A Business Excellence Framework (“BEF”) is an overarching structured and systematic approach to the pursuit and application of the best appropriate way of doing things or relevant better practices and must be differentiated from specific business practice frameworks that focus on a particular area, for example, safety management, corporate governance, asset management or stakeholder management.

A BEF can also be described as an integrated leadership and management system that describes the elements essential to organisations sustaining high levels of performance. It can be used to assess and improve any aspect of an organisation, including leadership, strategy and planning, people, information and knowledge, safety, service delivery, product quality and bottom-line results. A BEF provides organisations with assurance of their sustainable performance and is a framework for leadership and governance.

BEF’s are used by hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide and there are approximately 85 of these National Frameworks that are underpinned by the latest research, best practices and benchmarking both nationally and collectively through membership of a Global Excellence Management (GEM) Council. The most popular and influential model in the Western world is the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Model (also known as the Baldrige model, the Baldrige Criteria, or the Criteria for Performance Excellence), launched by the US government. More than 60 national and state/regional awards base their frameworks upon the Baldrige criteria. Other leading BEF models include the EFQM Excellence Model (Europe), the Singapore Quality Criteria and Australia’s version, the Business Excellence Framework (Australia).

The Organisations that have leveraged BEF’s to most benefit have typically integrated the Business Excellence Approach into their corporate systems such as strategic planning and business performance management so that “it is the way they do things” and not something additional to normal business. BEF’s have been proven to bring about powerful changes in organisational performance and culture. Organisations using the BEF are able to develop business resilience and an integrated focus on sustainable performance.

Benefits that can accrue through the use of BEF’s include;

• Effective prioritisation of your improvement efforts to deliver maximum benefits.
• Process efficiency and effectiveness through reduced waste and variation.
• Empowered and motivated workforce with increased retention.
• Increased productivity and reduced operational costs.
• Focus on customer service delivering superior perception of value.
• Sustainable performance by increasing stakeholder value.

Additionally, the BEF provides an umbrella under which a number of business initiatives can be integrated to form one coherent, cohesive organisational systems model. Business initiatives that fit comfortably within the ABEF include: ISO 9001 series, Lean Six Sigma, Balanced Scorecard, Risk Management and Safety Management.