THE AWARD MODEL


SKEA GLOBAL EXCELLENCE MODEL

Over the past decades numerous national and international bodies have developed excellence models to help drive organizational development and improvement. The roots can be traced back to the “Total Quality Management” approaches developed in the 1950s, focused on manufacturing. Whilst many of these concepts and principles still apply, the world has moved on – and continues to do so at a seemingly ever accelerating pace.

The dynamics of global society, including the globalized economy, place new demands and present new challenges to all organizations. To achieve and sustain excellence, an organization not only needs to be agile in adapting to change, but it also needs to effectively shape its future by actively driving change within its ecosystem.

The SKEA Global Excellence Model has been designed to help organizations not only adapt to disruption and shocks within their ecosystems but to actively gain strength from the organizational stress caused by such disruptions. Indeed, the next generation of excellent organizations will actively seek and trigger disruption.

There are 3 components within the model:
  • The Fundamentals of Excellence
  • The Pillars of Organizational Excellence
  • The SKEA Improvement & Assessment Tool

Together, they form a powerful tool that can be used to assess the current level of excellence of any organization, regardless ofsize or sector, and provide insights on how this journey can be accelerated to the next level.

The Fundamentals of Excellence
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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.

1. Focus on Customer Happiness

A globally leading organization recognizes that customers are the prime reason for its existence and future success. Customer centricity involves understanding present and future customer desires for products and services, managing relationships for trust and loyalty, and addressing issues promptly. A customer-centric approach also involves differentiation through innovation, customized offerings, pricing strategies, and collaborations, all aimed at acquisition, retention, brand recognition, market share, and growth through continuous attention to customer feedback and marketplace changes.

2. Clear Purpose and Direction

Leaders within a globally leading organization define a clear purpose and ambitious vision, seamlessly integrated into the organizational structure and everything it does. This involves prioritizing resilience, adaptability, and the development of human capital, while fostering collaborative and inclusive work embodying strong organizational values and ethics. It entails creating a dynamic leadership approach that empowers people, develops their competencies and is committed to continuous improvement and innovation. Visionary Leadership drives the organization toward its ambitious goals while maintaining a leading position in the competitive landscape.

3. Creating Value for Stakeholders

A globally leading organization understands that actively engaging with stakeholders is fundamental to achieving sustained success. By understanding the diverse perspectives and interests of stakeholders such as customers, employees, investors, communities, and regulators, an organization can tailor its strategies and operations to create value for all. This engagement fosters trust, loyalty, and collaboration, enabling the organization to innovate, adapt, and grow sustainably. A leading organization that considers its stakeholders as partners in its journey can navigate challenges more effectively and seize opportunities for growth.

4. Innovation, Agility & Adaptability

A globally leading organization harnesses innovation, agility, and adaptability to ensure sustainable success. By proactively identifying threats and opportunities within the ecosystem, the organization can swiftly respond to risks whilst investing in new ventures to fortify its competitive edge. This forward-thinking approach leverages knowledge, fosters continuous learning, and nurtures creativity and is characterized by incessant experimentation, acceleration, and the implementation of novel ideas.

5. Inspiring Confidence

A globally leading organization establishes a robust governance structure that instills confidence in all stakeholders, emphasizing clear values centered on ethics, trust, transparency, and integrity whilst overseeing leadership and organizational effectiveness. It plays a crucial role in setting policies, monitoring performance, and holding leadership accountable, thereby safeguarding the organization’s sustainability.

6. Embracing the Ecosystem

A globally leading organization understands its ecosystem and gains valuable insights into the strengths and resources of diverse stakeholders and partners. This approach fosters the creation of collaborative, mutually beneficial relationships that facilitate the seamless delivery of customer-centric solutions for the benefit of all stakeholders.

7. Outcome Based Management

A globally leading organization leverages timely, accurate, and relevant information to understand its environment, track strategy progress, and support decision-making. This includes consolidating data to develop future scenarios, gain insights, and mitigate risks, ultimately guiding performance towards impactful outcomes for stakeholders. Through outcome-based management, the organization maximizes its return on investments by evaluating growth opportunities and optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations.

8. A Culture of Pride, Passion and Excellence

A globally leading organization values its people and recognizes that they are key to its ongoing success. All people within excellent organizations are engaged, enabled and empowered to actively contribute to the sustainable success of the organization. Valuing people involves commitment to their development and well-being, and tackling challenges like motivation, work-life balance, diversity, career progression, knowledge sharing, risk-taking for innovation, empowerment and accountability.

9. Enhancing Sustainability and Societal Wellbeing

A globally leading organization actively develops a culture that seeks to make a continuous positive contribution to the environment and society with public health, safety, and environmental protection embedded in the organization’s operations and product life cycles. This includes resource conservation, recycling, waste reduction, and proactive planning to anticipate and mitigate adverse impacts. Effective management of societal contributions requires appropriate measures and leadership accountability, ultimately positioning the organization as a role model in creating positive impacts on the environment and society.

