customers and suppliers are connected to this – in a good way! If this is your first assessment, you will be re-calibrated as to what you are all about and what is important to you, with a solid foundation and a feedback report to use as you move forward. Stakeholders and customers become better engaged, and thus, the party continues.

QUESTIONS IMPORTANT TO YOU

What is the advantage to apply for an award?
This will be one of the most important steps you can take to creating long-term sustainability and success. In fact, one of our past applicants who continue to use the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence to guide their business has reported unprecedented profitability after implementing the feedback received from their examiner assessment - Yes, in THIS economy.
Is this like a certification or accreditation audit?
Not at all. We assess the present performance of your organizational systems against the Criteria. We go by what you tell us in the application. Unlike some certification and accreditation bodies, we DO NOT tell you what to do. We are not prescriptive. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all activity. You are unique, and we understand that. We verify and clarify what we find from your application. It is not a checksheet mentality, nor do we look for problems. Actually, our examiner site visits are quite energizing to companies. Employees and senior leaders are very excited to talk to our examiner team and show off what they do. Do your people get excited awaiting or participating in a certification or accreditation audit?
Is this extra work?
Putting together the application will take time and people, but in the long run, there is less work. Using the Criteria in your business will help you do the work you do now only differently – because you’ve re-focused your entire organization on doing the right things.
What kind of feedback do I get?
Your application tells the examiners what is important – or not - to your unique business. You also get the team scoring which you can use to measure progress. The feedback will include commentary on your strengths – things you are doing well, and potential areas for improvement you ¬may wish to address. The feedback allows you to re-calibrate and re-prioritize what continues to be important and valuable, and discontinue what isn’t working for you. You can re-focus people and resources. The feedback can help you create better alignment throughout the organization. An application with us is one of the best investments in your company that you will ever make.
How often can I apply?
You can apply with us annually, with feedback each time, but if you are starting out on your journey of excellence, we suggest you apply every other year. Use the ‘between’ years to execute your improvement actions derived from the feedback report. Apply the following year and you can measure the progress in your organizational results and scores between the applications. It will demonstrate the direction and speed you are moving. If it turns out you are moving faster than you think, then it may make sense for you to apply on an annual basis.
Can I just answer the questions from the Criteria book and send it in?
Yes and no. Although the Baldrige Criteria isn’t rocket science, it isn’t easy either. It looks at your company from a systems perspective – big picture stuff. And not everyone has this full view. We have seen disagreement amongst senior leadership members from the same company. Realistically, you will need guidance. If you want to submit an application, we will help you put your best foot forward. There are several options available. Contact our Executive Director first. It will be a very important conversation.
What’s the difference between the MassExcellence Award and the National Baldrige Award
Asides from our being regional and they being national, there are some significant differences. We guarantee you a site visit. National does not. We charge less than they do. If you are awarded a national site visit, there are significant costs associated with it. We do not charge extra for your site visit. The Criteria we use is the same, the process is the same. We are actually part of “the pipeline” to the National Program. We know you are working to be a world class company, so we are less formalized, making it less expensive, easier on your people, making it easier for you to “work the bugs out” at a pace that’s right for you.
What happens after the application process is over?
That’s up to you. At the request of the senior leadership, our Team Lead and Executive Director will be glad to spend time with them to review the feedback report results with them to ensure the interpretation is correct and consistent. Occasionally, our applicants will ask us to come in and provide Baldrige-related workshops to advance their speed of improvement. It becomes a very powerful tool to move forward when all the employees understand their connection to the Criteria. In other words, we are here for you long after the process. We work with you when you want, not when we want.

IT’S TIME TO APPLY

We always hear that it’s “not a good time.” Is there ever a good time? Know this - the right time is right now to take charge in the future of your organization. We would be honored to talk or meet with you to determine if this step is the right one for your company at this time.

Overview of the Massachusetts Baldrige-based Performance Excellence
Recognition and Award Program

MassExcellence Pledge to Excellence Recognition

MassExcellence Silver Level Recognition

MassExcellence Gold Level Recognition

Commonwealth Performance Excellence Leadership Award
Demonstrates...

A solid leadership commitment to employees and a goal of long–term sustainability

Systematic approaches are achieving forward–looking, overall improvement showing results in some key areas

Your key processes are being systematically evaluated and improved and gaining results in more key areas

You have integrated and well-deployed approaches in most key areas, with good performance against comparisons
The Benefit
Provides critical insight into key internal & external factors shaping your environment Increase business – this is a very prestigious award, telling your customers and stakeholders that your organization is high-performing with a goal to be world-class!
Using the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence helps you think strategically, and build competitive advantage by asking the right questionss
Gain a better understanding of the context in which you operate your business Our examiners are non-biased, non-competitive, specially trained professionals from a wide spectrum of sectors, who conduct a systems assessment against the Criteria categories of leadership, strategic planning, customers and markets, measures, analysis, and knowledge management, your workforce, managing processes, and their results.
Senior leaders attend a facilitated one-day workshop to discover priorities for further improvement Senior leaders receive a comprehensive examiner team feedback report indicating your strengths and potential improvement opportunities, which can be used as your catalyst for prioritized improvement. This feedback is the result of about 1400 hours of professional consulting for a fraction of the cost! This process is budget friendly and the payback is huge!
How to Apply
No application required.
Contact our Executive Director to schedule your workshop. 		Contact us before you begin. We can advise you on the best way to proceed. You will want to minimize the time to write it and create the most accurate document possible. Our goal is to have you step out with your best foot forward. You will be asked to complete the Click for 2009 Intent Form at this link.
Important: All applications in this range are automatically eligible for the Commonwealth Leadership Award. Our Baldrige-experienced third-party Panel of Judges determine the appropriate award level based on the scores and feedback from the Examiner teams
Cost of Investment
$1,000.00 Costs range from $3,000 to $4,250 plus $100 application fee. See pricing structure by Clicking for 2009 Award Overview.
For additional information, call Kay Kendall, Executive Director and Board Chair, MassExcellence at 781-801-6893 or e-mail kay@massexcellence.com

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