**[The Presidents Quality Award Program]{.smallcaps}**

2000 Information and Application

The way government works matters. We could not maintain the confidence
of the American people and we could not have ideas that delivered,
unless the government was functioning in a sensible, modern and prudent
way.

President Bill Clinton

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height="5.470833333333333in"}**1**

**MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR**

As Federal organizations prepare for the new millennium, we remain
dedicated to creating a Government that works better and costs less. We
are challenged to offer better service to customers, develop a higher
performing workforce, use our resources more strategically, and get
results. Regardless of your organizations mission, size or geographic
location, the Presidents Quality Award Program Performance Excellence
Criteria can help assess your progress toward meeting the goals of the
21st century.

For more than ten years, organizations have used the Criteria for self
assessment while others have taken the next step and applied to the
Program. Regardless of how organizations have used the Criteria, they
claim two important outcomes.

>  First, they can apply a disciplined approach for assessing and
> measuring performance on several important business factors:
> customers, products and services, financial, operational, and human
> resources.
>
>  Second, managers are better able to target key performance gaps, set
> improvement priorities and introduce better and innovative ways to
> work with customers, partners, suppliers and the workforce.

Also, Program applicants report they gain an objective and external view
of their organizations performance and receive a written summary of
their organizations strengths and improvement opportunities. The
summary provided applicants with useful, actionable feedback on their
leadership system, strategic planning, key customers, information
systems, human resources and core processes.

To make the Criteria easier to use, this year we restructured the
Criteria Items. The language is more straightforward and simple, and the
Items are written in a question format. Based on preliminary feedback,
our Program customers view these changes very positively.

As we all work together to continue our Government reinvention efforts,
I encourage organizations to apply to the Award Program and to use the
Criteria to continuously improve.

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height="0.5881944444444445in"}2

Janice R. Lachance

Director

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

**PROGRAM OVERVIEW**

**Background**

The Presidents Quality Award Program is administered by the Office of
Personnel Management. Created in 1988, the Program includes two awards:
the Presidential Award for Quality and the Award for Quality
Improvement. High performing Federal organizations receive these awards
on an annual basis. The Award Program may recognize organizations for
their accomplishments in quality management and improvement through
other awards.

**Award Program Purposes**

Overall, the Program:

 Recognizes Federal Government organizations that improve their overall
performance and capabilities. The organizations demonstrate a sustained
trend in providing high‑quality products and services, resulting in
effective use of taxpayer dollars;

 Promotes sharing of the best management techniques, strategies and
performance practices among all Federal Government agencies as well as
with State and local governments and the private sector;

 Provides models for other organizations to assess their overall
performance in delivering continuous value to customers; and

 Provides a systematic, disciplined approach to deal with change by
providing a framework or tool for conducting assessments, analysis,
training and performance improvement planning.

**The Programs Awards**

Winners of the Presidential Award for Quality: demonstrate mature
approaches to per‑formance excellence that are well deployed throughout
their organizations. They have documented world class results and
sustained performance improvement over several years.

Winners of the Award for Quality Improvement: demonstrate early positive
approaches to performance excellence that are deployed throughout most
of the organization. They have attained early preliminary positive
results in important areas of their organizations business.

**The Programs Performance Excellence Criteria**

The Performance Excellence Criteria are closely aligned with the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria (MBNQA), with several
modifications to reflect the government environment. The close alignment
with the MBNQA promotes cooperation and exchange of information between
public and private sector organizations and sets the same high standards
of excellence for both government and business.

**MESSAGE TO FEDERAL EXECUTIVES**

As the 21st century begins, government executives face more complex and
intensified management challenges. Demands to reach higher performance
levels and demonstrate organizational results are major priorities.
Technology improvements require constant flexibilities and continuous
learning. Customers, business partners and stakeholders have higher
expectations of products and services. And a skilled and highly
motivated work force is critical to do the right things and do things
right.

**What Can the Presidents Quality Award Program Do For Me?**

The Presidents Quality Award Program helps you and your organization
improve performance, get results and become more responsive to
customers. Each year, the Program establishes Performance Excellence
Criteria based on characteristics found among the most excellent
performing organizations in the world today. The Criteria lay out a
framework and provide a tool to assess your organizations performance
and improve performance on the critical factors driving your business
success.

The Criteria are developed for Federal Government organizations involved
in all mission types: research and development, service, regulatory,
enforcement, manufacturing, health care, education, and others.

**What Are the Benefits of Program Participation?**

As a Program applicant, you benefit from an objective review of your
organizations performance and receive valuable feedback that pinpoints
strengths and improvement opportunities. Your application is reviewed by
a team of well trained Examiners who use the Criteria for evaluation.
Former applicants consistently report they gain greater benefits from
applying to the Award Program than from winning an award.

**Can My Organization Use the Criteria for Self Assessment?**

We encourage organizations to use the Criteria for self assessment. The
assessment helps identify strengths and prioritize improvement
opportunities on key processes. By using the Criteria, organizations
report they improve communications, make effective resource decisions,
and motivate the work force by aligning individual and organization
performance.

To help meet the challenges of the next century, we encourage you to
apply to the Award Program and use the Criteria for self assessment.

**QUALITY AWARD MODELS**

In recognition of your service to customers and commitment to
excellence. . .

Presidential Award for Quality

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height="4.4534722222222225in"}3

Model of the 1999 Award

*In recognition of significant achievement in quality management. . .*

Award for Quality Improvement

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Model of the 1999 Award

**CONTENTS**

Section Page

Message from the Director

Program Overview

Message to Federal Executives

The Awards (Photos)

I. Core Values and Concepts

II\. 2000 Performance Excellence Criteria

Criteria Categories/Items 8

1.0 Leadership 10

2.0 Strategic Planning 12

3.0 Customer Focus 15

4.0 Information and Analysis 17

5.0 Human Resource Focus 19

6.0 Process Management 22

7.0 Business Results 26

III\. Category, Item and Area Descriptions

1.0 Leadership 30

2.0 Strategic Planning 31

3.0 Customer Focus 34

4.0 Information and Analysis 37

5.0 Human Resource Focus 39

6.0 Process Management 43

7.0 Business Results 46

IV\. General Application Information and Instructions

Application Information

General Eligibility 50

Future Eligibility of Previous Award Recipients 50

Agency Limitations 50

Evaluation Process 51

Final Selection 51

2000 Award Program Process and Time Frame 51

Award Recipients Responsibilities 53

Costs 54

Application Instructions

General Directions 54

Application Format and Guidelines 54

Guidelines for Submitting Applications 55

Role of Examiners and Judges 55

Agency Coordinator and Contact Point 55

OPM Contact Point and Submission of Applications 55

Application Submission Date 56

V. Preparing an Application Package

General Response Guidance 57

A. Read the entire Application Package 57

B. Develop the Organization Overview 57

C. Review the Criteria Item Format 59

Criteria Response Guidance 59

A. Guidelines for Responding to Approach/Deployment Items

B. Guidelines for Responding to Results Items 62

VI\. Scoring System and Guidelines

Scoring System 65

Scoring Guidelines 68

VII\. Using the Performance Excellence Criteria for

Organization Self‑Assessment

VIII\. Summary of 2000 Presidents Quality Award Changes

General Program Changes 71

Guidance for Government Health Care Organizations

and Education Institutions 73

IX\. Glossary of Key Terms

X. Nomination Form

Applications for the 2000 Presidents Quality Award Program must be
received by the Office of Personnel Management no later than **October
6, 1999.**

**I. CORE VALUES AND CONCEPTS**

The Presidents Quality Award Program Criteria are the basis for
organizational self‑assessment, evaluating an applicant organization and
providing feedback to applicants. The Criteria define a quality system,
the key elements of a quality improvement effort, and the relative
importance and interrelationship of these elements. The Criteria support
the Administrations efforts to reinvent the Federal Government and
improve overall performance. They have three important roles in helping
achieve these objectives:

 They can help organizations improve their performance practices and
capabilities.

 They facilitate communication and sharing of best practices
information among organizations of all types.

 They serve as a working tool for understanding and managing
performance, planning, training, and assessment.

The Criteria are built upon a set of core values and concepts. These
values and concepts are the foundation for integrating key performance
requirements within a results‑oriented framework. These core values and
concepts are described below.

**Customer‑Driven Quality**

Quality is judged by customers. All product and service features and
characteristics that contribute value to customers and lead to customer
satisfaction and preference must be a key focus of an organizations
management system. Value, satisfaction, and preference may be influenced
by many factors throughout the customers overall experience in using
the organizations products and services. These factors include the
organizations relationship with customers that helps build trust,
confidence, and loyalty. This concept of quality includes not only the
product and service characteristics that meet basic customer
requirements, but it also includes those features and characteristics
that enhance them and differentiate them from alternative and competing
offerings. Such enhancement and differentiation may be based upon new
offerings, combinations of product and service offerings, rapid
response, or special relationships.

Customer‑driven quality is thus a strategic concept. Customer
requirements drive the organizations strategic plan of how it will
realize its goalshow it will achieve performance results that lead to
customer satisfaction, recognizing the inherent differences in
relationships with different categories of customers. Processes are
developed to meet customer needs, measurement systems are developed to
track progress, and information is collected and used to improve work
processes and the products and services delivered to customers. In
high‑performing organizations, everyone in the organization shares the
vision, has a sense of community and commitment to a common purpose of
meeting customer requirements, and works together to create an alignment
of the goals of the organization.

**Leadership**

An organizations senior leaders need to set directions and create a
customer orientation, clear and visible values, and high expectations.
Reinforcement of the values and expectations requires personal
commitment and involvement. The leaders\' basic values and commitment
need to address all stakeholders and include areas of public
responsibility. The leaders need to guide the creation of strategies,
systems, and methods for achieving excellence and building capabilities.
The strategies and values need to guide all activities and decisions of
the organi‑zation. The senior leaders need to commit to the development
of the entire work force and should encourage participation and
creativity by all employees. Through their personal involvement in
planning, communications, review of organization performance, and
employee recognition, the senior leaders serve as role models,
reinforcing the values and building leadership and initiative throughout
the organization.

**Continuous Improvement and Learning**

Achieving the highest levels of performance requires a well‑ executed
approach to continuous improvement. The term continuous improvement
refers to both incremental and breakthrough improvement. Improvement
needs to be embedded in the way the organization functions. Embedded
means: (1) improvement is part of the daily work of all work units; (2)
improvement is practiced at individual, work unit, and organi‑zational
levels; (3) improvement processes seek to eliminate problems at their
source; and (4) improvement is driven by opportunities to do better, as
well as by problems that must be corrected. Sources of improvement
include: employee ideas, research and development, customer input, and
benchmarking or other comparative performance information.

Improvement and learning include: (1) enhancing value to customers
through new and improved products and services; (2) reducing errors,
defects, and waste; (3) improving responsiveness and cycle‑time
performance; (4) improving productivity and effectiveness in the use of
all resources; (5) improving the organization\'s performance in
fulfilling its public responsibilities and serving as an organization
citizenship role model; and (6) developing new business opportunities.
Thus, improvement and learning are directed not only to providing better
products and services, but also to being more responsive and efficient.

**Employee Participation and Development**

An organization\'s success in improving performance depends increasingly
on the skills and motivation of its work force. Employee success depends
increasingly on having opportunities to learn and to practice new
skills. Organizations need to invest in the development of the work
force through education, training, and opportunities for continuing
growth. Such opportunities might include classroom and on‑the‑job
training, job rotation, and pay for demonstrated knowledge and skills.
On‑the‑job training offers a cost‑effective way to train and better link
training to work processes. Work force education and training may need
to utilize advanced technologies, such as electronic support systems,
computer‑based learning, and satellite broadcasts. Increasingly,
training, development, and work units need to be tailored to a diverse
work force and to more flexible, high‑performance work practices.

Major challenges in the area of work force development include: (1)
integration of human resources managementselection, performance,
recognition, training, and career advancement; (2) developing,
cultivating, and sharing the organizations knowledge that is possessed
by its employees; and (3) aligning human resources management with
business plans and strategic change processes. Addressing these
challenges requires acquisition and use of employee‑related data on
skills, satisfaction, motivation, safety, and well‑being. Such data need
to be tied to indicators of organization or unit performance, such as
program impact indicators, customer satisfaction, customer retention,
and productivity. Through this approach, human resources management may
be better integrated and aligned with business directions.

**Fast Response**

Success in competitive markets and meeting public expectations of
Government requires increasingly rapid response times to changing public
needs and ever‑shorter cycles for new or improved product and service
introduction. Also, faster and more flexible response to customers is
now a more critical requirement. Major improvement in response time
often requires simplification of work organizations and work processes.
To accomplish such improvement, the time performance of work processes
should be among the key process measures. There are other important
benefits derived from this focus. For instance, response time
improvements often drive simultaneous improvements in organization,
quality, and productivity. Hence it is beneficial to consider response
time, quality, and productivity objectives together.

**Design Quality and Prevention**

To achieve high performance, organizations need to emphasize design
qualityproblem and waste prevention achieved through building quality
into products and services, and efficiency into production and delivery
processes. Design quality includes the creation of robust or
failure‑resistant processes and products. Costs of preventing problems
at the design stage usually are much lower than costs of correcting
problems that occur downstream. Accordingly, organizations need to
emphasize opportunities for innovation and interventions upstream at
early stages in processes. This approach yields the maximum cost
benefits and takes the greatest advantage of improvements and
corrections. Such upstream intervention also should take into account
the organizations suppliers.

Increasingly, design quality includes the ability to incorporate
information gathered from diverse sources and data bases that combine
factors such as customer preferences, alternative offerings, societal
changes, and external research findings and developments. Therefore, an
emerging element of performance excellence is the strategic use of
integrated information systems to enable electronic performance
networking and to improve and measure mission performance. Government
and industry alike face, and in many cases have solved, information
management challenges by developing enterprise information systems; that
is, systems that operate across entire organizations of unique and
diverse functional elements.

From the point of view of public responsibility, the design stage is a
critical decision point. The government organization\'s responsibility
is to be proactive; i.e., beyond compliance. Design decisions affect
process waste streams and the composition of municipal and industrial
wastes. The growing demands for a cleaner environment mean that
organizations design strategies need to include environmental factors.
Effective design strategies should anticipate growing environmental
demands and related issues and factors.

Consistent with the theme of design quality and prevention, improvement
needs to emphasize interventions upstreamat early stages in
processes. Such upstream intervention also needs to take into account
the organization\'s suppliers.

**Long‑Range View of the Future**

Successful pursuit of an organization\'s goals and mission requires a
strong future orientation and a willingness to make long‑term
commitments to all stakeholderscustomers,employees, suppliers, the
public, and the community. Organizations should anticipate many types of
changes including those that may affect customers\' expectations of
products and services; technological developments; changing expectations
of Congress, the Executive Branch and special interest groups; changing
customer segments; evolving regulatory requirements; community/societal
expectations; and thrusts by alternative service and product providers.
Short‑ and long‑term plans, strategic objectives, and resource
allocations need to reflect these commitments and changes. Major
components of such long‑term commitment includes developing employees
and suppliers and fulfilling public responsibilities.

**Management by Fact**

Performance management systems depend upon measurement and analysis of
performance. Measurements must derive from the organization\'s strategy
and encompass all key processes and the outputs and results of those
processes. The types of data and information needed for performance
improvement and assessment are of many types, including: customer,
program impact, product and service performance, operations, market,
competitive comparisons, supplier, employee‑related, and cost and
financial.

Analysis refers to extracting larger meaning from data to support
evaluation and decision making at all levels within the organization.
Such analysis may entail using data to reveal informationsuch as
trends, projections, and cause and effectthat might not be evident
without analysis. Facts, data, and analysis support a variety of
organization purposes, such as planning, reviewing organization
performance, improving operations, and comparing organization
performance with others working in similar environments or with best
practices benchmarks.

A major consideration in the use of data and analysis to improve
performance involves the creation and use of performance measures or
indicators. The measures or indicators should be selected to best
represent the factors that lead to improved customer, operational,
strategic and financial performance. A system of measures or indicators
tied to customer and/or organization performance requirements represents
a clear basis for aligning all activities with the organization\'s
goals. Through the analysis of data obtained from the tracking
processes, the measures or indicators themselves may be evaluated and
changed. For example, measures selected to track product and service
quality may be judged by how well improvement in these measures
correlates with improvement in customer

satisfaction.

**Partnership Development**

**Organizations should seek to build internal and external partnerships
to better accomplish their overall goals.**

**Internal partnerships might include those that promote labor‑
management cooperation, such as agreements with unions. Agreements might
entail employee development, cross‑training, cross‑utilization, or new
work organizations, such as high‑ performance work teams. Internal
partnerships might also involve creating new working relationships among
organization units to improve flexibility and responsiveness.**

**External partnerships might be with customers, suppliers, and
education organizations for a variety of purposes, including education
and training. An increasingly important kind of external partnership is
the strategic partnership or alliance with other government
organizations with similar or complementary missions. A partnership
might permit the blending of an organization\'s core competencies or
leadership capabilities with complementary strengths and capabilities of
partners, thereby enhancing accomplishment of each partners mission.**

**Internal and external partnerships should seek to develop longer‑term
objectives. Partners should address the key requirements for success of
the partnership, means of regular communication, approaches to
evaluating progress, and means for adapting to changing conditions. In
some cases, joint education and training could offer a cost‑effective
means to help ensure success.**

**Organization Responsibility and Citizenship**

**An organizations leadership should stress its responsibilities to the
public and good citizenship. This responsibility refers to basic
expectations of the organizationoperating ethics and protection of
public health, safety, and the environment. Health, safety, and
environmental considerations include the organi‑zation\'s operations as
well as the life cycles of products and services. Organizations need to
address factors such as resource conservation and waste reduction at
their source. Planning related to public health, safety, and the
environment should anticipate adverse impacts that may arise in
facilities management, production, distribution, transportation, use and
disposal of products. Plans should seek to prevent problems, to provide
a forthright organization response if problems occur, and to make
available information needed to maintain public awareness, safety, and
confidence. Inclusion of public responsibility areas within a
performance system means meeting all local, state, and Federal laws and
regulatory requirements. It also means treating these and related
requirements as areas for continuous improvement beyond mere
compliance. This requires that appropriate measures be created and used
in managing performance.**

**Practicing good citizenship refers to leadership and supportwithin
limits of an organization\'s resourcesof publicly important purposes,
including areas of organization responsibility. Such purposes might
include education improvement, improving health care value,
environmental excellence, resource conservation, community services,
improving operating practices, and sharing of non‑sensitive
quality‑related information. Leadership as an organization citizen also
entails influencing other organizations, private and public, to partner
for these purposes. For example, individual organizations could lead
efforts to help define the obligations of other government entities to
their communities.**

**Results Focus**

**An organization\'s performance system needs to focus on key results.
Results should be guided and balanced by the interests of all
stakeholderscustomers, employees, suppliers and partners, Congress, the
White House, the public, and the community. To meet the sometimes
conflicting and changing aims that balance implies, organization
strategy needs to explicitly address all stakeholder requirements to
ensure that actions and plans meet the differing needs and avoid adverse
impact on any stakeholders. The use of a balanced composite of
performance measures offers an effective means to communicate
requirements, to monitor actual performance, and to marshal support for
improving results. The government executive has the basic responsibility
of balancing the necessity of being entrepreneurial with directed
missions and functions.**

**II. 2000 PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE CRITERIA**

**2000 Categories/Items Point Values**

**1 Leadership 125**

**1.1 Organizational Leadership 90**

**1.2 Organization Responsibility and Citizenship 35**

**2 Strategic Planning 95**

**2.1 Strategy Development 45**

**2.2 Strategy Deployment 50**

**3 Customer Focus 95**

**3.1 Customer and Market Knowledge 45**

**3.2 Customer Satisfaction and Relationships 50**

**4 Information and Analysis 95**

**4.1 Measurement of Organizational Performance 45**

**4.2 Analysis of Organization Performance 50**

**5 Human Resource Focus 95**

**5.1 Work Systems 35**

**5.2 Employee Education, Training, and Development 30**

**5.3 Employee Well‑Being and Satisfaction 30**

**6 Process Management 95**

**6.1 Product and Service Processes 50**

**6.2 Support Processes 20**

**6.3 Supplier and Partnering Processes 25**

**7 Business Results 400**

**7.1 Customer Focused Results 125**

**7.2 Financial Performance Results 50**

**7.3 Human Resource Results 75**

**7.4 Supplier and Partner Results 75**

**7.5 Organizational Effectiveness Results 75**

**Total Points 1000**

**Note: The Scoring System used with an assessment of the Criteria Items
can be found on pages 65‑68.**

**The Programs Performance Excellence Criteria**

**The Performance Excellence Criteria are closely aligned with the
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria (MBNQA), with several
modifications to reflect the government environment.**

**Specifically:**

** Terminology is changed selectively throughout the document to
reflect the Federal Government rather than the unique environments of
business, health care and education.**

