Learn What Drives Organizational Excellence: Become a 2016 Performance Excellence Award Evaluator

May 26, 2016

Are you interested in learning more about what makes organizations successful?  Are you interested in helping other organizations — such as schools, hospitals, non-profits, and businesses – in the Upper Midwest improve outcomes?  Would you be interested in networking, learning, and sharing with others who feel the same way?

 

The Performance Excellence Network is seeking candidates for the 2016 Performance Excellence Award Board of Evaluators, serving Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota.  We are in need of Evaluators in three cycles in 2016.

 

There are many benefits to becoming an Evaluator, such as:

 

1.     The experience strengthens your understanding of what drives organizational excellence.  The Baldrige Framework represents a validated set of best practices for organizational excellence – practices that can help your organizations reach higher levels of performance.

2.     Networking with other Evaluators can expand your contacts and form deep relationships with influential leaders and professionals from across the state.  Last year’s Board of Evaluators were about 100 professionals representing all sectors (manufacturing, service, healthcare, education, non-profit, and government), all levels of leadership and all organizational roles (CEOs, presidents, Superintendents, VPs and department/unit leaders, physicians and surgeons, RNs, school teachers, and many other practitioners).

3.     The experience allows you to see “best practices” deployed within another organization – knowledge that you could use back at your organization and/or in your career.

4.     Your contribution helps organizations throughout the region – many of them schools, healthcare providers, non-profits, public sector agencies, and certainly businesses – improve their performance…simply get better at what they do.  Your participation helps Minnesota, North and South Dakota improve its competitiveness and productivity, and helps create/sustain jobs.

5.     You can develop or refine a set of other professional skills that may help you advance your career – skills such as consensus- and team-building, written communication, verbal communication and interpersonal skills, interviewing, analysis, and systems thinking.

6.     You can earn three hours of undergrad or graduate-level credit through the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin-Stout, for those interested.

7.     We expect an increase in the number of organizations seeking an assessment this year, so we are trying to grow the number of Evaluators in our program.  In other words, we need resources this year!

8.     And we have greatly improved our process this year, eliminating significant time for our volunteer Evaluators.

 

Most Evaluators consider the experience to be among the most valuable of their careers.  In fact, many have claimed that the experience and knowledge gained from this process rivals getting an MBA or advanced business degree.

 

The process and timeline of becoming an Evaluator is as follows:

  • Attend “Baldrige 101” (new Evaluators only): anytime in 2015 or 2016, including June 21 (Rochester) or Oct 4 (Twin Cities)
  • Complete Evaluator application (or revisions, if returning Evaluator): by June 1 (for Cycle 1), July 1 (for Cycle 2), or Oct 1 (for Cycle 3)
  • Attend 1-day Evaluation Training and join Evaluator Team: June 23 (Cycle 1), TBD in August (Cycle 2), TBD in November (Cycle 3)
  • Complete “Independent Review”: July/August (Cycle 1), August/September (Cycle 2), November/December (Cycle 3)
  • Attend 1-day Consensus Training: TBD in August (Cycle 1), Oct 6 (Cycle 2), Dec 15 (Cycle 3)
  • Participate in 3-day Site Visit: TBD in Sept (Cycle 1), TBD in Oct/Nov (Cycle 2), TBD Jan/Feb (Cycle 3)
  • Participate in (optional) 2-hour Improvement Planning Session: TBD in Oct (Cycle 1), TBD Dec/Jan (Cycle 2), TBD Feb/Mar (Cycle 3)

We hope that you consider (re)joining the Board of Evaluators and/or encourage others to do so. For more information on our Award process, visit http://www.performanceexcellencenetwork.org/assessments.php. For more information on the benefits of becoming an Evaluator or to obtain an Evaluator application, email brian.lassiter@performanceexcellencenetwork.org.