EFQM - European Foundation for Quality Management
Introduction to EFQM
The EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) is a European foundation based in Brussels that was founded in 1988 by 14 European companies (Bosch, BT, Bull, Ciba-Geigy, Dassault, Electrolux, Fiat, KLM, Nestlé, Olivetti, Philips, Renault, Sulzer, Volkswagen) with the support of the European Commission. The EFQM now has more than 700 member organizations.
The goal of this not-for-profit organization is to promote a methodological framework for evaluating quality improvement.
The EFQM model for excellence is based on a concept that consists in evaluating quality according to 9 key criteria:
- Leadership
- Management of employees
- Policy and strategy
- Partnerships and resources
- Processes
- Employee satisfaction
- Client satisfaction
- Integration into the community
- Operational results
This criteria are balanced out and divided into two categories: Factors (corresponding to the first five criteria) and Results (the last four) so that a company is able to quantify the level of quality achieved and position itself in comparison with other companies.
Article written on 16 December 2004 by Jean-François Pillou