10. Organizational Learning and Development

A globally leading organization recognizes that to reach the highest standards of excellence, it needs to be continuously learning and improving, staying abreast of the latest technology and business practices used by its peers. By understanding and adapting best practices, coupled with employees encouraged to develop and share their own knowledge and creative ideas, the organization can build stronger business processes and develop superior products and services that resonate with stakeholders.

The Pillars of Organizational Excellence

The pillars translate the Principles for Organizational Excellence into an organizational framework to aid implementation and assessment.

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"The SKEA Global Excellence Model comprises Four Pillars (Three Capabilities and One Result), each divided into three criteria. These pillars and criteria serve to scrutinize various aspects and activities within the organization. A holistic assessment of the organization's performance necessitates a comprehensive consideration of both its 'Capabilities'—reflecting what the organization does—and its 'Results'—highlighting what the organization achieves."

Shaping the Future (35%)

The First Pillar comprises of three Criteria that underscore the significance of leadership in shaping the future of their organizations. These Criteria emphasize the role of leaders in formulating and executing agile strategies and business models to actualize the organization’s vision and purpose.Effective business models empower the organizations to develop and improve policies and processes to fulfil their purpose and devise agile organizational structures that support the delivery of strategy.

  • Criterion 1- Visionary Leadership
  • Criterion 2 - Strategic Focus
  • Criterion 3 - Organizational Design & Transformation
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Criterion 1 - Visionary Leadership

Leaders in leading organizations actively champion and communicate the core purpose, fostering a shared understanding across relevant stakeholders. They craft and communicate an ambitious vision, strategies, and priorities that not only deliver desired outcomes but also shape the future trajectory of the organization. Success is clearly defined, with mechanisms in place to provide timely and accurate progress tracking.

They actively create, encourage, and reinforce a set of values, ethics, and behaviors, serving as positive role models for the entire organization. They cultivate a culture of transparency, trust, and accountability, where every individual feels empowered to contribute their best efforts towards the common goals. This commitment to nurturing a cohesive and supportive organizational culture enhances employee engagement, fosters innovation, and ultimately drives sustainable success.

The following Excellent Business Practices are commonly observed in globally leading organizations:


  • Vision, Purpose and Values
  • Stakeholder Engagement
  • Corporate Governance
  • Organizational Agility and Adaptability
  • Strategic Risk Management
  • Organizational Culture

A set of relevant perceptions, outcomes and key performance indicators should be in place to track and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the capabilities developed in pursuit of the defined strategic goals.

Criterion 2 - Strategic Focus

Globally leading organizations proactively identify emerging trends, employing scenario planning and robust risk management. They strategically map their ecosystem, engaging stakeholders in crafting agile strategies with ambitious outcomes and distinctive values to attain competitive performance and leading position.

They align their capabilities, operations and resources to ensure effective delivery of the strategy with optimal use of resources, innovation and collaboration with stakeholders.

The following Excellent Business Practices are commonly observed in globally leading organizations:


  • Analysis of future and emerging trends
  • Mapping the Ecosystem
  • Analysis of Current and Potential Capabilities
  • Strategic Planning and Deployment
  • Performance Management System
  • Benchmarking Performance and Capabilities

A set of relevant perceptions, outcomes and key performance indicators should be in place to track and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the capabilities developed in pursuit of the defined strategic goals.

Criterion 3 - Organizational Design & Transformation

Globally leading organizations focus on creating the appropriate business model to achieve their strategy. They continually assess the relevance and effectiveness of the current operating model, and are capable of introducing new business models, systems and functions to transform the organization and ensure rapid pace of achievement and better response to potential or emerging challenges.

Effective business models and organizational designs empower them to develop and improve policies and processes to fulfil their purpose and devise agile organizational structures that support the delivery of strategy.

The following Excellent Business Practices are commonly observed in globally leading organizations:


  • Defining Value Propositions
  • Developing the Business Model
  • Organizational Design and Transformation
  • Business Continuity
  • Business Process Framework

A set of relevant perceptions, outcomes and key performance indicators should be in place to track and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the capabilities developed in pursuit of the defined strategic goals.

Distinctive Value (35%)

The second Pillar comprises of 3 criteria that focus on the core business and activities of the organization and how they generate value for their stakeholders.

  • Criterion 4 - Customer Centricity
  • Criterion 5 - Human Capital Journey
  • Criterion 6 - Extended Value Chain
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Criterion 4 - Customer Centricity

Globally leading organizations design and deliver unique value propositions primarily driven by a customer-centric mindset. They continually seek to understand and meet the current and future needs and expectations of customers.

They actively engage the customers and relevant stakeholders in co-creating, co-designing and co-producing proactive, innovative and seamless products and services. They constantly seek to enhance customer experiences by leveraging partnerships and harnessing new technologies.

