2023 

2024

BALDRIGE 

EXCELLENCE 

BUILDER®

•business

•nonprofit

•government

•education

•health care

Key questions for improving your 

organization’s performance

LEADERSHIP

STRATEGY

CUSTOMERS

MEASUREMENT, ANALYSIS, AND 

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

WORKFORCE

OPERATIONS

RESULTS

www.nist.gov/baldrige
Improve Your Performance

The Baldrige Excellence Builder® self-assessment helps you identify and improve what is critical 

to your organization’s success. By completing and acting on this assessment, you will be better 

positioned to accomplish your mission, improve your results, and become more competitive.

The Baldrige Excellence Builder is based on the more detailed Baldrige Excellence Framework® and 

its Criteria for Performance Excellence®.

Here’s what the Baldrige Excellence Framework® can do for you.

Leadership

Strategy

Customers

Workforce

RESULTS

Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management

Integration

Core Values and Concepts

Operations

Organizational Profile

City Government

Rated in top 10% of cities 

nationally for best place 

to live and work, culture 

and recreation, and job 

opportunities

Manufacturer

Achieved annual cost savings of 

$225 million through process and 

performance improvements 

Small Business

Increased total gross profit 

by 13% over 3 years, 8.4 

points better than the national 

benchmark

Hospital

Set national benchmarks 

for patient safety

Community College

Outperformed local and national peers 

by more than 200% in growth rate for 

completion of associate degrees and 

certificates 

Nonprofit

Achieved customer 

satisfaction of 100%

Purchase the Baldrige Excellence Framework® Today! 

www.nist.gov/baldrige/publications

The Baldrige Program thanks the Baldrige Foundation and members 

of the Mac Baldrige Society for supporting the program’s mission.
1

Contents

2 About the Baldrige Excellence Builder

The Baldrige Excellence Builder represents proven leadership and management 

practices for high performance.

4 Core Values and Concepts

These beliefs and behaviors found in high-performing organizations are the basis of 

the Baldrige Excellence Builder.

5 Baldrige Excellence Builder

Answer these questions about the most important features of organizational 

performance excellence.

15 Assessing Your Responses

Assess your answers to the Baldrige Excellence Builder questions.

17 Glossary of Key Terms

Learn the definitions of key terms in the Baldrige Excellence Builder.

I have always envisioned Stellar to be a company that is 

built to last. ... And if you ask how we can ensure that 

we are built to last, I would say the answer is Baldrige. ...

Unlike many other certifications or performance excellence 

measures, it is not prescriptive—it is adaptable to any 

organization, at any point on its journey to excellence.

—Celeste Ford, Founder, Baldrige Award recipient 

Stellar Solutions
2 Baldrige Excellence Builder

About the Baldrige Excellence Builder

Is your organization doing as well as it needs to? How do you know? 

What and how should your organization improve or change?

Whether your organization is new, is growing, or has existed for many years, it faces 

daily and long-term challenges. It also has strengths that have served you well so far. 

The Baldrige Excellence Builder helps you assess your organization’s strengths and 

opportunities for improvement. By completing and acting on this assessment, you will 

be better positioned to accomplish your mission, improve your results, and become more 

competitive.

The Baldrige Excellence Builder is based on the more detailed Baldrige Excellence 

Framework and its Criteria for Performance Excellence. For more than 32 years, Baldrige 

has been globally recognized as the leading edge of validated leadership and performance 

practice. Baldrige is a nonprescriptive framework that empowers your organization to 

reach its goals, improve results, and become more competitive. The Core Values and 

Concepts (see page 4), a set of beliefs and behaviors found in high-performing organizations, are the foundation of this framework.

A Focus on Improvement

The Baldrige Excellence Builder helps you understand how well you are achieving your 

goals and objectives:

• Are your processes consistently effective?

• Do your approaches address your organization’s needs?

• How good are your results?

• Is your organization learning, innovating, and improving?

As you answer the Baldrige Excellence Builder questions and assess your responses, you 

will identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. Then, as you build on your 

strengths and address your opportunities, you create cycles of improvement within your 

organization.

A Systems Perspective

A systems perspective means managing all the components of your organization as a 

unified whole to achieve your mission, ongoing success, and performance excellence. It 

means ensuring that your plans, processes, measures, and actions are consistent. And it 

means ensuring that the individual parts of your organization’s management system work 

together in a fully interconnected, unified, and mutually beneficial manner.
About the Baldrige Excellence Builder 3

How to Use the Baldrige Excellence Builder

Answer the Organizational Profile questions. The Baldrige Excellence Builder does not 

prescribe how you should structure your organization or its operations, or what its mission and goals should be. In the Organizational Profile (pages 5–6), you define what is 

most relevant and important to your organization’s mission and performance.

