BQF MEMBERSHIP MAGAZINE SPRING 2016 …€¦ · BQF MEMBERSHIP MAGAZINE SPRING 2016 @THE BQF #BQF ... CASE STUDY Eurovia UK shares the virtues of a self-assessment programme ... firework

WWW.BQF.ORG.UK @THE BQF #BQFBQF MEMBERSHIP MAGAZINE SPRING 2016

Change, transformation and how the Excellence

Model can help you achieve your goals

CASE STUDY

Eurovia UK shares the virtues of a self-assessment programme

NEW MEMBER PROFILE

NEW MEMBER PROFILE

How CIRAS keeps tabs on the transport industry

NEW IDEAS

THE MODEL ISSUECASE STUDY DORSET, DEVON & CORNWALL CRC

2 SPRING 2011www.bqf.org.uk

As a valued member you can book this exceptional meeting space at a discounted rate.

For more information or to book, please contact Savannah Lay on:

T 020 7654 5000 E [email protected]

We are as committed as ever to helping you become the excellent organisation you want to be. We also recognise that to achieve this we ourselves need to continuously improve. Here are a couple of things we’ve changed to support you on your own excellence journey:

For more information about your membership or any of our products or services do get in touch:

T 020 7654 5000 E [email protected] W bqf.org.uk

We’d like to meet youIf you are looking for meeting space in a modern and inspiring setting, why not drop in and use the facilities at our new office? 53 New Broad Street, in the heart of the City, is our new home. We’d like to get to know you better and look forward to welcoming you to the new office, located within close proximity to Liverpool Street and Bank stations.

New websiteWe listened to member feedback about our website and decided a complete refresh was needed. So, we’ve developed a more accessible, modern and interactive website that appeals to all visitors. In a new format it will also provide better opportunities to showcase the great range of benefits available to you as valued members. Take a look at bqf.org.uk

A fresh identityYou may have noticed our logo looks a little different. We are still British Quality Foundation but we wanted an identity that reflects how you, our members, see us – BQF. We’ve maintained elements of our existing logo but combined it with a fresh look and feel, more of an ‘evolution not revolution’ approach.

We’ve made some changes at BQF

4421 - BQF - BQF Changes_A4_Ad_V2_AW.indd 1 20/01/2016 10:14

SPRING 2016www.bqf.org.uk 1

REGULARS4 AGENDA All the latest news13 ASK THE EXPERTS How can an organisation

thrive in a time of change?27 BQF DIRECTORY Training dates and contacts31 NORTH OF ENGLAND EXCELLENCE Partner news updates32 INNOVATION How does going public

affect inventiveness?

9 SAFE AND SOUND New member CIRAS

on what it is they do10 IT’S FULL SPEED

AHEAD FOR BQF BQF embarks on its own

journey of change12 STARTER FOR TEN Colas explains how to spell

out your success stories14 BANKING FOR A NEW AGE What Barclays is doing to

innovate and develop

18 GEARING UP FOR GREAT INNOVATION

GKN Driveline shares how the EFQM Excellence Model has shaped its approach

22 DRIVING OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE Eurovia UK on the value of self-assessments

26 SIGNED, SEALED ... Introducing our newest board member, TNT’s Marianne Culver

FEATURES

GKN Driveline uses the EFQM Excellence Model to fast track innovative productsPAGE 18

Safety comes first for CIRAS, page 9

INSIDESPRING 2016 TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE WWW.BQF.ORG.UK

BQF’s Gold Members have access to the highest level of support, product and service provision to enable them to drive and deliver performance improvement. Bene� ts include high-level events and an extended training portfolio to include accredited courses in Project and Programme Management, Continuous Improvement, Change Management and Customer Experience.

