Excellent organisations have leaders who shape the future and make it happen, acting as role models for its values and ethics and inspiring trust at all times. They are flexible, enabling the organisation to anticipate and react in a timely manner to ensure the on-going success of the organisation.

• Leaders develop the mission, vision, values and ethics and act as role models.
• Leaders define, monitor, review and drive the improvement of the organisation’s management system and performance.
• Leaders engage with external stakeholders.
• Leaders reinforce a culture of excellence with the organisation’s people.
• Leaders ensure that the organisation is flexible and manages change effectively.

Excellent organisations implement their Mission and Vision by developing a stakeholder focused strategy. Policies, plans, objectives and processes are developed and deployed to deliver the strategy.

• Strategy is based on understanding the needs and expectations of both stakeholders and the external environment.
• Strategy is based on understanding internal performance and capabilities.
• Strategy and supporting policies are developed, reviewed and updated.
• Strategy and supporting policies are communicated, implemented and monitored.

Excellent organisations value their people and create a culture that allows the mutually beneficial achievement of organisational and personal goals. They develop the capabilities of their people and promote fairness and equality. They care for, communicate, reward and recognise, in a way that motivates people, builds commitment and enables them to use their skills and knowledge for the benefit of the organisation.

• People plans support the organisation’s strategy.
• People’s knowledge and capabilities are developed.
• People are aligned, involved and empowered.
• People communicate effectively throughout the organisation.
• People are rewarded, recognised and cared for.

Excellent organisations plan and manage external partnerships, suppliers and internal resources in order to support their strategy, policies and the effective operation of processes. They ensure that they effectively manage their environmental and societal impact.

• Partners and suppliers are managed for sustainable benefit.
• Finances are managed to secure sustained success.
• Buildings, equipment, materials and natural resources are managed in a sustainable way.
• Technology is managed to support the delivery of strategy.
• Information and knowledge are managed to support effective decision making and to build the organisation’s capability.

Excellent organisations design, manage and improve processes, products and services to generate increasing value for customers and other stakeholders.

• Processes are designed and managed to optimise stakeholder value.
• Products and services are developed to create optimum value for customers.
• Products and services are effectively promoted and marketed.
• Products and services are produced, delivered and managed.
• Customer relationships are managed and enhanced.

Excellent organisations achieve and sustain outstanding results that meet or exceed the needs and expectations of their customers.

In practice, we find that excellent organisations:

• Use a set of perception measures and related performance indicators to determine the successful deployment of their strategy and supporting policies, based on the needs and expectations of their customers.
• Set clear targets for the key customer results based on the needs and expectations of their customers, in line with their chosen strategy.
• Segment results to understand the experience, needs and expectations of specific customer groups.
• Demonstrate positive or sustained good customer results over at least 3 years.
• Clearly understand the underlying reasons and drivers of observed trends and the impact these results will have on other performance indicators, perceptions and related outcomes.
• Have confidence in their future performance and results based on their understanding of the cause and effect relationships established.
• Understand how their key customer results compare to similar organisations and use this data, where relevant, for target setting.

Perceptions

These are the customers’ perceptions of the organisation. These may be obtained from a number of sources, including surveys, focus groups, ratings, compliments and complaints. These perceptions should give a clear understanding of the effectiveness, from the customers’ perspective, of the deployment and outcomes of the organisation’s customer strategy, supporting policies and processes.

MEASURES COULD INCLUDE PERCEPTIONS OF:

• Reputation and image
• Product and service value
• Product and service delivery
• Customer service, relationship and support
• Customer loyalty and engagement

Performance Indicators

These are the internal measures used by the organisation in order to monitor, understand, predict and improve the performance of the organisation and to predict their impact on the perceptions of its customers. These indicators should give a clear understanding of the deployment and impact of the organisation’s customer strategy, supporting policies and processes.

• Product and service delivery
• Customer service, relationships and support
• Complaints handling
• Involvement of customers and partners in the design of products, processes, etc.

Excellent organisations achieve and sustain outstanding results that meet or exceed the needs and expectations of their people.