** One set of Criteria exists for Federal Government organizations. The
Criteria apply to organizations involved in all mission types: research
and development, service, regulatory, enforcement, manufacturing, health
care, education, and others. The MBNQA has separate Criteria for four
organization types: large, small, education and health care.**

** The point values for several Categories and Items are slightly
different. The differences reflect the relative importance of these
Categories and Items in effective government organizations.**

**The close alignment with the MBNQA promotes cooperation and exchange
of information between public and private sector organizations and sets
the same high standards of excellence for both the Government and
business. The Criteria are updated on an annual basis to reflect the
best approaches within the private and public sectors used to
systematically improve performance. Federal organizations view the
Criteria as a proven framework to guide their customer‑focused
performance efforts.**

**Key Features of the Criteria:**

** They focus on business results in five key areas: customer focused
results, financial performance results, human resources results,
supplier and partner results, and organizational effectiveness
results.**

** They are non‑prescriptive. They do not describe specific approaches,
measures, tools, technologies or systems for performance improvement nor
emphasize factors to be evaluated as part of an organizations
performance reviews.**

** They are adaptable. Though the Criteria are made of results‑oriented
requirements, organizations have latitude to decide how to best meet the
requirements. Since there are many possible organizational structures
and approaches for getting positive results, organizations have the
flexibility to select the best way, depending upon many factors such as
organization type, size, strategy, and stage of development.**

** They support a systems approach to organization‑wide goal alignment.
Alignment in the Criteria is built around connecting and reinforcing key
process measures derived from the organizations strategy. The measures
link directly to customer value and overall performance.**

** They support results‑based diagnosis. The Criteria relate directly
to improving organization performance; nothing is included merely for
purposes of an award. The scoring guidelines offer a way to profile
strengths and improvement opportunities. Whether done by an external
Award Program Examiner team, or conducted internally by the
organization, the diagnosis is a valuable management tool to evaluate
and improve a wide range of management systems and strategies.**

**1 Leadership (125 pts.)**

**The Leadership Category examines how your organizations senior
leaders address values and performance expectations, as well as a focus
on customers and other stakeholders, empowerment, innovation, learning
and organizational directions. Also examined is how your organization
addresses its societal responsibilities and community involvement.**

**1.1 Organizational Leadership (90 pts.) \[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe how senior leaders guide your organization and review
organizational performance.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Senior Leadership Direction**

**(1) How do senior leaders set, communicate, and deploy: a)
organizational values, b) performance expectations, and c) a focus on
creating and balancing value for customers and other stakeholders?
Include communication and deployment to all employees through your
leadership structure.**

**(2) How do senior leaders establish and reinforce an environment for
empowerment and innovation, and encourage and support organizational and
employee learning?**

**(3) How do senior leaders set directions and seek future opportunities
for your organization?**

**b. Organizational Performance Review**

**(1) How do senior leaders review organizational performance and
capabilities to assess organizational health, competitive performance,
and progress relative to performance goals and changing organizational
needs? Include the key performance measures regularly reviewed by your
senior leaders.**

**(2) How do you translate organizational performance review findings
into priorities for improvement and opportunities for innovation and
reinvention?**

**(3) What are your key recent performance review findings, priorities
for improvement, and opportunities for innovation? How are they deployed
throughout your organization and, as appropriate, to your
suppliers/partners and key customers to ensure organizational
alignment?**

**(4) How do senior leaders use organizational performance review
findings and employee feedback to improve their leadership effectiveness
and the effectiveness of management throughout the organization?**

**Notes:**

**N1. Senior leaders are normally defined as the highest ranking
official and those leaders reporting directly to that official. For some
organizations, senior leaders may include union leadership.**

**N2. The organizational performance results should be reported in Items
7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5.**

**N3. For additional description of this Item, see page 30.**

**1.2 Organization Responsibility and Citizenship (35 pts.)
\[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe how your organization addresses its responsibilities to the
public and how your organization practices good citizenship.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Responsibilities to the Public**

**(1) How do you address the impacts on society of your products,
services, and operations? Include your key practices, measures, and
targets for regulatory and legal requirements and for risks associated
with your products, services, and operations.**

**(2) How do you anticipate public concerns with current and future
products, services, and operations? How do you prepare for these
concerns in a proactive manner?**

**(3) How do you ensure ethical business practices in all stakeholder
transactions and interactions?**

**b. Support of Key Communities**

**How do your organization, your senior leaders, and your employees
actively support and strengthen your key communities? Include how you
identify key communities and determine areas of emphasis for
organizational involvement and support.**

**Notes:**

**N1. Public responsibilities in areas critical to your organization
also should be addressed in Strategy Development (Item 2.1) and in
Process Management (Category 6). Key results, such as results of
regulatory/legal compliance or environmental improvements through the
use of green technology or other means should be reported in
Organizational Effectiveness Results (Item 7.5\[2\]).**

**N2. Society impact results directly related to the organizations
mission should be reported in Organizational Effectiveness Results (Item
7.5a\[3\]).**

**N3. Areas of community support appropriate for inclusion in 1.2b might
include efforts to strengthen local community services, education, the
environment, and practices of trade, business, or professional
associations.**

**N4. Health and safety of customers, including users and visitors, are
included in Item 1.2. Health and safety of employees are not addressed
in Item 1.2; these are addressed in Item 5.3.**

**N5. For additional description of this Item, see page 31.**

**2 Strategic Planning (95 pts.)**

**The Strategic Planning Category examines your organizations strategy
development process, including how your organization develops strategic
objectives, action plans, and related human resource plans including
diversity planning. Also examined are how strategy and plans are
deployed and performance is tracked.**

**2.1 Strategy Development (45 pts.) \[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe your organizations strategy development process to
strengthen organizational performance and competitive position.
Summarize your key strategic objectives.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Strategy Development Process**

**(1) What is your strategic planning process? Include a description of
how you develop strategy and strategic objectives. Also include key
steps and key participants in the process.**

**(2) How do you consider the following key factors in your process?
Include how relevant data and information are gathered and analyzed. The
factors are:**

** customer and market/mission needs/expectations, including new
product/service opportunities**

** your competitive and mission environment and capabilities, including
use of new technology, financial, societal, and other potential risks**

** your human resource capabilities and needs**

** your operational capabilities and needs, including resource
availability**

** your supplier and/or partner capabilities and needs**

**b. Strategic Objectives**

**What are your key strategic objectives and your timetable for
accomplishing them? In setting objectives, how do you evaluate options
to assess how well they respond to the factors in 2.1a(2) determined to
be the most important to your performance?**

**Notes:**

**N1. The approach toward strategic planning and objectives outlined in
this Category is intended to be consistent with, and supportive of, the
strategic planning requirements of the Government Performance and
Results Act.**

**N2. Strategic direction pertains to directions set by the senior
leadership. For organizations whose strategies are developed by higher
levels (e.g., agency headquarters, etc.), this item should describe how
the organization provides input to the parent organizations strategy
development process and how the applicant organizations own strategy is
developed consistent with that of higher levels.**

**N3. Strategy development refers to your organizations approach
(formal or informal) to a future‑oriented basis for business decisions,
resource allocations, and management. Such development might utilize
various types of forecasts, projections, options, scenarios, and/or
other approaches to addressing the future.**

**N4. The word strategy should be interpreted broadly. It might be built
around or lead to any or all of the following: new products, services,
and markets; revenue or mission growth; cost reduction; business
acquisitions; and new partnerships and alliances. Strategy might be
directed toward becoming a preferred supplier, a low‑cost producer, a
market innovator, and/or a high‑end or customized service provider.
Strategy might depend upon or require you to develop different kinds of
capabilities, such as rapid response, customization, market
understanding, lean or virtual manufacturing, relationships, rapid
innovation, technology management, leveraging assets, business process
excellence, and information management. Responses to Item 2.1 should
address the key factors from your point of view.**

**N5. Item 2.1 addresses overall organizational directions and strategy
that might include changes in services, products, and/or product lines.
However, the Item does not address product and service design; these are
addressed in Item 6.1.**

**N6. For additional description of this Item, see pages 32‑33.**

**2.2 Strategy Deployment (50 pts.) \[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe your organizations strategy deployment process. Summarize
your organizations action plans and related performance measures.
Project the performance of these key measures into the future.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Action Plan Development and Deployment**

**(1) How do you develop action plans that address your key strategic
objectives? What are your key short‑and longer‑term action plans?
Include key changes, if any, in your products/services and/or your
customers/markets.**

**(2) What are your key human resource requirements and plans, based on
your strategic objectives and action plans?**

**(3) How do you allocate resources to ensure accomplishment of your
overall action plan?**

**(4) What are your key performance measures and/or indicators for
tracking progress relative to your action plans?**

**(5) How do you communicate and deploy your strategic objectives,
action plans, and performance measures/indicators to achieve overall
organizational alignment?**

**b. Performance Projection**

**(1) What are your two‑to‑five year projections for key performance
measures and/or indicators? Include key performance targets and/or
goals, as appropriate.**

**(2) How does your projected performance compare with competitors, key
benchmarks, and past performance, as appropriate? What is the basis for
these comparisons?**

**Notes:**

**N1. Action plan development and deployment are closely linked to other
Items in the Criteria. Examples of key linkages are:**

> ** Item 1.1 for how senior leaders set and communicate directions;**
>
> ** Category 3 for gathering knowledge on customers, markets and/or
> mission requirements as input to strategy and action plans, and for
> deploying action plans;**
>
> ** Category 4 for information and analysis to support development of
> strategy, to provide a sound performance basis for performance
> measurements, and to track progress relative to strategic objectives
> and action plans;**
>
> ** Category 5, particularly Items 5.1 and 5.2, for work system needs,
> employee education, training, and development needs, and related human
> resource factors resulting from action plans;**
>
> ** Category 6 for process requirements resulting from action plans;
> and**
>
> ** Item 7.5 for accomplishments relative to organizational
> strategy.**

**N2. Measures and/or indicators of projected performance (2.2b) might
include changes resulting from new business ventures, business
acquisitions, new value creation, market entry and/or shifts, changing
societal needs related to program mission and/or significant anticipated
innovations in products, services, and/or technology.**

**N3. In responding to Area 2.2a(2), related human resource plans might
include:**

> ** recruitment, including critical skill categories and expected or
> planned changes in work force demographics;**
>
> ** how the organization evaluates and improves its human resource
> planning and practices and alignment of these with the strategic
> business directions; and**
>
> ** changes in: (a) work design and/or organization to improve
> knowledge creation/sharing, flexibility, innovation and rapid
> response; (b) employee development, education and training; (c)
> performance appraisal; and (d) compensation, recognition, and
> benefits.**

**N4. For additional description of this Item, see pages 33‑34.**

**3 Customer Focus (95 pts.)**

**The Customer Focus Category examines how your organization determines
requirements, expectations, and preferences of customers and markets.
Also examined is how your organization builds relationships with
customers and determines their satisfaction.**

**3.1 Customer and Market Knowledge (45 pts.) \[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe how your organization determines short‑ and longer‑term
requirements, expectations, and preferences of current and potential
customers, markets and/or mission‑related segments to ensure the
relevance of current products/services and to develop new
opportunities.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Customer and Market Knowledge**

**(1) How do you determine or target customers, customer groups, and/or
market/mission‑related segments? How do you consider customers of
competitors and other potential customers and/or markets in this
determination?**

**(2) How do you listen and learn to determine key requirements and
drivers of purchase decisions for current, former, and potential
customers? If determination methods differ for different customers
and/or customer groups, include the key differences.**

**(3) How do you determine and/or project key product/service features
and their relative importance/value to customers for purposes of current
and future marketing, product planning, and other business developments,
as appropriate? How do you use relevant information from current and
former customers, customer retention, won/lost analysis, and
complaints?**

**(4) How do you keep your listening and learning methods current with
business needs and directions?**

**Notes:**

**N1. This Item addresses external customers onlythose outside of the
organization. Responses should also take into account the differing
requirements of various categories of customers often served by
government organizations, such as entitled and mandated customers in
addition to the traditional voluntary customers.**

**N2. If products and services are sold to end users via other
organizations, such as private contractors, state and local governments,
or non‑profit organizations, customer groups \[3.1a(1)\] should take
into account the requirements and expectations of both the end users and
these intermediate organizations.**

**N3. Product and service features \[3.1a(3)\] refer to all important
characteristics and to the performance of products and services
throughout their full life cycle. The focus should be primarily on
features that bear upon customer preference and repurchase or use
loyaltyfor example, those features that differentiate products and
services from competing (or similar government) offerings. Those
features might include such factors as price, value, delivery, customer
or technical support, and the program marketing or outreach
relationship. Many government agencies must also consider
non‑competitive factors such as fairness and mandated services to
entitled customers.**

**N4. Information about customers and markets is requested as a key
input to strategic development (Item 2.1). However, strategy development
could also generate the need for new or additional customer and market
information, including new information gathering methods, and new
customers and segments from which to gather information.**

**N5. For additional description of this Item,see pages 34‑35.**

**3.2 Customer Satisfaction and Relationships (50 pts.)
\[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe how your organization determines and enhances the
satisfaction of customers, and builds relationships to improve current
offerings, addresses current and projected customer and market‑ or
mission‑related business needs, and develops new opportunities.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Customer Relationships**

**(1) How do you determine key access mechanisms to facilitate the
ability of customers to conduct business, seek assistance and
information, and make complaints? Include a summary of your key
mechanisms.**

**(2) How do you determine key customer contact requirements and deploy
these requirements to all employees involved in the response chain?**

**(3) What is your complaint management process? Include how you ensure
that complaints are resolved effectively and promptly, and that all
complaints received are aggregated and analyzed for use in overall
organizational improvement.**

**(4) How do you build relationships with customers for repeat business
and/or positive referral?**

**(5) How do you keep your approaches to customer access and
relationships current with business needs and directions?**

**b. Customer Satisfaction Determination**

**(1) What processes, measurement methods, and data do you use to
determine customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction? Include how your
measurements capture actionable information that reflects customers
future business and/or potential for positive referral. Also include any
significant differences in processes or methods for different customer
groups and/or market/mission‑related segments.**

**(2) How do you follow up with customers on products/services and
recent transactions to receive prompt and actionable feedback?**

**(3) How do you obtain and use information on customer satisfaction
relative to competitors and/or benchmarks, as appropriate?**

**(4) How do you keep your approaches to satisfaction determination
current with business needs and directions?**

**Notes:**

**N1. Customer relationships (3.2a) might include the development of
partnerships or alliances.**

**N2. Customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction determination (3.2b)
might include any or all of the following: surveys, formal and informal
feedback from customers, use of customer account data, and complaints.**

**N3. Customer satisfaction measurements might include both a numerical
rating scale and descriptors for each unit in the scale. Effective
(actionable) customer satisfaction measurements provide reliable
information about customer ratings of specific product, service, and
relationship features, the linkage between these ratings, and the
customers likely future actionsrepurchase and/or positive response or
referral. Product and service features might include overall value and
price.**

**N4. Customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction results and information
on product/service measures that contribute to customer satisfaction or
dissatisfaction should be reported in Item 7.1. These latter measures
might include trends and levels in performance of customer‑desired
product features or customer complaint handling effectiveness, such as
complaint response time, effective resolution, and percent of complaints
resolved on first contact.**

**N5. For additional description of this Item, see pages 35‑37.**

**4 Information and Analysis (95 pts.)**

**The Information and Analysis Category examines your organizations
performance measurement system and how your organization analyzes
performance data and information.**

**4.1 Measurement of Organizational Performance (45 pts.)
\[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe how your organization provides effective performance
measurement systems for understanding, aligning, and improving
performance at all levels and in all parts of your organization.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Measurement of Organizational Performance**

**(1) How do you address the major components of an effective
performance measurement system, including the following key factors?**

** selection of measures/indicators, and extent and effectiveness of
their use, in daily operations of key processes and systems**

** selection and integration of measures/indicators and completeness of
data to track your overall organizational performance**

** selection, and extent and effectiveness of use of key comparative
data and information**

** data and information reliability**

** a cost/financial understanding of improvement options**

** correlations/projections of data to support planning**

**(2) How do you keep your performance measurement system current with
business needs and directions?**

**Notes:**

**N1. The term information and analysis refers to the key metrics used
by your organization to measure and analyze performance. Performance
measurement is used in fact‑based decision making for setting and
aligning organizational directions and resource use at the work unit,
key process, departmental, organization component and whole organization
levels. Because of the key nature of the data and information, they
should be linked to the organizations operations, systems and processes
described in the Organization Overview and Category 6.**

**N2. Deployment of data and information might be via electronic or
other means. Reliability \[4.1a(1)\] includes reliability of software
and delivery systems as well as data accuracy.**

**N3. Comparative data and information include benchmarking and
competitive comparisons. Benchmarking refers to processes and results
that represent best practices and performance for similar activities,
inside or outside the organizations industry. Competitive comparisons
refer to performance relative to competitors or organizations with
similar missions, functions and processes. See the glossary of Key Terms
for a more complete description of benchmarking and the distinction
between benchmarking and competitive comparisons.**

**N4. For organizations which operate in a market environment,
competitive comparisons refer to performance relative to direct
competitors in the organizations markets. Many government organizations
do not have competitors as such. For those, competitive comparisons in
the Criteria refer to organizations with similar mission, operations
and/or customers.**

**N5. For additional description of this Item, see pages 37‑38.**

**4.2 Analysis of Organizational Performance (50 pts.)
\[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe how your organization analyzes performance data and
information to assess and understand overall organizational
performance.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Analysis of Organizational Performance**

**(1) How do you perform analyses to support your senior executives
organizational performance review and your organizational planning? How
do you ensure that the analyses address the overall health of your
organization, including your key business results and strategic
objectives?**

**(2) How do you ensure that the results of organizational‑level
analysis are linked to work group and/or functional‑level operations to
enable effective support for decision making?**

**(3) How does analysis support daily operations of key systems and
processes throughout your organization? Include how this analysis
ensures that measures align with action plans.**

**Notes:**

**N1. Analysis includes trends, projections, comparisons, and
cause‑effect correlations intended to support performance reviews and
the setting of priorities for resource use. Accordingly, analysis draws
upon many types of data: customer‑related, financial and market, mission
requirements, operational, competitive, and others.**

**N2. Responses to this Item might include information on agency annual
performance reports developed pursuant to the Government Performance and
Results Act, and performance measures and measurement systems developed
for that purpose.**

**N3. Performance results should be reported in Items 7.1, 7.2, 7.3,
7.4, and 7.5.**

**N4. For additional description of this Item, see pages 38‑39.**

**5 Human Resource Focus (95 pts.)**

**The Human Resource Focus Category examines how your organization
enables employees to develop and utilize their full potential, aligned
with the organizations objectives. Also examined are your
organizations efforts to build and maintain a work environment and an
employee support climate conducive to performance excellence, full
participation, and personal and organizational growth. The efforts may
include partnership with unions, as applicable.**

**5.1 Work Systems (35 pts.) \[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe how your organizations work and job design, compensation,
career progression, recognition, and related work force practices enable
and encourage all employees to achieve high performance in your
operations.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Work Systems**

**(1) How do you design, organize, and manage work and jobs to promote
cooperation and collaboration, individual initiative, innovation and
flexibility, and to keep current with business needs?**

**(2) How do your managers and supervisors encourage and motivate
employees to develop and utilize their full potential? Include formal
and/or informal mechanisms you use to encourage and support employees in
job‑ and career‑related development/learning objectives.**

**(3) How does your employee performance management system, including
feedback to employees, support high performance?**

**(4) How do your compensation, recognition, and related
reward/incentive practices reinforce high performance?**

**(5) How do you ensure effective communication, cooperation, and
knowledge/skill sharing across work units, functions, and locations, as
appropriate?**

**(6) How do you identify characteristics and skills needed by potential
employees; how do you recruit and hire new employees? How do you take
into account key performance requirements, diversity of your community,
and fair work force practices?**

**Notes:**

**N1. The term employees refers to the organizations permanent,
temporary, and part‑time personnel, as well as any contract employees
supervised by the organization. Employees include managers and
supervisors at all levels. Contract employees supervised by a contractor
performing key or support processes should be addressed in Item 6.3.**

**N2. Work design refers to how employees are organized and/or organize
themselves in formal and informal, temporary, or longer‑term units. This
might include work teams, process teams, customer action teams,
problem‑solving teams, centers of excellence, functional units,
cross‑functional teams, and organizational units, self‑managed or
managed by supervisors. Job design refers to responsibilities,
authorities, and tasks assigned to individuals. In some work systems,
jobs might be shared by a team, based upon cross‑training, or
cross‑utilization.**

**N3. Compensation and recognition refer to all aspects of pay and
reward, including promotions and bonuses, that might be based upon
performance, skills acquired, and other factors. Compensation and
recognition can take the form of monetary and non‑monetary, formal and
informal, and individual and group‑oriented approaches.**

**N4. For additional description of this Item, see pages 40‑41.**

**5.2 Employee Education, Training, and Development (30 pts.)
\[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe how your organizations education and training support the
achievement of your business objectives, build employee knowledge,
skills, and capabilities, and contribute to improved employee
performance.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Employee Education, Training, and Development**