BECOMEA BQFGOLD

MEMBER

For further information on becoming a Gold Membercontact Ian Stokes on 020 7654 5000 or [email protected]

Abellio

Alexander Mann Solutions

Allianz Insurance

Angel Trains

Arriva UK Trains

AstraZeneca

Balfour Beatty

BAM UK

Barclays

Big Lottery Fund

BT

Catalyst Consulting

CBI

CIRAS

Colas

DPD

EDF Energy

EE

Equifax

Eurovia

FirstGroup UK Rail

Fujitsu

Galliford Try

GKN

GlaxoSmithKline

Go-Ahead Group

IMSM

Interserve Construction

Kier Infrastructure and Overseas

Kuehne + Nagel

LeasePlan UK

Marks & Spencer

Mitie

National Express Group

National Probation Service

Nationwide Building Society

Network Rail

O2

Oakland Consulting

Oracle

Osborne

Philips Electronics UK

Renault-Nissan Consulting

Ricoh UK Products

Royal Bank of Scotland

Royal Mail

St Monica Trust

Sella� eld

Siemens

Skanska UK

Stagecoach Group Rail Division

Sun Chemical

Thales

TNT

TQMI

Transport for London

VINCI

Virgin Media

Virgin Trains

VolkerWessels

4421 - BQF - GOLD Members_A4_Ad_v2_AW.indd 1 08/01/2016 17:04


The British Quality Foundation3rd Floor53 New Broad StreetLondon EC2M 1JJwww.bqf.org.uk

Editorial Liaison CommitteeAmanda Allbright, Emily Short, Ian Stokes

Membership Enquiries020 7654 [email protected]

Editor Robert [email protected] Editor Fiona [email protected] EditorNicola SinclairDesign Alistair McGownSub-editor Andrew LittlefieldAdvertising Sales Alison [email protected] 946 8708Publisher John [email protected]

ThinkCapital House25 Chapel StreetLondon NW1 5DH020 3771 7200

British Quality Foundation is the premier organisation representing excellence and performance improvement in the UK.A company limited by guarantee and registered in England, no. 2770257.The views expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the BQF. All information is correct at the time of going to press.© 2016 the British Quality Foundation. All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or in whole by any means without written permission of the publisher is strictly forbidden. The publisher accepts no responsibility for errors, omissions or the consequences thereof. ISSN 1460-1095UK Excellence is published four times a year and is printed on an environmentally friendly FSC/recycled paper produced from sustainable forests and PEFC approved pulps.

Transformation is the theme of this issue. GKN, for example, one of the great names in engineering, has used the EFQM Excellence Model to help develop revolutionary technical

solutions. GKN Driveline’s use of the Model has, the company says, taken it beyond effectiveness and efficiency – important as these undoubtedly are – to include ‘human’ qualities, such as innovation and creativity.

Highways and infrastructure company Eurovia says the Excellence Model has helped it to grow from ‘a small pavement patching company’ to a leader in its market. The formula ‘safety + people + EFQM = profit’ has stood the business in good stead, and the feature on Eurovia also shows specific ways in which the approach has led to specific improvements.

Barclays Bank has also applied new thinking to take a holistic view of customer service and process improvement. The old adage, often repeated but not often enough put into practice, is that every customer complaint is a valuable opportunity to make things better.

Examples such as these have not been lost on the BQF itself. For more than two decades we have helped our member organisations to find ways to transform what they do for the better. Now we are in the process of doing that ourselves – taking a good, hard look at our strengths, our weaknesses and our goals.

The article ‘It’s full speed ahead for BQF’ (page 10) sets out how we’re transforming our approach and what we are aiming to achieve. There are already visible signs of this change – we have moved to new, high-tech premises in the City, refreshed our brand identity and made our website more user-friendly.

Underlying these changes is our determination, first, to be closer to our members and, second, to be far more visible in the marketplace. For too long we have been too reticent about what the Model can do for business.

We hope you will notice the changes and I welcome feedback from members on how we can best achieve our objectives.

