SUCCESS STORY

BOOK
THE JOURNEY
TOWARDS
EXCELLENCE...

...there is a continual improvement loop,

feeding back the learning from the results
achieved and using creativity and innovation to
drive increased value for all the stakeholders.
IGNITING THE PASSION
FOR SUCCESS
EFQM is a network of remarkable and like-minded
organisations who share a common vision of Excellence.

Through each Success Story, EFQM brings to you inspiring stories of people and companies who have
successfully deployed the Model and experienced its many benefits. In this book, we take a closer look at
how they did it ...

EFQM ENABLES YOU TO CONNECT, LEARN, ACT, ACHIEVE, SUCCEED

The EFQM Excellence Model provides organisations with a platform and common language to share their
experiences and learn from others. The desire to share, learn and innovate is what drives our economies
forward. A derived observation is the fact that what was considered "best practice" yesterday rapidly enters
the mainstream and becomes common practice today. To stay ahead, organisations need to adapt faster
than ever. Introducing a proven practice from one sector to another is one way to achieve this...

We hope this series of Success Stories will inspire you, and the wider business excellence community to
achieve great things themselves. So far 16 companies have joined this project and we hope many more to
come!

If you have any questions or wish to join us in this project, please send an email to sophie.wager@efqm.org!

3
01 ENERGY SECTOR
STORY FROM BURSAGAZ
Established in 1989 by BOTAS to distribute
natural gas, Bursagaz Bursa Şehiriçi Doğalgaz
Dağıtım Ticaret ve Taahhüt A.Ş. has provided a
significant contribution to the social, economic
and environmental development of Bursa and
Turkey by starting to provide a natural gas supply
to residences in 1992. After being included in
the project of privatisation of natural gas supply
distribution companies in 2003, Bursagaz was
privatised in 2004. It still continues to provide
a natural gas distribution service within the
licensed area boundaries of Bursa Metropolitan
Municipality and the Iznik region (included in
the license in 2014).
WHEN AND WHY DID YOU START USING
THE EFQM EXCELLENCE ?
Bursagaz has been using the EFQM Excellence
Model since 2006. As a company which aims
to sustain excellence, it was a requirement
to have a model which influences all the
processes and strategy management while
thinking positively. The EFQM Excellence
Model impressed Bursagaz’s top management
by raising excitement throughout the company,
this includes fundamental concepts, having a
comprehensive vision in stakeholder approach
and the RADAR logic.
From the beginning, Bursagaz has benefitted
from the EFQM Excellence Model in strategic
management, sustainability approach,
stakeholder management and even the
integration of global models and standards.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE KEY
BENEFITS OF THE EFQM PHILOSOPHY?
The EFQM Philosophy teaches people to
strive for excellence. Not to be excellent, but
to always be striving and advancing. Because
life is changing, conditions change day by
day. Any company can say that they are the
best and that they are excellent. Because
excellence is not a destination, it is a journey.
Since 2006, when Bursagaz started to use the
EFQM Excellence Model, Bursagaz continued
to learn from the EFQM Model Components
and it gets more benefits from the model day
after day. EFQM's philosophy, which includes
the organisation’s processes, operations and
strategies is one of the best resources of
Bursagaz's strategic management. It means that
achieving success and sustaining it, by using
processes and operations, all stakeholders
and employees are in accordance with each
other. So there is a need for a model which
can be a basis for all of them. The EFQM
Model is the ideal model to use for companies.
After seeing the EFQM scope and learning
about its philosophy, Bursagaz started to
integrate all of the models which it has used in
its management. Based on this philosophy, it
has created new methodologies which can be
effective in its strategy management and also
effective for other companies. One of the best
examples is the “Components of Excellence”
which was developed to implement the EFQM
Excellence Model and other global models such
as the Balanced Scorecard; GRI Sustainability
Reporting; Investments in People (IIP); Great
Place to Work (GPTW) and ISO standards to its
management. This model is shown as a good
practice which enables to integrate the EFQM
Excellence Model into the other models and
standards by matching their aspects with each
other.
These are such valuable contributions which
show that using the EFQM model can make a
big difference: “Giving an excellence approach
to companies”. Within a few years, Bursagaz
has created a strategic management model,
has been seen as role model for companies,
which based on the EFQM Excellence Model
philosophy, that is the “key benefit” that a
company can get from a model.
AS A RESULT OF IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL, HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO
IDENTIFY IMPROVEMENTS
Employee loyalty and determination to work
are part of the main criteria of the EFQM
Excellence Model value: “People”. After the
Fundamental Concepts and criteria of the
EFQM Excellence Model, there are so many
strategies that have been developed based on
the strategic theme approach. Based on these,
Bursagaz creates highly skilled talent pools by
engaging global models: Great Place to Work
(GPTW); Investment in People (IIP); EFQM and
the Balanced Scorecard. Each model has its
own great approach and advice to strengthen
motivation and satisfaction which are banded
together in the EFQM structure in Bursagaz’s
Eren Tuğçe BALARISI,
management approach. Getting inspiration from
Head of Bursagaz Business
this, Bursagaz has improved its skills on employee
Excellence, Bursagaz
satisfaction management. By analysing its
employees' needs and expectations, Bursagaz
has developed a HR Management Model based
on a lifelong employment approach which
includes recruitment and talent management;
performance development and success
management; employee relations management
and recognition.

Read the full

story >>

Data from Bursagaz Bursa Şehiriçi Doğalgaz Dağıtım Ticaret ve

Taahhüt A.Ş
Can you provide some results or tangible evidences of this value/change after a few
years?