**(1) How does your education and training approach balance short‑ and
longer‑term organizational and employee needs, including development,
learning, and career progression?**

**(2) How do you design education and training to keep current with
business and individual needs such as special skills training and
management/leadership development? Include how job and organizational
performance are used in education and training design and evaluation.**

**(3) How do you seek and use input from employees and their
supervisors/managers on education and training needs, expectations, and
design?**

**(4) How do you deliver and evaluate education and training? Include
formal and informal education, training, and learning, as appropriate.**

**(5) How do you address key developmental and training needs, including
diversity training, management/leadership development, new employee
orientation, and safety, as appropriate?**

**(6) How do you address performance excellence in your education and
training? Include how employees learn to use performance measurements,
performance standards, skill standards, performance improvement, quality
control methods, and benchmarking, as appropriate.**

**(7) How do you reinforce knowledge and skills on the job?**

**Notes:**

**N1. Education and training address the knowledge, skills and abilities
employees need to meet their current and projected work performance and
career development objectives.**

**N2. Education and training delivery \[5.2a(4)\] might occur inside or
outside the organization and involve on‑the‑job, classroom,
computer‑based, distance learning, and/or other types of delivery
(formal or informal).**

**N3. Evaluation of training \[5.2a(4)\] might include cost/benefits of
education and training; most effective means and timimg for training
delivery; and effectiveness of cross‑training or cross‑utilization.**

**N4. For additional description of this Item, see pages 41‑42.**

**5.3 Employee Well‑Being and Satisfaction (30 pts.)
\[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe how your organization maintains a work environment and an
employee support climate that contribute to the well‑being,
satisfaction, and motivation of all employees.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Work Environment**

**How do you address and improve workplace health, safety, and ergonomic
factors? How do employees take part in identifying these factors and in
improving workplace safety? Include performance measures and/or targets
for each key environmental factor. Also include significant differences,
if any, based on different work environments for employee groups and/or
work units.**

**b. Employee Support Climate**

**(1) How do you enhance your employees work climate via services,
benefits, and policies? How are these enhancements selected and tailored
to the needs of different categories and types of employees, and to
individuals, as appropriate?**

**(2) How do senior leaders, managers, and supervisors encourage and
motivate employees to develop and utilize their full potential in a
diverse workforce?**

**c. Employee Satisfaction**

**(1) How do you determine the key factors that affect employee
well‑being, satisfaction, and motivation?**

**(2) What formal and/or informal assessment methods and measures do you
use to determine employee well‑being, satisfaction, and motivation? How
do you tailor these methods and measures to a diverse work force and to
different categories and types of employees? How do you use other
indicators such as employee turnover, absenteeism, grievances, and
productivity to assess and improve employee well‑being, satisfaction,
and motivation?**

**(3) How do you relate assessment findings to key business results to
identify work environment and employee support climate improvement
priorities?**

**Notes:**

**N1. Approaches for enhancing employees work climate \[5.3b(1)\] might
include: mentoring; career development and employability services;
recreational or cultural activities; non‑work‑related education; day
care; job rotation and/or sharing; special leave for family
responsibilities and/or for community service; home safety training;
flexible work hours; outplacement; and retiree benefits (including
extended health care).**

**N2. Specific factors that might affect employee well‑being,
satisfaction, and motivation \[5.3c(1)\] include: effective employee
problem or grievance resolution; safety factors; employee views of
management; employee training, development, and career opportunities;
employee preparation for changes in technology or the work organization;
work environment and other work conditions; workload; cooperation and
teamwork; recognition; benefits; communications; job security;
compensation; and equal opportunity.**

**N3. Measures and/or indicators of well‑being, satisfaction, and
motivation \[5.3c(2)\] might include: safety; absenteeism; turnover;
turnover rate for customer‑contact employees; grievances; other job
actions; insurance costs; workers compensation claims; and results of
surveys. Results relative to such measures and/or indicators should be
reported in Item 7.3.**

**N4. For additional description of this Item, see pages 42‑43.**

**6 Process Management (95 pts.)**

**The Process Management Category examines the key aspects of your
organizations process management, including customer‑focused design,
product and service delivery, support, and supplier and partnering
processes involving all work units.**

**6.1 Product and Service Processes (50 pts.) \[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe how your organization manages key product and service design
and delivery processes.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Design Processes**

**(1) What are your design processes for products/services and their
related production/delivery processes?**

**(2) How do you incorporate changing customer/market and
mission‑related requirements into product/service designs and
production/delivery systems and processes?**

**(3) How do you incorporate new technology into products/services and
into production/delivery systems and processes, as appropriate?**

**(4) How do your design processes address design quality and cycle
time, transfer of learning from past projects and other parts of the
organization, cost control, new design technology, productivity, and
other efficiency/effectiveness factors?**

**(5) How do you ensure that your production/delivery process design
accommodates all key operational performance requirements?**

**(6) How do you coordinate and test design and production/delivery
processes to ensure capability for trouble‑free and timely introduction
of products/services?**

**b. Production/Delivery Processes**

**(1) What are your key production/delivery processes and their key
performance requirements?**

**(2) How does your day‑to‑day operation of key production/delivery
processes ensure meeting key performance requirements?**

**(3) What are your in‑process measures and/or indicators used for the
control andimprovement of these processes? Include how real‑time
customer input is sought, as appropriate.**

**(4) How do you improve your production/delivery processes to achieve
better process performance and improvements to products/services, as
appropriate? How are improvements shared with other organizational units
and processes, as appropriate?**

**Notes:**

**N1. Some organizations are required to rely on processes mandated by
their parent organization. Responses to this Item should reflect the
applicants efforts to manage and improve its own processes within the
parameters and guidelines established by its parent organization, as
well as any contributions by the applicant to improve the parent
organizations mandated processes.**

**N2. Product and service design, production, and delivery differ
greatly among organizations, depending upon many factors. These factors
include the nature of the products and services, technology
requirements, issues of modularity and parts commonality, customer and
supplier relationships and involvement, and product and service
customization. Responses to Item 6.1 should address the most critical
requirements for your organization.**

**N3. Responses to Item 6.1 should include how customers and key
suppliers and partners are involved in design processes, as
appropriate.**

**N4. Results of operational improvements in product/service design,
productivity and delivery processes should be reported in Item 7.5.
Results of improvements in product/service performance should be
reported in Item 7.1.**

**N5. For additional description of this Item, see pages 43‑45.**

**6.2 Support Processes (20 pts.) \[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe how your organization manages its key support processes.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Support Processes**

**(1) What are your key support processes?**

**(2) How do you determine key support process requirements,
incorporating input from internal and/or external customers, as
appropriate? What are the key operational requirements (such as
productivity and cycle time) for the processes?**

**(3) How do you design these processes to meet all the key
requirements?**

**(4) How does your day‑to‑day operation of key support processes ensure
meeting key performance requirements? How do you determine and use
in‑process measures and/or customer feedback in your support
processes?**

**(5) How do you improve your support processes to achieve better
performance and to keep them current with organization needs and
directions, as appropriate? How are improvements shared with other
organizational units and processes, as appropriate?**

**Notes:**

**N1. Support processes are those that support the organizations
products/services design, productivity and delivery pro‑cesses, and
operations. For many organi‑zations, this might include information and
knowledge management, finance and accounting, facilities management,
research and development, administration, intergovernmental relations,
Congressional and public affairs, and sales/marketing. The key support
processes to be included in Item 6.2 are unique to each organization and
how it operates. Focus should be on the most important processes not
addressed in Items 6.1 and 6.3.**

**N2. Results of improvements in key support processes and key support
process performance results should be reported in Item 7.5.**

**N3. For additional description of this Item, see page 45.**

**6.3 Supplier and Partnering Processes (25 pts.)
\[Approach‑Deployment\]**

**Describe how your organization manages its key supplier and/or
partnering interactions and processes.**

**Within your response, include answers to the following questions:**

**a. Supplier and Partnering Processes**

**(1) What key products/services do you purchase from suppliers and/or
partners?**

**(2) How do you incorporate performance requirements into supplier
and/or partner process management? What key performance requirements
must your suppliers and/or partners meet to fulfill your overall
requirements?**

**(3) How do you ensure that your performance requirements are met? How
do you provide timely and actionable feedback to suppliers and/or
partners? Include the key performance measures and/or indicators and any
targets you use for supplier and/or partner assessment.**

**(4) How do you minimize overall costs associated with inspections,
tests, and process and/or performance audits?**

**(5) How do you provide assistance and/or incentives to suppliers
and/or partners to help them improve their overall performance and to
improve their abilities to contribute to your current and longer‑term
performance?**

**(6) How do you improve your supplier and/or partner processes,
including your role as supportive customer/partner, to keep current with
your organization needs and directions? How are improvements shared
throughout your organization, as appropriate?**

**Notes:**

**N1. Supplier and partnering processes might include processes for
supply chain improvement and optimization, beyond direct suppliers and
partners.**

**N2. If your organization selects preferred suppliers and/or partners
based upon volume of business or criticality of their supplied products
and/or services, include selection criteria in the response.**

**N3. Results of improvements in supplier and partnering processes and
supplier/partner performance results should be reported in Item 7.4.**

**N4. If contractor staff who provide functions for the organization are
supervised in their work by the organizations staff as employees, then
they should be treated as an internal support process in Item 6.2.**

**N5. For additional description of this Item, see pages 45‑46.**

**7 Business Results (400 pts.)**

**The Business Results Category examines your organizations performance
and improvement in key business areascustomer satisfaction, product and
service performance, financial, marketplace performance, mission
accomplishment, human resource results, supplier and partner results,
and operational performance. Also examined are performance levels
relative to competitors.**

**7.1 Customer‑Focused Results (125 pts.) \[Results\]**

**Summarize your organizations customer‑focused results, including
customer satisfaction and product and service performance results.
Segment your results by customer groups and market/program segments, as
appropriate. Include comparative data.**

**Provide data and information to answer the following questions:**

**a. Customer‑Focused Results**

**(1) What are your current levels and trends in key measures and/or
indicators of customer satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and satisfaction
relative to competitors?**

**(2) What are your current levels and trends in key measures and/or
indicators of customer loyalty, positive referral, customer‑perceived
value, and/or customer relationship building, as appropriate?**

**(3) What are your current levels and trends in key measures and/or
indicators of product and service performance?**

**Notes:**

**N1. Customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction results reported in this
Item should relate to determination methods and data described in Item
3.2.**

**N2. Measures and/or indicators of customer satisfaction relative to
competitors and/or similar organizations inside or outside of government
might include objective information and data, such as customer‑perceived
value, from customers and independent organizations.**

**N3. Measures of product/service performance that are important to
customers should be included in 7.1a(3). with comparative performance
data. These might also include overall program performance measures, and
customer‑focused results relating to customer service standards,
customer surveys, and customer feedback.**

**N4. The combination of direct customer measures/indicators in 7.1a(1)
and 7.1a(2) with product and service performance measures/indicators in
7.1a(3) provides an opportunity to determine cause and effect
relationships between product/service attributes and evidence of
customer satisfaction, loyalty, positive referral, etc.**

**N5. Item 7.1 should only include results of performance in satisfying
customers external to the organization itself. This includes results in
satisfying higher headquarters and other units within the parent
organization which are separate from the applicant organization itself.
Results of performance in satisfying internal customers should be
reported in other items (i.e., results of efforts to satisfy
organization members should be reported in Item 7.3, Human Resource
Results, and results of efforts by internal support functions to satisfy
their customers within the organization should be reported in Item 7.5,
Organizational Effectiveness Results).**

**N6. For additional description of this Item, see pages 46‑47.**

**7.2 Financial Performance Results (50 pts.) \[Results\]**

**Summarize your organizations key financial and marketplace
performance results, segmented by market and mission focus, as
appropriate. Include comparative data.**

**Provide data and information to answer the following questions:**

**a. Financial Performance Results**

**(1) What are your current levels and trends in key measures and/or
indicators of financial performance, including aggregate measures of
financial return and/or economic value, as appropriate?**

**(2) What are your current levels and trends in key measures and/or
indicators of marketplace performance and/or mission accomplishment,
including program impact, market share/position, business growth, and
new markets entered, as appropriate?**

**Notes:**

**N1. Responses to 7.2a(1) might include aggregate financial measures
such as return on investment (ROI), measures of cost‑benefit and cost
effectiveness, budget and resource utilization indicators, and other
fiscal responsibility, liquidity, and financial activity measures such
as asset utilization, operating margins, profitability, profitability by
market/customer segment, debt to equity ratio, and value added per
employee.**

**N2. For those organizations involved in market‑type activities, key
results presented in response to 7.2a(2) are often measured in terms of
financial and market performance, as they are in private sector
commercial activities. For others in the public sector which do not
operate in a market environment, non‑financial and non‑market measures
such as program and impact accomplishment may be the most useful
measures of operating performance. Accordingly, respondents are given
flexibility as to the most appropriate results to present.**

**N3. Item 7.2 should include only top‑level results showing aggregate
financial measures of overall organizational performance. These results
are typically captured in performance goals and planning documents. For
applicants whose strategic plans are part of a higher‑level
organizations strategic plan, Item 7.2 might address: (a) top‑level
results which contribute to achieving the parent organizations overall
financial goals, and/or (b) locally developed goals and objectives which
the (subordinate) applicant uses to guide and measure progress toward
attainment of its own measures of overall financial performance.**

**N4. Responses to 7.2 might include financial measures used to define
progress in meeting performance outcomes, and goals and objectives
established to meet the requirements of the Government Performance and
Results Act.**

**N5. For additional description of this Item, see pages 47‑48.**

**7.3 Human Resource Results (75 pts.) \[Results\]**

**Summarize your organizations human resource results, including
employee well‑being, satisfaction, development, and work system
performance. Segment your results by types and categories of employees,
as appropriate. Include comparative data.**

**Provide data and information to answer the following questions:**

**a. Human Resource Results**

**(1) What are your current levels and trends in key measures and/or
indicators of employee well‑being, satisfaction and dissatisfaction, and
development?**

**(2) What are your current levels and trends in key measures and/or
indicators of work system performance and effectiveness?**

**Notes:**

**N1. The results reported in this Item should address results from
related activities described in Category 5. The results should be
responsive to key process needs described in Category 6, and the
organization action plans and related human resource plans described in
Item 2.2.**

**N2. Appropriate indicators of employee satisfaction, diversity,
well‑being, and effectiveness might include safety, absenteeism,
turnover, turnover for customer‑contact employees, grievances, worker
compensation, on‑the‑job performance improvements, and the results of
employee surveys. For additional information regarding the appropriate
measures of employee well‑being and satisfaction, see Notes to Item 5.3.
Appropriate measures and/or indicators of employee development might
include innovation and suggestion rates, courses completed, learning,
and cross‑training.**

**N3. Appropriate measures and/or indicators of work system performance
and effectiveness might include job and job classification
simplification, job rotation, work layout, work locations, and changing
supervisory ratios.**

**N4. For results reporting purposes, employees include the
organizations permanent, temporary, and part‑time personnel, as well as
any contract employees supervised by the organization. Contract
employees supervised by a contractor should be addressed in Item 6.3 and
appropriate results reported in Item 7.4.**

**N5. For additional description of this Item, see page 48.**

**7.4 Supplier and Partner Results (75 pts.) \[Results\]**

**Summarize your organizations key supplier and partner results.
Include comparative data.**

**Provide data and information to answer the following question:**

**a. Supplier and Partner Results**

**What are your current levels and trends in key measures and/or
indicators of supplier and partner performance? Include your performance
and/or cost improvements resulting from supplier and partner performance
and performance management.**

**Notes:**

**N1. Results reported here should relate directly to processes and
performance requirements described in Item 6.3. Also, results should be
clearly linked to the overall performance goals and objectives described
in the Organization Overview.**

**N2. For reporting purposes, any results deemed relevant and important
by the applicant relating to contract employees supervised by the
contractor should be addressed here.**

**N3. For additional description of this Item, see pages 48‑49.**

**7.5 Organizational Effectiveness Results (75 pts.) \[Results\]**

**Summarize your organizations key operational and in‑process
performance results that contribute to the achievement of organizational
effectiveness. Include comparative data.**

**Provide data and information to answer the following questions:**

**a. Organizational Effectiveness Results**

**(1) What are your current levels and trends in key measures and/or
indicators of key design, production, delivery, and support process
performance? Include productivity, cycle time, in‑process and other
appropriate measures of effectiveness and efficiency.**

**(2) What are your results for key measures and/or indicators of
regulatory/legal compliance and citizenship?**

**(3) What are your results for key measures and/or indicators of
accomplishment of organizational strategy?**

**Notes:**

**N1. Results reported in Item 7.5 generally fall into two categories:
(a) those in‑process and other measures which gauge progress in meeting
overall performance goals and objectives which the organization uses to
measure how well it is doing, such as those described in the
Organization Overview, and in Items 1.1, 2.2, 6.1, and 6.2, and/or
overall results reported in Items 7.1 and/or 7.2; and (b) those which
stand alone and are key performance measures, but are not reported in
Items 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, or 7.4.**

**N2. Results reported in Item 7.5 should provide key information for
analysis (Item 4.2) and review (Item 1.1) of organizational operational
performance and should provide the operational basis for customer
results (Item 7.1) and financial performance results (Item 7.2).
Information presented here might be performance indicators used in an
organizations annual performance plan as internal or intermediate
measures of progress toward meeting overall performance goals and
objectives established under the requirements of the Government
Performance and Results Act.**

**N3. Regulatory/legal compliance results reported in Item 7.5 should
address requirements described in Item 1.2.**

**N4. For additional description of this Item, see page 49.**

**III, CATEGORY, ITEM AND AREA DESCRIPTIONS**

**Leadership (Category 1)**

**Leadership addresses how the senior leaders guide the organization in
setting directions and seeking future opportunities. Primary attention
is given to how the senior leaders set and deploy clear values and high
performance expectations that address the needs of all stakeholders. The
Category also includes the organizations responsibilities to the public
and how the organization practices good citizenship.**

**1.1 Organizational Leadership**

**This Item addresses how senior leaders set directions and build and
sustain an organization conducive to high performance, individual and
organizational learning, empowerment, and innovation. The Item asks how
leadership takes into account all key stakeholderscustomers, employees,
suppliers, partners, the Congress, the public, and the community. The
Item also addresses how senior leaders review overall organizational
performance and capabilities.**

**Area 1.1a calls for information on: (1) the major aspects of
leadershipcreating values and expectations; (2) setting directions; (3)
projecting a strong customer focus; (4) encouraging innovation; (5)
developing and maintaining an effective leadership structure; and (6)
effectively demonstrating, communicating, and deploying values,
directions, expectations, and a strong customer focus. Setting
directions includes creating future opportunities for the organization
and its stakeholders. An effective leader promotes continuous learning,
not only to improve overall performance, but also to involve all
employees in the ongoing challenge to enhance customer value. To be
successful, leadership must ensure that the organization captures and
shares lessons learned. Communication by leadership is critical to
organizational success. Communications need to include performance
objectives and measures that help provide focus as well as alignment of
work units and work processes.**

**Area 1.1b addresses the senior leaders role in reviewing overall
organizational performance, including using employee feedback to improve
leadership effectiveness. This aspect of leadership is crucial because
reviews help to build consistency behind goals and allocation of
resources. A major aim is to create organizations that are flexible and
responsivechanging easily to adapt to new needs and opportunities.**

**Through their roles in developing strategy and reviewing overall
performance, senior leaders develop leadership and create an
organization capable of adapting to changing opportunities and
requirements. An important part of the senior leaders organizational
review is the translation of review findings into an action
agendasufficiently specific so deployment throughout the organization
and to suppliers/partners and key customers is possible. The action
agenda could include opportunities for innovation to gain a performance
leadership position relative to competitors and/or other organizations
with similar processes, products, or services.**

**1.2 Public Responsibility and Citizenship**

**This Item addresses how the organization integrates its values and
expectations**

**regarding its public responsibilities and citizenship into its
performance management practices.**

**Area 1.2a calls for information on how the organization addresses
three basic aspects of public responsibility in planning products,
services, and operations: (1) making legal and regulatory requirements
and risk factors an integral part of performance management and
improvement; (2) being sensitive to issues of public concern, whether or
not these issues are currently embodied in law; and (3) ensuring ethical
behavior in all stakeholder interactions.**

**Fulfilling societal responsibilities means not only meeting all local,
state, and federal laws and regulatory requirements, but also treating
these and related requirements as opportunities for improvement beyond
mere compliance. This means that the organization should maintain
constant awareness of potential public concerns related to its products,
services, and operations.**

**Area 1.2b calls for information on how the organization practices good
citizenship in support of its key communities, as a contributing member
and as a positive influence upon other organizations. Opportunities for
involvement and leadership include efforts by the organization, senior
leaders, and employees to strengthen community services, education,
health care, the environment, and practices of trade, business, and
professional associations. Levels of involvement and leadership are
dependent upon organization size and available resources.**

