Overcoming Difficulties in Implementing the Performance Excellence Model

The Performance Excellence Model ( PEM ) is a management method and tool system widely recognized around the world for the organization’s comprehensive performance. On the one hand, it can be used as a framework for corporate self-evaluation and continuous improvement, and on the other hand, it can be used as the basis for the evaluation of quality awards. Represented by the evaluation criteria of the Baldrige National Quality Award in the United States, PEM has been widely implemented in 96 countries and regions around the world, and 104 quality awards have been set up . Since China introduced the excellent performance management model in 2001 , two standard documents, ” GB/T19580-2012 Excellent Performance Evaluation Criteria” and ” GB/Z19579-2012 Implementation Guidelines for Excellent Performance Evaluation Criteria” have been revised and implemented . After more than 20 years of hard work by organizations dominated by the China Association for Quality and relevant government departments , PEM has been proven by many companies in all walks of life to be one of the effective tools for companies to achieve high-quality development. However, in the actual implementation process, there are still many misunderstandings and difficulties, which lead to a large number of companies’ introduction of the excellent performance model, which has not given full play to the potential value of the excellent performance model. I have gained some front-line practical experience, and I would like to share it with you here.
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Difficulties in introducing the high performance model

The introduction of the excellent performance model refers to the systematic application of the concepts, methods, and tools of the excellent performance model in the enterprise, so that the enterprise can better adapt to the business environment, create value for customers and related parties, and achieve sustainable competition through continuous improvement force. The following problems are common in actual operation:

1. Stubbornly qualified. Most of the cadres who promote excellent performance within the enterprise have experience in the construction and certification of conformity assessment systems such as ISO9001 . It is these “inherent cognitions” that have become cognitive obstacles to the implementation of the high performance model: a large number of managers cannot jump out of the vicious circle of “conformity assessment”. Business friends often ask, how can we get the “certification” of the high performance model? How can we meet the “acceptance criteria”? Standards ask us “how”? Little do they know that the excellent performance model is an open, unlimited standard for pursuing excellence, rather than solidified, specific regulations or target requirements for conformity assessment.

2. Stay on creating awards. According to incomplete statistics, as of January 10 , 2023 , there are a total of 6,490 organizations across the country (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) that have won the Chinese Government Quality Award at or above the municipal level . All provincial governments, most cities, and a small number of counties and districts across the country have set up quality awards, and almost all government quality award notifications have specified the requirement of “introducing an excellent performance model”. The author has participated in the evaluation of different levels of quality awards in various regions, and can basically judge that most companies regard the creation of awards as the source of motivation for the introduction of the high performance model, and the success of the creation of awards as the end point of the introduction of the high performance model, which is actually quite sad of! In fact, award creation is a process of introducing an excellent performance model, not the ultimate goal.

3. Stop at leadership. Most of the companies that have introduced the performance excellence model and applied for quality awards will set up working groups. There is almost no difference. The real difference lies in the level of awareness and participation of leaders, especially core leaders and leaders. How deep the leader’s cognition is, how effective the high performance model is to the enterprise. Sadly, there are still a large number of companies that believe that the introduction of the high performance model is to solve some problems and rectify items, assign the responsibility to the middle and grassroots cadres, and it’s over. As everyone knows, the introduction of the excellent performance model is to achieve the top-level design of the core leadership leading the middle and high-level organizations to optimize the organization.

4. Get lost in standards . The standards of the performance excellence model require certain basic knowledge, and some companies have a relatively shallow understanding of the standards, and various departments are inconsistent, or have not formed a closed-loop understanding. This often leads to a one-sided understanding of the “blind man feeling the elephant”. Whether it is the American version or the national standard version, the excellent performance evaluation criteria involve all aspects of enterprise management from “horizontal to vertical to the bottom”, and the work experience and understanding ability of most cadres and employees can radiate to a relatively small one. Field and relatively local vision, if you don’t settle down to understand systematically from the perspective of the overall situation of the enterprise or even the industry as a whole, there will be an effect of “a hundred people see a hundred Hamlets”.