2004 2007 2016

Cumulative Subscribers in (BBS) 314.609 552.995 905.022

Cumulative Gas Users in (BBS) 245.160 424.040 816.124

Cumulative PE Line Length (km) 1.841 3.614 5.959

Residential Customer Satisfaction Survey (%) 70,25 86,15 87,73

Cumulative Gas Supply (mio m3) 1.078 1.519 1.547

Accessible User Ratio (%) 63 86 100

5
 02 HEALTHCARE SECTOR
STORY OF VAMED-KMB
VAMED-KMB is a subsidiary of VAMED, the
leading international provider of a full line of
services for health care facilities. They provide
technical operations management in hospitals
and realise construction and refurbishment
projects during ongoing hospital operations.
The company is located in Vienna, Austria and
has 970 employees.
WHEN AND WHY DID YOU START USING
THE EFQM EXCELLENCE ?
We started using the EFQM Excellence Model
in 2003. What we liked about the Model is
its broad stakeholder approach including a
strong employee focus. A service company,
especially in the healthcare sector, must focus
on technically and socially competent staff.
This belief is also reflected in our guiding value
principle "from people excellence for people".
To share with the best is a great motivation to never
rest on your laurels and always seek new challenges.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
At the beginning of the implementation of the
EFQM Excellence Model, the commitment of
the management was decisive. This is why we
trained all our managers (management board,
first and second reporting line) as EFQM
assessors. As role models, the board members
even completed an international assessor
training and personally headed the first EFQM
improvement projects. Since the start, we
annually conduct self-assessments and derive
improvement projects (approximately 70 up to
now). The self-assessment approach has been
continuously improved. Since 2007, along with
the internal teams, also our main customer
conducts annual assessments of our company.
External applications since 2006 have given
valuable input by learning from others and are
used to match self-perception and outsiders’
perception, and to learn from the differences.
HOW DID YOU CONTINUE THE JOURNEY?
The first measures we derived from applying
the Model were:
• The foundation of our Platform Employee
Orientation. Employee Orientation
stands for orientation in two directions:
understanding the employees’ expectations
and needs as well as giving them direction
in order to assure cooperation on the
common path with mutual trust
• The Leaders Platform: monthly meeting of
board members and all managers of the
first two reporting lines
• Shop Floor Talks: organised annually
together with the managing director for
bidirectional information exchange.
All of these measures proved very successful
and helpful for the further development of the
organisation.
Furthermore, learning to systematically evaluate
the outcome of measures also helped us to
improve a lot. In 2006/2007 VAMED-KMB
achieved "Committed to Excellence", and in
2008 "Recognised for Excellence 5-star". In the
same year, we were nominated for the Austrian
Quality Award, Jury Award, and in 2009 we
were granted the Austrian Quality Award.
After that, VAMED-KMB started participating
on an international level and so far we have
been EFQM Excellence Award Prize Winners
four times: in 2010 for “Succeeding through
People”, in 2012 for “Nurturing Creativity and
Innovation”, in 2013 for “Succeeding through
the Talent of People” and in 2015 for “Adding
value for customers”.
WHAT VALUE DID IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL BRING TO YOUR ORGANISATION?
Implementing the EFQM Excellence Model
helped us to advance in a more structured
way. Not only to plan and deploy measures
but also to closely monitor their success and
react in a timely manner if necessary to strongly
support our continuous improvement as a
whole organisation. Monitoring the success
of our measures provides VAMED-KMB with
a wide range of results. This verifiability is a
valuable asset towards our customer. The
implementation of the EFQM Model was even
integrated into our contractual partnership.
It enhances our customer's confidence and
paved the way for us to be entrusted with
the realisation of our customer's upcoming
major building and refurbishment projects. This
assignment ensures our employees' jobs for
many years to come.
WHICH ASPECTS OF THE MODEL
IMPLEMENTATION ARE YOU PARTICULARLY
PROUD OF?
We have achieved an excellence culture that
has become part of our DNA. New managers Kai Ostermann,
often ask after only one or two weeks in the Managing Director
company when they get their EFQM assessor VAMED-KMB
training because without it they feel something
is missing. The EFQM Excellence Model opens
up new horizons and viewing beyond our limits
has become common practice. The EFQM
community is also a great pool for knowledge
and best practice sharing.
Read the full
story >>
7
 03 MANUFACTURING SECTOR
STORY OF ROBERT BOSCH
GMBH, PLANT BLAICHACH/
IMMENSTADT
Bosch Blaichach/Immenstadt Plant (BhP) is
a manufacturing plant with a wide automotive
product portfolio. As a lead plant within
the international production network of
the Chassis Systems Control Division, BhP
coordinates 11 plants worldwide. With
development departments on-site, BhP offers
international engineering services and close
to production development services with the
ISEC (International Simultaneous Engineering
Centre). Within the ISEC, BhP coordinates
international and cross functional teams during
the development phase of new products.
BhP manufactures electronic brake control
systems (ABS and ESP®) and braking systems
for electric and hybrid vehicles; powertrain
components such as injection technology;
engine management sensors and video sensors
as well as production lines for the international
production network.
Mid 2017, BhP had roughly 3.500 employees,
25% of them are female which is double the
actual average of our industry. The average age
of our employees is 42 years (43 in 2015). BhP
is taking care of the demographic change with
various activities linked to our strategy, targeting
to be a pioneer for flexible, demographical
oriented working models.
A common understanding of our strategy and our
targets led to balanced results in all aspects of the
EFQM Excellence Model.
WHEN DID YOU START USING THE EFQM
EXCELLENCE MODEL?
In 2006, BhP started to use the EFQM
Excellence approach as part of the Chassis
System Control division and was recognised
as an EFQM Prize Winner in 2011 for Leading
with Vision, Inspiration & Integrity. In 2012,
BhP announced that the EFQM model is THE
management guideline for the conversion of
our plant.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
In 2012, the plant faced an increasingly
volatile market environment and organisational
changes at the Chassis Systems Control division
(implementation of business unit organisation),
leading to the decision of the plant management
team to rethink the strategy.
Taking into account the 2012 R4E Assessment
feedback report, the need for change became
even more obvious.
The EFQM Model has been chosen as the
framework for our strategy development
process and as a first important milestone,
a strategy core team was created, with
responsibility for the preparation of processes,
methods and the respective content.
An important factor for our successful change
process was the timely involvement and
participation of the relevant leadership levels.
HOW DID THE JOURNEY CONTINUE?
The early involvement of internal and external
communication specialists for the development
of a smart and catchy communication design was
the main enabler to take all our employees with
us on our continuous Journey to Excellence.
To ensure successful improvement, we
clearly separated responsibilities for strategy
development from operative deployment and
provided continuous process support and
coaching from experts with deep EFQM model
knowledge.
We explicitely put focus on our strategy and
our future not in theoretical knowledge of the
EFQM Model.
Consequently, we received a very good rating
from our employees in a strategy survey which
we performed after the roll-out of our new
strategy at the end of 2013.
This good result was confirmed in our associate
survey in 2015.
WHAT VALUE DID THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE EFQM EXCELLENCE MODEL BRING
TO YOUR ORGANISATION?
The application of the EFQM Model in our
plant rose the awareness about the importance
of systematically considering market and
stakeholder needs.
Combined with the consequent use of the
RADAR methodology, this resulted in a better
understanding of cause and effect relationships
concerning our stakeholder approaches (mainly
our customers) and led to improvements, such
as better understanding of our customers and a
better customer feedback.
Thomas-Joachim Fritsch
Director Continuous Improvement Process
Robert Bosch Blaichach / Immenstadt Plant
Read the full
story >>
Michael Juhas,
Coordinator Business Excellence
Robert Bosch Blaichach / Immenstadt Plant
9
04 TOURISM SECTOR
STORY OF ABU DHABI
NATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
COMPANY - ADNEC
H.E. Noura Al Kaabi, Chairwoman and Humaid Al Dhaheri the Group Chief Executive
Officer during the opening of the ADNEC Innovation Lab (November 2016)
ADNEC is a public joint stock company owned
by the Government of Abu Dhabi. The company
was established as per Law No. 18 of 2005.
ADNEC UAE includes Abu Dhabi National
Exhibitions Centre and Al Ain Convention
Centre.
ADNEC’s core business is staging international
exhibitions and conferences. They also host
corporate meetings and special events.
ADNEC contributes to the Emirate achieving
its long term goals of economic growth and
diversification through hosting a series of world
class exhibitions, conventions and events which
assist business tourism and generate non-oil
related economic impact.
WHEN DID YOU START USING THE
MODEL?
ADNEC started its excellence journey in 2011
when we participated for the first time in the
Abu Dhabi excellence award “Sheikh Khalifa
Excellence Award” (SKEA) and won the golden
category. Then the Abu Dhabi Government
excellence award model got stronger and more
mature.
Since 2012, ADNEC started to use the EFQM
Model as part of its participation in the Abu
Dhabi Excellence Award program cycle of
2012/2013. That was our first government
excellence award participation which was
followed up by the 2015 and 2017 cycles
respectively.
The EFQM Model linked business areas in a
cause and effect relationship, it focused on a
balanced way on results. The Model is credible,
renowned and easily benchmarked which was a
key factor in the decision to adopt it for business
growth and excellence.
The model has been used since 2013 as a
vehicle for performance improvement and the
achievement of corporate objectives. Through
developing robust approaches, processes and
policies to excellent and efficient execution
and ending up with reviewing and learning,
the EFQM Excellence Model provided ADNEC
with clear guidelines, tools, principles and
techniques.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
We started this journey by forming internal
teams: we created a team for each chapter of
the Model. We sent people to attend specific
Excellence training related to EFQM. Luckily,
we were able to certify more than 50 of our
staff as certified EFQM assessors. They learned
the principles of EFQM assessment based on
the RADAR methodology.
We then supported this by creating an internal
business unit responsible for managing
excellence at ADNEC. This unit works in
collaboration with all our business units
and is responsible for excellence education,
awareness and adoption. The team consists of
2 staff members.
WHICH ASPECTS OF THE MODEL
IMPLEMENTATION ARE YOU
PARTICULARLY PROUD OF?
We are proud of implementing the models
requirements in the following areas: People,
Strategy, Innovation and Future foresight.