**Good citizenship activities include community service by employees,
which is encouraged and supported by the organization. For example,
organizations, their leaders, and employees could help to influence the
adoption of higher standards in education by communicating employability
requirements to schools. Organizations could partner with other
businesses and health care providers to improve health in the local
community by providing education and volunteer services to address
public health issues. Also, organizations could partner to influence
governmental trade and business associations to engage in beneficial
cooperative activities, such as sharing best practices to improve
overall performance excellence.**

**Strategic Planning (Category 2)**

**Strategic Planning addresses strategic and action planning and
deployment of plans. The Category stresses that customer‑driven quality
and operational performance excellence are key strategic issues that
need to be integral parts of overall planning.**

**Specifically:**

** customer‑driven quality is a strategic view of quality. The focus is
on the drivers of customer satisfaction, customer retention, new
markets, and market sharekey factors in competitiveness, profitability,
and business and/or mission success; and**

** operational performance improvement contributes to short‑term and
longer‑term productivity growth and cost/price competitiveness. Building
operational capabilityincluding speed, responsiveness, and
flexibilityrepresents an investment in strengthening competitive
fitness.**

**The Criteria emphasize that improvement and learning need to be
embedded in work processes. The special role of strategic planning is to
align work processes with the organizations strategic directions,
thereby ensuring that improvement and learning reinforce organizational
priorities.**

**The Strategic Planning Category examines how organizations:**

** understand the key customer, market, and operational requirements as
input to setting strategic directions. This helps ensure that ongoing
process improvements are aligned with the organizations strategic
directions.**

** optimize the use of resources, ensure the availability of trained
employees, and ensure bridging between short‑term and longer‑term
requirements that may entail capital expenditures, supplier development,
etc.**

** ensure that deployment will be effectivethat there are mechanisms
to transmit requirements and achieve alignment on three basic levels:
(1) the organization/executive level; (2) the key process level; and (3)
the work‑unit/individual‑job level.**

**The Strategic Planning Category requirements are intended to encourage
strategic thinking and actingto develop a basis for a distinct
competitive position in the marketplace and/or program/mission driven
environment. These requirements do not necessarily imply formalized
plans, planning systems, departments, or specific planning cycles. Also,
the Category does not imply that all improvements could or should be
planned in advance. An effective improvement system combines
improvements of many types and degrees of involvement. This requires
clear strategic guidance, particularly when improvement alternatives
compete for limited resources. In most cases, priority setting depends
heavily upon a cost rationale. However, there also might be critical
requirements such as societal responsibilities that are not driven by
cost considerations alone.**

**The Category is generally consistent with and supportive of the
requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act. The focus of
the Criteria is on planning strategically without regard to
organizational level. If strategic plans are developed by higher levels
within the overall organization, the applicants submission should focus
on its own strategic planning process and how its planning process and
plans fit into the parent organizations overall plans, such as those
developed pursuant to the Government Performance and Results Act.**

**2.1 Strategy Development**

**This Item addresses how the organization develops its view of the
future and sets strategic directions and translates these directions
into a clear and actionable basis for communicating, deploying, and
aligning critical requirements. This Item may include a description of
how the organization develops strategic and performance plans to meet
the provisions of the Government Performance and Results Act.**

**The focus of the Item is on competitive leadership, which usually
depends upon revenue growth for market‑oriented organizations or clear
accomplishment of program mission as well as operational effectiveness.
This requires a view of the future that takes into account not only the
current mission environment, and the markets or segments required to
compete, but also how to adjust to changing requirements and how to
compete. How to compete presents many options and requires
understanding of the organizations and competitors strengths and
weaknesses. Although no specific time horizon is included, the thrust of
the Item is sustained competitive and strategic leadership.**

**Area 2.1a calls for basic information on the planning process and for
information on all the key influences, risks, challenges, and other
requirements that might affect the organizations future opportunities
and directionstaking as long a view as possible. The main purpose of
the Item is to provide a thorough and realistic context for the
development of a customer, mission, and market‑focused strategy to guide
ongoing decision making, resource allocation, and overall management. An
increasingly important part of strategic planning is projecting the
competitive environment and changing mission requirements. The purposes
of such projections are to detect and reduce competitive threats, to
shorten reaction time, and to identify opportunities. Depending on the
size and type of business, organizations might use a variety of
modeling, scenario, or other techniques and judgments to project a
competitive and mission‑driven environment.**

**Area 2.1b addresses the organizations strategic objectivesthose that
are to serve as the basis for strategy deployment. The Area also calls
for information on how the strategic objectives are evaluated against
the key factors spelled out in Area 2.1a.**

**2.2 Strategy Deployment**

**This Item addresses how the organizations strategic objectives are
translated into action plans and how they are deployed. The Item also
calls for a projection of the organizations performance. The main
intent of the Item is effective translation and implementation of the
organizations directions, incorporating measures that permit clear
communication and tracking of progress and performance. The strategy
might include how the organization deploys strategic and performance
plans to meet the provisions of the Government Performance and Results
Act.**

**Area 2.2a calls for information on how the action plans are developed
and deployed. This includes spelling out key performance requirements
and measures, as well as aligning work unit, supplier, and/or partner
plans. Of central importance in this Area is how alignment and
consistency are achievedfor example, via key processes and key
measurements. Alignment and consistency are intended also to provide a
basis for setting and communicating priorities for ongoing improvement
activitiespart of the daily work of all work units. Performance
measures are also critical to performance tracking.**

**Critical action plan requirements include human resource plans to
support the overall strategy. Examples of possible human resource plan
elements are:**

** redesign of work organizations and/or jobs to increase employee
responsibility and decision making;**

** initiatives to promote labor‑management cooperation, such as
partnerships with unions;**

** initiatives to foster knowledge sharing and cross‑functional
interactions throughout the organization;**

** creation or modification of compensation and recognition systems
based on building shareholder value and/or customer satisfaction;**

** creation of opportunities for employees to learn and use skills that
go beyond current job assignments through redesign of processes or
organizations;**

** education and training initiatives, including those that involve
developmental assignments to prepare future managers/leaders;**

** creation of individual development and/or learning plans;**

** formation of partnerships with educational institutions to develop
employees or to help ensure the future supply of well‑prepared
employees; and**

** introduction of distance learning or other technology‑based learning
approaches.**

**Area 2.2b calls for a two‑to‑five year projection of key measures
and/or indicators of the organizations performance. It also calls for a
comparison of projected performance versus targets and/or goals, as well
as competitors and key benchmarks. This projection/comparison is
intended to encourage organizations to improve their ability to
understand and track dynamic, competitive performance factors. Through
this tracking process, organizations should be better prepared to take
into account their rates of improvement and change relative to
competitors and relative to their own targets or stretch goals as a
diagnostic management tool.**

**In addition to improvement relative to past performance and to
competitors, projected performance also might include changes resulting
from new business ventures, entry into new markets, emerging societal
needs relative to the organizations basic mission, product/service
innovations, or other strategic directions.**

**Customer Focus (Category 3)**

**Customer Focus addresses how the organization seeks to understand the
voices of customers and of the marketplace. The Category stresses
relationship enhancement as an important part of an overall listening
and learning strategy. Customer satisfaction results provide vital
information for understanding customers and the marketplace. In many
cases, such results and trends provide the most meaningful information,
not only on customers views but also on their marketplace
behaviorsrepeat business and positive referrals.**

**This Item examines how the organization determines current and
emerging customer requirements and expectations. This information is
intended to support marketing, business development, and planning. In a
rapidly changing competitive environment, many factors may affect
customer preference and loyalty, making it necessary to listen and learn
on a continuous basis. To be effective, such listening and learning need
to have a close connection with the organizations overall mission, and
business strategy. For example, if the organization customizes its
products and services, the listening and learning strategy needs to be
backed by a capable information systemone that rapidly accumulates
information about customers and makes this information available where
needed throughout the organization or elsewhere within the overall value
chain.**

**A variety of listening and learning strategies are commonly used.
Selection depends upon the type and size of the organization and other
factors.**

**Some examples are:**

** relationship building, including close integration with key
customers;**

** rapid innovation and field trials of products and services to better
link research and development and design to market needs and/or mission
requirements;**

** close tracking of technological, competitive, societal,
environmental, economic, demographic and other factors that may bear
upon customer requirements, expectations, preferences, or
alternatives;**

** seeking to understand in detail customers value chains and how they
are likely to change;**

** focus groups with demanding or leading‑edge customers;**

** training employees, particularly customer‑contact employees, in
customer listening;**

** use of critical incidents, such as complaints, to understand key
service attributes from the point of view of customers and
customer‑contact employees;**

** interviewing lost customers to determine the factors they use in
their purchase decisions; and won/lost and/or comparative analysis
relative to competitors and/or similar organizations inside or outside
of the government;**

** post‑transaction follow‑up contacts with customers; and**

** analysis of major factors affecting key customers.**

**The Item seeks information on how organizations recognize market
segments, customers of competitors or similar organizations inside or
outside of the government, and/or other potential customers.
Accordingly, the Item addresses how the organization tailors its
listening and learning to different customer groups and market/mission‑
related segments. For example, a relationship strategy might be possible
with some customers, but not with others. Other information sought
relates to sensitivity to specific product and service requirements and
their relative importance or value to customer groups. This
determination should be supported by use of information and data, such
as complaints, gains and losses of customers and enhanced
responsibilities established by the parent organization, the White House
or Congress.**

**The Item also addresses how the organization improves its listening
and learning strategies, with a focus on keeping current with changing
business needs and directions.**

**3.2 Customer Satisfaction and Relationships**

**This Item addresses how the organization effectively manages its
interaction and follow‑ups with customers. Relationships provide a
potentially important means for organizations to understand and manage
customer expectations and to develop new business. Also,
customer‑contact employees may provide vital information to build
partnerships and other longer‑term relationships with customers.**

**The Item also addresses how the organization determines customer
satisfaction and satisfaction relative to competitors and/or similar
organizations inside and outside of the government. Satisfaction
relative to competitors and/or organizations with similar missions,
functions or processes, and the factors that lead to preference, are of
critical importance to managing in a dynamic and/or competitive
environment.**

**Overall, Item 3.2 emphasizes the importance of obtaining actionable
information, such as feedback and complaints from customers. To be
actionable, the information gathered should meet two conditions: (1)
responses should be tied directly to key business processes, so that
opportunities for improvement are clear; and (2) responses should be
translated into cost/revenue or program effectiveness implications to
support the setting of improvement priorities.**

**Area 3.2a calls for information on how the organization provides easy
access for customers seeking information or assistance and/or to comment
and complain. The Area calls for information on how customer contact
requirements are determined and deployed. Such deployment needs to take
account of all key points in the response chainall units or individuals
in the organization that make effective interactions possible. The
principal issue in complaint management is prompt and effective
resolution of complaints, including recovery of customer confidence.**

**In addition, Area 3.2a addresses how the organization learns from
complaints and ensures that design/production/delivery process employees
receive information needed to eliminate the causes of complaints.
Effective elimination of the causes of complaints involves aggregation
of complaint information from all sources for evaluation and use in
overall organizational improvement.**

**The complaint management process might include analysis and priority
setting for improvement projects based upon potential cost impact of
complaints, taking into account customer retention related to resolution
effectiveness.**

**Area 3.2a also addresses relationship buildinghow the organization
builds loyalty and positive referral. Increasingly, business success,
business development, and product/service innovation depend upon
maintaining close relationships with customers. Approaches to
relationship building vary greatly, depending on products/services and
types of customers. Avenues to, and bases for, relationships often
change quickly. Accordingly, this Area addresses how the organization
evaluates and improves its customer relationship building and ensures
that approaches are kept current with changing business and/or mission
needs.**

**Area 3.2b addresses how the organization determines customer
satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Three types of requirements are
considered:**

** how the organization gathers information on customer satisfaction,
including any important differences in approaches for different customer
groups or market mission‑related segments. This highlights the
importance of the measurement scale in determining those factors that
best reflect customers market behaviorsrepurchase, new business,
positive response to products or services, and positive referral;**

** how the organization follows up with customers regarding products,
services, and recent transactions to determine satisfaction and to
resolve problems quickly; and**

** how satisfaction relative to competitors and/or other organizations
with similar missions, functions or processes is determined. Such
information might be derived from organization‑based comparative studies
or independent studies. The purpose of this comparison is to develop
information that can be used for improving performance relative to
competitors or mission objectives, and to better understand the factors
that drive markets and mission accomplishment.**

**Information and Analysis (Category 4)**

**Information and Analysis is the main point within the Criteria for all
key information to effectively measure performance and manage the
organization, and to drive improvement of performance and
competitiveness. In simplest terms, Category 4 is the brain center for
the alignment of an organizations operations with its strategic
directions. However, since information and analysis might themselves be
primary sources of competitive advantage and productivity growth, the
Category also includes such strategic considerations.**

**4.1 Measurement of Organizational Performance**

**This Item addresses the organizations selection, management, and use
of information and data for performance measurement in support of
organizational planning and performance improvement. Overall, the Item
represents a key foundation for a performance‑oriented organization that
effectively utilizes non‑financial and financial information and data.**

**The Item examines the major components of an effective performance
measurement system. It examines the selection and use of measures and
indicators for tracking daily operations and those for tracking overall
organizational performance. Alignment and integration of measures are
viewed in terms of extent and effectiveness of use to meet
organizational needs. Alignment and integration include how measures are
aligned throughout the organization, how they are integrated to yield
organization‑wide measures, and how performance measurement requirements
are deployed by the senior leaders to track work group and/or
functional‑level performance on key measures targeted for
organization‑wide improvement. Data and information reliability is an
important component for monitoring operations and for data integration
to assess overall performance.**

**The Item calls for information on how competitive comparisons and
benchmarking information are selected and used to help drive performance
improvements. Included in effective selection and use of competitive
comparisons and benchmarking information and data are: (1) determination
of needs and priorities; (2) criteria for seeking appropriate
informationfrom within and outside the organizations business area
and/or markets; and (3) use of information and data to set stretch
targets and to promote major improvements in areas most critical to the
organizations competitive strategy.**

**The major premises underlying the use of comparative information are:
(1) organizations facing tough competition and high public expectations
need to know where they stand relative to competitors and to best
practices; (2) comparative and benchmarking information often provides
impetus for significant (breakthrough) improvement or changes and
might alert organizations to competitive threats and new practices; and
(3) organizations need to understand their own processes and the
processes of others before they compare performance levels. Benchmarking
information may also support business analysis and decisions relating to
core competencies, alliances, and competitive sourcing. Finally, the
Item examines how requirements are met to keep the organizations
performance measurement system current with changing business and
mission‑related needs.**

**4.2 Analysis of Organizational Performance.**

**This Item addresses the analysis of organizational performancethe
principal basis for assessing an organizations overall health. Analysis
guides an organizations process management toward key business results
and toward attaining strategic objectives. Despite their importance,
individual facts and data do not usually provide a sound basis for
actions or priorities. Action depends upon understanding cause/effect
connections among processes and between processes and business results.
Process actions may have many resource implications; results may have
many cost and revenue and/or mission accomplishment implications as
well. There is a critical need to provide a sound analytical basis for
decisions since resources for improvement are limited and cause/effect
connections are often unclear.**

**A close connection between analysis and performance review and between
analysis and organizational planning helps to ensure that analysis is
relevant to decision making. This Item is the central analysis point in
an integrated performance measurement and management system. This system
is built around financial and non‑financial information and data.**

**The Item examines how information and data from all parts of the
organization are analyzed to assess overall organizational health and to
support daily operations.**

**Analyses that organizations perform to gain understanding of
performance vary widely. Selection depends upon many factors, including
organization type, size, and competitive position. Examples include:**

** how product and service quality improvement correlate with key
customer indicators such as customer satisfaction, customer retention,
and market share;**

** cost/revenue, cost/benefit and cost/effectiveness implications of
customer‑related problems and problem resolution effectiveness;**

** interpretation of market share changes, where appropriate, in terms
of customer gains and losses and changes in customer satisfaction;**

** improvement trends in key operational performance indicators such as
productivity, cycle time, waste reduction, new product introduction, and
defect levels;**

** relationships between employee/organizational learning and value
added per employee;**

** financial benefits derived from improvements in employee safety,
absenteeism, and turnover;**

** benefits and costs associated with education and training;**

** benefits and costs associated with improved organizational knowledge
management and sharing;**

** how the ability to identify and meet employee requirements
correlates with employee retention, motivation, and productivity;**

** cost/revenue and cost/effectiveness implications of employee‑related
problems and problem resolution effectiveness;**

** trends in individual measures of productivity, such as work force
productivity; individual or aggregate measures of productivity, and
quality relative to competitors and/or organizations with similar
missions, functions or processes;**

** performance trends relative to competitors and/or similar
organizations on key quality attributes;**

** cost trends relative to competitors and/or similar organizations
inside or outside of government;**

** relationships between product/service quality, operational
performance indicators, and overall financial performance trends, as
reflected in indicators such as operating costs, revenues, asset
utilization, and value added per employee;**

** allocation of resources among alternative improvement projects based
on cost/revenue implications and improvement potential;**

** net earnings derived from quality/operational/human resource
performance improvements;**

** comparisons among business units showing how quality and operational
performance improvement affect financial performance;**

** trends in aggregate measures such as total factor productivity;
and**

** trends in economic, market, and stakeholder indicators of value.**

**An important part of the senior leaders organizational review is the
translation of review findings into an action agendasufficiently
specific so that deployment throughout the organization, and to
suppliers/partners and key customers is possible.**

**Human Resource Focus (Category 5)**

**Human Resource Focus addresses key human resource practicesthose
directed toward creating a high performance workplace and toward
developing employees to enable them and the organization to adapt to
change. The Category covers human resource development and management
requirements in an integrated way, aligned with the organizations
strategic directions. Included in the focus on human resources is a
focus on the work environment and the employee support climate.**

**To ensure the basic alignment of human resource management with
overall strategy, the Criteria also include human resource planning as
part of organizational planning in the Strategic Planning Category.**

**5.1 Work Systems**

**This Item addresses how the organizations work and job design,
compensation,**

**employee performance management, and recognition approaches enable and
encourage all employees to contribute effectively. The Item is concerned
not only with current and near‑term performance objectives, but also
with individual and organizational learningenabling adaptation to
change.**

**The Item calls for information on work and job design. The basic aim
of such design should be to enable employees to exercise discretion and
decision making, leading to flexibility, innovation, knowledge and skill
sharing, and rapid response to the changing requirements of government
service and the marketplace. Examples of approaches to create
flexibility in work and job design might include simplification of job
classifications, cross‑training, cross utilization, job rotation, and
changes in work layout and work locations.**

**Approaches also might entail using technology and changing the flow of
information to support local decision making. Effective job design and
flexible work organizations are necessary but may not be sufficient to
ensure high performance. High performance work systems require
information systems, education, and appropriate training to ensure that
information flow supports the job and work designs. Effective
communication is also important across functions and work units to
ensure a focus on customer requirements and to ensure an environment of
encouragement, trust, and mutual commitment. In some cases, teams might
involve individuals in different locations linked via computers or
conferencing technology.**

**The Item calls for information on how managers and supervisors
motivate employees and encourage employees to develop and utilize their
full potential. Some high performance organizations are addressing these
needs via career and learning objectives, developed jointly with
employees.**

**The Item also addresses the important alignment of incentives with the
achievement of key organizational objectives. The basic thrust of this
is the consistency between the compensation and recognition approaches,
and work structures and processes. The Item calls for information on
employee compensation and recognitionhow they reinforce high
performance job design, work organizations and teamwork, and a focus on
customer satisfaction and learning. To be effective, compensation and
recognition might need to be based, wholly or in part, upon demonstrated
skills and/or evaluation by peers in teams and networks.**

**Compensation and recognition approaches might include gainsharing, use
of new skills, demonstrations of self‑learning, and knowledge sharing.
The approaches might take into account linkages to customer retention or
other performance objectives.**

**The Item addresses an increasingly important need of leading edge
organizations: the ability to profile, recruit, and hire good employees.
This requirement entails ensuring that work force diversity is
reflective of the organizations community.**

**5.2 Employee Education, Training, and Development**

**This Item addresses how the organization develops the work force via
education, training, and on‑the‑job reinforcement of knowledge and
skills. Development is intended to meet ongoing needs of employees and a
high performance workplace that accommodates change.**

**Education and training address the knowledge and skills employees need
to meet their overall work and personal objectives and the
organizations need for leadership development of employees. Depending
upon the nature of the organizations work and the employees
responsibilities and stage of development, education and training needs
might vary greatly. Examples include leadership and knowledge sharing
skills, communications, teamwork, problem solving, interpreting and
using data, meeting customer requirements, process analysis, process
simplification, waste reduction, cycle time reduction, error‑proofing,
priority setting based upon cost and benefit data, and other training
that affects employee effectiveness, efficiency, and safety. Education
also might include basic skills such as reading, writing, language, and
arithmetic.**