The Organizational Profile sets the context for your answers to the rest of the questions. 

It can also serve as your first Baldrige self-assessment: if you identify topics for which you 

have conflicting, little, or no information, you can use those topics for action planning.

Answer the questions in categories 1–7 (pages 7–14). Your answers to these questions are 

an assessment against the most important features of organizational excellence. The categories represent seven critical aspects of managing and performing as an organization: 

(1) Leadership; (2) Strategy; (3) Customers; (4) Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge 

Management; (5) Workforce; (6) Operations; and (7) Results.

Categories 1–6 (pages 7–12) each consist of two items (e.g., 1.1, 1.2), with many of the 

questions beginning with “how.” In answering these questions, give information on your 

key processes:

• Approach: How do you accomplish your organization’s work? How systematic and effective are your key approaches?

• Deployment: How consistently are your key approaches used in relevant parts of your 

organization?

• Learning: How well have you evaluated and improved your key approaches? Have 

improvements been shared within your organization? Has new knowledge led to 

innovation?

• Integration: How well do your approaches reflect your current and future organizational 

needs?

For the five items in category 7 (pages 13–14), report on the results that are the most 

important to your organization’s success:

• Levels: What is your current performance?

• Trends: Are the results improving, staying the same, or getting worse?

• Comparisons: How does your performance compare with that of other organizations and 

competitors, or with benchmarks or industry leaders?

• Integration: Are you tracking results that are important to your organization? Are you 

using the results in decision making?

Assess your answers: process and results. Use the rubric on pages 15–16 to assess your 

answers to the questions in each item. Identify your strengths. Then look at the next 

higher level to see what you might improve.

Prioritize your actions. Celebrate your strengths and build on them to improve the things 

you do well. Sharing the things you do well with the rest of your organization can speed 

improvement. Also prioritize your opportunities for improvement; you cannot do everything at once. Think about what is most important for your organization at this time, 

and decide what to work on first. Develop an action plan, implement it, and measure 

your progress.

After you use the Baldrige Excellence Builder, please email us at baldrige@nist.gov to tell 

us about your experience.
4 Baldrige Excellence Builder

Core Values and Concepts

The Baldrige Excellence Framework and Baldrige Excellence Builder

are based on these core values and concepts found in high-performing 

organizations.

Systems perspective. A systems perspective means managing all the parts of your organization as a unified whole to achieve your mission and strive toward your vision.

Visionary leadership. Your organization’s senior leaders set a vision for the organization, 

create a customer focus, demonstrate clear and visible organizational values and ethics, 

and set high expectations for the workforce.

Customer-focused excellence. Your organization must consider all product and/or service 

features and characteristics, all modes of customer access and support, and all organizational values and behaviors that contribute to value for your customers.

Valuing people. An organization’s success depends on an engaged workforce that benefits 

from meaningful work, clear organizational direction, the opportunity to learn, and 

accountability for performance. The successful organization has a culture of equity and 

inclusion that capitalizes on the diverse backgrounds and characteristics, knowledge, 

skills, creativity, and motivation of its workforce, partners, and collaborators. 

Agility and resilience. Agility requires a capacity for rapid change and for flexibility in 

operations. Organizational resilience is the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and recover 

from disasters, emergencies, and other disruptions, and—when disruptions occur—to 

protect and enhance workforce and customer engagement, supply-network and financial 

performance, organizational productivity, and community well-being.

Organizational learning. Organizational learning includes both continuous improvement 

of existing approaches and significant change or innovation, leading to new goals, 

approaches, products and/or services, and markets.

Focus on success and innovation. Ensuring your organization’s success now and in the 

future requires understanding of the short- and longer-term factors that affect your organization and its environment. It also requires the ability to drive organizational innovation. 

Management by fact. Management by fact requires you to measure and analyze your 

organization’s performance, both inside the organization and in your competitive 

environment.

Societal contributions. Your organization’s leaders should stress contributions to the 

public and the consideration of societal well-being and benefit. Your leaders should be 

role models for your organization and its workforce in the protection of public health, 

safety, and the environment. 

Ethics and transparency. Your organization should stress ethical behavior in all 

stakeholder transactions and interactions. Senior leaders should be role models of ethical 

behavior and make their expectations of the workforce very clear.

Delivering value and results. Your organization should choose and analyze results that 

help you deliver and balance value for your key stakeholders. Thus, results need to 

include not just financial results, but also product and/or service and process results; 

customer and workforce satisfaction and engagement results; and leadership, strategy, 

and societal performance.
Baldrige Excellence Builder 5

Baldrige Excellence Builder

The Baldrige Excellence Builder includes questions on the most important 

features of organizational excellence, starting with a full Organizational 

Profile. For a more comprehensive set of questions, see the Baldrige 

Excellence Framework booklet (business/nonprofit, education, or 

health care).