Additionally, ADNEC enhanced its knowledge

and learning of Excellence through contracting
excellence experts or consultants at certain
periods of time.
Read the full
WHAT VALUE DID IMPLEMENTING THE story >>
MODEL BRING TO YOUR COMPANY?

The culture of excellence has been adopted Derar Al Manaseer,

across ADNEC’s units, services, products Strategy Management & Excellence
and staff. We are a more customer focused Director
organisation at the moment. We apply the ADNEC
concepts of positive forward thinking more
than a negative reactive approach. We put the
customer's needs at the heart of what we do
and try to exceed their expectations.

CAN YOU PROVIDE SOME RESULTS OR TANGIBLE EVIDENCES OF THIS VALUE/CHANGE AFTER A
FEW YEARS?

11
05 AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR
STORY OF BMW PLANT
REGENSBURG
The BMW Plant Regensburg has a workforce
of approximately 9000 people who produce
around 1400 units daily of the BMW 1 Series, 2
Series Gran Tourer, 4 Series Convertible as well
as BMW M3 and M4 variants, individual and
government vehicles, four-wheel drive models,
the BMW X1, making the site an important part
of the BMW Group. Up to now, seven model
variants have been assembled on a single line.
In 2017, this number is going to increase to
eight - a challenge requiring maximum flexibility
and great expertise.
WHEN DID YOU START USING THE
MODEL?
We improve the whole system - each day step
by step. Challenges and our own strengths are
the input parameters in the strategy process.
In 2009, the Plant Leadership Circle revised
the management process in order to increase
its transparency. There are some convincing
factors in using EFQM:
• Consistent, continuous cyclical
improvement over many years
• Integrated approach in a holistic model
• View from the outside (customers,
employees, benchmark, assessors, etc.)
• Need for reflection, 360 ° feedback
• Improving operational results
• Balanced structure of enablers and results
• Endless opportunities for further
development
• Sheer pleasure of improvement
• To become a learning organisation and to
speed up the learning loops in a positive
competitive environment
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
BMW Group Plant Regensburg began using
the EFQM Model in 2009. The first step was
for the Executive Committee to perform a
self-assessment in line with EFQM rules. The
Executive Committee assumed responsibility
for the rollout itself, supported by an EFQM
team with representatives from all technologies
at the plant. The team developed standards
and specifications for evaluating interactions
between individual topics to promote a holistic
development across the company. The DNA of
the EFQM Model and its practical applications
were discussed with employees and managers
at plant-wide dialogue events held on site. Our
first participation in the Ludwig-Erhard Award at
national level and, then later, the EEA, provided
independent feedback from external assessors,
which was used for ongoing development on
the road to excellence. The goal was not to win
awards, but continuous improvement of the
organisation in order to attain excellence.
WHAT VALUE DID IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL BRING TO YOUR COMPANY?
For the BMW Group and the Regensburg
plant, economic success and value-oriented,
sustainable and responsible interaction with
employees, partner companies, the society
and customers are inextricably intertwined.
We do not see any contradiction in these
different aspects; on the contrary, together they
establish the basis for our success. The EFQM
Model combines these aspects as well, making
it a good guideline for our activities as an
organisation. The EFQM assessment provides
BMW Group Plant Regensburg with objective,
valuable and helpful suggestions regarding
strengths and potentials. The assessors’
external view is a significant addition to the
previously considered evaluation perspectives.
The strengths and potentials are applied in the
strategy and target process, always according to
the credo of “doing the right things and doing
things right.”
WHICH ASPECTS OF THE MODEL
IMPLEMENTATION ARE YOU PARTICULARLY
PROUD OF?
BMW Group Plant Regensburg is especially
proud of implementing all facets of the EFQM
Model. It is important for us to view the EFQM
Model as a holistic approach. The challenge was
to implement this as a single production location
within a global company. The cooperation
between shop-floor management and strategic
management – asking the critical questions “Are
we doing things right today?” and “Are we doing
the right things for tomorrow?” – were decisive.
By overcoming this challenge, the plant and its
management were able to transform themselves
from a company driven by outside factors to a Johann Simmel,
self-driven company with sovereignty over all Head of Quality Management
main aspects of a leading company. BMW Regensburg
Read the full
story >>
13
06 EDUCATION SECTOR
STORY OF CITY OF
GLASGOW COLLEGE
City of Glasgow College (CoGC) is Scotland’s
largest technical and professional skills college
providing world class education and training
across a diverse range of professional and
technical disciplines. This flagship college
delivers a range of over 2000 programmes from
Access level through to Master’s degree level
provision.
They currently employ almost 1400 people
of which 799 are teaching staff and 553 are
support staff. They are a global provider of
technical and professional education.
WHEN DID YOU START USING THE
MODEL?
City of Glasgow College has systematically
been implementing the Excellence Model since
its merger 6 years ago. The college chose to
use the Excellence Model as it provided a
consistent approach to focus our desire to
deliver quality education for our customers;
people progressing in education, those returning
to reskill or employees from companies who
require further training. We have found that
using the Excellence Model has helped our
customers realise their potential.
The ability to compare ourselves to the best
in the world has assisted us in identifying
the progress that we have made. However,
importantly, it has provided us with an
independent view of where we need to focus
to further develop.
One of our highlights has been working with
our people to develop a structured approach
to creating a clear customer focus that ensures
that we meet our customer needs at each of the
key "touch points" with the college.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
City of Glasgow College started with a merger
between three established and successful
further education colleges, one of which gained
5 stars R4E in 2009. The college developed a
strategy for merging and established within this
its ambition to embed the Excellence Model
in its development. This strategy for merging
made a promise to the Scottish Government
that City of Glasgow College would become a
Recognised for Excellence 5 star organisation
by 2015.
Our first step on this journey was to establish
a project team whose focus was developing
a plan towards achieving Recognised for
Excellence. We identified key staff within our
Performance function and beyond, and with
EFQM’s assistance trained them as Assessors.
We self-assessed the college over a 3 year
period during the project to ensure that we
were focused on the improvements that
supported the college’s development and were
in step with our strategic direction.
WHAT VALUE DID IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL BRING TO YOUR COMPANY?
We use the Excellence Model to effectively
develop consistent approaches throughout
the College. This systematic process aided us
in developing a clear purpose (mission) and
way (vision) for the College and also led to the
revitalisation of our Strategic Plan.
The implementation of the Model was
an opportunity for us to concentrate on
developing a shared culture to unite teams and
staff after one of the largest mergers in Scottish
further education. The College supported
the implementation of the Model with
considerable investment in programmes such as
a Major Change programme and a Leadership
Development programme.
In implementing the Model, we found that our
focus on our customers and how we defined
our key business results was clearer. This
change was driven from the way in which we
had revised our business processes when we
implemented the Model. Within the College,
our managers and staff embraced the benefits
of using the RADAR logic in the development
of their departmental activities.
WHICH ASPECTS OF THE MODEL
IMPLEMENTATION ARE YOU PARTICULARLY
PROUD OF?
We are proud of the way in which the use of
the Model has produced improvements in how
we developed our strategy, business plans
and key business results. We see that the use
of the Model has been an important strategic
tool which is fully integrated into our planning
Douglas Dickson,
process. This has resulted in a clearer linkage
Performance and
between improvement activities in the College
Improvement Director
and our strategic direction.
City of Glasgow College
Read the full
story >>
15
07 PUBLIC SECTOR
STORY OF DUBAI
ELECTRICITY AND WATER
AUTHORITY
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)
combines the strengths of the public sector
with the best private sector practices, creating
a unique operational Model of Excellence that
delivers world-class results.
Dubai Electricity Company and Dubai Water
Department were established in 1959 as two
separate entities, which were then merged into
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. DEWA
has sole responsibility for providing electricity
and water services to Dubai.
DEWA was formed on 1 January, 1992. The
main office is located in Oud Maitha. DEWA has
more than 11,000 employees and more than
780,000 customers.
WHEN DID YOU START USING THE
MODEL?
DEWA started using the EFQM Excellence
Model in 1998 in the same year that Dubai
Government Excellence Program launched
the local Excellence Model. The EFQM model
helped DEWA to build the Excellence Model
and system, by adopting the improvement cycle
with a focus on the result and achievements.
To implement the EFQM methodology, DEWA
studied and understood the requirements and
adopted key objectives in this regard to manage
with the global and local transformation which
includes:
• Adoption of the Sustainability - triple bottom
line methodology: “financial, environment,
and society” to build its strategy and future
foresight, considering the balance between
the three components.
• Design of the service solutions which
supports DEWA’s effort to shift towards