In practice, we find that excellent organisations:

• Use a set of perception measures and related performance indicators to determine the successful deployment of their strategy and supporting policies, based on the needs and expectations of their people.
• Set clear targets for key people results based on the needs and expectations of their people, in line with their chosen strategy.
• Segment results to understand the experience, needs and expectations of specific groups of people within their organisation.
• Demonstrate positive or sustained good people results over at least 3 years.
• Clearly understand the underlying reasons for and drivers of observed trends and the impact these results will have on other performance indicators and related outcomes.
• Have confidence in their future performance and results based on their understanding of the cause and effect relationships established.
• Understand how the key people results compare to similar organisations, and use this data, where relevant, for target setting.

Perceptions

These are the people’s perception of the organisation. These may be obtained from a number of sources, including surveys, focus groups, interviews and structured appraisals. These perceptions should give a clear understanding of the effectiveness, from the people’s perspective of the deployment and outcomes of the organisation’s people strategy and supporting policies and processes.

MEASURES COULD INCLUDE PERCEPTIONS OF:

• Satisfaction, involvement and engagement
• Motivation and empowerment
• Leadership and management
• Competency and performance management
• Training and career development
• Effective communications
• Working conditions

Performance Indicators

These are the internal measures used by the organisation in order to monitor, understand, predict and improve the performance of the organisation’s people and to predict their impact on perceptions. These indicators should give a clear understanding of the deployment and impact of the organisation’s people strategy and supporting policies and processes.

MEASURES COULD INCLUDE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ON:

• Involvement and engagement activities
• Competency and performance management activities
• Leadership performance
• Training and career development activities
• Internal communications

Excellent organisations achieve and sustain outstanding results that meet or exceed the needs and expectations of relevant stakeholders within society.

In practice, we find that excellent organisations:

• Use a set of perception measures and related performance indicators to determine the successful deployment of their strategy and supporting policies, based on the needs and expectations of the relevant external stakeholders.
• Set clear targets for key society results based on the needs and expectations of the relevant stakeholders within society, in line with their chosen strategy.
• Segment results to understand the experience, needs and expectations of relevant stakeholders within society.
• Demonstrate positive or sustained good society results over at least 3 years.
• Clearly understand the underlying reasons and drivers of observed trends and the impact these results will have on other performance indicators and related outcomes.
• Have confidence in their future performance and results based on their understanding of the cause and effect relationships established.
• Understand how their key society results compare to similar organisations and use this data, where relevant, for target setting.

Perceptions

This is society’s perception of the organisation. This may be obtained from a number of sources, including surveys, reports, press articles, public meetings, Non-Governmental Organisations, public representatives and governmental authorities. These perceptions should give a clear understanding of the effectiveness, from society’s perspective of the deployment and outcomes of the organisation’s societal and environmental strategy and supporting policies and processes.

MEASURES COULD INCLUDE PERCEPTIONS OF:

• Environmental impact
• Image and reputation
• Societal impact
• Workplace impact
• Awards and media coverage

Performance Indicators

These are the internal measures used by the organisation in order to monitor, understand, predict and improve the performance of the organisation and to predict their impact on the perceptions of the relevant stakeholder within society. These indicators should give a clear understanding of the deployment and impact of the organisation’s societal and environmental strategy and supporting policies and processes.

MEASURES COULD INCLUDE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ON:

• Environmental, economic and societal activities
• Regulatory and governance compliance
• Health and safety performance
• Responsible sourcing and procurement performance

Excellent organisations achieve and sustain outstanding results that meet or exceed the needs and expectations of their business stakeholders.

In practice, we find that excellent organisations:

• Develop a set of key financial and non-financial results to determine the successful deployment of their strategy, based on the needs and expectations of their business stakeholders.
• Set clear targets for key business results based on the needs and expectations of their business stakeholders, in line with their chosen strategy.
• Segment results to understand the performance of specific areas of the organisation and the experience, needs and expectations of business stakeholders.
• Demonstrate positive or sustained good business results over at least 3 years.
• Clearly understand the underlying reasons and drivers of observed trends and the impact these results will have on other performance indicators and related outcomes.
• Have confidence in their future performance and results based on their understanding of the cause and effect relationships established.
• Understand how their key business results compare to similar organisations and use this data, where relevant, for target setting.

