Improving Performance in the Academic Library using Baldrige Award Criteria

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.

Daily Daily/ Monthly Ad hoc Quarterly Frequency Circulation trends kept in database to determine pattern use, correlate with promotions. Complaints resolved within goal time of 24 hrs. Data analyzed monthly. Operations Cmte facilitates these focus groups to understand how improvements can be made Staff analyzes information, makes recommendations Relative Importance to Relationship Decisions Data collected daily about reference and circulation use. Data Collection Library supplies a card with each reference request to solicit comments on quality and timeliness Comment Cards Faculty-Librarian partnership discussions held to determine changing learning requirements. Focus Groups Staff assists with quarterly survey on past service and projected demand Faculty Survey Information Collected and Shared Needs Determination Methods

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.…”