P Organizational Profile

P.1 Organizational Description: What are your key organizational 

characteristics?

a. Organizational Environment

(1) Product and/or Service Offerings What are your main products and/or services? What 

is the relative importance (including percentage of revenue/budget) of each product or 

service to your success? What are the delivery methods for these products and/or services?

(2) Mission, Vision, Values, and Culture What are your mission, vision, and values? What 

are the defining characteristics of your organizational culture? What are your organization’s core competencies, and what is their relationship to your mission and vision?

(3) Workforce Profile What is your workforce profile? What are your workforc

or employee groups and segments and the key engagement drivers for each? What 

key changes are you experiencing in your workforce capability, capacity, and 

composition?

(4) Assets What are your major assets, such as facilities, equipment, technologies, and 

intellectual property?

(5) Regulatory Environment What are your key applicable regulations, and accreditation, 

certification, or registration requirements?

b. Organizational Relationships

(1) Organizational Structure What are your organizational leadership and governance

structures? What are the key components of your organization’s leadership system? 

What are the reporting relationships among your governance system, senior leaders, 

and parent organization, as appropriate?

(Continued on the next page)
6 Baldrige Excellence Builder

(2) Customers* and Stakeholders What are your key market segments, customer groups

and stakeholder groups, as appropriate? What are their key requirements and expectations for your products and/or services, customer support services, and operations, 

including any differences among the groups?

(3) Suppliers, Partners, and Collaborators What are your key types of suppliers, partners, 

and collaborators? What role do they play in producing and delivering your key

products and/or services and customer support services? What role do they play in 

contributing and implementing innovations in your organization? What are your key

supply-network requirements?

P.2 Organizational Situation: What is your organization’s strategic 

situation?

a. Competitive Environment

(1) Competitive Position What are your size, share, and growth in your industry or the 

markets you serve? How many and what types of competitors do you have? What differentiates you from them?

(2) Competitiveness Changes What key changes, if any, are affecting your competitive 

situation, including changes that create opportunities for collaboration and innovation, 

as appropriate?

(3) Comparative Data What key sources of comparative and competitive data are available 

from within your industry? What key sources of comparative data are available from 

outside your industry? What limitations, if any, affect your ability to obtain or use these 

data?

b. Strategic Context

What are your key strategic challenges, threats, advantages, and opportunities?

c. Performance Improvement Sy

What is your overall system for performance improvement? What key tools and methods 

are used as part of this system?

Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 17–19).

* For health care organizations, “customers” are the direct recipients of the health care services you provide 

(e.g., patients and families).

For education organizations, “customers” are the users of your educational programs and services 

(e.g., students and parents).

See www.nist.gov/baldrige/publications for Baldrige frameworks tailored to the health care and education 

sectors.
Baldrige Excellence Builder 7

1 Leadership

1.1 Senior Leadership: How do your senior leaders lead the organization?

(1) How do senior leaders set and deploy your organization’s mission, vision, and 

values?

(2) How do senior leaders’ personal actions demonstrate their commitment to legal and 

ethical behavior?

(3) How do senior leaders communicate with and engage the entire workforce, key

partners, and key customers?

(4) How do senior leaders create an environment for success now and in the future?

(5) How do senior leaders create a focus on action to achieve the organization’s mission

and vision?

1.2 Governance and Societal Contributions: How do you govern your 

organization and make societal contributions?

(1) How does your organization ensure responsible governance?

(2) How do you evaluate the performance of your senior leaders and your governance

system?

(3) How does your governance system review the organization’s performance? 

(4) How do you address current and anticipated future legal, regulatory, and community 

concerns with your products and/or services, and operations?

(5) How do you require and foster ethical behavior in all interactions?

(6) How do you incorporate societal well-being and benefit into your strategy and daily 

operations?

(7) How do you actively support and strengthen your key communities?

Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 17–19).
8 Baldrige Excellence Builder

2 Strategy

2.1 Strategy Development: How do you develop your strategy?

(1) How do you conduct your strategic planning?

(2) How do you collect and analyze relevant data and develop information for use in your 

strategic planning process?

(3) How do you identify strategic opportunities and stimulate innovation? 

(4) How do you decide which key processes will be accomplished by your workforce and 

which by external suppliers, partners, and collaborators?

(5) What are your organization’s key strategic objectives and their most important 

related goals?

(6) How do your strategic objectives achieve balance among varying and competing 

organizational needs?

2.2 Strategy Implementation: How do you implement your strategy?

(1) How do you develop your action plans?

(2) How do you deploy your action plans?

(3) How do you ensure that financial and other resources are available to support the 

achievement of your action plans while you meet current obligations?

(4) What are your key workforce plans to support your strategic objectives and 

action plans?

