Guidelines for using Baldrige Tool with your MFI or organization

1. 1 Guidelines for using Baldrige Tool with your MFI or organization Carter Garber Milton Arguello Gerald Hildebrand Thursday, October 18th, 2001, SEEP Network, Washington, D.C.

2. 2 Write up an Evaluation Plan Decide whether you are going to use external consultant(s) After defining what it is you want to accomplish, Write up an action plan with resources, timeline and deliverables Be clear on roles of participants

3. 3 Participation of organization being assessed in the Baldrige process Key to the Baldrige is self-assessment Can be supplemented by outsider�s evaluative comments & recommendations Start with buy-in and participation and buy-in of CEO and his/her key staff Buy-in exercise of other internal evaluators

4. 4 Determine participants Define your clients � PVO or MFI may have several types Define your providers (Are your funders a provider or another type of client?) Stakeholders Consultants to process: Will you use external consultants or only internal ones?

5. 5 Determine Critical Processes Business processes (lending; TA & T; BDS) Support processes (outside capital; accounting)

6. 6 Study Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence with internal evaluators Internal Evaluators have to learn how to use the tool 7 Categories 18 items 29 areas to address Make sure that it covers all aspects of your organization. Adapt to yours by adding items or areas. Adjust language. Add in your usual indicators or measures.

7. 7 Adapting Baldrige to Microfinance Areas that need more emphasis: Board leadership Relations with lenders to MFIs Network relations and other Linkages Donor and stakeholder relations Finances and Financial & Operational sustainability are in category of Processes. In the write up there may be redundancies as some process areas also appear in the product section (ex: R & D) is both process and product

8. 8 Work in small groups Break into different groups In Katalysis MG3 evaluation, we had seven field program staff working in three different groups to study blocks of categories. If have more people & time, could break into 7 groups Plenary to share results and add to

9. 9 Determine Strengths and Areas for Improvement Describing the process is the first step. Comparing how done by competitors and allies. Identify strengths. Point out where can improve. Seek different points of view. Katalysis evaluation used Findings and Recommendations couplets

10. 10 Each item is a mix of qualitative descriptions of the process and quantitative measures �Measurements are key. If you cannot measure it, you cannot control it. If you cannot control it, you cannot manage it. If you cannot manage it, you cannot improve it� Business Process Improvement, H. James Harrington.

11. 11 Using the results: Focus on vital few Maintain competitiveness in those areas where organization is strong Devise action plans for improvement in those 2- 4 areas that need it.

12. 12 Supplementing Baldridge Tool Complement with SWOT: Need vision of future to identify opportunities and threats to, and weakness of, current processes. Katalysis discovered some of the things that worked well in past, but would not be adequate for future. Complement with other types of interviews and tools.