5. Short-sightedness in results. The introduction of the excellent performance model is not to add a system to the enterprise and replace the original system, but to guide the enterprise to sort out the existing management system through systematic evaluation, identify advantages and disadvantages, and strengthen core competitiveness. This process is not like the learning of conventional tools and methods, nor is it the logic of treating headaches and feet. It takes a certain process and time for it to be effective. From culture, strategy, to management subsystems, to the complete establishment of the evaluation system, its effect will become increasingly prominent. And many companies do not have enough patience or firm determination to wait.
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A framework for the introduction of performance excellence models

The introduction of the excellent performance model can be made from two dimensions: horizontal and vertical. Combined with striving for quality awards, the author has constructed an introduction framework of “three horizontals, three verticals and one high-efficiency”, and has achieved certain results in practice. The general line of this framework is to help enterprises operate healthier, more mature, and more systematically, and drive entrepreneurs and enterprises to excellence.

1. Three horizontals: horizontal sorting of the three major modules, promoting the implementation of excellence in 48 quality operation mechanisms.

In this framework, the introduction of the excellent performance model has three important modules: namely, the implementation of the nine basic concepts as the outline of the quality culture; the implementation of the quality improvement methods and tools of the seven operating systems; and the customization of a set of organizational self-assessment systems .

Through the implementation of the nine basic concepts of excellent performance, improve cultural genes, build excellent internal drive, promote quality culture, and create a healthy atmosphere; through the implementation of a series of quality operation methods and tools (we have summarized 48 commonly used quality management mechanisms , each enterprise is different, and the plan confirmed after specific investigation and diagnosis shall prevail), sort out and strengthen the seven major operating systems of leadership, strategy, customer and market, resource, process management, measurement analysis and improvement, and result, and improve management maturity degree; through the tailor-made self-assessment system of the enterprise, including teams, methods and tools, a closed loop of evaluation, improvement, innovation, and change is formed, and the self-driven and continuous evolution of the system is realized.

2. Three verticals: Three levels of vertically in-depth, systematic and comprehensive promotion of the cognition, application and deep cultivation of the excellent performance model.

The introduction of the excellent performance model is not achieved overnight. Due to various reasons, as of now, there are very few leaders, managers, consultants, and trainers who are really familiar with the excellent performance model in China, and there are very few professional consulting agencies that focus on the high performance model. . Most of them are superficial efforts, which cannot bring substantial quality improvement to the enterprise. This is far from the United States, Europe, Japan and so on. Combining the current domestic performance excellence model and the implementation status of quality awards, and the experience of the past 14 years, the author usually promotes the depth and depth of the introduction from three levels, which can easily help enterprises gradually introduce the performance excellence model from the shallower to the deeper. They are the cognitive level (mainly realized through training), the introduction level (mainly realized through accompanying running), and the deep cultivation level (mainly realized through co-creation).

3. High efficiency. That is, Trinity strives for the quality award with all efforts and high efficiency.

The quality award is an important starting point in the context of a quality-powerful country. There are many factors influencing the creation of the award. I believe that the creation of the quality award is the key to success by adhering to the trinity of “consolidating the foundation of quality + perfect display of characteristics + seeking support from relevant parties”. It is said that due to its authority and impartiality, the competition for the quality award is extremely fierce, and every company is committed to showing its housekeeping skills. The difficulty lies in the comprehensive weighing of the above three factors and the appropriate decision-making, and how to properly prioritize the above three aspects ,is crucial.
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Innovation introduced by excellent performance model

The introduction of the conventional excellent performance model, because a large number of enterprises focus on striving for quality awards, the overall promotion process is: leadership decision-making, evaluation criteria training, establishment of promotion organizations, self-evaluation teacher training, self-evaluation implementation, formulation and implementation of improvements Steps to plan and strive for the Government Quality Award. The “three horizontal, three vertical and one high-efficiency” framework model is innovative in the following aspects:

First, focus on introduction rather than award creation. At present, most domestic enterprises focus on award creation, and the introduction of the high performance model is just a formality. However, the framework set by the author takes introduction of the excellent performance model as the core of everything, and the creation of awards is a working link in the introduction of the application level. .