(5) What key performance measures or indicators do you use to track the achievement 

and effectiveness of your action plans?

(6) For these key performance measures or indicators, what are your performance 

projections for your short- and longer-term planning horizons?

(7) How do you recognize and respond when circumstances require a shift in action plans

and rapid execution of new plans?

Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 17–19).
Baldrige Excellence Builder 9

3 Customers

3.1 Customer Expectations: How do you listen to your customers and 

determine products and/or services to meet their needs?

(1) How do you listen to, interact with, and observe customers* to obtain actionable 

information?

(2) How do you listen to potential customers to obtain actionable data and information?

(3) How do you determine your customer groups and market segments?

(4) How do you determine product and/or service offerings?

3.2 Customer Engagement: How do you build relationships and enhance 

the customer experience?

(1) How do you acquire and retain customers by building and managing relationships?

(2) How do you enable customers to do business with you, seek information, and obtain 

support?

(3) How do you manage customer complaints?

(4) How do your customer experience processes promote and ensure fair treatment for 

different customers, customer groups, and market segments?

(5) How do you determine customer satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and engagement?

 Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 17–19).

* For health care organizations, “customers” are the direct recipients of the health care services you provide 

(e.g., patients and families). 

For education organizations, “customers” are the users of your educational programs and services 

(e.g., students and parents).
10 Baldrige Excellence Builder

4 Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management

4.1 Measurement, Analysis, Review, and Improvement of Organizational 

Performance: How do you measure, analyze, review, and improve 

organizational performance?

(1) How do you track data and information on daily operations and overall organizational 

performance?

(2) How do you select comparative data and information to support fact-based decision 

making?

(3) How do you analyze and review your organization’s performance and capabilities?

(4) How do you use the findings from your performance reviews to develop priorities for 

continuous improvement and opportunities for innovation?

4.2 Information and Knowledge Management: How do you manage your 

information and your organizational knowledge assets?

(1) How do you verify and ensure the quality of organizational data and information?

(2) How do you ensure the availability of organizational data and information?

(3) How do you secure sensitive or privileged data and information, information technology 

assets, and Internet-enabled systems?

(4) How do you build and manage organizational knowledge?

(5) How do you identify and share best practices in your organization?

(6) How do you determine which opportunities for innovation to pursue?

Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 17–19).
Baldrige Excellence Builder 11

5 Workforce

5.1 Workforce Environment: How do you build an effective and 

supportive workforce environment?

(1) How do you assess your workforce capability and capacity needs?

(2) How do you recruit, hire, and onboard new workforce members?

(3) How do you prepare your workforce for changing capability and capacity needs?

(4) How do you organize and manage your workforce?

(5) How do you address workplace health and accessibility for the workforce?

(6) How do you support your workforce via compensation and benefits? 

5.2 Workforce Engagement: How do you engage your workforce for 

retention and high performance?

(1) How do you determine the key drivers of workforce engagement?

(2) How do you assess workforce engagement?

(3) How do you foster an organizational culture that is characterized by open communication, high performance, and an engaged workforce?

(4) How does your workforce performance management system support 

high performance?

(5) How does your learning and development system support the personal development of 

workforce members and your organization’s needs?

(6) How do you manage career development for your workforce and your future leaders?

(7) How do you ensure that your performance management, performance development, and career development processes promote equity and inclusion for a diverse 

workforce and different workforce groups and segments?

Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 17–19).
12 Baldrige Excellence Builder

6 Operations

6.1 Work Processes: How do you design, manage, and improve your key 

products and/or services and work processes?

(1) How do you determine your key product and/or service requirements?

(2) How do you design your products and/or services to meet these key requirements?

(3) How do you determine your key work process and support process requirements?

(4) How do you design your key work processes and support processes to meet your key

requirements?

(5) How does your day-to-day operation of your key work processes and support 

processes ensure that they meet your key process requirements?

(6) How do you improve your key work processes and support processes to improve 

product and/or service and process performance?

6.2 Operational Effectiveness: How do you ensure effective management 

of your operations?

(1) How do you manage the cost, efficiency, and effectiveness of your operations?

(2) How do you manage your supply network?

(3) How do you provide a safe operating environment for your workforce and other 

people in your workplace?

(4) How do you ensure that your organization can anticipate, prepare for, and recover from 

disasters, emergencies, and other disruptions?

(5) What is your organization’s overall approach to risk management?

Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 17–19).
Baldrige Excellence Builder 13

7 Results

7.1 Product and Process Results: What are your product and/or service 

and process performance results?

(1) What are your results for your products and/or services?

(2) What are your process effectiveness and efficiency results?

(3) What are your safety and emergency preparedness results?

(4) What are your supply-network management results?

