Baldrige Self-Assessment: Seven Steps for a Full Examination

Let’s say your organization has already begun using the Baldrige Excellence Framework (which includes the Criteria for Performance Excellence) to assess its performance in key areas.

For example, your senior leaders have completed the Organizational Profile, reviewed the guidelines that make up the Scoring System of the Criteria for Performance Excellence, and developed responses to some overarching questions in all seven categories of the Criteria. (The "basic" questions are those in the item titles, and the "overall" questions are those in boldface that introduce "multiple requirement" questions below them.) Your organization is probably ready now to conduct a full Baldrige self-assessment.

Below are seven steps toward developing responses to the individual questions in all seven categories of the Criteria for Performance Excellence (Leadership; Strategy; Customers; Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management; Workforce; Operations; and Results):

1.       Identify the scope of the assessment: will it cover the entire organization, a subunit, a division, or a department?

2.      Select seven champions, one for each Criteria category, to lead a team in preparing responses to the questions in the category. Have the champions write your Organizational Profile.

3.      Form category teams. Have the members collect data and information to answer the questions in their respective categories, referring to the notes after each item and the Category and Item Commentary as guides.

4.      Have the teams share their answers to the Criteria questions and identify common themes and missing linkages.

5.      Have each category team create and communicate an action plan for improvement based on their answers. Consider using the Self-Analysis Worksheet, a Word file that may be downloaded for free from our website.

6.      Have the seven champions and other senior leaders build an overall action plan based on overall organizational priorities.

7.      Evaluate the self-assessment process, and identify possible improvements. Involve senior leaders, champions, and teams. The teams will need to collaborate to address questions that link the categories to each other.

Organizations of any size and sector (business/nonprofit, health care, or education) can conduct a full Baldrige self-assessment in order to improve performance and achieve excellence. If you’re a manufacturer, service business, small business, or nonprofit organization (outside health care and education—that is, you don’t call your customers “patients” or “students”), you’ll use the Baldrige Excellence Framework, Business/Nonprofit version of the booklet (which includes the Criteria for Performance Excellence. See the Baldrige website for ordering information.

If your organization is in health care or education, you’ll use the Health Care  or the Education versions of the Baldrige Excellence Framework booklets, respectively.

Related blog posts: “Baldrige Criteria: Seven Ways to Learn More” and “Baldrige Self-Assessment: Seven Ways to Get Started”