Become an Examiner

Examiner Information

"Becoming a [Partners in Performance Excellence] Baldrige Examiner was a rigorous, disciplined and time-consuming immersion in Baldrige theory and practical application. It challenged my own learnings and applications and led to numerous discussions and debates about how to move our organization towards true excellence. I put a lot more effort into it than I expected and the returns justified every bit. I would highly recommend the examiner route to any healthcare executive considering the Baldrige journey—it continues to reward long after you're done."

— Peter J. Holden, President & CEO, Jordan Health Systems

2020 Key Dates

Examiner Applications due: end of July
Examiner Training Kick-off Webinar: August
Examiner Training Navigator Software Webinar: August
Examiner Training Workshop, Location: end of August*
Examiner consensus calls (8-hours) scheduled over two weeks: August(subject to team availability)
Applicant Site Visits: October

* All participants are required to complete 8 to 10 hours of prework before the Examiner Training Workshop.

How To Apply

Apply .

About the Examiner Experience

The Partners in Performance Excellence Awards Examiner Experience is our signature program. We use the nationally validated Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence as an comprehensive framework for organizational improvement and innovation.

The Examiner Experience is often compared to an intense, accelerated MBA program because it teaches you how to create total organizational excellence – being a member of an examiner team in this program is the ultimate in professional leadership development. Once completed, you’ll never look at companies in the same fragmented and piecemeal way ever again. It’s enlightening!

All our faculty and team coaches guiding you in this program are highly experienced past or present National Baldrige Senior Examiners or Judges. Our state program is amongst the best, as evidenced by the frequent participation of individuals from outside of Massachusetts. We have recently had examiners from Texas, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New York.

The Two-Day Examiner Training Workshop

Our two-day examiner training workshop is where we use the actual Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence to build your systems thinking and skills in assessing a mock organization’s application developed for training National Baldrige Examiners. This in–depth view of the criteria will incorporate practical exercises in team settings that closely mimic the work for the actual award cycle process. There is minimal required pre-work (8 hours maximum) for attendees to become intimately familiar with one small element of the case study application as this will be the focal point for your work throughout the two days. This leads into the actual application that you will be analyzing for the Application cycle. This experience is designed for senior leaders, department managers, practitioners, business and non-business professionals who want to learn more about what’s important to their organizations and how other organizations have used the Criteria to improve.

In the course of two days, we will use the newest Baldrige application case study to:

Help you understand the key requirements of the seven Baldrige Categories and 17 Items
Score responses using Approach, Deployment, and Results dimensions
Focus on understanding and reducing scoring variability
Pool our knowledge in team-building exercises, learning from each other in the process
Learn how to evaluate a organization's Award application, appropriately applying the Criteria with due regard for the organization's size, industry, and other factors
Understand and apply the consensus scoring process
Add value to the applicant with Feedback Reports
Apply Now using the Google Doc Examiner Application. If you cannot access the application, c ontact us.

"I have been involved with continuous improvement at several companies for many years. During that time I have seen and used many tools and techniques. Without question my involvement with the Baldrige criteria, and more specifically as an examiner, has been the most rewarding experience of my career. The Baldrige Criteria represent a model for performance excellence—a roadmap for excellence. Engulfing myself in the Criteria as an Examiner was not always easy, but it was the best way to learn, understand, and apply the Baldrige performance excellence principles. Interacting with and learning from other Examiners was invaluable. Not only did we challenge and learn from each other, we developed lifelong friendships and networking contacts. Based on my experience as an examiner, my company is adopting the Baldrige criteria as our performance excellence model, and we are introducing our management staff to Baldrige by having them participate as examiners."

—Christopher Hutchins, Continuous Improvement Manager, Hasbro

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to participate in the award cycle?

No, you are welcome to attend a workshop without committing to participate in the examiner award cycle. We understand the difficulty for some to take 8-9 days time away from the office to participate in the examiner cycle in addition to the approximately 60 to 80 hours of individual work. If you decide to participate in the examiner award cycle, we do need full commitment and follow-through.

Am I guaranteed to be selected for an examiner team?

Our goal is to place everyone who takes our training and has the appropriate education, experience and true commitment to following through to the finish. Although rare, it is not always possible to place everyone on a team. In addition, we reserve the right not to place an individual on a team or to remove someone once they’ve been assigned. Maintaining the integrity of the process is an absolute must for us. We are all professionals and if there are options available, we will talk to you about them.

What is the cost to become an examiner?

The only cost is $595 for the two-day workshop. There is no charge for our consensus meetings. Examiners or their employers are responsible for potential overnight accommodations and travel expenses during the consensus. There is no charge for overnight accommodations and travel expenses during site visit.

Eight to 10 hours of prework before attending the two-day workshop. Sixteen hours for the two-day workshop, the time spent in conference calls, individual review, preparation, consensus meetings, and the on-site visit will take about 150 hours. Time away from the office is between 8 and 9 days, including site visits. Some Examiners who are unable to commit to a week long site visit, choose to follow the examiner cycle through consensus review of a national application which will take about 100 hours.

What are the necessary qualifications for me to become an examiner?

Top leaders, managers, business and non-business professionals from diverse functional areas and sectors are encouraged to participate. You do not have to be in the quality sciences. Our examiners often include engineers, leaders and managers from all organization levels, CEOs, COOs, MDs, RNs, CPAs, PhDs, EdDs, PharmDs, and so on. The desire to participate depends on personal or organizational goals. What are yours?

Is this a certification?

Yes, but to be certified and listed on our website as an examiner for a given year, you need to successfully complete all the training, individual review, consensus meetings and planning, a company site visit, and inputs to the feedback report. Alternatively, you may choose to complete the examiner experience through consensus review of a national application which follows the all of aforementioned steps except for site visit.

The Examiner Experience Activities

Take the first step. Contact Us to discuss your interest and learn more.
Your kick-off webinar and pre-work will take approximately 8 hours.
Examiner training will take two-days. Examiners and/or their companies pay expenses.
Your first assignment, an independent review, will take approximately 40 to 60 hours.
After completing the independent review, there will be some planning activities to prepare for your facilitated two-day team consensus meeting. During consensus, your team will come to a single outcome originating from the examiner reviews. The team will then create issues to review on your site visit. Although two days seems a lot, you have actually saved a day or two with this facilitation. Examiners and/or their companies pay expenses.
Prep for your site visit. After several conference calls, each team will visits their applicant’s site for about three days. This is where your major learnings happen. As a category lead, you and each team member will have items to clarify and verify. This will involve interviews and reviewing specialized documents. You may even find it necessary to attend an internal meeting or two.
Immediately after the Site Visit, there is a 2 day off-site session where the team's observations and learnings are captured and refined in a final Site Visit Report which ultimately will be sent to the applicant. Reasonable travel and dinner expenses are reimbursed.

Congratulations! You’ve made it and become our most recent certified regional examiner!

Team Leaders

The Team Leader is pivotal in guiding a team through the process and completing the feedback report. Our Team Leaders all have leadership and teaming skills, and prior State or National Baldrige Examiner experience. We occasionally make exceptions with individuals demonstrating relevant and related skills. If you possess these attributes, enjoy managing volunteers and activities, would like to keep your skills sharp, and you are able to facilitate a team to full closure, this is something we’d be glad to talk to you about. Our Team Leaders are assisted at certain points in the process by our National Baldrige-experienced faculty and coaches.

Once the Team Leader completes the feedback report with your inputs, it is sent to our Panel of Judges for their decision on award level to be given. Team Leaders participate in the deliberations by the judges by answering any questions relevant to the feedback report.