**The Item calls for information on how education and training are
designed, delivered, reinforced, and evaluated, with special emphasis
upon on‑the‑job application of knowledge and skills. The Item emphasizes
the importance of the involvement of employees and their managers in the
design of training, including clear identification of specific needs.
This involves job analysisunderstanding the types and levels of the
skills required and the timeliness of training. Determining specific
education and training needs might include use of organizational
assessment or employee self‑assessment to determine and/or compare skill
levels for progression within the organization or elsewhere.**

**Education and training delivery might occur inside or outside the
organization and involve on‑the‑job, classroom, computer‑based, distance
learning, or other types of delivery. This includes the use of
developmental assignments within or outside of the organization to
enhance employees career opportunities and employability.**

**The Item also emphasizes the evaluation of education and training.
Such evaluation might take into account managers evaluation, employees
self‑evaluation, and peer evaluation of value received through education
and training relative to needs identified in the training design.
Evaluation might also address factors such as the effectiveness of
education and training delivery, impact on work unit and organizational
performance, costs of delivery alternatives, and benefit/cost ratios.**

**Although the Item does not explicitly call for information on training
for customer‑contact employees, such training is increasingly important.
It usually entails: (1) acquiring key knowledge and skills, including
knowledge of products and services; (2) listening to customers; (3)
soliciting comments from customers; (4) anticipating and handling
problems or failures (recovery); (5) developing skills in customer
retention; and (6) learning how to effectively manage expectations.**

**5.3 Employee Well‑Being and Satisfaction**

**This Item addresses the work environment, the employee support
climate, and how they are tailored to support the well‑being,
satisfaction, and motivation of all employees.**

**Area 5.3a calls for information regarding a safe and healthful work
environment to show how the organization includes such factors in its
planning and improvement activities. Important factors in this Area
include establishing appropriate measures and targets and recognizing
that employee groups might experience very different environments.**

**Area 5.3b calls for information on the organizations approach to
enhance employee well‑being, satisfaction, and motivation based upon a
holistic view of employees as key stakeholders. The Area emphasizes the
need to consider a variety of services, facilities, activities, and
opportunities and to tailor these to ensure the well‑being,
satisfaction, and motivation of all employees. Increasingly, the needs
of a diverse work force have to be addressed. Senior leaders, managers
and supervisors have a specific responsibil‑ity to encourage employees
and to promote effective communications across the work force.**

**Most organizations, regardless of size, have many opportunities to
contribute to employee well‑being, satisfaction, and motivation.
Examples of services, facilities, activities, and other opportunities
are: personal and career counseling; career development and
employability services; recreational or cultural activities; formal and
informal recognition; non‑work‑related education; day care; special
leave for family responsibilities and/or for community service; safety
off the job; flexible work hours; and outplacement. Also, these services
might include career enhancement activities such as skills assessments,
helping employees develop learning objectives and plans, and conducting
employability assessments.**

**Area 5.3c calls for information on how the organization determines
employee well‑being, satisfaction, and motivation. The Area recognizes
that many factors might affect employees. Although satisfaction with pay
and promotion potential is important, these factors might not be
adequate to assess the overall climate for motivation and high
performance. For this reason, the organization might need to consider a
variety of factors that might affect well‑being, satisfaction, and
motivation, such as: effective employee problem or grievance resolution;
safety; employee views of leadership and management; employee
development and career opportunities; employee preparation for changes
in technology or work organization; work environment; workload;
cooperation and teamwork; recognition; benefits; communications; job
security; compensation; equality of opportunity; and capability to
provide required services to customers.**

**In addition to formal or informal survey results, other measures
and/or indicators of well‑being, satisfaction, and motivation might
include safety, absenteeism, turnover, turnover rate for
customer‑contact employees, grievances, and workers compensation
claims. Factors inhibiting motivation need to be prioritized and
addressed. Further understanding of these factors could be developed
through exit interviews with departing employees.**

**Area 5.3c also addresses how the information and data on the
well‑being, satisfaction, and motivation of employees are actually used
in identifying improvement priorities. Priority setting might draw upon
human resource results presented in Item 7.3 and might involve
addressing employee problems based on impact on organizational
performance.**

**Process Management (Category 6)**

**Process Management is the focal point within the Criteria for all key
work processes. Built into the Category are the central requirements for
efficient and effective process managementeffective design, a
prevention orientation, linkage to suppliers and partners, operational
performance, cycle time, and evaluation and continuous improvement.
Flexibility, cost reduction, and cycle time reduction are increasingly
important in all aspects of process management and organizational
design. In simplest terms, flexibility refers to the ability to adapt
quickly and effectively to changing requirements.**

**Depending on the nature of the organizations mission, strategy and
markets, flexibility might mean rapid changeover from one
product/service to another, rapid response to changing societal needs or
customer demands, or the ability to produce a wide range of customized
services. Flexibility might demand special strategies such as
implementing modular designs, sharing components, sharing manufacturing
lines, and providing specialized training. Flexibility also increasingly
involves competitive sourcing decisions, agreements with key suppliers,
and novel partnering arrangements.**

**Cost and cycle or response time reduction often involve many of the
same process management strategies as achieving flexibility. Thus, it is
crucial to utilize key measures for these requirements in overall
process management.**

**6.1 Product and Service Processes**

**This Item examines how the organization designs, introduces, produces,
delivers, and improves its products and services. It also examines how
production/delivery processes are operated and improved. The
trouble‑free introduction of new products and services is important to
the management of these processes. This requires effective coordination,
starting early in the product and service design phase. The Item also
examines organizational learning through a focus on how lessons learned
in one process or work unit are replicated and added to the knowledge
base of other projects or work units.**

**Area 6.1a calls for information on the design of products and
services, and their production/delivery processes. Aspects of this
design include: (1) how changing customer and market requirements and
technology are incorporated into product and service designs; (2) how
production/delivery processes are designed to meet customer, quality,
and operational performance requirements; (3) how design and
production/delivery processes are coordinated to ensure trouble‑free and
timely introduction and delivery of products and services; and (4) how
design processes are evaluated and improved to achieve better
performance.**

**Design approaches could differ appreciably depending upon the nature
of the products/serviceswhether the products/services are entirely new,
variants, or involve major or minor process changes. Responses should
reflect the key requirements for the products and services. Factors that
might need to be considered in design include: health; safety; long‑term
performance; environmental impact; environmental green manufacturing;
measurement capability; process capability; manufacturability;
maintainability; supplier capability; and documentation. Effective
design must also consider cycle time and productivity of production and
delivery processes. This might involve detailed mapping of manufacturing
or service processes and redesigning (reengineering) those processes
to achieve efficiency, as well as to meet changing customer
requirements.**

**Many organizations also need to consider requirements for suppliers
and/or business partners at the design stage. Overall, effective design
must take into account all stakeholders in the value chain. If many
design projects are carried out in parallel, or if the organizations
products utilize parts, equipment, and facilities used for other
products, coordination of resources might be a major concern, but might
offer means to significantly reduce unit costs and time to market. This
should be addressed in responding to Area 6.1a.**

**Coordination of design and production/delivery processes involves all
work units and/or individuals who will take part in production/delivery
and whose performance materially affects overall process outcome. This
might include groups such as research and development, marketing,
design, and product/process engineering.**

**Area 6.1b calls for information on the management and improvement of
key production/delivery processes. The information required includes a
description of the key processes and their specific requirements, and
how performance relative to these requirements is determined and
maintained. Specific reference is made to in‑process measurements and
customer interactions. This requires the identification of critical
points in processes for measurement, observation, or interaction. The
intent is that these activities occur at the earliest points possible in
processes to minimize problems that may result from deviations from
expected performance. Expected performance frequently requires setting
performance levels or standards to guide decision making. When
deviations occur, corrective action is required to restore the
performance of the process to its design specifications. Depending on
the nature of the process, the correction could involve technical and/or
human factors. Proper correction involves changes at the source (root
cause) of the deviation. Such corrective action should minimize the
likelihood of this type of variation occurring anywhere else in the
organization.**

**When customer interactions are involved, differences among customers
must be considered in evaluating how well the process is performing.
This might entail specific or general contingencies, depending on the
customer information gathered. This is especially true of professional
and personal services.**

**Area 6.1b calls for information on how processes are improved to
achieve better performance. Better performance means not only better
quality from the customers perspective but also better financial and
operational performancesuch as productivityfrom the organizations
perspective. A variety of process improvement approaches are commonly
used. These include: (1) sharing successful strategies across the
organization; (2) process analysis and research (e.g., process mapping,
optimization experiments, and error proofing); (3) research and
development results; (4) benchmarking; (5) using alternative technology;
and (6) using information from customers of the processeswithin and
outside the organization. Process improvement approaches might utilize
financial data to evaluate alternatives and set priorities. Together,
these approaches offer a wide range of possibilities, including complete
redesign (reengineering) of processes.**

**6.2 Support Processes**

**This Item addresses how the organization designs, implements,
operates, and improves its support processes. Support processes are
those that support the organizations product and/or service delivery,
but are not usually designed in detail with the products and services
themselves, because their requirements usually do not depend
significantly upon product and service characteristics. Support process
design requirements usually depend significantly upon internal
requirements, and they must be coordinated and integrated to ensure
efficient and effective linkage and performance. Support processes might
include finance and accounting, software services, sales, marketing,
public and congressional relations, information services, personnel,
legal services, plant and facilities management, research and
development, and secretarial and other**

**administrative services.**

**The Item calls for information on how the organization maintains the
performance of the key support processes. This information includes a
description of the key processes and their principal requirements, and a
description of key in‑process measurements and customer interactions.
These principal requirements are similar to those described previously
in Area 6.1b.**

**Item 6.2 also calls for information on how the organization evaluates
and improves the performance of its key support processes. Four key
approaches are: (1) process analysis and research; (2) benchmarking; (3)
use of alternative technology; and (4) use of information from customers
of the processeswithin and outside the organization. Together, these
approaches offer a wide range of possibilities, including complete
redesign (reengineering) of processes.**

**6.3 Supplier and Partnering Processes**

**This Item addresses how the organization designs, implements,
operates, and improves its supplier and partnering processes and
relationships. It also addresses supplier and partner performance
management and improvement. The terms supplier and partner refer to
other organizations (public and private) and to units of the parent
organization that provide goods and services. Suppliers and partners
goods and services may be used at any stage in the production, design,
delivery, and use of the organizations products and services. Thus,
suppliers include businesses such as distributors, dealers, warranty
repair services, transportation, contractors, and franchises, as well as
those that provide materials and components. Suppliers also include
service suppliers, such as health care, training, and education
providers.**

**The Item places particular emphasis on the unique relationships that
organizations are building with key and preferred suppliers, including
establishing partnering relationships. For many organizations, suppliers
and partners are an increasingly important part of achieving not only
high performance and lower‑cost objectives, but also strategic
objectives. For example, they might provide unique design, integration,
and marketing capabilities.**

**Item 6.3 requests the key performance requirements for suppliers and
partners. These requirements are the principal factors involved in the
organizations purchases, e.g., quality, delivery, and price. Processes
for determining whether or not requirements are met might include
audits, process reviews, receiving inspections, certification, testing,
and rating systems.**

**Item 6.3 also requests information on actions and plans to improve the
ability of suppliers and partners to contribute to achieving your
organizations performance goals. These actions and plans might include
one or more of the following: (1) improving your own procurement and
supplier management processes (including seeking feedback from suppliers
and internal customers); (2) joint planning; (3) rapid information and
data exchanges; (4) use of benchmarking and comparative information; (5)
customer‑supplier teams; (6) training; (7) long‑term agreements; (8)
incentives; and (9) recognition. Actions and plans might also include
changes in supplier selection, leading to a reduction in the number of
suppliers and enhancement of partnership agreements.**

**Business Results (Category 7)**

**Business Results Category provides a results focus that encompasses
the customers evaluation of the organizations products and services,
overall financial and market performance, and results of all key
processes and process improvement activities. Through this focus, the
Criterias dual purposessuperior value of offerings as viewed by
customers and the marketplace, and superior organizational performance
reflected in operational and financial indicatorsare maintained.
Category 7 thus provides real‑time information (measures of progress)
for evaluation and improvement of processes, products, and services,
aligned with overall mission and business strategy. Item 4.2 calls for
analysis of business results data and information to determine overall
organizational performance.**

**7.1 Customer‑Focused Results**

**This Item addresses the results of most significance to assessing the
organizations customer‑related performancecustomer satisfaction,
customer dissatisfaction, customer satisfaction relative to competitors,
and product/service performance. The Item calls for the use of all
relevant data and information to establish the organizations
performance as viewed by the customer. Relevant data and information
include: (1) customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction; (2) retention,
gains, and losses of customers and customer accounts; (3) positive
customer referrals; (4) customer complaints and warranty claims; (5)
customer‑perceived value based on quality and price; and (6) competitive
awards, ratings, and recognition from customers and independent
organizations. Relevant data and information also include product and
service performance measures, especially those that serve as predictors
of customer satisfaction. These product and service features are derived
from the customer‑related Items 3.1 and 3.2 (listening posts). If
properly selected, improvements in the features should show a clear,
positive correlation with customer and overall performance management
improvement indicators.**

**The correlation between product/service performance and customer
indicators is a critical management toola device for defining and
focusing on key quality and customer requirements and for identifying
product/service differentiators in the marketplace or mission‑driven
environment. The correlation might reveal emerging or changing business
or mission requirements, the changing importance of requirements, or
even the potential obsolescence of products and/or services.**

**Product/service performance appropriate for inclusion might be based
upon one or more of the following: (1) internal (organizational)
measurements; (2) field performance; (3) data collected by the
organization or for the organization; or (4) customer surveys on product
and service performance. Data appropriate for reporting include internal
measurements and field performance, and data collected by the
organization or other organizations through follow‑ups for attributes
that cannot be accurately assessed through direct measurement (e.g.,
ease of use) or when variability in customer expectations makes the
customers perception the most meaningful indicator (e.g., courtesy).**

**7.2 Financial Performance Results**

**This Item addresses those factors that best reflect the organizations
financial and marketplace performance. Measures reported in this Item
will frequently be those key financial, non‑financial and market
measures (if applicable) tracked by senior leadership on an ongoing
basis to gauge overall performance and often used to determine
performance effectiveness for senior leaders. These measures may often
be found in an organizations performance outcomes and in goals and
objectives established to meet the requirements of the Government
Performance and Results Act.**

**Measures of financial performance reported in Item 7.2a(1) might
include return on investment, fiscal stewardship, cost/benefit and
cost/effectiveness measures, and other appropriate financial activity
measures, and other liquidity and financial activity measures. Fiscal
stewardship performance could include measures of value accruing to
clientele or mission in relation to budget levels, or aggregate value to
the government for levels of budget resources. Marketplace performance
is intended primarily for those organizations which operate in a
marketplace environment. Responses could include success in managing new
products or services, business growth, new products and geographic areas
entered, and other key market‑related measures, as appropriate.**

**Non‑financial measures of performance, and program impact and
accomplishment reported in Item 7.2a(2) would normally include
non‑financial outcomes, goals and objectives which are used by senior
leaders to determine how well a program or activity is doing in
achieving its intended objectives. These might also include measures
useful to agency heads and other key stakeholders (Congress, Office of
Management and Budget, the executive branch, public interest groups) in
framing an assessment of what the program or activity is accomplishing.
These measures might be the same as those incorporated in the
organizations performance outcomes, goals and objectives established as
part of a strategic plan or annual performance plan developed pursuant
to the Government Performance and Results Act.**

**Comparative data for measures in Item 7.2 might include agency best,
best competitor, agency average, and appropriate benchmarks from inside
or outside of the Government.**

**7.3 Human Resource Results**

**This Item addresses the organizations human resource resultsthose
relating to employee well‑being, satisfaction, development, motivation,
work system performance, and effectiveness.**

**Results reported could include generic and business‑ or
organization‑specific factors. Generic factors include safety,
absenteeism, turnover, and satisfaction. Organization‑specific factors
include those results measures commonly used in the industry or related
government function, or created by the organization for purposes of
tracking progress.**

**Results reported might include input data, such as extent of training,
but the main emphasis should be placed on measures of effectiveness.
Results reported for work system performance should include those
relevant to the organization, and might include measures of improvement
in job classification, job rotation, work layout, and changes in local
decision making.**

**The Item calls for comparative information so that results can be
evaluated meaningfully against competitors or other relevant external
measures of performance. For some measures, such as absenteeism and
turnover, local or regional comparisons also are appropriate.**

**7.4 Supplier and Partner Results**

**This Item addresses current levels and trends in key measures and/or
indicators of supplier and partner performance. Suppliers and partners,
both private and public, provide upstream and/or downstream
materials and services. The focus should be on the most critical
requirements from the point of view of your organizationthe buyer or
other direct recipient of the products and services. Data reported
should reflect results by whatever means they occurvia improvements by
suppliers and partners and/or through selection of better performing
suppliers and partners. Measures and indicators of performance should
relate to the principal factors involved in your organizations
purchases, e.g., quality, delivery, and price.**

**Data reported also should reflect how suppliers and partners have
contributed to your organizations performance goals. Results reported
could include cost savings; reductions in scrap, waste, or rework; and
cycle time or productivity enhancements.**

**The Item calls for comparative information so that results reported
can be meaningfully evaluated against competitors or other relevant
external measures of performance.**

**7.5 Organizational Effectiveness Results**

**This Item addresses key performance results not covered in Items 7.1
through 7.4 that contribute significantly to the organizations
goalscustomer satisfaction, product and service quality, operational
effectiveness, and financial/marketplace mission‑related performance.
The Item encourages the use of any unique measures the organization has
developed to track performance in areas important to the organization
not directly measured in previous Category 7 Items. Results should
reflect key process performance measures, including those that influence
customer satisfaction.**

**Measures of productivity, resource utilization and operational
effectiveness in all key areasproduct/service delivery areas and
support areasare appropriate for inclusion. Results of compliance with
regulatory/legal requirements should be reported.**

**Measures and/or indicators of operational effectiveness could include
the following: (1) environmental improvements reflected in emissions
levels, (2) waste stream reductions, by‑product use, and recycling; (3)
responsiveness indicators such as cycle time, lead times, and setup
times; (4) process assessment results such as customer assessment or
third‑party assessment (such as ISO standards); and (5)
business‑specific indicators such as innovation rates, innovation
effectiveness, cost reductions through innovation, time to market,
product/process yield, and complete and accurate shipments.**

**The Item calls for comparative information so that results reported
can be evaluated against competitors and/or other organizations with
similar missions, functions or processes, or other relevant external
measures of performance. These comparative data might include agency
best, best competitor or similar organization, agency average, and
appropriate benchmarks. Such data might be derived from independent
surveys, studies, laboratory testing, or other sources.**

**IV. GENERAL APPLICATION INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS**

**Application Information**

**General Eligibility**

**To apply to the Award Program, an organization must meet the following
conditions:**

** Be a part of the executive branch of the Federal Government;**

** Have no fewer than 100 full‑time Federal employees;**

** Be autonomous, with its own defined mission; and**

** Provide products and/or services to customers outside its own
organization or be an administrative or support organization for a
Cabinet department or executive branch agency (as indicated in the
Agency Limitations subsection).**

**Future Eligibility of Previous Award Recipients**

**Guidelines for eligibility follow:**

** An organization and any of its sub‑components may not compete in the
Presidents Quality Award Program during the same year.**

** Winners and their sub‑components are ineligible to compete for the
same award for four subsequent years. For example, the Defense Contract
Management Command, Long Island, winner of the 1998 Presidential Award,
or any of its sub‑components, may not compete again for the Presidential
Award until 2002. Also, prior winners of the Award for Quality
Improvement or their sub‑components are not eligible to compete for the
Award for Quality Improvement within four years subsequent to receiving
the Award, but they are eligible to compete for the Presidential
Award.**

** A sub‑component of a Presidential Award winner may compete for the
Award for Quality Improvement at any time.**

**Agency Limitations**

**Each Cabinet department and executive agency may submit a maximum
number of applications to the Presidents Quality Award Program,
according to its size:**

** Up to 20,000 employees4 applications**

** Up to 50,000 employees5 applications**

** Over 50,000 employees6 applications**

** The Department of Defense may submit a maximum of 6 applications for
each service (Army, Navy, and Air Force), and a total of 6 additional
applications for the other Defense agencies.**

**A Cabinet department or executive agency may submit one application
for an administrative or support organization within its quota. The
application must cover an entire function, not just a branch or
division. For example, an application could be submitted for an entire
finance department, but not for any office that is part of that
department. An administrative organization is eligible only for the
Award for Quality Improvement.**

**These limits are set to encourage agencies to conduct internal reviews
and select the best nominations. The Presidents Quality Award Program
is not intended to substitute for internal agency organizational
assessments.**

**The Office of Personnel Management notifies applicants that do not
satisfy these**

**requirements and their applications will not be evaluated.**

**Evaluation Process**

**Examiner teams from public and private sector organizations evaluate
the applications. Points are assigned to the written descriptions of
each Criteria Item, based on the scoring guidelines in Section VI.
Examiners do not review applications from organizations within their own
agency or from organizations with which they have or have had a
relationship.**

