"A combination of learning and training"

People, processes, results: These three elements need to be considered holistically when striving for business excellence. They are the central pillars of the EFQM Excellence Model, a tool that supports companies on the path to continuous improvement. When economic conditions deteriorate, many companies are forced to rethink their processes. Are excellent companies better equipped to do so?

Mr. Schmidt, what is a company that considers itself "excellent" anyway supposed to understand by "true" business excellence?

Siegfried Schmidt: A company that considers itself excellent usually does so on the basis of key figures. This shows how well the company is doing in terms of business management. The problem, however, is that companies mainly look in the rearview mirror and not enough ahead.

In other words, many companies don't actually have a strategy for the future?

A vision and a strategy do, but often there is a lack of common understanding within the company. The question of where the journey should go is a topic in which companies often get bogged down. Growth, earning money, "being good", having the ideal location - that's all well and good, but where you want to be in three years' time is often not answered. A lot of things are characterized by an ad hoc culture, but there is also a lack of knowledge about why certain things are done and whether they really contribute to the success of the company. There is still a lot of potential here.

What is the core content of Business Excellence?

For me, business excellence has two sides: On the one hand, there is the combination of learning and training to become better. The model helps to question existing tools and structures and to move forward. On the other hand, it is about taking internal and external stakeholders into account. In meeting customer needs and achieving goals, employees make a valuable contribution. And developing a shared understanding of business excellence with these employees is also what it's all about.

So everything stands or falls with a corporate culture in which everyone is pulling in the same direction?

Yes. In this context, the continuous improvement process should be mentioned once again. If there is no corresponding culture in the company, this process is of no use ...

To what extent is interest in the topic of business excellence likely to increase against the backdrop of the "Swiss franc crisis", shortage of skilled workers, etc.? How do you assess the demand?

It may sound extreme, but now more than ever! For many people, crises mean Optimize resources. But that doesn't have to mean cutting jobs, but rather asking: What actually makes us successful? Where are there opportunities to increase efficiency? The cause-effect principle is therefore also a central success factor of the model or excellence approach. If you are managing a management system - and I think every company has one in some form or another - now is the time to check whether the existing instruments are actually contributing to success. To stay with the example of the strength of the franc: Even a hotelier thinking about the future is currently facing major challenges, but has already taken the euro exchange rate into account in his risk management, for example. A company must therefore not only recognise external as well as internal risks, such as the shortage of skilled workers, at an early stage, but also be able to react to them.

Do companies that apply the EFQM Excellence Model or work on the basis of ISO 9001 have a better chance of surviving crises?

Management systems and models provide added value to the organization. Within the ISO 9001 standard there are standards and a description (process) of how the activity should be carried out. In the framework of the EFQM Excellence Model, it is a question of checking whether these processes or activities also contribute to achieving the desired goal or success. What many companies perhaps shy away from is also the networking idea, because their own interest is in the foreground. Perhaps it is not bad at all to learn from the competitor ...

... by cooperating?

Cooperations can make sense. Some sectors such as the hotel industry and also the health sector have recognised this. The exchange of good practices is in demand. At present, a lot is being made more and more transparent anyway.

We have addressed the culture of improvement. Where do you see the greatest potential for improvement in companies on the path to business excellence?

The cause-effect principle. If a company invests in further training and employee development (cause), this must also be reflected in the company's success (effect). The visible "return on invest", the result of improvement activities as a motivating milestone on the way to business excellence, there is certainly still potential.

So too much is simply done out in the open, with no resource gain?

Yes. Too little thought is given to mission and sustainable strategy. It is understandable that many companies are economically challenged. On the other hand, companies invest a lot, but without asking the customer whether this investment or the offer also meets the need.

Why is that?

It's the dispersal, the lack of concentration on the essentials in the operational hustle and bustle. At the end of a site assessment, there may be 50 or more ideas and projects on the flipchart. But prioritization and transfer to day-to-day business then fall by the wayside. I notice time and again that a company would prefer to deal with all the criteria of the model right away. However, my central concern when a company embarks on the Excellence path is: What is to change for the company as a result?

Let's take a closer look at the practical side: What are the first steps a company has to take in order to tap into its dormant excellence potential?

The classic way is to determine the current situation or to carry out a self-assessment. However, it is important that the employees are involved in this process. It does not make sense for the management to withdraw and "cook up" something without the opinion of the employees. After all, it is the employees who are ultimately close to the customer. Only then can you create a culture of excellence. It's also about creativity and innovation, and that's where everyone in the company is called upon.

Isn't there a danger with self-assessments that companies put on rose-colored glasses too much?

The honesty is there, in the sense that the model or RADAR logic forces you to review and take action. For example, if a company identifies a need for action in the maintenance of customer relationships, it cannot simply go and revise its financial reporting. If a company applies the components of the model in a target- and level-oriented manner, then it will be very successful. And it's not just about being better or worse than others, but about what you want to achieve with the company in the future.

What conditions must be fulfilled? To what extent is the whole thing also a question of leadership?

Leadership is certainly needed. This is about the courage to be transparent and about trust. There are shareholders with needs; but there are also employees who have needs. Before you start the process, you should think about who the stakeholders are. It's also about how you communicate. A cultural prerequisite also means a common language. Fortunately, I also experience many companies where the Excellence approach is not perceived and applied as a project but as a tool to become better in daily business.

What incentives does a company need to find its way to business excellence? Are awards an appropriate means?

In Switzerland, I actually see two points in this regard: firstly, the great diversity of labels. There are numerous company awards and industry awards - almost too many in total. The success at the end of an evaluation process, an award or recognition and being able to compare oneself with the best for once, means a lot to many companies. However, an assessment process provides value-added feedback more than anything else and makes progress visible. And so the path from daily business to business excellence is an exciting development process.