The Vanguard Portfolio of Business Excellence Services ...assessing
and improving organisation performance
The Vanguard approach to the Business Excellence Model is unique in as much as
it is based on systems thinking.
Systems thinking is, quite simply, a better way to make the work work.
This portfolio of services allows you to choose both self
assessment and performance improvement routes.

Raising Awareness
The Business Excellence Model: will it deliver?
Self assessment Services
Conducting a Self-Assessment from a Systems Perspective
Interpreting the BEM making choices
Scoring organisational performance
Performance Improvement Services
Identifying levers for change
Taking action for improvement
The Vanguard Guide to Business Excellence
The essential Guide for anybody using or considering
using the Business Excellence Model (EFQM Excellence Model).
Raising Awareness
The Business Excellence Model: will it deliver?
A half-day seminar to raise awareness and help organisations make decisions to
ensure they get the best from the BEM.
Intended for senior executives and people directly involved with the BEM.
Agenda
Where did the BEM come from? Is it tried and tested?
What has been the experience of the BEM in practice?
Case studies.
The problem of Method. How recommended methods for self-assessment
produce unreliable and invalid assessments and, consequently, lead to wasteful actions.
The problem with Content. The content (areas to address COULD
include) encourages the wrong thinking and action!
Mass production thinking versus Systems thinking
why systems thinking is a better way to interpret the BEM.
The better method for using the BEM starting with understanding the
what and why of current performance ensuring self-assessment results in
reliable decisions and, hence, improved performance.
The BEM and BEST VALUE: integrating the two in taking action.
A road map for taking action.
Presenter: a senior Vanguard consultant.
Cost: £1200 plus £30 per participant for copies of "The Vanguard
Guide to Business Excellence" (retail price £95).
Self assessment Services
Conducting a Self-Assessment from a Systems Perspective
A two-day workshop designed for eight to twelve participants.
Purpose: To assess the extent to which the organisation is designed and
managed from a systems perspective, resulting in two outcomes:
1. An assessment of the current state.
2. Recommendations for action in the short and longer terms.
Workshop content
The history and background of the BEM.
Method and content how to get the best out of the BEM.
Assessing the organisation from a systems perspective.
To what extent does the design and management of work reflect a systems
perspective? In particular, how well does the organisation:
Understand what matters to its customers?
Identify its core and support processes?
Establish measures that relate to purpose and are useable for improvement?
Manage the whole system in pursuit of its purpose?
Translating the findings on to the BEM framework.
Recommendations for action in the short and longer terms.
Workshop leader: A senior Vanguard Consultant.
Cost: £1900 plus £30 per participant for copies of "The Vanguard
Guide to Business Excellence" (retail price £95).
Interpreting the BEM making choices
A two-day workshop for eight to twelve participants.
Purpose: To make choices about how the BEM should be interpreted in this
particular organisation. The outcome is a set of definitions for each of the BEMs
elements.
Prerequisite: Conducting a Self-Assessment from a Systems Perspective should
be completed.
Workshop content
The results of the self-assessment.
Mass production versus systems thinking an overview.
Identifying current theories in use.
Identifying the opportunities for taking a systems perspective.
The elements of the BEM making choices for interpretation.
Defining and documenting interpretations of the elements for this organisation.
Workshop leader: A senior Vanguard Consultant.
Cost: £1900 plus £30 per participant for copies of "The Vanguard
Guide to Business Excellence" (retail price £95), if not already supplied.
Scoring organisational performance
A one-day workshop for eight to twelve participants.
Purpose: To establish a reliable and valid score on the BEM.
Prerequisites: Conducting a Self-Assessment from a Systems Perspective
and Interpreting the BEM making choices should be completed.
Workshop content
The results of the self-assessment.
The interpretations of the BEM elements for this organisation.
Establishing validity the score should be an accurate representation of
the organisations progress.
Establishing reliability different assessors would arrive at the same
result.
Choosing methods to ensure validity and reliability.
Adopting the method(s).
Scoring the organisation.
Workshop leader: A senior Vanguard Consultant.
Cost: £1050 plus £30 per participant for copies of "The Vanguard
Guide to Business Excellence" (retail price £95), if not already supplied.
Performance Improvement Services
Identifying levers for change
A three-day action-learning workshop for eight to twelve participants.
Purpose: To identify and quantify opportunities for performance
improvement. The outcome is a clear statement of the what and why of current
performance and scope of potential improvement for a chosen process.
Prerequisite: Conducting a Self-Assessment from a Systems Perspective
should be completed.
Workshop content
The results of the self-assessment: where do they point out opportunities
for significant improvement?
Fieldwork in the chosen process(es) to:
Establish current performance (in systems terms).
Establish causes of sub-optimisation.
Collation of findings and creation of potential for improvement
statement.
Workshop leader: A senior Vanguard Consultant.
Cost: £2850 plus £30 per participant for copies of "The Vanguard
Guide to Business Excellence" (retail price £95), if not already supplied.
Taking action for improvement
A three-day action-learning workshop for six participants.
The participants should be leaders of the targeted process or system.
Purpose: To provide leaders with tactics for leading change.
Prerequisites: Conducting a Self-Assessment from a Systems Perspective
and Identifying levers for change should be completed.
Workshop content
The fundamentals of systems thinking.
What did the self-assessment and analysis of levers reveal?
Validation of the opportunity for improvement.
Competencies for leadership through action on the system.
A road-map for change who, what, when and how.
Workshop leader: A senior Vanguard Consultant.
Cost: £2850 plus £30 per participant for copies of "The Vanguard
Guide to Business Excellence" (retail price £95), if not already supplied.
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