sustainability and green environment.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
DEWA started implementing the EFQM Model
through new initiatives to raise awareness
among DEWA employees, and process
improvement and requirements such as:
• New Excellence Wave project which
is about participation in external and
regional awards, implementation of the
4th Generation of Government Excellence,
preparation of 4th Generation criteria and
medals, and preparation of Service Seven
Stars requirements.
• Journey to Excellence is an annual initiative
in DEWA which includes awareness
sessions, internal and external campaigns,
marketing and publication of DEWA’s
achievements in the field of innovation
& creativity. Also, conducting excellence
camps among DEWA winners to help them
in their presentations.
WHAT VALUE DID IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL BRING TO YOUR COMPANY?
Leadership embraced the modern management
practices promoted by the EFQM Model, instead
of focusing only on financial and operational
aspects of the organisation, EFQM made it
possible for the leadership to spread this focus
on all the aspects a modern organisation needs
for better performance and sustainable results.
DEWA has grown considerably in its financial
performance, as demonstrated by our world-
class results from our KPIs.
WHICH ASPECTS OF THE MODEL
IMPLEMENTATION ARE YOU PARTICULARLY
PROUD OF?
DEWA adopts all components of the model
including its Fundamental Concepts, Criteria,
and RADAR tool. We use the model to
continually improve and develop systems in
DEWA. We are proud of the model, including
the 5 enablers:
• Leadership: DEWA has leaders who shape
the future and make it happen. Leaders in
DEWA reinforce a culture of excellence
by being role models for their employees,
adopting empowerment and innovation
policies, providing all necessary support
for employees to achieve individual
and corporate objectives and launching
recognition and rewarding systems.
• Strategy: DEWA continuously adheres
to best practices in strategic planning
and implements a major milestone in
the growth and evolution of DEWA as a
Strategy-Focused-Organisation as part
of its efforts to support Dubai’s strategic
direction. DEWA updates its strategy plan
yearly by conducting Internal & External
Environmental scans to implement their
Mission and Vision by developing a
stakeholder focused strategy. Policies,
plans, objectives and processes are
developed and deployed to deliver the
strategy.
HE Saeed Mohamed Ahmad
Read the full Al Tayer,
story >> MD & CEO, DEWA
17
09 TRANSPORT AND
LOGISTICS SECTOR
STORY OF GEODIS
September 2015 in Levallois, France: Régis Lesieux presenting
the 2015 Group Customer Survey results in a townhall meeting
GEODIS is a Supply Chain Operator ranking
among the top companies in the field in Europe
and the World. GEODIS is ranked as the
number four logistics provider in Europe and
number seven at a worldwide level. They are
also listed as a “Leader” in Gartner’s 2016 Magic
Quadrant of Worldwide 3PLs. GEODIS’ reach
includes a direct presence in 67 countries and
a global network spanning over 120 countries.
With its five Lines of Business (Supply Chain
Optimisation, Freight Forwarding, Contract
Logistics, Distribution & Express, and Road
Transport), GEODIS manages its customers’
Supply Chain by providing end to end
solutions enabled by over 39,500 employees,
its infrastructure, its processes and systems.
In 2016, the company recorded €8 billion in
sales.
WHEN DID YOU START USING THE
MODEL?
GEODIS elected to resort to the framework of
the EFQM Business Excellence Model as an
organisational tool, as the current testimony will
show. However, at this stage, no formal EFQM
assessment process has been undertaken
due to the sheer size of GEODIS' operations
worldwide.
GEODIS started using the EFQM Excellence
model as a framework for continuous
improvement in 2012 when Marie-Christine
Lombard joined the Group as CEO.
GEODIS leaned on the EFQM Excellence
Model and month after month, it progressively
deployed the key components of this model.
The ultimate goal was to reach its Ambition 2018
business objectives. To do so, GEODIS needed
to abide by the Business Excellence principles
and standards, as defined by EFQM: "Excellent
organisations achieve and sustain superior
levels of performance that meet or exceed the
expectations of all their stakeholders."
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
GEODIS started in January 2013 with the
deployment of its Mission, Vision and Values.
These Mission, Vision and Values reflect who
GEODIS is as an organisation. Its Mission
is to help its clients succeed by overcoming
their logistical constraints. Its Vision is to be
the growth partner for its clients. GEODIS is
an expert in transport and logistics solutions,
united by five strong values: Commitment,
Solidarity, Trust, Innovation and Passion.
In July 2013, GEODIS launched its STS
programme to meet its objectives: aiming for
Stakeholders’ Total Satisfaction (STS) namely
its customers, its employees, its shareholder
and society at large. Régis Lesieux was then
appointed as VP Business Excellence to manage
this programme worldwide.
WHAT VALUE DID IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL BRING TO YOUR COMPANY?
The Framework of the Business Excellence
model has enabled us to:
• Look at our organisation and processes
through the spectrum of enablers
• Position each of our key organisational
tools and processes on each of the nine
EFQM Business Excellence model criteria
as exemplified below
GEODIS' foundations are built around:
• Mission, Vision and Values, which represent
the DNA of GEODIS
• 7 Golden Rules and a continuous
improvement programme, which are the
common business principles to be found
and implemented all throughout the
company, be it in operational or support
function entities
• 7 Leadership Principles, which lay out what
is expected from each Leader
WHICH ASPECTS OF THE MODEL
IMPLEMENTATION ARE YOU PARTICULARLY
PROUD OF?
In its implementation of the EFQM framework,
GEODIS is particularly proud of its CSR
approach which is completely integrated in its
Excellence Model.
Indeed, beyond the Golden Rule « Be a good
citizen » which represents its CSR approach,
GEODIS seeks to reconcile the economic,
environmental and social priorities through
the 7 Golden Rules of its STS continuous
improvement programme, according to the «
People, Planet, Profit » principle described by
EFQM. GEODIS therefore aims to implement
one of the fundamental concepts of the EFQM’s
Excellence Model designed for companies,
which is “Contribute to a sustainable future”.
Régis Lesieux,
Vice President Business
Excellence & CSR
Read the full GEODIS
story >>
19
10 EDUCATION SECTOR
STORY OF THE
KNOWLEDGE AND HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
KHDA's journey started in 2007 with the
establishment of Knowledge and Human
Development Authority (KHDA) as an entity
responsible for the quality and growth of private
education in Dubai. Over the last decade, KHDA
has worked in partnership with its stakeholders
to create a forward-looking education sector
that adopts a futuristic approach to self-
management.
In line with its purpose to "bring out from
within", KHDA embarked on a journey to
enhance a culture of happiness and wellbeing,
which ultimately aims to drive innovation and
creative thinking as essential value amongst its
307 employees.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
Providing good quality education is a shared
responsibility and we know this can only be
possible by engaging with the community.
Focus group discussions, customer feedback
and regular surveys helped us better understand
customer needs and develop a strategy that
creates better services.
Being innovative in what we do best and
creating the next practice in our field is a key to
achieve and maintain exemplary performance.
Innovation is a driving force within the
organisation as it provides employees with
platforms to foster creativity.
Learning from best practice is essential to
establish and improve our systems. When
looking at best practices, we look at ways to
develop it further and how we can adopt it to fit
KHDA’s organisational culture and needs. This
is also reflected in our efforts to inspire and
encourage sharing of good practices within the
education community, in line with KHDA’s aims
to improve the overall quality of education in
Dubai.
WHICH ASPECTS OF THE MODEL
IMPLEMENTATION ARE YOU PARTICULARLY
PROUD OF?
Through stakeholder engagement,
measurement, Improvement and Innovation, we
were able to achieve outstanding results. This
includes our customers and people happiness
level. The happiness of each employee is
a priority for us, just as the happiness of our
customers and our society, as we believed in
Succeeding through People.
A strong evidence based on international
research expounded the benefits happiness
brings to organisations, employees - and
crucially – students, parents and educators.
Happy people performed better at school and
at work, happy people were healthier, happy
people contributed more to their communities.
KHDA’s happiness drive was supported by a
series of initiatives and activities based on the
Five Ways of Wellbeing, the pillars of which
include: Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep
Learning and Give. These enabled employees
to take greater control of their own happiness,
and promoted happiness as an achievable way
of life, rather than an abstract goal. As these
activities and initiatives evolved, greater number
of KHDA employees took part, and a gradual,
organic change in the culture of KHDA began
to take place. KHDA believes that Happiness is
a journey, not a destination.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE KEY
BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING THE EFQM
PHILOSOPHY?
KHDA looks outward for “Next Practices” rather
than only adopting “Best Practices”. The unique
learning opportunities provided to employees
from local and the international organizations
such as Disney Land in USA, Orange Frogs
training and others have contributed to greater
innovation, happiness and future shaping.
KHDA is now a leading government entity
in sharing best practices in happiness and
positivity. Government entities (both locally and
regionally) visit us on weekly basis to learn from
our open culture and working environment.
It has helped improve business results where
targets are achieved or exceeded.
It has enabled KHDA to achieve balanced
stakeholder satisfaction by having greater clarity
in process identification and management,
