Arkansas Governor’s Quality Award nationally ranked
by March 22, 2012 9:53 am 113 views
The Arkansas Governor’s Quality Award (GQA) Program was ranked first in four of six categories nationally for 2011 by The Alliance for Performance Excellence.
The GQA Program ranked first in number of applicants, number of full applicants, award recipients and top level recipients, according to a GQA statement. The GQA Program ranked second in conference attendees and fourth in number of examiners.
The GQA Program includes four award levels of Performance Excellence (in descending order of qualifications): the Governor’s Award, the Achievement Award, the Commitment Award and the Challenge Award. As well as recognition, recipients receive an in-depth evaluation of their management systems and a written feedback report citing strengths and areas for improvement. Industry-specific seminars are held each year for different sectors including manufacturing, healthcare and insurance/financial services.
The goal of the Governor’s Quality Award Program is to encourage Arkansas organizations to engage in continuous quality improvement, which leads to performance excellence, and to provide significant recognition to those organizations. Created as a not-for-profit organization, the program is dedicated to assist in building a strong infrastructure for Arkansas businesses. That dedication is reflected in the program’s vision to contribute to the success of Arkansas organizations and the communities they serve. The Governor’s Quality Award program partners with the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.
“This is an important recognition for the GQA and the state of Arkansas and reflects on the outstanding work done by our award examiners, judges and staff since the GQA was started in 1995. Arkansas has an excellent award process and training program that is a valuable resource to Arkansas businesses, government and other organizations in achieving perform excellence and speaks well to those looking to establish a presence in Arkansas,” according to J. Robert Kelly, chair of the board for the Arkansas Institute of Performance Excellence which administers the GQA.
Organizations and companies interested in participating in the program should contact the Governor’s Quality Award at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce by calling (501) 372-2222 or visiting the website.