7.2 Customer Results: What are your customer-focused performance 

results?

(1) What are your customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction results?

(2) What are your customer engagement results?

7.3 Workforce Results: What are your workforce-focused performance 

results?

(1) What are your workforce capability and capacity results?

(2) What are your results for workplace health and for workforce compensation and 

benefits?

(3) What are your workforce engagement results?

(4) What are your workforce and leader development results?

(Continued on the next page)
14 Baldrige Excellence Builder

7.4 Leadership and Governance Results: What are your senior leadership 

and governance results?

(1) What are your results for senior leaders’ communication and engagement with the 

workforce, partners, and customers?

(2) What are your results for governance accountability?

(3) What are your legal and regulatory results?

(4) What are your results for ethical behavior?

(5) What are your results for societal well-being and support of your key communities?

7.5 Financial, Marketplace, and Strategy Results: What are your 

results for financial and marketplace performance and strategy 

implementation?

(1) What are your financial performance results?

(2) What are your marketplace performance results?

(3) What are your results for the achievement of your organizational strategy?

Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 17–19).
Assessing Your Responses 15

Assessing Your Responses

For scoring guidelines, see the Baldrige Excellence Framework booklet

(business/nonprofit, education, or health care).

Assessing Processes

Processes are the methods your organization uses and improves to do its work. The four 

factors used to evaluate processes are approach, deployment, learning, and integration 

(see page 3).

For process items (those in categories 1–6), read the process scoring rubric on page 16. 

For each item, assign one of the descriptors (reactive, early, mature, or role model) based 

on a holistic assessment of your processes.

Assessing Results

Results are the outputs and outcomes your organization achieves. The four factors used 

to evaluate results are levels, trends, comparisons, and integration (see page 3).

For results items (7.1–7.5), read the results scoring rubric on page 16. For each item, 

assign one of the descriptors based on a holistic assessment of your overall performance.
DESCRIPTOR PROCESS RESULTS

Reactive

Strategic and 

Operational 

Goals

• Operations are characterized by 

activities rather than by processes, 

and they are largely responsive to 

immediate needs or problems. Goals 

are poorly defined.

• Results that are important 

to the organization’s 

ongoing success are 

missing, not used, or 

randomly reported.

Early

Strategic and 

Operational Goals

• The organization is beginning 

to carry out operations with 

repeatable processes, evaluation, and 

improvement, and there is some early 

coordination among organizational 

units. Strategy and quantitative goals 

are being defend.

• Results that are important 

to the organization’s 

ongoing success are 

reported, tracked over time, 

and improving.

Mature

Strategic and 

Operational Goals

• Operations are characterized by 

repeatable processes that are regularly 

evaluated for improvement. Learnings 

are shared, and there is coordination 

among organizational units. Processes 

address key strategies and goals.

• Results that are important 

to the organization’s 

ongoing success are trending 

in the right direction 

and doing well relative 

to competitors or other 

relevant organizations.

Role Model

Strategic and 

Operational Goals

• Operations are characterized by 

repeatable processes that are regularly 

evaluated for change and improvement 

in collaboration with other affected 

units. The organization seeks and 

achieves efficiencies across units 

through analysis, innovation, and the 

sharing of information and knowledge. 

Processes and measures track progress 

on key strategic and operational goals.

• The full array of results 

that are important to the 

organization’s ongoing 

success are reported 

and trended over time, 

indicating top performance 

relative to other 

organizations.
Glossary of Key Terms 17

Glossary of Key Terms

The terms below are those in SMALL CAPS in the Baldrige Excellence 

Builder, as well as terms relating to the scoring rubric. For additional 

definitions and examples, see the Baldrige Excellence Framework booklet

(business/nonprofit, education, or health care).

ACTION PLANS. Specific actions that your 

organization takes to reach its strategic objectives. These plans specify the resources committed to and the time horizons for accomplishing 

the plans. 

See also strategic objectives.

ALIGNMENT. A state of consistency among 

plans, processes, information, resource 

decisions, workforce capability and capacity, 

actions, results, and analyses that support key 

organization-wide goals. 

See also integration.

AGILITY. A capacity for rapid change and flexibility in operations. 

APPROACH. The methods your organization 

uses to carry out its processes.

COLLABORATORS. Organizations or individuals who cooperate with your organization to 

support a particular activity or event or who 

cooperate intermittently when their short-term 

goals are aligned with or are the same as yours. 

See also partners.

CORE COMPETENCIES. Your organization’s 

areas of greatest expertise; those strategically 

important, possibly specialized capabilities that 

are central to fulfilling your mission or that 

provide an advantage in your marketplace or 

service environment.

CULTURE. The shared beliefs, norms, and 

values that characterize your workforce and are 

demonstrated within your organization. 

See also ethical behavior and values.