supported by values based leadership, a
partnership approach, clear communication
channels, and a balanced set of KPI’s.
Enhancing the current online system adopted
by the KHDA. For example, the feedback from
parents, students and teachers has allowed us
to adapt and improve the inspection framework
and this has had a positive effect on school
performance ratings.
WHAT IS NEXT?
KHDA is moving towards achieving the best
results in the field of government excellence
through focusing on the achievement of UAE
national agenda for Education, adopting best
practices to improve the quality of education
in all areas ie. Early learning, Schools, Training
Institutes & Universities.
In addition, KHDA aims to adopt the Holacracy
model as the first entity in Dubai, which will
then be implemented across all government
entities through the 10X program adopted by
UAE Government.
Dr. Wafi Dawood,
CEO, Strategy and Planning,
Read the full Knowledge & Human
story >> Development Authority
KHDA
21
11 AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR
STORY OF MANDO
CORPORATION POLAND
Mando Corporation Poland Sp. z o.o. (MCP)
is located in the Wałbrzych Special Economic
Zone and it was established in May 2011.
Offices and production facilities are located on
a plot of land of 13ha.
As of 1st August 2017, MCP employed 517
persons and the turnover for 2016 was on the
level of 1% for both shop floor workers and
office employees.
Mando Poland operates in the automotive
industry, producing complex systems which
provide comfort and safety for vehicle use. The
products include brake calipers, suspensions
and steering gears.
WHEN DID YOU START USING THE MODEL?
The initiative to implement the EFQM
Excellence Model in 2013, came from the
previous company President Mr. Chee Won
Khang, who had been managing MCP's “start-
up” process for more than five years. He saw,
in the EFQM Excellence Model, the possibility
to better manage and operate the company
through a more holistic point of view while
still paying attention to every element of its
business.
Thanks to this one of a kind view, it is possible
to develop and improve MCP more rapidly by
identifying areas with potential for development
and improvement, as well as the possibility for
better engagement and involvement of MCP
Employees in the development of the company,
together with their empowerment. Despite
numerous other methodologies and models for
company development, MCP decided to choose
the EFQM Excellence Model and followed its
philosophy.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
Once MCP decided to choose the EFQM
Excellence Model and its methodology, Mando
Poland`s Leaders took part in an external
certified training course regarding management
in accordance with the EFQM Excellence Model.
After the training, they found that the key to
effectively implement the EFQM approach in
the company is having specially trained and
qualified staff in terms of knowledge regarding
the EFQM methodology. For this purpose, MCP
worked with an EFQM Partner in Poland, which
resulted in having 22 internal EFQM auditors,
whose work was managed by an MCP EFQM
coordinator.
The implementation period of the EFQM
approach in the company is estimated to have
been around one year – it is the estimated time
needed for one full self-assessment cycle, from
its beginning to the implementation of the first
improvement projects resulting from the carried
out self-assessment. Throughout this period
MCP was supported by their EFQM Partner in
Poland.
WHAT VALUE DID IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL BRING TO YOUR COMPANY?
The biggest change since the implementation
of the EFQM Excellence Model was acquiring
a tool capable of covering the entire spectrum
of the Organisation, as well as simultaneously
targeting the individual approach to each and
every area. Over the years, a number of new
tools has been introduced and developed in
order to improve the company, for example:
the implementation of GERP/PLM/WMS
systems, benchmarking policies, MCP Global
Project Management, Intranet, KPI matrix, BSC,
Management Model, Permanent Internal Coach
for growing of Leadership skills, Interested
Parties Map and MCP Academy. As well as,
Mando Poland's improved partnership relation
management, process management (from
department to matrix management), Six-sigma
projects management, CSR policy, employee
internal communication.
The results of those changes can be seen by
increased and maintained high level results of
Employee, Clients and Partnership satisfaction,
and simultaneously introducing a diversified
portfolio of products, but also by obtaining the
first stable profits after such a short period of
time.
WHICH ASPECTS OF THE MODEL
IMPLEMENTATION ARE YOU PARTICULARLY
PROUD OF?
The greatest internal success for MCP, since
implementing the EFQM Excellence Model,
was a significant jump in employee satisfaction
index resulting from a regular survey. A number
of implemented changes and tools, openness
to suggestions, individual approaches to each
employee and leadership skills development are
just some of the factors that resulted in such an
outstanding result.
The development, formalisation and
implementation of a very active Social
Responsibility Policy is definitely one the biggest
successes. By refining the map of stakeholders,
MCP can now identify and define its partners,
which allows it to create and manage, a
proper, stakeholders driven policy. Thanks to
the empowerment of employees to contact
interested parties , not only did the satisfaction
with MCP cooperation increased, but also the
scope of employee skills increased.
Read the full
story >> Hee Man Shin,
President
Mando Corporation Poland
23
12 TECHNOLOGY SECTOR
STORY OF OBJECTIVITY
Objectivity is a value-driven organisation that
supports its clients in digital transformation.
Historically, we have been focused on clients in
the UK private sector, however, since 1991 we
have evolved into a company with nearly 600
people cooperating with companies from a wide
array of sectors: e.g. financial, pharmaceutical,
engineering, transportation and retail. Originally
based in the UK, now we also have a dedicated
development centre in Wrocław, Poland, where
our teams of experts support our clients in
solving their problems creatively. Sometimes
it means developing a software, other times
it means running an innovation or user-
experience workshop, but there is always one
goal to our activities: to help our clients find the
best solution possible.
WHEN DID YOU START USING THE
MODEL?
In our offices, we strongly promote the idea of
knowledge sharing. If one of our employees
finds a new and better way to do something and
keeps it to themselves, it would drive us pretty
crazy! Luckily, we don’t have that problem;
good news tends to travel fast. But we thought:
“What would it be like if we could share with
everyone?” And when we say “everyone”,
we are not just talking about colleagues and
friends; we wanted to know if we could share
with competitors, clients, other industries
and organisations. We wanted to know if we
could be inspired by the best practices from
everywhere, to continuously improve and
expand our processes and our network. That is
why in 2015 we sought out EFQM. We wanted
to be part of this not-for-profit organisation,
with 30,000 member companies like Bosch
and BMW, where we could learn from the
experience of others and also pass on a little of
our own know-how.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
Originally, we were focused on clients in the UK
private sector. Production, sales and service was
done in the UK. Then we moved our production
to Poland to take advantage of higher availability
of very skilled IT engineers and lower labour
costs. Our growth started just before the
recession in 2008 but after a brief setback,
we continued to expand. Over the past years,
we have consistently seen revenue growth.
In 2015, we realised that our management
approach fitted the EFQM Excellence Model
and we applied for the EFQM assessment. Now
we can be a perfect example that our way to
Excellence proved to be compatible with the
EFQM Excellence Model.
HOW DID YOUR JOURNEY CONTINUE?
The journey for Objectivity means that we are
tapping into the future. As EFQM says, the
economy is becoming ever more connected;
and we share their vision of a world in which
European organisations work together. In 2015,
EFQM honoured us with the "Recognised for
Excellence 5 star", and thereby, we joined the
ranks of brands known around the world that
promote the idea of sharing their know-how.
WHAT VALUE DID IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL BRING TO YOUR COMPANY?
Our operations are guided by four key values:
People, Integrity, Excellence and Agility. These
are not just words. This is what we do, they
are part of our DNA and they are guiding
our actions on every front. We believe that
by conducting business within our ethical
framework of Win-Win and in accordance with
our values, excellent financial results will follow
naturally. We have many years of experience to
support that view.
WHICH ASPECTS OF THE MODEL
IMPLEMENTATION ARE YOU PARTICULARLY
PROUD OF?
We’re a company based on values. Values are
the basis of all activities, and the "People" aspect
is the most important of them. We think about
the people every time we want to implement
a new idea – no matter if we think about the
project development or a company life.
We are proud that we take care of our employees
and try to bring more than a little happiness and
fulfilment to their work at Objectivity.
Can you provide some results or
tangible evidences of this value/
change after a few years?
The root concept behind our management
approach is that of creating a long term,
flourishing relationship and engagement with
clients. Our highly experienced and motivated
staff create dedicated teams, able to provide
value in a variety of ways. Results of their
work are immediately and transparently
communicated to our clients, with our extended
layer of governance covering the whole
enterprise.
We reinvest the majority of our income into
further expansion in all dimensions: in the
knowledge of our staff, in their numbers and
in their capabilities. We’re proud that that
approach made us both the employer of choice
and the supplier of choice.
The tangible result is the exponential growth of
40% of revenue per annum over the last three
years. In the long term, our revenue has grown
by an order of magnitude over the last decade.
Read the full Artus Gajos,
story >> Quality Expert
Objectivity
25
13 TELECOMMUNICATION
SECTOR
STORY OF OOREDOO

