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Managing Performance

  EFQM Model

What is the EFQM Model

The European Quality Foundation Model, previously know as the Business Excellence Model started life in 1989 when several European companies came together to produce a quality initiative. It is now in use by over 11,000 organizations across Europe and embodies the principles of Total Quality Management.

It is operated by the Foundation for Quality Management  based in Brussels and awards prizes for excellence in organizations that have applied for, and are assessed to have met, the standard. Excellence awards are also granted by the British Quality Foundation (BQF) and its regional UK bodies. The awards are equally applicable in 'for-profit' and 'not-for-profit' organizations e.g. a school in the south of England recently won an award.

The principle, represented in the model below, require that all parts of the organization act together for the benefit of all stakeholders. 

The principles are similar to those for the Deming Prize in Japan and the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award in the USA. There are also similarities to the principles behind the Balanced Scorecard.

How can the EFQM model benefit the business?

The application of the model uses the RADAR^(TM)  (Results, Approach, Deployment, Assessment, and Review) process which is broadly based on the Shewhart PDCA (Plan, Do , Check, Act) cycle. The main benefits of the model are that it:

• is easy to understand and can be used in self-assessment

• allows business improvement through identifying gaps,  weaknesses, and strengths

• provides public recognition for an organization through attaining an award

• can be used a  benchmarking tool

It also provides a framework for other initiatives such as the Investors in People award and ISO9000:2000

How we can help

As members of the British Quality Foundation ourselves, and with our senior consultant being an assessor for Excellence South-East, MEC Services Ltd is intimately familiar with the EFQM model and can help you to:

• understand how it can be applied in your organization

• assist in the implementation of the model for self-assessment

• help write an award application

We can also help you decide if this is the right initiative for your organization or if another approach such as  ISO9000 or the Balanced Scorecard would be more appropriate.

We also offer a complete hands-on service to take you through ALL the necessary steps to establish and implement the EFQM Excellence Model. Please email us postmaster@mecservices.co.uk  if you would like us to send you our detailed roadmap "Implementing Corporate Performance Management"

We can also undertake an initial Organisational Appraisal that examines how you currently rate against the criteria of the model.

See our Organisational Appraisal Service

Resources

To see how else we can help in this area explore our links below and use the back button on your browser to return to this page:

The Balanced Scorecard

ISO9000

Total Quality Management

Other Resources