**Final Selection**

**A Panel of Judges, comprised of public and private sector
representatives, recommends winners for the Presidential Award for
Quality and the Award for Quality Improvement based on the evaluations
of the written applications and the results of site visits.**

**A standard of excellence is the ultimate criterion for selecting award
winners. The Judges are therefore not compelled to select winners in one
or both of the award**

**categories.**

**2000 Award Program Process and Time Frame**

**Step 1: Application Distribution, April 1999**

**Applications are distributed to agencies. Applications may be obtained
from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Preliminary copies of the
Criteria were distributed in February 1999.**

**Step 2: Agencies Establish Internal Review Process, by July 1999.**

**Each agency establishes its own internal review process. Due dates for
internal submissions are established by each agency.**

**Step 3: Application Submission to Agency Coordinators, July ‑
September 1999**

**Organizations prepare eight copies of the application. Organizations
submit applications to an agency‑designated central coordinator.**

**ORGANIZATIONS SELECTED FOR A SITE VISIT MUST SUBMIT EIGHT ADDITIONAL
APPLICATION COPIES TO OPM 1 WEEK FOLLOWING SELECTION.**

**Step 4: Application Submission to OPM, Due: October 6, 1999**

**Completed applications are reviewed at the agency level before
submission to OPM. Applications are due to OPM on or before October 6,
1999.**

**Step 5: Application Review, October 18‑22 and October 25‑29, 1999.**

**Applications are reviewed by OPM to meet eligibility requirements.
Following OPMs review, Examiner Teams meet to evaluate the merits of
each application. Organizations are selected for site visits based on
scoring of the application against the Criteria. Soon after the review,
organizations not selected for a site visit receive a feedback report
prepared by an Examiner team.**

**Step 6: Site Visit Review, November 1999 ‑ January 2000**

**Organizations are selected for site visits. Site‑visited organizations
submit eight additional applications. Site visits clarify, verify, and
supplement application information. They include a review of pertinent
records and data, and interviews with executives and employees.
Applicants selected for site visits are contacted by OPM. Applicants
work with a site visit team leader to schedule the visit and arrange
details.**

**Applicants cover Examiners travel and per diem costs for the visit.
The exact number of Examiners depends on the size and number of sites of
the organization visited.**

**A report, prepared by the site visit Examiner Team, is submitted to
the Panel of Judges.**

**Step 7: Judges Final Review, February 2000**

**The Panel of Judges conducts final reviews and presents award
recipient recommendations to OPM. The President makes final
determination of the organization(s) to receive the Presidential Award
for Quality. OPM makes final determination of the organization(s) to
receive other awards.**

**Annual Presidents Quality Award Program Ceremony, Summer 2000**

**Awards are presented at a special ceremony held in Washington, DC. The
year 2000 ceremony will be held in conjunction with a national
conference on quality and government improvement. Recipients of the
Presidential Award for Quality and the Award for Quality Improvement
receive special recognition for their outstanding accomplishments.
Site‑visited organizations may be recognized for their achievements at
the ceremony.**

**Feedback Reports, Reports Distributed, December 1999 ‑ April 2000**

**Applicants receive a feedback report after it is determined they will
not move to the next step of the Award process.**

**All feedback reports are prepared for organizations based on the
applicants responses to the Award Criteria.**

**Reports for site‑visited organizations are prepared by the Examiner
Team that conducted the visit, with input from the Panel of Judges.**

**Feedback reports contain comments on strengths and opportunities for
improvement. A report is prepared for each eligible applicant and sent
to the head of the applicant organization.**

**Award Recipients Responsibilities**

**Organizations recognized by the Presidents Quality Award Program
demonstrate meaningful results through the use of quality management
principles and practices and continuously improve their performance and
future capabilities. Award recipients serve as government models of
excellence. They demonstrate a commitment to and responsibility for
improving their systems and processes to provide quality**

**products and services to customers.**

**Each Award recipient is asked to:**

** Participate in: (1) the conference on quality and government
improvement, (2) forums on Federal quality held throughout the year, and
(3) at other educational programs on performance improvement;**

** Coordinate activities and develop products associated with the Award
Program Ceremony;**

** Host site visits for interested groups; and**

** Respond to inquiries and requests for information from interested
parties on**

**performance improvement efforts.**

**Costs**

**Applicants cover the cost of application preparation. Applicants
selected for site**

**visits cover all travel and per diem expenses of all Examiner Team
members.**

**Award recipients cover all travel costs to and from the conferences
and forums.**

**Application Instructions**

**General Directions**

**To apply for the Presidents Quality Award Program, please:**

**1) Complete the Nomination Form found in Section X;**

**2) Prepare an Organization Overview. Specific guidance and
instructions are provided on pages 57‑59.**

**3) Prepare a written application that addresses the questions
associated with the 19 Criteria Items found in Section II. The Items are
fully described in Section III. Specific guidance for responding to each
Item is described on pages 59‑64.**

**4) Make the application stand on its own by:**

** Responding to all questions for each Area to Address;**

** Assuming the Examiners reviewing the document have no prior
knowledge about the organization;**

** Developing concise responses that are quantitative, where
possible;**

** Supporting response statements with facts and information.
Assertions unsupported by plausible data, information, or facts receive
no credit during the application evaluation; and**

** Defining terminology specific to the mission and function of the
organization. If acronyms are used, define them and provide a glossary.
Glossary pages are not counted in the page limits specified below.**

**Application Format and Guidelines**

**The Organization Overview must be limited to five pages. These pages
are not counted in the overall page limits specified below. An
organization with fewer than 20,000 employees should prepare an
application of no more than 50 pages, including all illustrative
attachments (charts, graphs, quality vision statement, etc.). An
organization with 20,000 or more employees should prepare an application
of no more than 60 pages, including attachments. Pages in excess of the
50 or 60‑page limit will not be examined.**

**It is suggested that applicants prepare the Organization Overview
first, and use it as a guide to write and review the written application
addressing each of the 19 Criteria Items.**

**Guidelines for Submitting Applications**

** Submit eight copies of the completed application package. Each copy
must include a nomination form.**

** Print or type applications using 12 point font/typeface or larger.
Applications in smaller fonts or typefaces will not be read.**

** Use 9‑point font/typeface or larger for all graphs and charts. To
accomplish this, some graphs and charts may need to be created in larger
font sizes and reduced to 9‑point font. This guideline ensures that
Examiners can read all charts and graphs. Applicants will not get credit
for information presented in graphs and charts too small to be read.**

** Label each Criteria Item sub‑element (e.g., 1.1a., 1.2b.) separately
before preparing the Item response.**

** Conveniently package the application (e.g., staple or spiral bind).
Do not submit bulky, hard‑to‑transport documents. Applications submitted
in three‑ring binders or comparably bulky formats will not be examined.
Do not use multi‑color print or glossy paper.**

**Role of Examiners and Judges**

**The Examiners and Judges are customers in the application review
process. The above guidelines are based on feedback gathered directly
from them. As suppliers in the application review process, applicants
should strive to satisfy the customers needs. By doing so, Examiners
are able to produce a more comprehensive feedback report that accurately
reflects the applicants status in relation to the Criteria.**

**Agency Coordinator and Contact Point**

**Each agency should designate a central coordinator responsible for
serving as an internal contact point and for submitting applications to
OPM. The coordinator assures that: (1) the quota for submissions
previously outlined is observed, (2) application packages are
appropriately prepared and bound, and (3) all applicants meet
eligibility requirements.**

**Agency submissions are sent to OPM as a package. Applicants should
contact OPM if they do not know their agencys current coordinator and
contact point.**

**OPM Contact Point and Submission of Applications**

**For further information on eligibility requirements, application
procedures and the Award Criteria, please contact:**

**U.S. Office of Personnel Management**

**Barbara Smith**

**Presidents Quality Award Program**

**1900 E Street, NW Room 6468**

**Washington, DC 20415‑5200**

**Telephone: (202) 606‑2871**

**FAX: (202) 606‑0919**

**E‑mail: bksmith@opm.gov**

**To apply, applicants should send eight copies of the complete
application package (including nomination form) to their agency contact
point. The agency contact will submit applications to the above
address.**

**Applicants selected for site visits will be asked to submit eight
additional copies of the application to OPM immediately following
notification of selection.**

**Applicant Submission Date**

**The Office of Personnel Management must receive applications by
October 6, 1999. OPM will review each application to verify eligibility.
Applications received after this date are not eligible for the 2000
Presidents Quality Award Program.**

**V. PREPARING AN APPLICATION PACKAGE**

**To prepare a Presidents Quality Award Program package, an applicant
responds to a series of questions associated with the 19 Criteria Items.
Responses are limited to 50 or 60 pages or less (depending on size of
the organization). Also, the applicant prepares an Organization
Overview. The Organization Overview is limited to 6 pages. These pages
are not counted in the overall application page limit of 50 or 60
pages.**

**Guidelines to prepare the Organization Overview and respond to the
Criteria Item questions are discussed below.**

**General Response Guidance**

**A. Read the entire Application package.**

**The main sections of the package provide an overall orientation to the
Criteria, including how applicants responses are evaluated. Applicants
should be thoroughly familiar with the following sections:**

** Performance Excellence Criteria  Section II**

** Category, Item and Area Descriptions  Section III**

** Scoring System and Guidelines  Section VI**

** Glossary of Key Terms  Section IX**

**B. Prepare the Organization Overview**

**To develop an application, applicants should begin by preparing the
Organization Overview. The Overview provides a background and
description of the key elements most important to the organizations
mission and business. The Overview highlights the following: an overall
organization description (e.g., mission, size, location, etc.),
principal factors influencing performance success, key major customers
and their requirements, important external organizations such as
suppliers and partners, and other features uniquely important to the
applicant organization.**

**The Organization Overview is important because it sets the stage for
the application review. It helps the Examiners understand: (1) what is
relevant and important to the applicants mission and function, (2) key
factors influencing how the organization operates, and (3) the
organizations future directions. These factors significantly influence
how the application is evaluated, and ultimately, how it is scored.**

**Examiner Team members use the Organization Overview in all stages of
the review, including the site visit. The Overview is particularly
important when reviewing the applicants Business Results (Category 7).
The Examiner team reviews Business Results Items in relation to the
applicants overall mission and operation. To help the Examiner team
make the assessment, they review the results relative to the factors
reported in the Organization Overview. Scoring of Results Items relies
heavily on how and if the Items are linked to the areas of importance
identified in the Organization Overview.**

**The Organization Overview should contain five elements:**

**1. Basic Organization Description**

**Applicants should provide the following information about the
organization:**

** its mission, products, and services;**

** its size, location and profile of employees, including number,
types, educational levels, bargaining units, and safety requirements;**

** the organizations culture; its purpose, vision, mission, and values
as appropriate;**

** its major markets or mission/service areas (local, regional,
national, or international);**

** chart depicting current organizational structure;**

** major equipment, facilities and technology used; and**

** brief history of when and how quality principles and tools have
been/are used to improve organizational performance.**

**If your organization is a subunit of a larger organization,
describe:**

** the organizational relationship to your parent and percent of
employees the subunit represents;**

** how products and services relate to those of your parent and other
units of the parent organization, and;**

** key support services, if any, that your parent organization
provides.**

**2. Principal Factors Determining Performance Success**

**Applicants should provide the following information:**

** important performance factors such as regulatory clarification,
reduction or simplification, product innovation, cost reduction,
technology, productivity or other changes taking place in the
organization affecting program success; and**

** explanation and illustration of how these factors influence
organizational success elsewhere in the application, particularly
Category 7, Business Results.**

**3. Customer Requirements**

**Applicants should provide the following information:**

** list of principal customers and their category (voluntary, entitled,
compelled) where appropriate, and principal customer types (consumers,
other government agencies, etc.). Note any special relationships, such
as partnerships with customers or customer groups;**

** key customer requirements for major products and services (e.g.,
on‑time delivery, defect rates, etc.); and**

** description of significant differences, if any, in requirements
among customer groups.**

**4. Supplier and Partnering Relationships**

**Applicants should provide the following information:**

** types and numbers of principal suppliers and partners;**

** most important types of suppliers, dealers and other businesses;
and.**

** limitations or special requirements that may exist in dealing with
some or all suppliers and partners.**

**5. Other Strategic Factors Important to the Applicant**

**Applicants should provide the following information:**

** competitive factors, if applicable, such as the organizations
position (size) in the industry, numbers and types of competitors, and
principal factors determining competitive success;**

** major new thrusts or future challenges;**

** introduction of new technologies;**

** laws or regulations significantly affecting operations; and**

** new organizational alliances/partners.**

**C. Review the Criteria Item Format**

**The Criteria Item format (see the Item Format figure) shows the
different parts of Items, what each part is for, and where each part is
placed. It is especially important to understand the Areas to Address
and the Item Notes. All Items and Areas to Address are described in
Section III.**

**Each Item is classified either A‑D or R, depending on the type of
information required. The meaning of these classification symbols is
given on page 66. Guidelines for responding to Approach/Deployment Items
are given on pages 59‑62. Guidelines for responding to Results Items are
given on pages 62‑64.**

**Item requirements are presented in question format, sometimes with
modifying statements. Item responses should contain answers to all
questions and modifying statements, however, each question need not be
answered separately. Responses to multiple questions within a single
Area to Address may be grouped, if appropriate.**

**Criteria Response Guidance**

**The Criteria response guidelines are presented in two parts: (A)
Guidelines for Responding to Approach/Deployment Items and (B)
Guidelines for Responding to Results Items.**

**A. Guidelines for Responding to Approach/Deployment Items**

**The Award Criteria focus on performance results (Category 7.) However,
results by themselves offer little diagnostic value. For example, if
results are poor in some areas or improving at rates slower than other
similar programs, it is important to understand why this is so and what
might be done to accelerate improvement. Approach/Deployment Items
permit diagnosis of the applicants most important systems, activities
and processesthose that offer the greatest potential for fast‑paced
improvement of the applicants performance. Diagnosis and feedback
depend heavily upon the content and completeness of Approach/Deployment
Item responses. For this reason, it is important to respond to these
Items by providing key process information. Guidelines for organizing
such information follow.**

**1. Understand the meaning of how.**

**Items that request information on approach include Areas to Address
that begin with the word how. Responses should outline key process
information such as methods used, measures of progress and assessment,
how the approach is deployed, and evaluation/improvement factors. These
should be designed to permit the reader to gain an understanding of the
key operating factors of the approach, how it functions on a continuing,
systematic and day‑to‑day basis. Responses lacking such information, or
merely providing examples, are referred to in the Scoring Guidelines as
anecdotal information.**

**2. Write response(s) with the following quidelines in mind:**

** Describe what the key processes are and how they work**

**It is important to give basic information about what the
organizations key processes are, how they work and who is responsible
for them. It is not sufficient to state who is responsible for a given
process, such as customer satisfaction data are analyzed by the
Customer Service Division. The application should describe when, how
and by whom the data are analyzed and what is done with the information
so that the reader understands the mechanics of how the process is
carried out.**

** Show that activities are systematic**

**Provide information to show that approaches are systematic in contrast
to examples or anecdotal accounts of activity. Systematic approaches are
carried out continuously over time, with built‑in cycles for
improvement. Systematic approaches over time permit continuous learning,
improvement, and maturity.**

** Show deployment**

**Responses should provide information to clearly indicate the extent to
which approaches are deployed to appropriate units within the
organization. If information is provided regarding an activity or
approach in only one part of the organization, evaluators will assume it
is isolated to that unit.**

**An effective technique to show deployment compactly is the use of
summary tables that outline what is accomplished in different parts of
the organization. Where tables are used, they should be supported by a
summary of the basic approach in the accompanying narrative.**

** Show focus and consistency**

**Responses should provide clear evidence that the organization is
focusing on key processes (those that have the greatest impact on
performance of the organizations mission) and improvements that offer
the greatest potential to improve performance.**

**There are four areas where focus and consistency should be evident:
(1) the Organization Overview should make clear what is important; (2)
the Strategic Planning Category, including strategy and action plans,
should highlight the areas of greatest focus and describe how deployment
is accomplished; (3) descriptions of organization‑level analysis (Item
4.2) should show how the organization analyzes performance information
to set priorities; and (4) the Process Management Category should
highlight product, service, support, and supplier processes that are key
to overall performance. When describing activities in the
Approach‑Deployment Items, focus and consistency can be demonstrated
when accompanied by reporting corresponding results in appropriate Items
of Category 7.**

** Respond fully to Item requirements**

**Responses should include information on the important parts of each
Area to Address. Missing information will be interpreted as a gap in
approach and/or deployment.**

**3. Show that Items are systematically related to one another.**

**Approach/Deployment Items should reflect an overall and integrated
management system rather than isolated processes. Accordingly, responses
should indicate how Approach/Deployment Items reinforce and support
other closely linked Items, where appropriate.**

**4. Cross‑reference when appropriate.**

**While all Items are potentially linked, applicants should try to make
each Item response self‑contained. However, there may be instances when
responses to different Items are mutually reinforcing. It is then
appropriate to reference responses to other Items, rather than to repeat
information. In such cases, applicants should use designators (e.g.,
see 2.3a below).**

**5. Use a compact format.**

**Applicants should make the best use of the 50 or 60 pages permitted.
Applicants are encouraged to use flow charts, tables, and bulleted
presentation of information.**

**6. Refer to the Scoring Guidelines**

**Criteria Item responses are evaluated by reviewing the Item
requirements and the maturity of the approaches, breadth of deployment,
and improvement process strength relative to the Scoring Guidelines.
Therefore, Criteria users need to consider both the Criteria and the
Scoring Guidelines.**

**B. Guidelines for Responding to Results Items**

**The Criteria place greatest emphasis on results. The following
information and guidelines relate to effective and complete presentation
of results.**

**1. Focus on the most critical business results.**

**Results reported should cover the most important requirements for
business success. These requirements should be highlighted in the
Organization Overview and the Strategic Planning Category.**

**2. Show relation between Results and Approach/Deployment Items.**

**The most meaningful Results are those which are the consequence of
systematic approaches to meeting the goals and objectives rather than
isolated or ad hoc accomplishments. Accordingly, the application should
demonstrate a clear linkage between Results and Approach/Deployment
Items reported elsewhere in the application. These linkages should
suggest a cause‑effect relationship between Approach/Deployment Items
and reported Results, either directly or indirectly.**

**3. Be guided by the following factors that ensure effective reporting
of results data:**

** Trends are used to show directions of results and rates of change.**

** Performance levels show performance on some meaningful measurement
scale.**

** Breadth of results should show that all important results are
included.**

** Comparisons are used to show how results compare with those of other
appropriately selected organizations.**

**4. Include trend data covering actual periods for tracking trends.**

**Trend data should be provided whenever appropriate and possible.
However, because of the importance of showing focus and deployment, new
data should be included even if trends and comparisons are not yet well
established. No minimum time is specified for trend data. Time periods
might span five years or more for some results.**

**5. Use a compact formatgraphs and tables.**

**Make every effort to provide key information in a concise and compact
form. One way to accomplish this is by using graphs and tables. Label
graphs and tables for easy interpretation. Results over time or compared
with others should be normalizedpresented in a way (such as use of
ratios) that takes into account various size factors. For example, if an
organizations work force has been declining, reporting safety results
in terms of accidents per 100 employees would permit more meaningful
trend data than total accidents.**

**6. Integrate results into the body of the text.**

**When the response uses graphs or tables, describe the results in the
body of the text in summary form. Present the text close to the
graphical or table information. Use figure numbers that correspond to
Item numbers. For example, the third table providing information for
Item 6.1 might be captioned Table 6.1‑3.**

**The chart on page 64 illustrates data an applicant might present as
part of a response to Item 7.5, Organizational Effectiveness Results. A
major function of the applicant is processing of applications for
licenses under the jurisdiction of the applicants regulatory authority.
In the Organization Overview and in Item 3.1, the applicant has
indicated that consistent processing of applications for licenses within
the target time frame is a key customer requirement.**

**Using the chart, the following characteristics of clear and effective
data reporting are illustrated:**

** The chart is labeled with a figure number and title.**

** Both axes and units of measure are clearly labeled.**

** Trend lines report data for a key operational requirementprocessing
of applications within target time frame.**

** Results are presented for several years.**

** Appropriate comparisons are clearly shown.**

** The organization shows, using a single chart, that its three major
types of services (three types of applications) are separately tracked
for on‑time processing.**

**To help interpret the Scoring Guidelines (page 68), the following
comments on the charted results would be appropriate:**

** The current overall organization performance level is excellent
compared with that of another Presidents Quality Award Program
Award‑winning government organization with similar application
processing functions against which the applicant has chosen to compare
itself.**

** The organization shows excellent improvement trends.**

** The organizations performance with Type A applications is clearly
superior  showing sustained high performance and a slightly positive
trend. The performance for Type B applications, while lagging that of
Type A, shows rapid improvement, and already is near the performance of
the high‑performing comparable organization.**

