European Foundation for Quality Management By: Nima Moazzen (M.Sc., M.B.A.)

1. Nima Moazzen
May 24th, 2019

2. EFQM is an acronym that stands for: European Foundation for Quality Management. EFQM was
founded in 1988 with the objective to create a platform where organizations can learn from
each other to continuously improve their performance.
B e n c h m a r k i n g with other European organizations will lead to sustainable economic
growth.
EFQM wants to support managers and directors in training, sharing ideas and innovating with the
aid of the so-called EFQM model as a common framework. The EFQM Model or EFQM business
excellence model is the most popular quality management tool in Europe, used by more than
30.000 organizations to improve performance. It supports you to self-assess and reflect.
84% of the members say that the EFQM model helps to improve their organization.

3. This quality management model aims at sustainable excellence in which quality, efficiency
and sustainability are the k e y e l e m e n t s .
The basis of the EFQM Model consists of the Total Quality Management (TQM) concept.
It consists of a universal framework of concepts, thus enabling organizations to share
information in an effective way, irrespective of the different sectors, cultures and life
stages in which they are located.
Organizations can thus take o th er o r g ani z a t io n s as a mo del , so that they obtain
insight into how far they meet the image of a high-quality organization.
The EFQM Model consists of nine criteria that are subdivided into five Enab l er s and
fo ur R esul ts :

4. 1) Leadership
2) People
3) Policy & Strategy
4) Partnerships & Resources
5) Processes

5. 1) People Result
2) Customer Result
3) Society Result
4) Key Performance Results

7. The EFQM Model must be read from R I G H T T O L E F T , as a result of which it
becomes clear that the result areas focus on ‘what can be achieved?’
After which it becomes clear that these organizational areas focus on ‘how can these
results be achieved?’.
The bottom arrow, ‘l e a r n i n g , c r e a t i v i t y and i n n o v a t i o n ’ indicates that
measuring, evaluating and adjusting are not one-off actions but a continuous process.
In the same process organizations complete a step by step develo p m en t .

8. The EFQM Model consists of an EFQM assessment that enables an organization to
determine where they are in the quality process. The assessment s t a r t s w i t h a
r e v i e w o f t h e r e s u l t s .
This is the underlying principle of this model. To improve results, measures should
be taken in at least one of the organizational areas. The EFQM Model and the
assessment give insight to what level of maturity an organization is in. This is
represented in f i v e d e v e l o p m e n t s t a g e s :

9. The emphasis is on the separ at e activit i es within an organization, the activities
are determined by working instructions and house rules or by the professionals
themselves. Dependencies are given little attention.

10. The process and control of the process are the key elements, in which powers, duties
and responsibilities are clearly defined. Improvements are only made after evaluation
has taken place.

11. The organization is looked at as a whole. Control of the processes is about internal and
external customer orientation in which cooperation is important. Trends and
developments are responded to after they have been identified.

12. There is a good control over the entire organizational process including the
r elatio nsh i p with suppli er s , customer s and other par tner s in the chain.
Knowledge, capacity and experience are optimized by periodical self-reflection and are
deployed to the best of the organization’s ability.

13. Total Quality Management (TQM) and Continuo u s impr oveme n t are anchored in
all layers of the organization. By regularly measuring performance, quality remains high
and trends and developments are adjusted preventative. At this stage the organization
can be characterized as a high-q u al i t y or ganizat io n .

14. The assessments allow an organization to gain insight into the quality of its current
operational management. Improvements are formulated and these can be implemented by
an organization in stages. The assessment itself consists of five steps:
1) Setting standards for all of the nine key ar eas
2) Determining the current quality of operational management
3) Formulating of improvements
4) Application and inclusion of improvements in the various (annual) plans
5) Actual implementation and monitoring of the remedial actions

15. Nima Moazzen
May 24th, 2019