CUSTOMER. An actual or potential user of your 

organization’s products, programs, or services. 

See also stakeholders.

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT. Your customers’ 

investment in or commitment to your brand 

and product and/or service offerings.

DEPLOYMENT. The extent to which your 

organization applies an approach in relevant 

work units throughout your organization. 

EFFECTIVE. How well a process or a measure 

addresses its intended purpose.

ETHICAL BEHAVIOR. The actions your organization takes to ensure that all its decisions, 

actions, and stakeholder interactions conform 

to its moral and professional principles of 

conduct. These principles should support all 

applicable laws and regulations and are the 

foundation for your organization’s culture and 

values.

GOALS. Future conditions or performance 

levels that your organization intends or desires 

to attain. 

See also performance projections.

GOVERNANCE. The system of management 

and controls exercised in the stewardship of 

your organization.

HIGH PERFORMANCE. Ever-higher levels 

of overall organizational and individual 

performance, including quality, productivity, 

innovation rate, and cycle time.

HOW. The systems and processes that your 

organization uses to achieve its mission 

requirements.
18 Baldrige Excellence Builder

INNOVATION. Making meaningful change 

to improve products, services, processes, the 

organization, or societal well-being, and create 

new value for stakeholders. The outcome of 

innovation is a discontinuous or breakthrough 

change.

INTEGRATION. The harmonization of 

plans, processes, information, resource 

decisions, workforce capability and capacity, 

actions, results, and analyses to support key 

organization-wide goals. 

See also alignment.

KEY. Major or most important; critical to 

achieving your intended outcome.

KNOWLEDGE ASSETS. Your organization’s 

accumulated intellectual resources; the 

knowledge possessed by your organization and 

its workforce in the form of information, ideas, 

learning, understanding, memory, insights, 

cognitive and technical skills, and capabilities.

LEADERSHIP SYSTEM. The way leadership is 

exercised, formally and informally, throughout 

your organization; the basis for key decisions 

and the way they are made, communicated, 

and carried out.

LEARNING. New knowledge or skills acquired 

through evaluation, study, experience, and 

innovation.

LEVELS. Numerical information that places or 

positions your organization’s results and performance on a meaningful measurement scale.

MEASURES AND INDICATORS. Numerical 

information that quantifies the input, output, 

and performance dimensions of processes, 

products, programs, projects, services, and the 

overall organization (outcomes).

MISSION. Your organization’s overall function.

PARTNERS. Key organizations or individuals 

who are working in concert with your organization to achieve a common goal or improve 

performance. Typically, partnerships are formal 

arrangements. 

See also collaborators.

PERFORMANCE. Outputs and their outcomes 

obtained from processes, products, services, 

and customers that permit you to evaluate and 

compare your organization’s results to performance projections, standards, past results, 

goals, and other organizations’ results.

PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE. An integrated 

approach to organizational performance 

management that results in (1) delivery of everimproving value to customers and stakeholders, 

contributing to ongoing organizational success; 

(2) improvement of your organization’s overall 

effectiveness and capabilities; and (3) learning 

for the organization and for people in the 

workforce.

PERFORMANCE PROJECTIONS. Estimates of 

your organization’s future performance. 

See also goals.

PROCESS. Linked activities with the purpose of 

producing a product or service for a customer 

(user) within or outside your organization.

RESILIENCE. An organization’s ability to anticipate, prepare for, and recover from disasters, 

emergencies, and other disruptions, and when 

disruptions occur, to protect and enhance workforce and customer engagement, supply-network 

and financial performance, organizational 

productivity, and community well-being.

RESULTS. Outputs and outcomes achieved by 

your organization.

SEGMENT. One part of your organization’s 

customer, market, product and/or service offering, or workforce base.

SENIOR LEADERS. Your organization’s senior 

management group or team.

STAKEHOLDERS. All groups that are or might 

be affected by your organization’s actions and 

success.

STRATEGIC ADVANTAGES. Those marketplace 

benefits that exert a decisive influence on your 

organization’s likelihood of future success. These 

advantages are frequently sources of current 

and future competitive success relative to other 

providers of similar products and/or services.
Glossary of Key Terms 19

STRATEGIC CHALLENGES. Those pressures that 

exert a decisive influence on your organization’s 

likelihood of future success. These challenges 

are frequently driven by your organization’s 

anticipated competitive position in the future 

relative to other providers of similar products 

and/or services.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES. The aims or responses 

that your organization articulates to address 

major change or improvement, competitiveness 

or social issues, and business advantages. 

See also action plans.

SYSTEM. A set of interrelated leadership and 

management elements of an organization used 

to integrate approaches, establish policies and 

objectives, and manage processes to achieve 

those objectives. 