Underlying these changes is our determination, first, to be closer to our members and, second, to be far more visible in the marketplace

Changes that can make a big differenceHow the British Quality Foundation and its members are evolving

RUSSELL LONGMUIRBQF Director General and CEO, welcomes you to the Spring 2016 edition of UK Excellence. In this issue, we look at how our member organisations, and BQF itself, are undergoing transformational change

WWW.BQF.ORG.UK @THE BQF #BQFBQF MEMBERSHIP MAGAZINE SPRING 2016

Change, transformation and how the Excellence

Model can help you achieve your goals

CASE STUDY

Eurovia UK shares the virtues of a self-assessment programme

NEW MEMBER PROFILE

NEW MEMBER PROFILE

How CIRAS keeps tabs on the transport industry

NEW IDEAS

WELCOMESPRING 2016 TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE WWW.BQF.ORG.UK

Firm wins contract for new 3,500-capacity auditorium

A new, state-of-the-art music, events and conference centre will be built in

Hull by BAM Construction.Plans for the new venue aim to

put Hull on the map as a location for major events, conferences and music concerts, and are integral to Hull’s legacy planning after its year as UK City of Culture 2017.

Detailed feasibility studies and market testing show that the facility will inject £13.5m into Hull’s economy annually, delivering 30 full-time jobs with 100-150 temporary jobs on event days.

The centre will include a 3,500-capacity concert auditorium, with the flexibility to reduce to a 2,500 all-seated event space and a 2,000m2 exhibition space, plus an 800-capacity conference auditorium.

Jason Pink, Construction Director for BAM Construction, said: “BAM’s track record in the city of Hull has been outstanding and our appointment to build this prestigious arena is a testimony to years of successful work in many sectors here.”

Big Lottery Fund gives awards to six different groups

Thousands of tenants across Scotland struggling to make ends meet, and young

people missing out on education or employment opportunities, are among those who will benefit from £3.3m funding from the Big Lottery Fund. Six groups which support communities and families in need, including The Link Group, Article 12 and CLAN Cancer, have been awarded grants.

Maureen McGinn, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, said: “Our Big Lottery Fund support focuses on people and communities in greatest need. With these awards, six projects across the country will help people facing a variety of challenges move through tough times to a better future. From connecting with hard-to-reach youngsters and giving them the skills and confidence to move on to training, to providing vital advice and support to tenants at risk of spiralling into debt, this life-changing money will make a huge difference to thousands of people across the country.”

Glenboig Neighbourhood House, Crossroads Caring for Carers and The Phoenix Community Health Project also received awards.

BAM Construction to build £36.2m Hull Venue

£3.3m Big Lottery boost for communities across Scotland

AGENDANEW HULL VENUE TO BE BUILT BY BAM // £25M SUBSTATION CONTRACT FOR BALFOUR BEATTY ARRIVA WINS NORTHERN RAIL FRANCHISE // ALLIANZ ENTERS CHINESE INSURANCE MARKET

4 SPRING 2016

www.bqf.org.uk

BELOW: A visualisation of the venue interior

The venue will be a striking landmark in

Hull’s city centre

Maureen McGinn

1

3

➊ PRINCETON, NJ For the eighth year in a row, the insurable damage caused by tornadoes and storms topped $10bn, according to insurance group Munich Re.

➋ BANJUL Gambian president Yahya Jammeh has declared the state an Islamic republic. 95% of the country’s 1.8m population are Muslim.

➌ DUBAI The 63-floor Address Downtown Hotel suffered a significant fire on New Year’s Eve, just hours before the city’s celebratory firework display.

2

WORLD NEWS BRIEF SPRING 2016www.bqf.org.uk 5

Firm secures deal that will help deliver enough electricity to power more than 800,000 homes in the UK

Balfour Beatty has been awarded a £25m project by DONG Energy to construct a

new high voltage onshore substation, as part of the new Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm.

Work began in January 2016, with Balfour Beatty responsible for the build at North Killingholme, North Lincolnshire. The facility will enable the transfer of electricity from the Hornsea offshore wind farm to the adjacent National Grid substation.

