Improving Performance in the Academic Library using Baldrige Award

Criteria

Presenter:

John Potter, Librarian

ITT Technical Institute/Grand Rapids, MI

What is Baldrige Performance Criteria? A shorthand for criteria assessed by The Malcolm

Baldrige National Quality Award evaluators. The Award is given out by the National Institute of

Standards and Technology since 1987. The award recognizes quality service in the

business, education, and non-profit sectors and was inspired by the ideas of Total Quality Management (or TQM)

The Logo’s Importance

Roles of The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (from the NIST website)

To help improve organizational performance practices, capabilities and results

To facilitate communication and sharing of nest practices among all types of organizations

To serve as a working tool for understanding and managing performance and for guiding planning and opportunities for learning

The Seven Performance Criteria: Leadership Strategic Planning Customer and Market Focus Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge

Management Workforce Focus Process Management Results

Role of Performance Criteria(from the NIST website)

Designed to help organizations use an aligned approach to organizational performance management: Why?

So as to …. Deliver ever-improving value to customers Contribute to Market Success Improve overall organizational effectiveness

and capabilities, organizational and personal learning

Sample Category Question: Category 3—Customer & Mkt Focus (85 Pts)

addresses how your organization seeks to understand the voices of customers …with a focus on meeting customers’ requirements, needs, and expectations; delighting customers, and building loyalty. The Category stresses relationships as an important part of an overall listening, learning, and performance excellence strategy …

3.2a. CUSTOMER Listening (1) How does the campus library keep its listening and

learning methods current with changing student needs and expectations? How does the campus library determine the relative importance of the expectations to these groups’ decisions related to library use?

(2) HOW do you manage student and/or faculty complaints? HOW does your CUSTOMER complaint management PROCESS

ensure that complaints are resolved EFFECTIVELY and promptly?

Possible Response from Library Application

3.2(a): Customer Listening & Learning Methods:

The library regularly administers faculty evaluations in an online format in order to provide rapid and specific information on their effectiveness. Regular meetings between the faculty board and library administrators has been established to provide real time feedback. A five-year plan to increase faculty-librarian collaboration has been initiated to promote library usage among students.

Needs Determination

Methods

Information Collected and

Shared

Relative Importance to Relationship

Decisions

Frequency

Faculty

Survey

Staff assists with quarterly survey on past service and projected demand

Staff analyzes information, makes recommendations

Quarterly

Focus Groups

Faculty-Librarian partnership discussions held to determine changing learning requirements.

Operations Cmte facilitates these focus groups to understand how improvements can be made

Ad hoc

Comment Cards

Library supplies a card with each reference request to solicit comments on quality and timeliness

Complaints resolved within goal time of 24 hrs. Data analyzed monthly.

Daily/ Monthly

Data Collection

Data collected daily about reference and circulation use.

Circulation trends kept in database to determine pattern use, correlate with promotions.

Daily

Recommended:

The Measure of Library Excellence: Linking the Baldrige Criteria and Balanced Scorecard Methods to Assess Service Quality

By Despina Dapias Wilson(2007) ISBN 978-0786430369

Its not just an Award…

“The criteria are used by thousands of organizations of all kinds for self-assessment and training and as a tool to develop performance and business processes…

“For many organizations, using the criteria results in better employee relations, higher productivity, greater customer satisfaction, increased market share, and improved profitability.…”

• From the NIST website

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Information: FAQ

http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/factsheet/baldfaqs.htm

Education Criteria http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/Education_Criteria.

htm Why Apply?

http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/PDF_files/Why_Apply.pdf

Baldrige Resources