Second, focus on the top rather than the grassroots. Many enterprises focus on the introduction of the quality award application materials by the middle and low-level management personnel, but the author believes that the transformation of the middle and high-level leaders is the sign of the success or failure of the high-performance model. The middle and high-level leaders should start from the new This is the beginning of the real introduction of the excellent performance model.

Third, use actual operation rather than cognition as the benchmark. Many companies believe that the excellent performance model is a macroscopic and high-quality theory. It is enough to improve the concept, which sounds good but is not easy to use. However, the author’s practice has proved that the most attractive part of the high performance model is that it can be practiced. , it is the standardization, standardization and specificization of total quality management. The concepts, methods and tools of the performance excellence model can be used in any management module of any company, which is of great practical value.

Fourth, take integration rather than decomposition as the pattern. With the development of the enterprise, various management systems, processes, standards, and systems have been continuously accumulated in the enterprise. Cadres from different sources in the team also have their own management concepts and unique management cognitions. Three horizontals, three verticals, and one The high-efficiency model tries to stand at a higher level and a more three-dimensional dimension of the enterprise, see through the organizational system of the enterprise, and on this basis guide the enterprise to build a clearer, consistent, and integrated underlying logic, so as to achieve the goal of “my way is consistent” realm.

Fifth, take the long-term rather than short-term perspective. We divide the cycle of introducing the excellent performance model into three major stages. If it is to achieve the overall cognitive level, it will be within 3 months; if you want to apply the high performance model, it will be 6 months to 12 months; It takes 1-3 years to reach the level of intensive cultivation . The standard introduction of accompanying runners is 36 months. Only based on long-term considerations can we have a deeper perspective on the current situation of the enterprise, set up an excellent quality operation system more scientifically, and make quality improvement, innovation and reform more thoroughly, so as to achieve an everlasting business.
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The case of the introduction of the excellent performance model

The author has done on-site guidance for hundreds of companies in the past 14 years, successfully cultivated 6 China Quality Awards, 28 provincial quality awards, and more than 100 municipal quality awards, and provided excellent performance models for quality managers of thousands of companies Relevant training and accumulated some personal experience. Here is a case of a listed company’s excellent performance project running intermittently for 8 years.

The pursuit of excellence cannot be achieved overnight. The company’s PEM introduction and award creation process is a process of continuous learning and improvement! In 2013 , the scale of the enterprise was 3 billion yuan, the profits and taxes were 200 million yuan, and the number of employees was more than 1,800 . During the 8 years of accompanying the company, it provided the company with a series of services for the introduction of the excellent performance model: standard training, maturity diagnosis, special quality improvement, competition Create various levels of quality awards, excellent quality operation consultant. During the 8 years, the company invested more than 1.6 million yuan in project consulting fees and more than 2.2 million yuan in special improvement funds. The government quality award at the national level has won more than 3 million yuan in various bonuses ; the company has not only won valuable honors; it has also widely used quality management tools and methods such as TPM , SFK , and FEMA ; carried out more than 40 special quality improvement projects; The vision and layout of the entire management team have been greatly improved; the most important thing is that they have mastered a set of methods to enhance core competitiveness from the company level. In 2021 , the company has developed into an annual operating income of 12.832 billion yuan, with profits and taxes exceeding 619 million yuan .A national-level quality benchmarking enterprise worth 100 million yuan, it is invincible in traditional industries and maintains a continuous competitive advantage.

In short, the introduction of the excellent performance model is a systematic project, a summit project, and a long-term process accompanied by a think tank. If an enterprise can seize the opportunity to implement the innovative introduction model of “three horizontals, three verticals and one high efficiency”, You will have the opportunity to achieve both fame and fortune, and you will be able to truly and systematically improve the management maturity of the organization, cultivate a group of senior management cadres who have the overall perspective of the enterprise and the overall vision of the industry, and be able to explore the methods and mechanisms for the organization to maintain its competitive advantage.