Ooredoo is a leading international and extensively used European Foundation

communications company with a total
consolidated customer base of more than 100
million across the Middle East, North Africa and
Southeast Asia.
In Qatar, we are the leading communications
company, delivering world-class services
for consumers, businesses, residences and
organisations, with more than 1300 direct hired
employees across 9 different locations.
We’re focused on building our Super network
to make Qatar one of the best-connected
countries in the world.
WHAT WAS OOREDOO AIMING AT
ACHIEVING BY CHOOSING EFQM?
Ooredoo aimed to achieve its committment to
organisational Excellence and 2020 vision
By 2008, Ooredoo's strategy included 3 strate-
gic themes as below
for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence
Model© and linked assessment tool RADAR®.
HOW DID YOUR JOURNEY CONTINUE?
Ooredoo follows the below approach in
implementing the EFQM Model across the
organisation:
• Build a structured approach in a small
number of specific chosen areas of activity
with direct importance to the identified
challenged areas/functions
• Develop a performance culture to ensure
and support the employee in line to deliver
the transformational change required
• Ensure that the employees, which are in
charge to deliver the transformational
change required, have the following:
o The required capability
o The required data and measurement
systems
o Able to feedback on opportunities and
problems they encounter

HOW DID OOREDOO GET STARTED?