SYSTEMATIC. Well-ordered, repeatable, and 

exhibiting the use of data and information so 

that learning is possible.

TRENDS. Numerical information that shows 

the direction and rate of change of your 

organization’s results or the consistency of its 

performance over time.

VALUES. The guiding principles and behaviors 

that embody how your organization and its 

people are expected to operate.

VISION. Your organization’s desired future 

state.

VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER. Your process for 

capturing customer-related information.

WORK PROCESSES. Your organization’s most 

important internal value-creation processes.

WORKFORCE. All people actively supervised 

by your organization and involved in accomplishing your organization’s work, including 

paid employees (e.g., permanent, part-time, 

temporary, on-site, and remote employees, as 

well as contract employees supervised by your 

organization) and volunteers, as appropriate.

WORKFORCE CAPABILITY. Your organization’s ability to accomplish its work processes 

through its people’s knowledge, skills, abilities, 

and competencies.

WORKFORCE CAPACITY. Your organization’s 

ability to ensure sufficient staffing levels to 

accomplish its work processes and deliver your 

products and/or services to customers, including the ability to meet seasonal or varying 

demand levels.

WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT. The extent of 

workforce members’ emotional and intellectual 

commitment to accomplishing your organization’s work, mission, and vision.
BALDRIGE EXCELLENCE FRAMEWORK®, BALDRIGE CRITERIA FOR 

PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE®, CRITERIA FOR PERFORMANCE 

EXCELLENCE®, BALDRIGE COLLABORATIVE ASSESSMENT®, BALDRIGE 

EXAMINER®, BALDRIGE EXCELLENCE BUILDER®, BALDRIGE EXECUTIVE 

FELLOWS PROGRAM®, (IM)PROVE YOUR PERFORMANCE®, PERFORMANCE 

EXCELLENCE®, THE QUEST FOR EXCELLENCE®, MALCOLM BALDRIGE 

NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD®, BALDRIGE PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE 

PROGRAM®, and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award medal and depictions 

or representations thereof are federally registered trademarks and service marks of the 

U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology. The 

unauthorized use of these trademarks and service marks is prohibited.
You’ve used the Baldrige Excellence Builder® to 

assess your organization.What’s next?

Purchase the Baldrige Framework Booklet

The Baldrige Excellence Framework® (business/nonprofit, education, or health care) 

is a more comprehensive guide to organizational performance excellence.

Attend the Quest for Excellence® Conference

At Quest and other Baldrige conferences, you will learn best performance 

management practices from Baldrige Award recipients.

Attend the Baldrige Examiner Training Experience

Within the Baldrige Examiner Training course, you will work with experienced 

Baldrige examiners and learn how to use the Criteria for Performance Excellence®.

Apply for the Baldrige Executive Fellows Program

This one-year, leadership development experience prepares rising senior executives 

for impactful leadership and for achieving performance excellence in their own 

organizations. 

Try the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder

This voluntary self-assessment tool will help you better understand and improve the 

effectiveness of your organization’s cybersecurity risk management efforts.

Explore Local Baldrige-Based Offerings

The Alliance for Performance Excellence, the consortium of state, local, and sectorspecific Baldrige-based programs, offers resources and services to help your organization 

get better, faster.

Contact the Baldrige Program

We’ll answer your questions about these and other Baldrige products and services. 

a powerful set of mechanisms

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don’t

I see the Baldrige process as a powerful set of mechanisms for disciplined people 

engaged in disciplined thought and taking disciplined action to create 

great organizations that produce exceptional results. 
Baldrige Excellence Framework®

LEADERSHIP

STRATEGY

CUSTOMERS

MEASUREMENT, ANALYSIS, AND 

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

WORKFORCE

OPERATIONS 2023 RESULTS 2024 www.nist.gov/baldrige

BALDRIGE 

EXCELLENCE 

FRAMEWORK

Proven leadership and management 

practices for high performance

business 

nonprofit

government

LEADERSHIP

STRATEGY

CUSTOMERS

MEASUREMENT, ANALYSIS, AND 

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

WORKFORCE

OPERATIONS 2023 RESULTS 2024 www.nist.gov/baldrige

BALDRIGE 

EXCELLENCE 

FRAMEWORK

Proven leadership and management 

practices for high performance

2023–2024 Baldrige Excellence Framework

T1666 9 798986 942421

53000>

ISBN 979-8-9869424-2-1

$30.00

What People Are Saying

Utilizing the Baldrige framework 

and different methodologies . . . 

has propelled us to be one of the 

best in the state, with some of 

the best graduation rates within 

the nation.

Mike Flores

Chancellor

Alamo Colleges District 

San Antonio, TX

Baldrige Award recipient

By diligently applying the Baldrige 

framework, we have developed 

robust processes in leadership, 

strategic planning, knowledge 

management, and operations to 

improve our school each and 

every year.