** Processing of Type C applicationsa new responsibility of the
organizationis having early problems. In its Award Program application,
the organization has analyzed and explained these early problems, and
explained actions it is taking to improve performance.**

**VI. SCORING SYSTEM AND GUIDELINES**

**Scoring System**

**The system for scoring applicant responses to Criteria Items (Items)
and for developing feedback is based upon three evaluation dimensions:
(1) Approach, (2) Deployment, and (3) Results. Criteria users need to
furnish information relating to these dimensions. Specific factors
associated with the evaluation dimensions are described below.**

**Approach**

**Approach refers to the design or methodology in reference to the
Item requirements. The factors used to evaluate approach include:**

** Appropriateness of the methods to the requirements;**

** Effectiveness of use of methods;**

** Degree to which approach is systematic, integrated, consistently
applied;**

** Degree to which approach embodies evaluation, improvement, and
learning cycles;**

** Degree to which approach is based upon objective, reliable
data/information;**

** Degree to which approach is prevention based;**

** Alignment with organizational needs; and**

** Evidence of innovation, including significant and effective
adaptations of approaches used in other types of applications.**

**Deployment**

**Deployment refers to the extent to which the approach is applied to
all requirements of the Item. The factors used to evaluate deployment
include:**

** Use of the approach in addressing operational and Item
requirements;**

** Application of the approach to all business products/services,
transactions with customers and suppliers, and support
functions/processes; and**

** Use of the approach by all appropriate work units.**

**Results**

**Results refers to outcomes in achieving the purposes in the Item.
The factors used to evaluate results include:**

** Current performance levels;**

** Performance levels relative to appropriate comparisons and/or
benchmarks;**

** Rate, breadth and importance of performance improvements;**

** Demonstration of sustained improvement and/or high‑level
performance; and**

** Linkage of results measures to key customer, market, mission,
process and action plan performance requirements identified in the
Organization Overview and in Approach/Deployment Items.**

**Item Classification and Scoring Dimensions**

**Criteria Items are classified according to the kinds of information
and/or data applicants are expected to furnish.**

**The two types of Items and their designations are:**

**1. Approach/Deployment (A‑D)**

**2. Results (R)**

**Approach and Deployment are linked to emphasize that descriptions of
Approach should always convey Deployment consistent with the specific
requirements of the Item. Although Approach and Deployment dimensions
are linked, feedback to the applicant reflects strengths and/or areas
for improvement in either or both dimensions.**

**Results Items depend on data demonstrating performance levels and
trends on key measures and/or indicators of organizational performance.
However, the evaluation factor, breadth and importance of performance
improvements, is concerned with how widespread and how significant an
applicants improvement results are. This is directly related to the
Deployment dimension. That is, if improvement processes are widely
deployed, there should be corresponding results. A score for a Results
Item is thus a composite based upon overall performance, taking into
account the breadth and importance of improvements.**

**Relevance and Importance as a Scoring Factor**

**The three evaluation dimensions described above (Approach, Deployment,
and Results) are critical to assessment and feedback. However,
evaluation and feedback will also consider the relevance and importance
to the applicants organization of reported improvements in these
dimensions. The areas of greatest importance should be addressed in the
Organization Overview and are a primary focus of Items related to the
organi‑zations customers and final products and services, such as Items
2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 6.1, 7.1, and 7.5. Of particular importance are the key
customer requirements, key strategic drivers and action plans.**

**Results presented in the application must be important to the
organization in order to have a significant impact on the score.
Guidelines for scoring Results Items are found in the Scoring Guidelines
Summary (page 68). Applicants should make sure that important areas
described in the Organization Overview have related performance
indicators which are reported in Category 7. Applications should show
linkages between results in Category 7 and in other Category elements
such as key customer requirements and process management.**

**Assignment of Scores to Criteria Responses**

**Presidents Quality Award Program Examiners observe the following
guidelines when assigning scores to applicants responses:**

** All relevant Areas to Address should be included in the Item
response. Also, responses should reflect what is relevant and important
to the organizations operations and mission.**

** Before assigning a score to an Item, Examiners first review the Item
in relation to the Organization Overview to determine what is important
to the applicant organization and its strategic directions. Examiners
look for linkages among Items, especially between Results and
Approach/Deployment Items in order to assure that the Item reflects a
systematic approach to performance excellence.**

** In assigning a score to an Item, an Examiner first decides which
scoring range (e.g., 50% to 60%) best fits the overall Item response.
Overall best fit does not require total agreement with each of the
statements for that scoring range. Actual score within the range depends
upon an Examiners judgment of the closeness of the Item response in
relation to the statements in the next higher and next lower scoring
ranges.**

** An Approach/Deployment Item score of 50% represents an approach that
meets the basic objectives of the Item and that is deployed to the
principal activities and work units covered in the Item. Higher scores
reflect maturity (cycles of improvement), integration, and broader
deployment.**

** A Results Item score of 50% represents clear indication of
improvement trends and/or good levels of performance in the principal
results areas covered in the Item. Higher scores reflect better
improvement rates and comparative performance as well as broader
coverage.**

**SCORING GUIDELINES**

**Approach/Deployment**

**Score Results**

**0%  No systematic approach evident; anecdotal information**

**10% to 20%  Beginning of a systematic approach to the basic purposes
of the Item**

** Major gaps exist in deployment that would inhibit progress in
achieving the primary purposes of the Item**

** Early stages of a transition from reacting to problems to a general
improvement orientation**

**30% to 40%  A sound, systematic approach, responsive to the basic
purposes of the Item**

** Approach is deployed in most of the organizations key business
areas, although some areas or work units are in early stages of
deployment**

** Beginning of a systematic approach to evaluation and improvement of
basic Item processes**

**50% to 60%  A sound, systematic approach, responsive to the overall
purposes of the Item**

** Approach is well deployed in all aspects of the organizations key
business, although deployment may vary in some areas or work units**

** A fact‑based, systematic evaluation and improvement process is in
place for basic Item processes**

** Approach is aligned with basic organizational needs identified in
the other Criteria Categories**

**70% to 80%  A sound, systematic approach, responsive to the overall
Item purpose and to most of the specific requirements of the Item**

** Approach is well deployed throughout the organization, with no
significant gaps**

** A fact‑based, systematic evaluation and improvement process and
organizational learning/sharing are key management tools; clear evidence
of refinement and improved integration as a result of
organizational‑level analysis and sharing**

** Approach is well integrated with organizational needs identified in
the other Criteria Categories**

**90% to 100%  A sound, systematic approach, fully responsive to all
the requirements of the Item**

** Approach is fully deployed without significant weaknesses or gaps in
any areas or work units**

** A very strong, fact‑based, systematic evaluation and improvement
process and extensive organizational learning/sharing are key management
tools; strong refinement and integration, backed by excellent
organizational‑level analysis and sharing**

** Approach is fully integrated with organizational needs identified in
the other Criteria Categories**

**Results**

**Score Results**

**0%  No results or poor results in areas reported**

**10% to 20%  Some improvements and/or early good performance levels in
a few areas**

** Results not reported for many to most areas of importance to the
organizations key business requirements**

** Favorable results reported, but not those which are most important
to the organizations key business and performance requirements**

**30% to 40%  Improvements and/or early good performance levels in many
areas of importance to the organizations key business requirements**

** Early stages of developing trends and obtaining comparative
information**

** Results reported for many to most areas of importance to the
organizations key business requirements**

**50% to 60%  Improvement trends and/or good performance levels
reported for most areas of importance to the organizations key business
requirements**

** No pattern of adverse trends and no poor performance levels in areas
of importance to the organizations key business requirements**

** Some trends and/or current performance levelsevaluated against
relevant comparisons and/or benchmarksshow areas of strength and/or
good to very good relative performance levels**

** Business results address most key customer, market, process, and
action plan requirements**

**70% to 80%  Current performance is good to excellent in most areas of
importance to the organizations key business requirements**

** Most improvement trends and/or performance levels are sustained**

** Many to most trends and/or performance levelsevaluated against
relevant comparisons and/or benchmarksshow areas of leadership and very
good relative performance levels**

** Business results address most key customer, market, process, and
action plan requirements**

**90% to 100%  Current performance is excellent in most areas of
importance to the organizations key business requirements**

** Excellent improvement trends and/or sustained excellent performance
levels in most areas**

** Evidence of agency and benchmark leadership demonstrated in many
areas**

** Business results fully address key customer, market, process, and
action plan requirements**

**NOTE: To better understand the key terms such as basic purpose and
specific requirements of the Item, see Item Format model on page 60.**

**VII. Using the Performance Excellence Criteria for Organization
Self‑Assessment**

**Introduction**

**Self‑assessment looks at the health of an organization. Effective
organizations assess their performance to identify strengths and
pinpoint opportunities to improve management practices and programs.
Through continuous self‑assessment, organizations can review, prioritize
and select the best approaches for getting results.**

**Many organizations follow a four‑step approach to systematically
improve performance: the plan, do, check, and act process. By
completing a self‑assessment, the check element of the process, an
organization can baseline their performance. This baseline enables
organizations to identify gaps in their performance plan, and track
progress toward filling the gaps and reaching positive performance
outcomes.**

**Linking Self‑Assessment to the Government Performance and Results
Act**

**The 103rd United States Congress enacted the Government Performance
and Results Act of 1993 to provide for the establishment of strategic
planning and performance measurement in the Federal Government.**

**The Results Act requires agencies to submit a strategic plan for
program activities containing a comprehensive mission statement covering
the major functions and agency operations. Further, the Act requires
agencies to prepare an annual performance plan which has measurable
goals. The performance plan must be evaluated against objective
measurements and through systematic process analysis.**

**While the Results Act requires agencies to assess their performance,
the manner in which assessments are performed is not prescribed. By
using the Award Programs Performance Excellence Criteria for
self‑assessment, agencies have a well developed, comprehensive framework
for evaluating performance.**

**The Benefits of Using the Criteria for Self‑Assessment**

**Currently, many organizations use the Award Programs Criteria for
self‑assessment, but do not apply to the Program. Since the Criteria
define key elements of high‑performing organizations, using the Criteria
for an internal organization review has many benefits:**

** You can gain a systematic and informed assessment of how well your
organization currently performs, and how well it stacks up against the
Criteria and other high‑performing organizations.**

** You can identify key operating processes, set measurable performance
goals and track progress toward meeting the goals, a Results Act
requirement.**

** The Criteria provide you with a tool for establishing and fine
tuning organization performance measures against which you can review
your results in customer service, effective stewardship of public
resources, human resources, suppliers and partnership management, and
other organization elements.**

** The internal review helps identify commonly shared views of the
organizations strengths and improvement opportunities and take action
on those opportunities most important to the organization.**

** The review generates discussion topics that start a dialogue between
managers and employees on improving internal operations, both short‑ and
long‑term.**

**Organizations are encouraged to use the Award Programs Criteria for
self‑assessment and to continuously improve performance.**

**VIII. 2000 PRESIDENTS QUALITY AWARD PROGRAM SUMMARY OF CHANGES**

**General Program Changes**

**The Criteria continue to evolve toward comprehensive coverage of
strategy‑driven performance, addressing the needs of all
stakeholderscustomers, employees,**

**suppliers and partners, the Congress, special interest groups, and the
public. The 2000 Criteria further strengthen the systems view of
performance management and place a greater emphasis on aligning key
components of the performance management system. The roles of data,
information, and analysis in measuring and managing performance are
emphasized. Increased focus has been given to all aspects of
organizational and employee learning and knowledge sharing, as well as
to segmentation of markets, customers, and employee groups to improve
information gathering and decision making.**

**The Presidents Quality Award Program continues to reflect the
evolving standards**

**of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) with
modifications to reflect a Federal Government environment.**

**The most significant changes in the Criteria and in the Programs
Information and Application are summarized below:**

** The number of Items has been reduced from 20 to 19 due to the
reformatting of Category 4.0, Information and Analysis. The Areas to
Address have been reduced from 29 to 27.**

** All Items have been rewritten as questions to enhance clarity and
readability.**

** The Scoring Guidelines have been revised and expanded to better link
scoring dimensions to Criteria requirements.**

** The overall Category point distribution has changed. Category 1,
Leadership (125 pts) and Category 7, Business Results (400 pts) are
assigned higher point values than the other five categories,
representing the relative importance of these Categories to an
organizations performance management system. The remaining five
Categories are all assigned 95 points, in recognition that each Category
is equally important to a high‑performing organization.**

** Overall guidance and application information was reorganized to help
Program applicants. All general application information is now organized
into one section, Section IV, General Application Information and
Instructions. Material related to preparing an application, including
preparing the Organization Overview, is now found in one section,
Section V, Preparing an Application Package.**

** The Organization Overview now includes five elements. The new
element asks applicants to address the principal factors for determining
performance success.**

** Section VII, Using the Performance Excellence Criteria for
Organization Self‑Assessment has been added to highlight the benefits of
using the Criteria for internal evaluation.**

** Information on Core Values and Concepts (now Section I) has been
moved forward in the package to stress its importance in applying the
Criteria.**

** In 1999, the MBNQA published Criteria for Health Care and Education
organizations. To assist Federal organizations with health care and
education missions apply the Presidents Quality Award Program Criteria,
this package contains supplementary guidance and Notes found on pages
73‑80.**

** Guidelines for submitting applications have been revised. Applicants
should now submit eight copies of their completed applications.
Organizations selected for site visits will be asked to submit
additional applications. Applicants are not required to submit a disk
copy of their application. Additional details and font size requirements
are found in Section IV.**

**Significant changes by Category are:**

**Category 1Leadership.**

**Item 1.1 is now Organizational Leadership to emphasize the role of
senior leaders in setting direction and guiding the organization. Area
1.1b, Organizational Performance Review, has been moved to this Item
from 1999 Item 4.3 to emphasize the senior leaders role in and
responsibility for performance review. Category points are now 125
versus 130 for 1999.**

**Category 2Strategic Planning.**

**Item 2.1 is now Strategy Development, with two key purposes: (1) a
description of the strategy development process, and (2) a statement of
the key current strategic objectives that result from that process. Item
2.2 is now Strategy Deployment, with emphasis on the important steps in
deploying strategy: developing and identifying action plans to address
the organizations strategic objectives, identifying key performance
measures to track progress, and deploying the action plans and
performance measures. Category points are now 95 versus 80 for 1999.**

**Category 3Customer Focus.**

**Item 3.2, Customer Satisfaction and Relationships, now has two Areas
to Address, reduced from three in 1999. The new Area 3.2a, Customer
Relationships, combines the 1999 Areas that dealt with accessibility,
complaint management and relationships building. This change is intended
to recognize the importance of accessibility and successful complaint
management as components of building positive customer relationships.
Category points are now 95 versus 80 for 1999.**

**Category 4Information and Analysis.**

**This Category now contains two Items, reduced from three in 1999.
Category emphasis has shifted to focus on organizational performance
measurement and analysis as the purposes for data and information
gathering. Item 4.1, Measurement of Organizational Performance, replaces
Items 4.1 and 4.2 from 1999. The Item emphasizes the key information and
data, including comparative and benchmark information and development
and use of data needed for: (1) an effective performance measurement
system and (2) alignment of performance throughout the organization.
Item 4.2 is now Analysis of Organizational Performance (formerly in Item
4.3). The review function, as stated above, is now in Item 1.1. Category
points are now 95 versus 80 for 1999.**

**Category 5Human Resource Focus.**

**Item 5.1, Work Systems, has been expanded in scope to include: how
managers and supervisors motivate employees, a description of the
employee performance management system, and a description of recruitment
and hiring practices. Item 5.3, Employee Well‑Being and Satisfaction,
has been modified to include consideration of the needs of a diverse
work force. Category points are now 95 versus 120 for 1999.**

**Category 6Process Management.**

**Item 6.3, Supplier and Partnering Processes, has been strengthened
through identification of the key products and services purchased from
suppliers/partners and through a focus on how effective interaction with
suppliers and partners is ensured. The titles of Items 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3
have been changed slightly, dropping the words Management of since the
Category title is Process Management. Category points are now 95 versus
110 for 1999.**

**Category 7Business Results.**

**Item 7.1 is now Customer Focused Results instead of Customer
Satisfaction Results. This change is intended to include all results
that indicate the organizations success in all aspects of the
customers experience. These results include direct measures of
satisfaction and dissatisfaction, indirect measures such as loyalty and
positive referrals, and measures of program, product and service
performance. Item 7.2 is now Financial Performance Results instead of
Overall Financial and Performance Results. Item 7.4 includes reporting
results relating to contractor employees. Item 7.5 is now Organizational
Effectiveness Results instead of Organization Specific Results. This
change is intended to focus attention on those operational performance
results that affect achievement of organizational effectiveness.
Category points remain at 400; however, points assigned to 7.1, 7.2 and
7.4 Items have changed from 1999.**

**Scoring Guidelines.**

**The Scoring Guidelines have been revised to provide a better
description of the performance attributes that accompany increasing
scores, and hence increasing performance system maturity. Scores are
presented in 20% ranges to provide greater definition and
differentiation of performance. Scoring range descriptors have been
added that emphasize performance system alignment in both the
approach/deployment and results dimensions. Specific approach/deployment
descriptors have been added that emphasize the growing performance
system maturity that results from cycles of evaluation, improvement, and
organizational learning.**

**2000 Presidents Quality Award Criteria users are cautioned that some
changes in wording have been made in all Items, many Item Notes, and the
Scoring Guidelines. These changes help clarify how the Criteria can be
better used for the award process and self‑assessment.**

**Guidance for Government Health Care Organizations and Education
Institutions**

**In 1998, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) Program
added award categories for health care organizations and education
institutions. The Program developed specialized sets of Performance
Excellence Criteria to recognize the unique aspects and environments of
health‑related and educational organizations. These new categories were
established under the Technology Administration Act of 1998,
authorizing non‑profit and for‑profit education and health care
organizations to apply for the MBNQA.**

**The Presidents Quality Award Program will continue to develop one set
of Criteria that applies to Federal Government organizations with all
mission types. However, since the MBNQA created a special set of
Criteria for organizations with health care and education‑related
missions, Federal Government organizations with these missions may apply
to either the Presidents Quality Award Program or the MBNQA.**

**We encourage Federal organizations in health care and
education‑related missions to review the MBNQA Criteria and use them for
self‑assessment, performance improvement, and as a reference and guide
when applying to the Presidents Quality Award Program. The Criteria are
available from the MBNQA by calling (301) 975‑2036, or through the
Programs web site: http://www.quality.nist.gov. Please note that the
existing Health Care and Education Criteria are the 1998 edition. They
do not directly correspond to the changes incorporated in the 1999 MBNQA
nor this years Presidents Quality Award Program.**

**Federal health care organizations and education institutions applying
to this years Award Program should use the Performance Excellence
Criteria found in this application package. However, to more effectively
respond to the Criteria, organizations may wish to use the following
Category descriptions and supplemental Category Item Notes as additional
guidance.**

**Health Care Supplementary Information**

**Category 1Leadership**

**This Category examines how health care organization senior leaders
address values and performance expectations as well as a focus on
customers and other stakeholders, empowerment, innovation, learning and
organizational directions. The Category also examines how health care
organizations address responsibilities to the public and supports its
key communities.**

**Supplementary Category Item Notes:**

**1.1 Organizational Leadership**

**N1. Senior leaders include the head of the organization and his or her
direct reports. In health care organizations with separate
administrative/operational and health care provider leadership, senior
leaders refers to both sets of leaders and the relationships among those
leaders to create a leadership system.**

**1.2 Organization Responsibility and Citizenship**

**N1. In addition to actions to build community health, areas of
community support appropriate for 1.2b might include efforts by the
organization to strengthen local community services, education, the
environment, and practices of professional and business associations.**

**N2. Actions to build community health (1.2b) are population‑based
services supporting the general health of the community served. Such
services might include health education programs, immunization programs,
unique health services provided at a financial loss, population
screening programs (e.g., hypertension), safety program sponsorship, and
indigent care.**

**Category 2Strategic Planning**

**This Category examines health care organizations strategy development
process, including how the organizations develop strategic objectives,
action plans, and related human resources plans. Also, the Category
examines how plans are deployed and performance is tracked.**

**Supplementary Category Item Notes:**

**.1 Strategy Development**

**N1. Strategy should be interpreted broadly. It might include any or
all of the following: new health care services and/or delivery
processes; new markets; revenue growth; cost reduction; and new
partnerships and alliances. Organizational strategy might be directed
toward making the organization a preferred provider, a research leader,
or an integrated service provider. Strategy might depend upon many
different kinds of capabilities, including access and locations, rapid
response, relationships, technology introduction and manage‑ment,
business process excellence, and information management.**

**N2. Performance (2.1.b) as a health care provider encompasses all
significant processes of the organization (e.g., patient care, clinical,
regulatory compliance and accreditation, finance and accounting,
community health services, and research and teaching).**

**Category 3Customer Focus**

**This Category examines how health care organizations determine
requirements, expectations, and preferences of patients, other customers
and markets. Also, the Category examines how health care organizations
build relationships with patients/customers and determine their
satisfaction.**