Business Outcomes

These are the key financial and non-financial business outcomes which demonstrate the success of the organisation’s deployment of their strategy. The set of measures and relevant targets will be defined and agreed with the business stakeholders.

OUTCOME MEASURES COULD INCLUDE:

• Financial outcomes
• Business stakeholder perceptions
• Performance against budget
• Volume of key products or services delivered
• Key process outcomes

Business Performance Indicators

These are the key financial and non-financial business indicators that are used to measure the organisation’s operational performance. They help monitor, understand, predict and improve the organisation's likely business outcomes.

MEASURES COULD INCLUDE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ON:

• Financial indicators
• Project costs
• Key process performance indicators
• Partner and supplier performance
• Technology, information and knowledge

Excellent organisations consistently add value for customers by understanding, anticipating and fulfilling needs, expectations and opportunities.

In practice, we find that excellent organisations:

• Know who their different customers groups are, both existing and potential, and anticipate their different needs and expectations.
• Transform needs, expectations and potential requirements into attractive and sustainable value propositions for both existing and potential customers.
• Build and maintain a dialogue with customers, based on openness and transparency.
• Strive to innovate and create value for their customers, involving them, where appropriate, in the development of new and innovative products, services and experiences.
• Ensure people have the necessary resources, competencies and empowerment to maximise the customer experience.
• Continually monitor and review the experiences and perceptions of their customers and respond appropriately to any feedback.
• Compare their performance with relevant benchmarks and learn from their strengths and opportunities for improvement in order to maximise the value generated for customers.

Excellent organisations have a positive impact on the world around them by enhancing their performance whilst simultaneously advancing the economic, environmental and social conditions within the communities they touch.

In practice, we find that excellent organisations:

• Secure their future by defining and communicating a core purpose that provides the basis for their overall Vision, Mission, values, ethics and corporate behaviour.
• Understand their key competencies and how they can generate shared value to benefit wider society.
• Integrate the concepts of sustainability within their core strategy, value chain and process design and allocate the resources required to deliver these goals.
• Consider “People, Planet and Profit” as a reference when balancing the sometimes conflicting imperatives that they face.
• Encourage their stakeholders to participate in activities that contribute to wider society.
• Allocate resources to provide for long-range needs rather than just short-term gain and, where relevant, become and remain competitive.
• Design their product and service portfolio and actively manage the full product lifecycle in a responsible way.
• Are able to demonstrate that they measure and optimise the impact of their operations, product lifecycle and services on public health, safety and the environment.
• Actively advance the economic, environmental and social standards within their sector.

Excellent organisations enhance their capabilities by effectively managing change within and beyond the organisational boundaries.

In practice, we find that excellent organisations:

• Analyse operation performance trends to understand their current and potential capabilities and capacities and identify where development is needed to achieve the strategic goals.
• Develop an effective and efficient value chain to ensure they can consistently deliver on their promised value proposition.
• Develop a culture that continually seeks to improve the effectiveness of collaboration and teamwork throughout their value chain.
• Ensure that financial, physical and technological resources are available to support organisational development.
• Establish shared values, accountability, ethics and a culture of trust and openness throughout the value chain.
• Work together with partners to achieve mutual benefit and enhanced value for their respective stakeholders, supporting one another with expertise, resources and knowledge.
• Establish appropriate networks to enable them to identify potential partnership opportunities to enhance their capabilities and ability to generate additional stakeholder value.

Excellent organisations generate increased value and levels of performance through continual improvement and systematic innovation by harnessing the creativity of their stakeholders.

In practice, we find that excellent organisations:

• Establish approaches to engage relevant stakeholders and use their collective knowledge in generating ideas and innovation.
• Establish and manage learning and collaboration networks to identify opportunities for creativity, innovation and improvement.
• Recognise that innovation can apply to products, processes, marketing, organisational structures and business models.
• Set clear goals and objectives for innovation, based on an understanding of the market and opportunities, supported by appropriate policies and resources.
• Use a structured approach for generating and prioritising creative ideas.
• Test and refine the most promising ideas, allocating resources to realise them within appropriate timescales.
• Transform ideas into reality within timescales that maximise the advantages that can be gained.