Mark Farrah, Regional Managing Director for the North and Midlands, said: “The Hornsea Project One contract award is testament to the long-standing, successful relationships our project teams have established over the last three years. We’re proud to work with DONG Energy in the construction of the onshore substation, ensuring that our drive for safety, quality and innovation is at the forefront of our work.”

Balfour Beatty to build £25m substation

The substation will transfer electricity

from Hornsea offshore wind farm

Northern Rail franchise awarded to Arriva

Arriva – one of Europe’s leading transport operators – which

currently provides more than 16,000 weekly train services to 15m people – has been awarded

the Northern Rail franchise by the Department for Transport.

Its plans include the introduction of 281 new carriages, the full refurbishment of the remaining fleet and the removal of all Pacer trains within three years. There will be more than 2,000 additional trains each week across the Northern network by 2019, with more frequent, earlier and later trains offering passengers greater flexibility and a 37% increase in peak time capacity.

New timetables beginning in December 2017 will provide routes through Leeds,

Manchester, Newcastle and more.

The investment will bring significant station improvements including enhanced CCTV security and 45 additional staff at currently unstaffed stations. It will also help launch an enhanced inter-urban Northern Connect service to provide faster city connections.

Chris Burchell, Managing Director of Arriva’s UK Trains division, said: “Our aim is to be the communities’ local railway and to leave a positive lasting legacy for the north of England.”

REUTERSOil dives below $35, lowest in 11 years, as US supply swellsCrude oil prices plunged in January to below $35 per barrel for the first time since 2004, as data showing a large build-up of US gasoline supplies fed fears that a global surplus was still growing.

Traders shrugged off rising geopolitical risks, including an apparent North Korea nuclear test. Many reckoned that the row between Saudi Arabia and Iran posed little threat to oil shipments, but made an agreement on output even less likely.

THE GUARDIANWorld Bank issues ‘perfect storm’ warning for 2016The risk of the global economy being battered by a ‘perfect storm’ in 2016 has been highlighted by the World Bank in a flagship report. It warns that a synchronised slowdown in the biggest emerging markets could be intensified by a fresh bout of financial turmoil.

The bank said the possibility that Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa could all face problems simultaneously would put in jeopardy the chances of a pick-up in growth.

CITY AMBiggest December on record for new car registrationsThe year 2015 was a record year for new car registrations, figures from The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have shown, with 2.63m new vehicles registered during the year – up 6.3% from the year before. That was boosted in December, when 180,077 new cars were registered, up 8.4% from the same month the year before. The Ford Fiesta remained the UK’s most popular new car.

HEADLINES

On track for success

New partnership targets Chinese online insurance market

The world’s largest global insurer, Allianz, is partnering with internet giant Baidu and Asian

investment group Hillhouse Capital to create a nationwide digital insurance company in China.

The joint venture will utilise a new business model that aims to put the needs of service users first by offering tailored protection.

The company will also apply for a nationwide digital licence to distribute insurance solutions online – a market that has become increasingly popular thanks to the

speedy growth of the Chinese middle class. China’s economy is already highly digitalised and recent market research suggests that digital premiums will grow from €25bn to €107bn in 2020.

George Sartorel, CEO of Allianz Asia Pacific, said: “The digital revolution in financial services is happening rapidly in Asia and particularly in China,

where the financial services sector is being reinvented. With the speed of innovations that is taking place, we will see the quick disruption of traditional models.”

Firm awarded Chelsea Harbour contracts worth more than £7.5m

Facilities management company Mitie has been awarded significant

cleaning and security contracts with Chelsea Harbour Ltd.

The contracts, worth more than £7.5m over five years, involve Mitie’s security and cleaning teams working across the large estate to provide manned security and cleaning services. The site, based in the south-west of the capital on the River Thames, includes the marina, commercial offices and residential estate.