**Supplementary Category Item Notes:**

**3.1 Customer and Market Knowledge**

**N1. Patients, as a key customer group, are frequently identified
separately in the Criteria. Other customer groups could include
patients families, the community, insurers/third‑party payers,
employers, health care providers, patient advocacy groups, Departments
of Health, and students. Generic references to customers include
patients.**

**N2. Health care service features \[3.1a(3)\] refer to all important
characteristics of the services that patients and other customers
receive. The focus should be primarily on features that bear upon
customer preference, repurchase loyalty, and view of clinical and
service quality  for example, those features that enhance or
differentiate, in the eyes of the customer, the organizations services
from other providers offering similar services. Beyond specific health
care provision, these features might include extended hours, family
support services, cost‑assistance with billing/paperwork processes, and
transportation assistance.**

**N3. The determination of health care service features and their
relative importance \[3.1a(3)\] should take into account the potentially
differing expectations of patients and other customers. This is
particularly important where managed care and health care insurers
efforts to contain costs may result in different expectations than
patients at these organizations.**

**Category 4Information and Analysis**

**This Category examines health care organizations performance
management systems and how the organizations analyze performance data
and information.**

**Supplementary Category Item Note:**

**4.2 Analysis of Organizational Performance**

**N1. Analysis includes trends, projections, comparisons, and
cause‑effect correlations intended to support the setting of priorities
for resource use. Accordingly, analysis draws upon all types of data:
patient/customer‑related, health care outcomes, operational,
competitive, financial, and market.**

**Category 5Human Resource Focus**

**This Category examines how health care organizations enable all staff
to develop and use their full potential, aligned with the organizations
objectives. Also, the Category examines the organizations efforts to
build and maintain a work environment and work climate conducive to
performance excellence, full participation, and personal and
organizational growth.**

**Supplementary Category Item Note:**

**5.1 Work Systems**

**N1. For purposes of the Criteria, the organizations staff includes
all people who contribute to the delivery of the organizations
services, including paid staff (e.g., permanent, part‑time, temporary,
and contract employees supervised by the organization), independent
practitioners (e.g., physicians, physician assistants, nurse
practitioners, acupuncturists, and nutritionists not paid by the
organization), volunteers, and health profession students (e.g.,
medical, nursing, and ancillary). Any contract employees supervised by
the contractor should be addressed in Item 6.3.**

**Category 6Process Management**

**This Category examines key aspects of process management, including
patient/customer‑focused design, health care service delivery, support
and supplier partnering processes involving all departments and units.
Also, the Category examines how key processes are designed, implemented,
managed and improved to achieve better performance.**

**Supplementary Category Item Notes:**

**6.1 Product and Service Processes**

**N1. Health care service processes refer to patient and community
service processes for the purposes of prevention, maintenance, health
promotion, screening, diagnosis, treatment/therapy, rehabilitation, and
recovery. This includes services delivered to patients through other
providers (e.g., laboratory or radiology studies). Responses to Item 6.1
should address the most critical requirements for successful delivery of
services.**

**N2. Key processes for the conduct of health care research and/or a
teaching mission should be reported in Item 6.1 or 6.2, as appropriate
to the organizations mission.**

**N3. Design requirements should include all appropriate stages of
health care service delivery. In a group practice, this might be making
the appointment, presentation, and evaluation of risk factors, health
education, and appointment closures. Depending upon the health care
service, this might include a significant focus on technology and/or
patient‑specific considerations.**

**6.2 Support Processes**

**N1. The purpose of Item 6.2 is to permit organizations to separately
highlight the processes that support health care service design and
delivery processes addressed in Item 6.1. The support processes included
in Item 6.2 depend on the organizations mission and how it operates,
but should include key patient support processes (e.g., housekeeping,
medical records, etc.), and key business and administrative processes
(e.g., finance, contracting, etc.). Together, Items 6.1 and 6.2 should
cover the key operations, processes, and activities of all
departments.**

**6.3 Supplier and Partnership Processes**

**N1. Support processes and services provided by contractors, but
supervised by the organizations staff, should be addressed in Item
6.2.**

**Category 7Business Results**

**This Category examines health care organizations performance and
improvement in key areas: patient/customer satisfaction, health care
provision and service, financial results, staff and work system results,
supplier and partner results, and operational performance. Also, the
Category examines performance levels relative to competitors and
organizations delivering similar health care services.**

**Supplementary Category Item Notes:**

**7.5 Organizational Effectiveness Results**

**N1. Summarize the organizations key patient health care results.
Include current levels and trends in key measures and/or indicators of
health care outcomes, health care service delivery results, and
functional status. Also, appropriate comparative data for other
organizations providing similar health care services can be included.**

**N2. Accreditation and assessment results are appropriate to address in
this Item. Summarize results in key measures and/or indicators of
organizational accreditation, assessment, and legal/regulatory
compliance. Include appropriate comparative data for other institutions
providing similar health care services.**

**Education Supplementary Information**

**Category 1Leadership**

**This Category examines senior administrators personal leadership and
involvement in sustaining a student focus, clear goals, high
expectations and a leadership system that promotes performance
excellence. Also, the Category examines how objectives and expectations
are integrated into the schools management system and how the school
addresses its societal responsibilities and provides support to key
school communities.**

**Supplementary Category Item Notes:**

**1.1 Leadership System**

**N1. Senior leaders refers to those with main responsibility for
managing the school. The**

**leadership system would also include the schools governance entities
such as Boards of Directors.**

**1.2 Organization Responsibility and Citizenship**

**N1. Health and safety of students and stakeholders are included in
Item 1.2. However, the health and safety of faculty and staff are
addressed in Item 5.3.**

**Category 2Strategic Planning**

**This Category examines how schools set strategic directions and how
they develop key action plans to support the directions. Also, the
Category examines how plans are deployed and performance is tracked.**

**Supplementary Category Item Notes:**

**2.1 Strategy Development**

**N1. Strategy should be interpreted broadly. It might include any or
all of the following: addition or termination of programs; modifications
in instructional design; use of technology, changes in testing and/or
assessment; adoption of standards; services to new/changing student
populations; research priorities; and partnerships with other schools.**

**N2. Item 2.1 addresses overall school directions and strategy,
including changes in services and programs. However, the Item does not
address education design; this is addressed in Item 6.1.**

**Category 3Customer Focus**

**This Category examines how schools determine student and stakeholder
requirements, needs, expectations, and preferences. Also, the Category
examines how schools build relationships with students and stakeholders
and determine their**

**satisfaction.**

**Supplementary Category Item Notes:**

**3.1 Customer and Market Knowledge**

**N1. Customer needs might take into account information from students
and key stakeholders such as students employers and other schools.
Needs include educational and other requirements such as safety.**

**N2. Customer/market segments refers to students groups with similar
needs: career technical types, learning styles, living status
(residential vs. commuter) or other factors.**

**3.2 Customer Satisfaction and Relationships**

**N1. Student and stakeholder satisfaction and dissatisfaction should be
reported in Item 7.1. School faculty and staff‑related results should be
reported in Item 7.3.**

**Category 4Information and Analysis**

**This Category examines schools performance measurement systems and
how schools analyze performance data and information.**

**Supplementary Category Item Note:**

**4.2 Analysis of Organizational Performance**

**N1. Analysis includes trend, projections, comparisons, and
cause‑effect correlations intended to support performance reviews and
the setting of priorities for resource use. Accordingly, analysis draws
upon all types of data: customer/student‑related, financial,
operational, and competitive.**

**Category 5Human Resource Focus**

**This Category examines how schools enable faculty and staff to develop
and use**

**their full potential, aligned with the schools performance. Also, the
Category examines the schools efforts to build and maintain a climate
conducive to performance excellence, full participation, and personal
and organizational growth.**

**Supplementary Category Item Notes:**

**5.1 Work Systems**

**N1. For purposes of the Criteria, staff includes the schools
permanent, temporary and part‑time personnel, as well as any contract
employees or volunteers supervised by the school. Any contract employees
supervised by the contractor should be addressed in Item 6.3.**

**N2. Work design refers to how faculty and staff are organized and/or
organize themselves in formal and informal, temporary or longer‑term
units.**

**Category 6Process Management**

**This Category examines the key aspects of process management,
including learning‑focused education design, education delivery, school
services, and business operations. Also, the Category examines how key
processes are designed, implemented, managed and improved to achieve
better school performance.**

**Supplementary Category Item Notes:**

**6.1 Product and Service Processes**

**N1. Education design might take into account distance learning and
making offerings available at different locations and times to meet
student needs.**

**N2. Education delivery refers to how the school ensures ongoing
programs and offerings meet design requirements. Approaches might
include observations, measures and/or indicators such as student
feedback, evaluation of course instructors, research on learning,
assessment and technology, and/or information from students employer
organizations. This evaluation feedback should reveal whether or not the
programs or offerings require corrective actions and improvement.**

**6.2 Support Processes**

**N1. Education support processes are those which support the schools
overall education activities. This might include libraries, information
technology, and tutorial/counseling services. Also, it might include
recruitment, enrollment, registration, accounting/billing processes,
facilities management, marketing, food services, housing, transportation
and security.**

**Category 7Business Results**

**This Category examines schools performance in key areas: student
performance results, student and stakeholder satisfaction, financial
performance, faculty and staff results, supplier and partner results and
school‑specific performance. Also, the Category examiners performance
levels relative to comparable schools and/or appropriately selected
organizations.**

**Supplementary Category Item Notes:**

**7.1 Customer‑Focused Results**

**N1. To summarize current levels and trends in key measures and/or
indicators of student performance, different student groups may be
addressed separately.**

**N2. Student performance results might be based on a variety of
assessment methods that reflect the schools primary improvement
objectives and together represent holistic appraisals of students. For
some measures and/or assessment methods, data might not yet be
sufficient to demonstrate meaningful trends. Such data should be
reported nevertheless, as they provide useful information regarding the
schools current performance levels.**

**N3. Student performance and performance trends should include
comparisons with other schools and/or appropriately selected student
populations.**

**IX. GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS**

**The Glossary of Key Terms defines and briefly describes concepts that
are important to performance management and used throughout the Award
Criteria.**

**Action Plans**

**Action plans refer to principal organization‑level drivers, derived
from short‑ and long‑term strategic planning. In simplest terms, action
plans are set to accomplish those things the organization must do well
for its strategy to succeed. Action plan development represents the
critical stage in planning when general strategies and goals are made
specific so that effective organization‑wide understanding and
deployment are possible. Deployment of action plans requires analysis of
overall resource needs and creation of aligned measures for all work
units. Deployment might also require specialized training for some
employees or recruitment of personnel.**

**An example of an action plan element for a government organization
supplying goods and services in competition with private‑sector
suppliers might be to develop and maintain a price leadership position.
Deployment should entail the design of efficient processes, analysis of
resource and asset use, and creation of related measures of resource and
asset productivity, aligned for the organization as a whole. It might
also involve the use of a cost‑accounting system that provides
activity‑level cost information to support day‑to‑day work. Unit and/or
team training should include priority setting based upon costs and
benefits. Organization‑level analysis and review should emphasize
overall productivity growth. Ongoing competitive analysis and planning
should remain sensitive to technological and other changes that might
greatly reduce operating costs for the organization or its
competitors.**

**Alignment**

**Alignment refers to unification of goals throughout the organization
and consistency of processes, actions, information, and decisions among
organizational units in support of these goals.**

**Effective alignment requires common understanding of purposes and
goals and use of complementary measures and information to enable
planning, tracking, analysis, and improvement at three levels: the
organization level, the key process level, and the work unit level.**

**ComparisonsBenchmarking and Competitive Comparisons**

**Benchmarking is the process of systematically comparing and measuring
products, services, and processes against best practices,
best‑in‑class achievements, and performance of similar activities,
inside or outside government. At its essence, benchmarking involves
systematically looking at proven ways to provide better customer service
and adapting these ways to an organizations operations. It turns the
not‑invented‑here philosophy on its head, by focusing on the best
practices of other organizations.**

**Competitive Comparisons refer to examining an organizations current
processes against effective and efficient processes of other
organizations which are competitors in the organizations markets, or
with similar missions or functions in the government. Competitive
Comparisons often are less systematic and rigorous than Benchmarking,
and without detailed exploration of the differences in underlying
methods.**

**Customers**

**External customers are those who use or are directly affected by the
organizations products or servicesthose for whom the organization is
in business. They can be grouped into classifications according to their
relationship to the government as a supplier: voluntary, entitled, and
compelled users of the organizations products or services. Voluntary
users choose to use the product/service, such as visitors to national
parks and users of government statistics. Entitled users have an
automatic legal right to benefit from the program, such as recipients of
social security benefits and users of veterans hospitals. Compelled
users fall under the jurisdiction of government programs that are
prescriptive in nature, where punitive action can be taken if users do
not comply (e.g., prison inmates).**

**Internal customers refers to employees within the organization who
receive goods and services produced elsewhere in the organization and
act upon them in the production chain, ultimately leading to the
organizations final output of goods and services.**

**Cycle Time**

**Cycle time refers to responsiveness and completion‑time measuresthe
time required to fulfill commitments or to complete tasks. Cycle time
and related terms are used in the Award Criteria to refer to all aspects
of time performance.**

**Time measurements play a major role in the Award Criteria because of
the great importance of time performance to improving performance and
competitiveness. Other time‑related terms in common use are: set‑up
time, change‑over time, delivery time, and time to market.**

**High‑Performance Work**

**High performance work refers to work approaches systematically
directed toward achieving ever higher levels of overall performance,
including quality and productivity.**

**Approaches to high‑performance work vary in form, function, and
incentive systems. Effective approaches generally include: cooperation
between management and the workforce, including work force bargaining
units; cooperation among work units, often involving teams;
self‑managed/self‑directed responsibility (sometimes called
empowerment); individual and organizational skill building and learning;
flexibility in job design and work assignments; an organizational
structure with minimum layering (flattened) where decision making is
decentralized and decisions are made closest to the front‑line; and
regular use of performance measures, including comparisons. Some high‑
performance work systems use monetary and non‑monetary incentives based
upon factors such as organizational performance, team and/or individual
contributions, and skill building. Also, some high‑performance work
approaches attempt to align the design of organizations, work, jobs, and
incentives.**

**Leadership System**

**Leadership system refers to how leadership is exercised throughout the
organizationthe basis for the way that key decisions are made,
communicated, and carried out. It includes structures and mechanisms for
making decisions and reinforcing values, expectations, and behaviors. It
also includes the formal and informal bases and mechanisms for
leadership development used to select leaders and managers, to develop
their leadership skills, and to provide guidance and examples regarding
behaviors and practices.**

**An effective leadership system creates clear values respecting the
capabilities and requirements of employees and organization
stakeholders, and sets high expectations for performance and performance
improvement. It builds loyalty and teamwork based upon the values and
the pursuit of shared purposes. It encourages and supports initiative
and risk taking, subordinates organization to purpose and function, and
minimizes reliance on chains of command that require long decision
paths. An effective leadership system includes mechanisms for the
leaders self‑examination, receipt of feedback, and improvement.**

**Measures and Indicators**

**Measures and indicators refer to numerical information that quantifies
(measures) input, output, and performance dimensions of processes,
products, and services. Measures and indicators might be simple (derived
from one measurement) or composite.**

**The Award Criteria do not make a rigid distinction between measures
and indicators. However, some users of these terms, and portions of the
Criteria, use the term indicator: (1) when the measurement relates to
performance rather than to inputs; (2) when the measurement relates to
performance but is not a direct or exclusive measure of such performance
(e.g., the number of complaints is an indicator of dissatisfaction, but
not a direct or exclusive measure of it); and (3) when a performance or
measure is a predictor (leading indicator) of some more significant
performance (e.g., gain in customer satisfaction might be a leading
indicator of increased demand).**

**Performance**

**Performance refers to numerous results information obtained from
processes, products, and services that permit evaluation and comparison
relative to goals, standards, past results, and to others. Most
commonly, the results address quality, efficiency and time, and might be
expressed in non‑financial and financial terms.**

**Four types of organization performance are addressed in the Criteria:
(1) operational, including product and service quality, (2)
customer‑related, (3) financial, and (4) mission/program.**

**Operational performance refers to performance relative to
effectiveness and efficiency measures and indicators. Examples include
cycle time, productivity, and waste reduction. Operational performance
might be measured at the work unit level, the key process level, and the
organization level.**

**Product and service quality performance refers to performance relative
to measures and indicators of product and service requirements derived
from customer preference information. Examples include reliability,
on‑time delivery, defect levels, and service response time. Product and
service quality performance generally relates to the organization as a
whole.**

**Customer‑related performance refers to performance relative to
measures and indicators of customers perceptions, reactions, and
behaviors. Examples include customer retention, complaints, customer
survey results, and changes in demand for products and services.
Customer‑related performance generally relates to the organization as a
whole.**

**Financial performance refers to performance using measures of cost and
revenue, including asset utilization, asset growth, value added per
employee, cost savings and cost avoidances. Financial measures are
generally tracked throughout the organization and are also aggregated to
give organization‑level, composite measures of performance. Examples are
return on investment and return on assets.**

**Mission/program performance refers to non‑financial measures used to
assess the organizations success in achieving its intended purposes,
goals and objectives. As with financial performance measures, they
generally are tracked throughout the organization and are also
aggregated to give organization‑level, composite measures of
performance.**

**The Criteria also address supplier performance, which refers to
measures of: (1) supplier and partner‑provided goods and services used
by the organization in developing its final goods and services, and (2)
services provided by contractor employees working within the
organization, but supervised by the contractor.**

**Performance Goal**

**Performance goal refers to a target level of performance expressed as
a tangible, measurable objective against which actual achievement can be
compared, including a goal expressed as a quantitative standard, value,
or rate.**

**Process**

**Process refers to linked activities with the purpose of producing a
product or service for a customer (user) within or outside the
organization. Generally, processes involve combinations of people,
machines, tools, techniques, and materials in a systematic series of
steps or actions.**

**In some situations, process performance might require adherence to a
specific sequence of steps, with documentation (sometimes formal) of
procedures and requirements, including well‑defined measurement and
control steps.**

**In many service situations, particularly when customers are directly
involved in one or more steps of the service, process is used in a more
general way to spell out what must be done, possibly including a
preferred or expected sequence. If a sequence is critical, the service
needs to include information for customers to help them understand and
adhere to the sequence. Service processes involving customers require
guidance to the servers on handling contingencies related to differing
circumstances and to customers actions or behaviors.**

**In some cases, such as strategic planning, research, and analysis,
process does not necessarily imply formal sequences of steps. Rather,
process implies general understanding regarding competent performance,
such as timing, options to be included, evaluation, and reporting.
Sequences might arise as part of these understandings.**

**Productivity**

**Productivity refers to measures of efficiency of the use of resources.
Although the term is often applied to single factors, such as manpower
(labor productivity), machines, materials, energy, and capital, the
productivity concept applies as well to the total resources consumed in
producing outputs. Overall productivity, usually called total factor
productivity, is determined by combining the productivity of the
different resources used for an output. The combination usually requires
taking a weighted average of the different single factor productivity
measures, where the weights typically reflect costs of the resources.
The use of an aggregate measure such as total factor productivity allows
a determination of whether or not the net effect of overall changes in a
process, possibly involving resource tradeoffs, is beneficial.**

**Effective approaches to performance management require understanding
and measuring single‑factor and total‑factor productivity, particularly
in complex cases when there are a variety of costs and potential
benefits.**

**Strategic Planning**

**Strategic planning is the process of setting strategic directions and
determining key action plans, and for translating plans into an
effective performance management system. The process leads to
establishment of general goals and objectives, including outcome‑related
goals and objectives, for the major functions and operations of the
organization, and for establishment of annual performance goals linked
to the general goals and objectives. It addresses: (1) how the goals and
objectives are to be achieved, including operational processes, skills
and technology, and human capital; (2) information and other resources
required to meet those goals and objectives; (3) key factors external to
the organization and beyond its control that could significantly affect
the achievement of the general goals and objectives; and (4) how
evaluations are used in estab‑lishing or revising goals and objectives.
The term Strategic Planning, as used in the Criteria, is consistent
with the require‑ments established by the Government Performance and
Results Act.**

**X. NOMINATION FORM**

**Applicant Organization**

**Name**

**Address**

**Highest Ranking Official in Applicant Organization**

**Signature**

**Name**

**Title**

**Address**

**Telephone**

**FAX**

**Size of Organization**

**Number of Employees**

**(list federal employees, civilian, military and contract support
employees separately)**

**Number of Sites**

**Budget for Preceding Year (circle one)**

**0‑\$1M \$10M‑\$100M \$500M‑\$1B**

**\$1M‑10M \$100M‑\$500M Over \$1B**

**List Sites**

**Official Point of Contact in Applicant Organization**

**Name**

**Title**

**Address**

**Telephone**

**FAX**

**email**

**Agency Coordinator (as described in Section IV, General Application
Information and Instructions)**

**Signature**

**Name**

**Title**

**Address**

**Telephone**

**Date**

**PQAP‑1**

**April 1999**