Serving CT, MA, NY, RI
PiPEx Training Series
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The PiPEx Training Series was developed to help organizations of all kinds make progress in the areas that challenge them. Developed by experts at Partners in Performance Excellence, this training gives organizations a number of topics to choose from. Firms or individual leaders may take one or any combination of the following modules. Click on course name for additional details.
Explore the key elements of a leadership system, including what is a leadership system (not just an org. chart), the personal role model behaviors needed from senior leaders, senior leaders’ role in reward and recognition, succession planning, and the review of performance measures. It will also cover the evaluation an improvement of senior leaders and the leadership system.
Strategic Planning and Strategy Implementation
This course will explore the key elements of a Strategic Planning system and how to implement that plan.
How to Delight Your Customers and Flourish
This course prepares organizations to understand their customers at a deep level and to use this information to compete effectively. While other courses deal with ways to minimize costs or increase efficiency, the Customer System course focuses on how to build revenues by understanding and serving customers more effectively.
This course focuses on the important role of a communications system and on how organizations can assess and develop their own strong communications.
Organizational Performance Measurement and Analysis
Measurement and analysis of data and information that exists in an organization is vital to both effectively manage an organization and to identify and prioritize cost-effective and appropriate opportunities for improvement. This module addresses key elements to identify the most appropriate metrics and what to do with them. It focuses on the benefits of a systematic approach to measurements and analysis.
Performance Management for Workforce Engagement
This module addresses how your organization engages, rewards, and recognizes your workforce to achieve high performance; how members of your workforce are developed; and how you assess workforce engagement.
Process Management for Performance Excellence
This module will introduce the key elements for work systems and work processes. It will stress the importance of core competencies and how to protect and capitalize on them for success and sustainability. Material will address effective design and a prevention orientation to efficiency and effectiveness in work systems. Linkage to all stakeholders: customers, partners, and collaborators will be emphasized, with a focus on providing value.
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"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
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Frequently Asked Questions
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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.
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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.
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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.