Excellent organisations have leaders who shape the future and make it happen, acting as role models for its values and ethics.

In practice, we find that excellent organisations have leaders who:

• Inspire people and create a culture of involvement, ownership, empowerment, improvement and accountability through their actions, behaviours and experience.
• Champion the organisation’s values and are role models for integrity, social responsibility and ethical behaviour, both internally and externally, to develop and enhance the organisation’s reputation.
• Set and communicate a clear direction and strategic focus; they unite their people to share and achieve the organisation’s Mission, Vision and goals.
• Are flexible; they demonstrate their ability to make sound, timely decisions, based on available information, previous experience and knowledge, with consideration of their potential impact.
• Recognise sustainable advantage is dependent on their ability to learn quickly and rapidly respond when necessary.
• Promote a culture which supports the generation of new ideas and new ways of thinking to encourage innovation and organisational development.
• Are transparent and accountable to their stakeholders and society at large for their performance and ensure their people act ethically, responsibly and with integrity.

Excellent organisations are widely recognised for their ability to identify and respond effectively and efficiently to opportunities and threats.

In practice, we find that excellent organisations:

• Use mechanisms to identify changes in their external environment and translate these into potential future scenarios for the organisation.
• Translate their strategies into aligned processes, projects and organisational structures, ensuring changes can be implemented with appropriate speed throughout the value chain.
• Develop a meaningful mix of process performance indicators and related outcome measures, enabling the review of the efficiency and effectiveness of the key processes and their contributions towards the strategic goals.
• Use data on the current performance and capabilities of their processes, as well as appropriate benchmarks, to drive creativity, innovation and improvement.
• Effectively manage change through structured project management and focused process improvement.
• Rapidly adapt their organisational structure to support the achievement of the strategic goals.
• Evaluate and develop the technology portfolio to improve the agility of processes, projects and the organisation.

Excellent organisations value their people and create a culture of empowerment for the achievement of both organisational and personal goals.

In practice, we find that excellent organisations:

• Define the skills, competencies and people performance levels required to achieve the Mission, Vision and strategic goals.
• Effectively plan to attract, develop and retain the talents required to meet these needs.
• Align personal and team objectives, and empower people to realise their full potential in a spirit of true partnership.
• Ensure a healthy work / life balance in the reality of 24/7 connectivity, increasing globalisation and new ways of working.
• Respect and embrace the diversity of their people and the communities and markets the organisation serves.
• Develop people's skills and competencies to ensure their future mobility and employability.
• Encourage their people to be ambassadors of the organisations' image and reputation.
• Motivate people to become involved in improvement and innovation and recognise their efforts and achievements.
• Understand the communication needs of their people and use appropriate strategies and tools to maintain a dialogue.

Excellent organisations achieve sustained outstanding results that meet both the short and long term needs of all their stakeholders, within the context of their operating environment.

In practice, we find that excellent organisations:

• Gather stakeholders’ needs and expectations for input to the development and review of their strategy and supporting policies, remaining alert to any changes.
• Identify and understand the key results required to achieve their Mission and evaluate progress towards the Vision and strategic goals.
• Define and use a balanced set of results to review progress, provide a view of long and short-term priorities and manage the expectations of the key stakeholders.
• Deploy strategy and supporting policies in a systematic manner to achieve the desired set of results, with clearly defined “cause and effect” relationships.
• Establish targets based on comparisons of their performance with other organisations, their current and potential organisational capability and their strategic goals.
• Evaluate the set of results achieved to improve future performance and provide sustainable benefits to all their stakeholders.
• Deliver high levels of stakeholder confidence by adopting effective mechanisms to understand future scenarios and effectively manage strategic, operational and financial risks.
• Ensure transparency of financial and non-financial reporting to relevant stakeholders, including appropriate governance bodies, in line with their expectations.
• Ensure that their leaders are provided with accurate and sufficient information to support them in timely decision making.