The following Excellent Business Practices are commonly observed in globally leading organizations:


  • Understanding Customer Needs and Expectations
  • Marketing and Communications
  • Product, Service and Solution Portfolio Management
  • Product, Service and Solution Design
  • Managing the End-to-End Customer Experience
  • Monitoring Customer Happiness and Satisfaction

A set of relevant perceptions, outcomes and key performance indicators should be in place to track and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the capabilities developed in pursuit of the defined strategic goals.

Criterion 5 - Human Capital Journey

Globally leading organizations recognize that their human capital is crucial for ongoing success. They explore the potential and future skills, knowledge and attitudes of their employees, capitalizing on their talents and human intelligence to deliver distinctive value to customers and other stakeholders.

They nurture the skills and competencies of their employees through engagement, enabling empowerment, and providing opportunities for lifelong learning. They strive to create a positive workplace, emphasizing that employee wellbeing is vital for delivering high-performance outcomes and achieving the organization’s strategic goals.

The following Excellent Business Practices are commonly observed in globally leading organizations:


  • Managing the Human Capital Journey
  • Learning and Development
  • Employee Wellbeing
  • Work / Life Balance
  • Transparent Communications
  • Engagement and Empowerment
  • Team and Individual Recognition
  • Monitoring the Employee Experience

A set of relevant perceptions, outcomes and key performance indicators should be in place to track and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the capabilities developed in pursuit of the defined strategic goals.

Criterion 6 - Extended Value Chain

Globally leading organizations build long-term collaborative partnerships with stakeholders based on sustained commitment, trust and mutual benefits to enhance vision realization and value proposition.

They build, manage and enhance robust, flexible and agile supply chains and distribution channels to navigate turbulence effectively and deliver the desired strategic outcomes.

The following Excellent Business Practices are commonly observed in globally leading organizations:


  • Managing Partnerships
  • Managing the Value Chain
  • Managing Suppliers
  • Ensuring a Seamless Customer Experience
  • Managing Supply Chain Risks

A set of relevant perceptions, outcomes and key performance indicators should be in place to track and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the capabilities developed in pursuit of the defined strategic goals.

Enablers (30%)

The Third Pillar focuses on the capabilities developed to effectively and efficiently manage the tangible and intangible resources including technology, data, and knowledge, and to harness their optimum return on investment.

  • Criterion 7- Finance & Assets
  • Criterion 8 - Sustainability
  • Criterion 9 - Knowledge & Technology
enablers
Criterion 7 – Finance & Assets

Globally leading organizations optimize the use of their tangible and intangible assets to support the efficient delivery of their strategy. They effectively manage both financial and non-financial resources to maximize the return on investments.

They assess current resource utilization levels and forecast future demand on resources to ensure sustainability, efficiency, and productivity. They also collaborate effectively with stakeholders to leverage all available resources within the ecosystem, thereby maximizing the impact of their activities and achieving superior sustainable performance.

The following Excellent Business Practices are commonly observed in globally leading organizations:


  • Aligning Financial and Strategic Planning
  • Managing Financial Risks
  • Resource Optimization
  • Ethical Procurement
  • Transparent Financial Control and Reporting
  • Asset Management

A set of relevant perceptions, outcomes and key performance indicators should be in place to track and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the capabilities developed in pursuit of the defined strategic goals.

Criterion 8 – Sustainability

Globally leading organizations recognize the importance of integrating sustainability into their practices, making it a pivotal element within their strategic framework. They recognize sustainability goes beyond environmental considerations, encompassing a balanced approach to establish a harmonious relationship between economic growth, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship, setting the stage for a sustainable and enduring future.

The following Excellent Business Practices are commonly observed in globally leading organizations:


  • Environmental, Social and Economic Responsibility
  • Minimizing Environmental Impact
  • Sustainable Business Practices
  • Sustainability Reporting
  • Active Involvement in the Community

A set of relevant perceptions, outcomes and key performance indicators should be in place to track and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the capabilities developed in pursuit of the defined strategic goals.

Criterion 9 – Knowledge & Technology

Globally leading organizations effectively transform data and information into insights and learning to better understand the business flow, the ecosystems, inform decision making and harness creativity.

They explore, experiment, and exploit the potential of relevant new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Blockchain to provide distinctive value in a sustained and efficient manner. They optimize the utilization of the digital infrastructure to minimize resource consumption, maximize return on investment, and ultimately enhance the provision of products/services to elevate customer happiness.

The following Excellent Business Practices are commonly observed in globally leading organizations:


  • Knowledge Management
  • Data Architecture and Analytics
  • Process Automation and Digital Services
  • Digital Integration
  • Technological Innovation
  • Managing Technology-Related Risks

A set of relevant perceptions, outcomes and key performance indicators should be in place to track and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the capabilities developed in pursuit of the defined strategic goals.

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