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Self-assessment support

As we outline in the About Excellence section, the most commonly known use of the EFQM Excellence Model is self-assessment. This should be a comprehensive, systematic and regular review of all organisational activities and results against the Model's framework of Excellence. It should not be confused with a third party 'audit'. It is not a test aimed at catching people out, it is a way of identifying where an organisation has strengths, and where it has areas for improvement - as the forerunner to working on the improvements.

Like most things in life 'the more you put in to it the more you get out' but most organisations start with simpler methods and progress to more comprehensive approaches. A possible starting point might be to use a questionnaire, or gathering evidence on templated forms, together with a workshop to understand and agree findings.

The usual methods of self-assessment are shown below, with links to relevant pages on our site. But the objective should be to help your organisation improve, not just to follow a standard pattern, so we are always happy to discuss any 'mixing and matching' that will help meet your needs.

And once again, we make no excuses for saying:

  1. the Model - and self-assessment - should be about helping people think about their organisation, not just ticking boxes, and
  2. as it is about thinking, the Model can be used flexibly