Baldrige Award Changes and Reminders

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2022 Changes and Reminders

New for 2022: Applicant Interviews during Virtual Evaluation

Every applicant will engage with their assigned Baldrige examiner team for two to three days in late July or early August to conduct virtual interviews. The purpose of the interviews is to help the team better understand the application. There will be one call for each process category and one follow-up call, if necessary. The applicant may invite additional members from their organization to participate in these calls.

Reminder: Team-Leader-to-Applicant Call about Business Model Call Early in the Award Process

The highest-ranking officer or designated representative from each 2022 award applicant organization will have the opportunity to describe their organization's business model and other unique key factors during a half-hour phone call with the team leader of the examiner team assigned to evaluate their organization in early June during the Independent Analysis phase of the award process. During this call, the team leader can ask for clarification about information in the Organizational Profile, but the applicant and team leader will avoid describing or asking for more information about specific processes and results (which should be addressed in the 50-page application). 

Reminder: Category 7 Results Call with Applicant Early in Award Process

Each applicant will have the opportunity to clarify any category 7 results that the team does not fully understand, as well as highlight select key results of importance. This half-hour results call will occur in early June after the business model call. 

Reminder: Eligibility Options

1. Organizations that can show a high level of maturity and superior performance metrics now have an additional means to gain eligibility for the Baldrige Award: they can submit additional materials (a completed Organizational Profile and two results measures for each of the five Criteria results items) with their eligibility certification package so that the Baldrige Program can determine their eligibility in early 2022. (Note: Those organizations that applied via this method in 2018 through 2021 may apply again for  the following four years using this eligibility option IF they received a combined total of 6 for process and results band scores from the Consensus Review (or Virtual Evaluation, for years 2022 and beyond). These band scores may be found in the key themes section of the organization's feedback report.)
2. Prior Baldrige Award recipients are automatically eligible to reapply for the award five years after the year of their award (in the sixth year), even if new or revised eligibility requirements (e.g., those for subunits) would otherwise screen them out.  For example, if your organization was an Award recipient in 2016, you are eligible to apply again in 2022.
3. Organizational subunits (such as an individual business unit within a larger manufacturing company) are no longer restricted from award eligibility based on their workforce size relative to their parent organizations or the percentage of external customers served; however, such subunits must still be able to respond to all seven categories of the Criteria.

For more information about the eligibility options, read the Frequently Asked Questions and Is Your Organization Eligible?

Reminder: Include Only Terms and Abbreviations in the Glossary

In the glossary, include only terms and abbreviations used in the application, with very brief definitions (see 2022 Application Content and Format Details). Do not include descriptions of processes, tools, methods, or techniques in the glossary, or your application will be returned to you to remove extra glossary content.

Award Process Helpline
1-877-237-9064, option 3

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