Criteria for Performance Excellence

•Leadership •Strategic Planning •Customer and Market Focus

•Information and Analysis •Human Resource Focus •Process Management

•Business Results

Baldrige National Quality Program CEO Issue Sheet

"We hire for 'attitude,' knowing we

can train to develop technical

skill, which is part of the Baldrige

philosophy," says Spicer Driveshaft

Division (SDD) Vice President and

General Manager Joe Sober. "Team

member experience is one of the

important attributes we look for."

BALDRIGE: 

For Hiring and Keeping the Best Employees

The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence recognize that an organization's

success depends increasingly on the skills and motivation of its employees and

addresses these needs in all seven of its Categories with special emphasis on

Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Human Resource Focus.

By using Baldrige for self-assessment, CEOs and their organizations learn to refine

their process for attracting and keeping their most qualified employees so that it

aligns with changing business needs–including the fluctuating labor market. Their

attention to succession planning and hiring practices becomes a part of their

organization's preparation for the future.

For nearly a decade and a half, the Baldrige Criteria have been used by thousands

of U.S. organizations to stay abreast of ever-increasing competition and improve

performance. These organizations have used the Criteria for either self-assessment

only or performed self-assessment as a first step in applying for the Malcolm

Baldrige National Quality Award. Spicer Driveshaft, Los Alamos National Bank,

and Texas Nameplate Company applied and are recipients of the Award. They

recognize the value of effective recruiting and retention practices and how the

Baldrige Criteria help point the way to establishing these practices. 

Regardless of the economic outlook, recruitment and retention of valuable employees

is now recognized as one of the most important issues facing corporate America. 

As businesses struggle with layoffs, lower consumer confidence, softening commercial

investment, and a volatile stock market, effective recruitment has moved from the

responsibility of the Human Resources Department to that of the Boardroom. With

a sharp focus on human capital, employees are no longer considered a cost, but

rather an investment. And, corporate executive officers are expected to present

clear strategy and direction for staffing their respective organizations. Their own

value to their organization is, in part, measured by how skilled they are at recruiting

and retaining key employees.

Employees don't have to look far to

see the value Los Alamos National

Bank (LANB) in New Mexico places

on them. Senior leaders make it

clear that the efficiency of employees,

who have bought in to the bank's

vision of reaching $750 million in

assets by the year 2002, is the major

factor in their favorable net interest

The desire to pass on a successful

business to his children, as his father

had done for him, was Dale

Crownover's incentive to investigate the Baldrige Criteria for

Performance Excellence. "Once we

got involved with the Criteria, we

developed a passion to become

more competitive, even in the

Baldrige Self-Assessment Leads to 

Staffing Success

CEOs Asked for Recruiting, Retention Policy Spicer Driveshaft

Employees Take Charge

of Their Careers

Los Alamos National

Bank Works for

Employee Job

Fulfillment

Texas Nameplate 

Seeks Zero 

Turnover Rate

Summer 2001

continued on the next page

continued on the next page

continued on the next page

"As baby boomers retire and an older, more experienced workforce is

replaced by a younger, less experienced one, CEOs must preserve corporate

knowledge and provide an atmosphere that fosters sharing."

Joseph A. Muzikowski, Vice President, Total Quality, Solvay Polymers, Inc.

Chairperson, Panel of Judges, Baldrige National Quality Program Board of Examiners
margin. And, that means LANB is more profitable than

its competitors.

As the seventh largest employer in a region that boasts a

mere 1.5% unemployment rate, this 2000 Malcolm Baldrige

National Quality Award recipient has cut its turnover rate by

more than 50% in the last three years through effective

recruiting and retention practices.

"When I took over as President, I had a vision that things

could be different, that employees could enjoy their jobs and

could get fulfillment out of what they're doing," says Bill

Enloe, now LANB CEO and Chairman. "And, I have spent

most of my time trying to make that happen."

This translates into a working philosophy best described by

LANB President Steve W. Wells. "Don't make it harder than

it needs to be. Communicate everything, listen constantly,

then roll your sleeves up and work alongside your people if

you want them to know how much they mean to your

company's success," he states.

For more information, contact

● Joseph Sober, Vice President & General Manager, Dana Corp.-Spicer Driveshaft, (419) 866-2606.

● William Enloe, CEO & Chairman, Los Alamos National Bank, (505) 662-5171.

● Dale Crownover, President & CEO, Texas Nameplate Company, Inc., (214) 428-8341.

● Harry Hertz, Director, Baldrige National Quality Program, at (301) 975-2036 or nqp@nist.gov. 

Visit the Baldrige Program's Web site at www.quality.nist.gov for a general overview. 

BALDRIGE: For Hiring and Keeping the Best Employees

Spicer Driveshaft (continued)

Los Alamos National Bank (continued)

Texas Nameplate (continued)

"Successful companies treat every employee like

today's free agent. Rest assured your competition will

see to it that you are left only with those employees

they don't want."

Steve W. Wells, President, Los Alamos National Bank

2000 Baldrige National Quality Award winner

Spicer is a division of Dana Corporation and a year 2000

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient.

According to Sober, its success as a manufacturer is based on

the belief that the organization is committed to earning

money for its shareholders and that its people are its most

important asset. 

Retention of good employees impacts both of these aims, he

explains. "Turnover of employees is very expensive, so we

are committed to doing all we can to recruit exactly the right

people and provide the right work environment to keep them." 

Once hired by Spicer, new employees can expect certain

things. First, even if they come in at entry level, they have an

opportunity to move up in the company. "In my 23 years with

Dana, I have never gone outside to fill a management

position. We fill vacancies from within, and we promote

based on performance," Sober says. 

Second, employees are encouraged to "jump disciplines"

within the company. "We urge employees to take control of

their careers and let their managers help them reach their

goals, even if it is to work in an entirely different part of the

company than where they are working today," explains Sober. 

Finally, Sober cites the Division's extensive education

opportunities available to employees through Dana

University, which offers accredited courses toward graduate

degrees in engineering and business and a certified Dana

supervisor program.

international marketplace," recalls Crownover, CEO of Texas

Nameplate Company (TNC). Today, with an employee base

of fewer than 70 drawn from a culturally diverse community

in Dallas, this 1998 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality

Award recipient sells its nameplates in all 50 states and in

nine foreign countries.

Using the Baldrige Criteria as a guide, Crownover developed

a strategy and vision statement with nine long-term goals.

High on this list was to eliminate employee turnover by

hiring the best, training them well, and keeping them on the

job. "Turnover kills you," he says. "It destroys morale within

the company, and there is more chance for error when

training new people which then affects quality and impacts

customer response," he explains.

Today, the goal at Texas Nameplate remains zero turnover,

and, according to company figures, turnover was cut by

more than half over a four-year period. At present, one third

of the staff has been with the company for 10 years or longer

and half for five years or more. 

TNC remains proud of its most highly effective recruiting

tool–that of the reputation it enjoys in the community for

fair and equitable compensation of its employees and of

a caring approach to the staff by its CEO. "The Baldrige

Criteria emphasize the value of employees as an integral part

of the company success. And, we know this is true,"

Crownover declares.