Following internal discussions within Ooredoo

in 2006/2007, the Senior Management
Team agreed a program of organisational
self-assessment for Ooredoo, starting with
an externally facilitated and supported self-
assessment process covering Ooredoo as
a whole. Following external training and
advice, it was agreed that the self-assessment
should be based upon the highly respected
WHAT VALUE DID IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL BRING TO YOUR COMPANY?
One of the tangible example of improvement
due to the implementation of EFQM Model
is the implementation of the Health, Safety
and Environmental Management System at
Ooredoo by 2013. This was based on the
findings highlighted during both EFQM internal
and external assessments (Criteria 8 Society
Results).
As of today, we have a dedicated HSE
department with a large number of HSE
inspectors. HSE policy, objectives and
procedures are implemented and monitored
periodically. HSE awareness sessions are
provided to the employees, contractors and
suppliers to ensure that they follow Ooredoo's
HSE policy and regulations.
WHICH ASPECTS OF THE MODEL
IMPLEMENTATION ARE YOU PARTICULARLY
PROUD OF?
Ooredoo is proud of the implementation of
the “Adding Value for Customers“ Excellence
Fundamental concept. Ooredoo Q leaders have
developed a vision and strategy with a strong
focus on customers looking to add value to the
Leadership, Teamwork & Collaboration...
needs of their customers, with creative business
opportunities for each market segment, like the
MNP, 4G, and Mobile Money and by offering
Cloud services. Customer orientation has been
embedded within the DNA of Ooredoo Q’s
people.
Call Centre staff received extended
empowerment to handle customer complaints
and to offer solutions which has increased
customer satisfaction. In return, Ooredoo Q
customers are loyal: both loyalty programs
Nojoom and Al Nokhba are highly successful
in creating customer satisfaction and retaining
customers.
Can you provide some results or
tangible evidences of this value/
change after a few years?
Two of the relevant benefits of the EFQM
Model:
1. It provides an internationally recognised
framework and assessment/scoring system
2. The framework covers all the aspects of
the business, in a holistic and integrated
way.
Abdullah Qassam Al-Emadi,
Senior Manager,
Read the full Operational Excellence,
story >> Ooredoo
27
14 ENERGY SECTOR
STORY OF RED ELÉCTRICA
DE ESPAÑA
Red Eléctrica de España (REE) was founded on
29 January 1985 and became the first company
in the world exclusively dedicated to both the
transmission of electricity and the operation
of the electricity system. Red Eléctrica started
off with a workforce of 93 people and a high-
voltage electricity grid made up of 10,500 km
of line. 30 years later, REE employs more than
1,760 people and manages over 43,500 km of
electricity lines.
Since its creation, the company has had a clear
objective: guarantee the security and continuity
of the electricity supply at all times and develop
a reliable transmission grid that contributes to
the progress of society.
WHEN DID YOU START USING THE
MODEL?
In 1999, REE was privatised and was floated on
the stock market, an event of special relevance
that would definitely change the course of Red
Eléctrica’s future actions.
In this new and more demanding scenario, Red
Eléctrica faced a challenge, which ended up
becoming an opportunity: the achievement
of greater efficiency, quality and responsibility
in the undertaking of its activities. To meet
this new challenge the company established
the following general strategies: Growth,
diversification, leadership and high quality of
service.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
Even without planning for it, the road to
Excellence had already begun, due to the fact
that REE already had a quality management
system certified according to the ISO 9001
international standard. This system was a
key starting point in the implementation of a
culture of quality geared towards continuous
improvement. The 2000 revision of this
international standard, which Red Eléctrica
adopted only a year later, and the incorporation
of other management systems brought the
organisation even closer to a culture of
Excellence.
In order to establish a strategy that was
appropriate, coherent and that integrated all
areas of the company and that would allow the
organisation to move towards Excellence, the
"Excellence Management Team" was created:
an improvement team composed of managers
from key areas of business management whose
scope represented the criteria of the EFQM
Excellence Model, and spearheaded by the
Quality Department.
During the year 2000, this team, which received
training regarding the EFQM Model and also
on self-assessment techniques, worked on
analysing the situation of existing management
systems in the company compared to the
requirements proposed by the EFQM Excellence
Model in order to detect any weaknesses and
establish the necessary actions for adaptation
and redesign.
WHAT VALUE DID IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL BRING TO YOUR COMPANY?
As time goes on, the road to excellence
continues to bring with it new challenges for
organisations, which brings them closer to
sustainable and responsible business success.
These challenges represent an important
motivational element for their main asset, their
people.
Therefore, the greatest value of the
implementation of the EFQM Model is the
commitment of the people of the organisation
to Excellence and continuous improvement.
The principles of the Model become part of the
daily work and came to be applied naturally,
which translates into excellent results for the
organisation.
Which aspects of the Model
implementation are you
particularly proud of?
One of the main success factors in the
implementation of the Model in Red Eléctrica
has been to integrate excellence into the
business strategy, becoming one of the cross-
cutting strategies of the company. Another
key factor to highlight, and without which the
level of development achieved would not have
been possible, is the commitment of the Senior
Management team. Ever since the company
began their Journey to Excellence there has
been clear leadership and a huge commitment
on behalf of the Management, which has
acted, and continues to act, as a lever for its
continuous development.
Can you provide some results or
tangible evidences of this value/
change after a few years?
Red Eléctrica shows a positive and sustainable
trend in the key performance indicators.
Noteworthy are the excellent results regarding
the following: quality of service, economic and
financial results and society result.
The key performance indicators can be
seen here: http://www.ree.es/en/annual-
report-2016/key-indicators-2016.
AS A RESULT OF IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL, HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO
IDENTIFY IMPROVEMENTS?
We have identified improvements in the
following areas:
• Employee satisfaction
• Customer satisfaction
• Society results
• Expenditure
• Revenue
• Productivity
Seeing the evolution of the results obtained
since the implementation, it is clear that the
improvement has been global and therefore can
be seen reflected in all these aspects.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE KEY
BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING THE EFQM
PHILOSOPHY?
One of the key benefits is the existence of a
common framework by which to standardise
processes and prioritise actions in the
management of the different areas of the
company, creating a basic structure that allows
sustainable development. At the same time, it
allows the company to position itself in relation
to other organisations, whether or not in the
same sector, which helps in the identification of
good practices hence allowing advancements in
excellent management practices to continue.
It provides internal and external recognition to
the organisation as a result of the continuous
improvement in business management. In a
world undergoing constant change, it favours
the competitiveness of the organisation through
motivation and internal participation through a
common language.
Read the full
story >>
29
15 NOT FOR PROFIT
SECTOR
STORY OF WAKEFIELD AND
DISTRICT HOUSING (WDH)
WDH (Wakefield and District Housing) is a
non-profit charitable independent housing
association. They provide a range of affordable
housing as well as services that improve social
value for people. WDH manages and repairs
45,000 properties in the north of England,
including 31,600 owned properties in the
Wakefield district.
WDH primarily manages, builds and acquires
a range of accommodation types wherever it’s
in their business interest to do so. In addition,
they provide a range of value added products
for older people, people with health challenges
as well as getting people back into employment.
WDH have a genuine desire and passion to care
for our customers and to do our best to give
them the choices and opportunities.
WHEN DID YOU START USING THE
MODEL?
We have used the EFQM Excellence Model since
WDH was created in 2005, as our corporate