Tim Tuter

Executive Director

The Charter School of San Diego

San Diego, CA

Baldrige Award recipient

CONNECT WITH BALDRIGE

@BaldrigeProgram #Baldrige

The ratio of the Baldrige Program’s benefits 

for the U.S. economy to its costs is estimated

at 820 to 1.

Three-time Baldrige Award winners’ median growth equals 

255 percent in revenue and 188 percent 

in job growth. 

2010 –2022 applicants represent 

730,840 jobs, 

5,313 work sites, over $215 billion in 

revenue/budgets, and about 614 million 

customers served.

311 Baldrige examiners volunteered roughly 

$6.9 million in services 

in 2021 and 2022.

Baldrige-based programs annually evaluate 

and recognize more than 1,000

organizations that use the 

Baldrige Excellence Framework.

The ratio of the Baldrige Program’s benefits 

for the U.S. economy to its costs is estimated

at 820 to 1.

Three-time Baldrige Award winners’ median growth equals 

255 percent in revenue and 188 percent 

in job growth. 

2010 –2022 applicants represent 

730,840 jobs, 

5,313 work sites, over $215 billion in 

revenue/budgets, and about 614 million 

customers served.

311 Baldrige examiners volunteered roughly 

$6.9 million in services 

in 2021 and 2022.

Baldrige-based programs annually evaluate 

and recognize more than 1,000

organizations that use the 

Baldrige Excellence Framework.

education

(Education)

LEADERSHIP

STRATEGY

CUSTOMERS

MEASUREMENT, ANALYSIS, AND 

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

WORKFORCE

OPERATIONS 2023 RESULTS 2024 www.nist.gov/baldrige

BALDRIGE 

EXCELLENCE 

FRAMEWORK

Proven leadership and management 

practices for high performance

2023–2024 Baldrige Excellence Framework

T1665 9 798986 942414

53000>

ISBN 979-8-9869424-1-4

$30.00

What People Are Saying

Having a systematic approach to 

crisis management was instrumental 

to GBMC in responding to the 

COVID-19 pandemic. ... Using the 

Baldrige framework and Lean methods, 

we have implemented systems 

thinking to every aspect of our 

business model.

John Chessare

President and CEO

GBMC HealthCare

Towson, MD

Baldrige Award recipient

We know our commitment to the 

Baldrige framework allowed us to 

systematically plan and prepare for 

the COVID-19 pandemic, all while 

exceeding our customer expectations 

and maintaining strong operations.

Brian Dieter

President and CEO

Mary Greeley Medical Center

Ames, IA

Baldrige Award recipient

CONNECT WITH BALDRIGE

@BaldrigeProgram #Baldrige

The ratio of the Baldrige Program’s benefits 

for the U.S. economy to its costs is estimated

at 820 to 1.

Three-time Baldrige Award winners’ median growth equals 

255 percent in revenue and 188 percent 

in job growth. 

2010 –2022 applicants represent 

730,840 jobs, 

5,313 work sites, over $215 billion in 

revenue/budgets, and about 614 million 

customers served.

311 Baldrige examiners volunteered roughly 

$6.9 million in services 

in 2021 and 2022.

Baldrige-based programs annually evaluate 

and recognize more than 1,000

organizations that use the 

Baldrige Excellence Framework.

The ratio of the Baldrige Program’s benefits 

for the U.S. economy to its costs is estimated

at 820 to 1.

Three-time Baldrige Award winners’ median growth equals 

255 percent in revenue and 188 percent 

in job growth. 

2010 –2022 applicants represent 

730,840 jobs, 

5,313 work sites, over $215 billion in 

revenue/budgets, and about 614 million 

customers served.

311 Baldrige examiners volunteered roughly 

$6.9 million in services 

in 2021 and 2022.

Baldrige-based programs annually evaluate 

and recognize more than 1,000

organizations that use the 

Baldrige Excellence Framework.

health care

(Health Care)

Purchase your copy today.

Printed format: $30

Electronic format: $12

Volume discounts and 

enterprise licenses available

Contents

•About the Baldrige Excellence Framework®

•How to Use the Baldrige Excellence Framework®

•Criteria for Performance Excellence®

•Scoring System

•How to Respond to the Criteria

•Core Values and Concepts

•Changes from the 2021–2022 Baldrige Excellence Framework®

•Glossary of Key Terms

Contact 

For more information on the Baldrige Excellence Framework® or other products and services:

www.nist.gov/baldrige | 301.975.2036 | baldrige@nist.gov

CONNECT WITH BALDRIGE

@BaldrigeProgram #Baldrige

02/2023

T1668

Photo credits: ©Ribah/Shutterstock, ©Rostizna/Shutterstock