Sailesh Siyani, Head of Estate Operations at Chelsea Harbour, said: “Mitie succeeded in securing its respective cleaning and security contracts through the importance it places on people, technology and accountability.”

Allianz heads to ChinaABOVE:Shanghai, China’s financial centre

BELOW:George Sartorel, CEO Allianz Asia Pacific

Clean sweep for Mitie


Royal Mail celebrates its quincentenary this year, having been created in 1516 under the reign of Henry VIII

500AGENDA

St Monica Trust secures sweet property for retirement living

Provider of care and support for older and disabled people St Monica Trust has started work

on its fifth retirement community, at the former Cadbury’s chocolate factory in Keynsham.

The trust plans to convert the iconic buildings into a state-of-the-art retirement community, featuring

151 assisted-living apartments and a 90-bedroom care home.

Chief Executive of St Monica Trust, David Williams, said: “Maintaining the heritage and rich history of such iconic buildings is very important to the trust.

“Our most recent development at Sandford Station retained all of the site’s original railway buildings, which means we have a strong track record in that respect.”

Choc-a- block

THE

WEE

K IN

FOLLOW THE BQF ON TWITTER

@TheBQFis our official Twitter feed, and is a good way to keep up to date with our latest news

Essex. Since National Express took over in 2000, c2c has turned into an award-winning service that operates the UK’s most punctual trains.

HHHHH COLASColas Ltd provides transport infrastructure services throughout the UK, Ireland and overseas. Currently operating from 21 locations across the UK, Colas is part of 11 joint ventures. The business offers diverse services, including highways maintenance and management, recycling and surfacing, street lighting, products and materials, specialist surface treatments and processes, and airport runway maintenance, renewal and construction. This recognition is a significant achievement for Colas, already an existing 5 star accredited organisation, as its final assessment score exceeded 600 points.

HHHHH IMSM/QASIMSM is a leading ISO specialist. It delivers high quality ISO consultancy services and standards to organisations

The latest success stories

Transport companies shine once more in the Recognised for Excellence (R4E) certification

programme, alongside a housing association and an ISO specialist.

HHHHH ABELLIO GREATER ANGLIA Abellio Greater Anglia provides intercity, commuter and rural train services throughout the east of England, including the Stansted Express. Its parent company Abellio Transport Holdings Ltd operates Merseyrail as part of a 50-50 joint venture with Serco. Abellio Transport Holdings Ltd also operates the London and Surrey Bus service along with other bus companies in Europe.

HHHHH C2Cc2c is a train operating company that is part of the National Express Group. It provides passenger rail services on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line from Fenchurch Street Station to east London and southern

of all sizes, from all sectors, all over the world. QAS International Ltd is an established certification company that has been operating within the UK and selected international markets for more than 20 years. QAS International Ltd focuses on the internationally recognised ISO standards.

HHHH BLACK COUNTRY HOUSING GROUPBlack Country Housing Group has 40 years’ experience of delivering social housing and community regeneration in partnership with local authorities and other agencies. It works with both residents and those living in the communities in which it operates to offer a holistic approach to housing, employment and training, fuel poverty, financial exclusion, housing options and benefits advice, health and wellbeing, and helping vulnerable and older people to retain their independence at home.

HHHH METROLINKMetrolink (also known as Manchester Metrolink) is a tram/light rail system in Greater Manchester consisting of seven lines.

The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and operated and maintained under contract by RATP Group. Metrolink has 92 stops along 57 miles (92 km) of track, making it the largest light rail system in the UK.

HHHH NATIONAL EXPRESS BUSNational Express Bus (NX bus) is the market leader in the UK’s largest

urban bus market outside London. Services are

operated from nine garages across the West Midlands and in the cities of Coventry and Dundee. In

addition, NX Bus operates the Midland

Metro light rail service between Birmingham

and Wolverhampton, with an extension of this route due for completion this year.