improvement tool and have embedded it in our
planning and performance processes. It helps
us ensure that our resources are planned and
deployed to maximise the impact on the results.
In 2008, we achieved "Regional Business of
the Year" in the North of England Business
Excellence Awards and were the UK Excellence
Award winner in 2010. In 2012, we became
European Finalists (the only UK entrant
nominated and the first housing association to
reach this level) and European Finalists again
in 2013, securing the top accolade for "Adding
Value for Customers". In 2015, we were then
awarded "European Business of the Year" and
more recently, we have continued to build on
this success and have worked hard to act on
suggestions for improvement from previous
assessments.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
Our initial involvement was with North of
England Excellence who provided support and
training. Key people were assigned champion
roles in the process and had specific training in
the assessment process. It made perfect sense
to adopt the Model within the organisation as
the benefits of that way of working could be
seen immediately.
HOW DID YOUR JOURNEY CONTINUE?
EFQM has played an important role in helping
us to become the successful business we
now are, and we are proud to have become
regional and national winners in the UK and
a European finalist twice, becoming a prize
winner in 2013 for “adding value for customers”
and then "European Business of the Year" in
2015. More importantly, the feedback we have
had throughout each stage of the assessment
process has been invaluable, and we have used
it to build on any highlighted good practice and
to make key improvements on how we operate.
It has really helped us understand how far we
have travelled on our Journey to Excellence,
and how we can continue to improve in the
years ahead.
WHAT VALUE DID IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL BRING TO YOUR COMPANY?
There are several particular role model
practices that we have implemented since the
introduction of the model, including:
Creating a sustainable future
WDH has a 2020 Business Strategy that sets
out a Business Model based on maximising our
social dividend to deliver bold ambitions for
transforming the Wakefield district.
WHICH ASPECTS OF THE MODEL
IMPLEMENTATION ARE YOU PARTICULARLY
PROUD OF?
Our approach to customer service is one
whereby we put them at the heart of everything
we do. We have always engaged with our
customers to establish what their priorities
are and this included an annual satisfaction
survey. Since using the EFQM Model and
learning from the feedback, we introduced the
UK Satisfaction Index Methodology in 2014 as
a more advanced approach to enable us to find
out what are really the most important things
to our customers, adding more value to them.
This is undertaken through an independent
external organisation and enables us to compare
ourselves with other leading organisations
throughout the UK. As a result, we are able
to concentrate our resources and services on
what we need to prioritise to drive satisfaction
forward and how we can maintain satisfaction
already achieved. This is to develop our
customer service from "good to great". Most
importantly, what sets us apart from others, is
that once we have measured satisfaction, we
ensure that we communicate and feedback
to them and our employees what action we
will deploy to make improvements; this is in a
"you said, we’ve done" format, which in turn
improves customer loyalty and advocacy and
contributes to an increase in the bottom line.
CAN YOU PROVIDE SOME RESULTS OR
TANGIBLE EVIDENCES OF THIS VALUE/
CHANGE AFTER A FEW YEARS?
Our results show that, since deploying the
revised approach, employee satisfaction has
risen from 61% to 83%, customer loyalty has
risen from 54% to 93% resulting in an increase
in the bottom line from £90m to £153m.
Our complaints processes were reviewed
following implementation of the Model and as
a result customer complaints have fallen year
on year, reducing from 149 in 2010 to just 27
across the whole business in 2016.
We also invested in our repairs service,
introducing multi skilling across our trades
workforce and this has seen repairs completed
at first visit increase from 82% in 2010 to 91%
in 2016.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE KEY
BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING THE EFQM
PHILOSOPHY?
EFQM has played an important role in helping
us to become the successful business we are
now. Although we are very proud of the awards
we have achieved, the most important aspect
to us is the feedback we have had throughout
every stage of the assessment process. This has
been invaluable, and we have used it to build on
any highlighted good practice and to make key
improvements to how we operate. It has really
helped us understand how far we have travelled
on our Journey to Excellence, and how we can
continue to improve in the years ahead.
Read the full Juliet Craven,
story >> Director of Corporate Services
Wakefield And District Housing
(WDH)
31
16 MANUFACTURING
SECTOR
STORY OF KOSTWEIN
HOLDING GMBH
Kostwein Group is a family business located
in Austria with subsidiaries in Croatia and
India. Our business model is the production of
complete machines for global market leaders in
the different branches of machine construction
like packaging, tooling, printing, pharmaceutics
and textile industry.
In this "build-to-print" business, we offer our
customers the highest quality, shortest lead
time and best life-circle costs. We have 1100
employees that generate revenues of €170
MIO.
WHEN DID YOU START USING THE
MODEL?
In 2012, we were rewarded as the most
efficient company in Austria “Fabrik des
Jahres” audited by the Frauenhofer Institut.
After celebrating this important milestone,
our leaders were asking to take the next steps
in our improvement journey. In 2013, we
learned about EFQM while participating in an
Excellence day at BMW.
The convincing factor to go for EFQM was the
holistic and strategic approach. In a nutshell,
for us, ISO is focusing on “doing things right”,
and EFQM is focusing on “are we doing the
right things”. So our goal for using the EFQM
methodology was to achieve the next level in
our strategy process.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
The first step was for the top management to
study the EFQM Excellence Model and identify
the existing company philosophy: customer
orientation, leadership style, process orientation
and focus on people was already very much
aligned with the EFQM Model.
The next step was the steering team (top
management and all process leaders) working
out a First application for an assessment by
Quality Austria as well as having made a self-
assessment. This step took about 3 months.
HOW DID YOUR JOURNEY CONTINUE?
The next step in our journey to Excellence was a
2 day workshop with an external EFQM expert
to evaluate the application and the maturity in
real life. Over the next 2 months, we worked on
improvements based on the feedback from this
session. Already 6 months after starting to work
with EFQM, we went for our first assessment
by Quality Austria.
As a first great success, we were awarded the
"Recognised for Excellence 4 star". This was
a great motivation for all our employees to
continue our journey. The next step was an
in-house training for our steering team by an
EFQM trainer and 7 of our process leaders
passed the assessor Training.
WHAT VALUE DID IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL BRING TO YOUR COMPANY? WHAT
CHANGED?
Based on this newly acquired know-how, we
wrote our next application which is now used
as a guideline model for our Excellence Journey.
One of our big learnings was to seriously plan
all approaches before starting any deployment
activity, and to understand the link between the
different KPI’s and KPR’s.
One year after the first assessment, we went
for the second one and based on the results,
we have been awarded the "Recognised for
Excellence 5 Star" as well as the Austrian Quality
Award in 2015. The high valuable feedback
report from this assessment has been used for
further improvement.
WHICH ASPECTS OF IMPLEMENTING THE
MODEL ARE YOU PARTICULARLY PROUD
OF?
Thanks to the deployment of the EFQM
Model, we were able to develop the Kostwein
Excellence Model, of which we are very proud.
As a family business with 96 years of company
history, we strive for long term and sustainable
success. Our culture, company values and
leadership are the drivers for customer and
employee satisfaction. In relation to the
optimised processes of our excellence strategy,
this message corresponds perfectly with our
mission statement that we established 15 years
ago. As a result of the employees' satisfaction
and the optimised processes, we can see
that operative excellence which assures in
combination with customer satisfaction, long
term growth and results.
Read the full
story >>
Hans Kostwein,
Managing Director
Koswein Holding GmbH
33
EFQM
Avenue des Olympiades 2
1140 Brussels, Belgium
Tel +32 (2) 775 35 10
Fax +32 (2) 775 35 35
www.efqm.org