R4E round-upABOVE: c2c operates an award-winning rail service


National Express Bus



Matthew is an award-winning British journalist, a Commonwealth Gold Medallist and two-time Olympian – he is also consistently rated among the top business and educational speakers in the UK. The BQF invites you to hear his lessons in the science of success.

Using fascinating case studies from Mercedes F1, Team Sky Cycling, Google and Pindar, Matthew will illustrate the destructive power of negative attitudes towards failure and how performance improves through comprehensive assessments of mistakes and failures. Just as the greatest scientists, business leaders and sports stars have learned to bounce back, he will show how you can turn your shortcomings into successes and develop a performance excellence culture in your organisation.

There will be lots of opportunity to network over drinks and nibbles.

Join us to be challenged, inspired and entertained in equal measure and understand the benefits of redefining your relationship with failure.

In conversation with...Matthew SyedThursday 18th February 2016, 6.00pm ETC Venues, The Hatton, 51-53 Hatton Garden, London EC1N 8HN

For more information please contact Rosie Day on: T 020 7654 5000 E [email protected]

bqf.org.uk

4434 - BQF - Matthew Syed_A4_Ad_AW.indd 1 13/01/2016 13:49

SPRING 2016www.bqf.org.uk 9NEW MEMBER PROFILE

CIRAS

we are exploring new and innovative ways of achieving this.

HOW WHAT WE DO MAKES A DIFFERENCEFor employees we help facilitate a resolution to their concerns, while ensuring their identity remains confidential. For their employers we act as an insurance policy, a sort of corporate safety net whereby safety or health concerns that may otherwise remain in the system are brought to the surface and addressed. All this is done within the boundaries of an organisation, so the key message is that CIRAS forms another line of defence within their own safety management systems and processes.

Most of the reports we take result in a positive difference. Some of those reports we handle have a high risk attached, and therefore we make a contribution to the safety of both employees and the public.

CIRAS is looking at new opportunities in the sector.

CIRAS has been running for nearly 20 years, beginning as a pilot scheme in Scotland. It was rolled out nationally

to cover every major operator in the railway, after the terrible Ladbroke Grove rail accident in 1999 where a driver passed a signal at danger and 31 people lost their lives.

Responsible for confidential reporting for health, safety and the environment across all transport sectors, CIRAS encourages staff from all levels to contact us if they have genuine concerns. We facilitate the resolution of long-standing issues where internal channels have been exhausted; and we’re also here to help out where people are too afraid to report something that otherwise might not be captured, for example where it may affect their job security.

IT’S YOUR CALLWe take around 1,000 calls every year and this is expected to increase

as a direct consequence of our membership growth.

The most frequent issues people call us about include training and briefing, maintenance, equipment, communication, wellbeing and the work environment – but we do listen to a huge variety of health, safety and environmental concerns. We can also make sure that issues outside our remit are addressed by the appropriate people.

OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGESThe most challenging part of our role is facilitating the resolution of long-standing safety issues which frequently involve a number of different companies and may actually be indicative of a wider industry trend. Some issues, such as the risk of railway workers being involved in a road traffic accident, require a coordinated response from the industry. CIRAS can help raise awareness of issues like this.

Another challenge is engaging with such a large membership, so

Chris Langer, Scheme Intelligence Manager at CIRAS, gives UK Excellence a rundown of what the transport reporting organisation does

Safe and sound

CIRAS members include London

Underground

“We encourage staff from all levels to contact us if they have genuine concerns”CHRIS LANGERScheme Intelligence Manager, CIRAS

UP TO SPEEDCIRASA confidential incident reporting and analysis system, CIRAS facilitates the reporting of incidents across its member organisations within the transport industry. CIRAS has been operating since 1996 and is open to all transport operators, infrastructure organisations and their supply chains.

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10 SPRING 2016www.bqf.org.uk TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE

INTERVIEW CEO PROMISES A BOLDER STANCE

It’s full speed ahead for BQFFor more than two decades, the British Quality Foundation has guided its members through the challenging waters of business improvement, providing the knowledge and tools to survive in the 21st-century market. Now the tables have turned. Here, CEO Russell Longmuir sets out his transformative vision for BQF

BQF has a new vision ‘to be the premier organisation representing excellence and performance improvement in the UK’. What motivated this change?The vision itself hasn’t changed – we have always aspired to be a one-stop shop for excellence and performance improvement – but we need to articulate that vision more clearly.

There are two main elements we want to strengthen. Firstly, we want to have a closer relationship with our members, both in their continuous improvement plans but also delivering more value to them. For example, we relied on external organisations to host training, assessment and accreditation and looking forward we want to do more of that in-house. Secondly, we’ve never clearly spelled out the benefits of membership and the value that it brings to organisations. We provide the best value training in the UK, yet we have never advertised or explicitly helped our members understand that. When we engaged with organisations we shared our experiences, our people, the EFQM Excellence Model and our member network, and that brought huge value, but we tended to hide our light under a bushel. Going forward, we will be much braver in the marketplace.

Looking at BQF’s own ‘journey to excellence’, what have been the key challenges along the way?Our biggest challenge has certainly been our shy business culture. We are well liked for being polite and helpful, but we weren’t proactive and never felt that we could voice an opinion and help our members move the dial. Many of our members look to us for an expert point of view on current business improvement

“I want us to be bold in how we help members on their performance improvement journey”RUSSELL LONGMUIRDirector General and CEO, BQF

topics and we weren’t fully delivering that. We also didn’t invest in our own business, particularly in our CRM (customer relationship management) system, website, our people and new ways to deliver training and events such as webinars.

How have your members reacted to this new, brave BQF? They have been overwhelmingly supportive, and learning from their experience of continuous improvement has been of great value to us as we start to modernise our tools and services. I and the team have met with many of our members and they have been delighted by how we are responding to their feedback and by the service they will receive in the future. We also had huge help from members including TNT and BT. We were lucky enough to be invited to attend a three-day continuous improvement course with BT, which was extremely valuable and was based on its transformation over the last four years.

It gave us an opportunity to look at ourselves as individuals, assess our communication and technical skills and build up our confidence. Using tools like Lean Six Sigma we worked our way through various problem solving and planning exercises. From there, the vision became clear.

I have visited more than 25 of our Gold members and met hundreds more at events like our Excellence Awards and the message from them was loud and clear: we want BQF to lead, to be a voice in the market and to be relevant in the business world.

They want a modern organisation that provides its members with the tools, training, technology and events to help them thrive.

BQF is introducing many changes this year

■ High-tech premisesOur new office space will enable us to host many more events, workshops and other activities, and we will be offering out our facilities to members at a discounted rate ■ Snappier logoOur new logo reflects the BQF name by which we are most commonly known■ Friendlier websiteOur new website is more accessible, more modern and more interactive. We will also be adding more magazine-style content

What’s new?


Changing lanes: BQF’s new vision

sets out a new way forward

What do you hope to have achieved when you look back on this process five years from now?I want us to be bold in how we help members on their performance improvement journey. To do that we need to continue to offer the best training and development in the UK, and we need to bring inspiring speakers to our members. We have several amazing events coming up: Paralympian Martine Wright spoke at our Excellence Showcase in January; journalist and Olympian Matthew Syed is hosting an evening event in February, and BT’s March event features its renowned futurologist Dr Nicola Millard. These are much more insightful events, which show we can deliver the training our members need and can also introduce inspirational people from different walks of life. I hope we can build on this challenging line-up of events and influences.

BQF recently moved to new offices in the City of London at 53 New Broad Street. How will your new premises support your mission to provide the best tools, knowledge and services around excellence?It’s such an exciting opportunity for us because we can now host most of our training, seminars, workshops, lectures and networking events internally. That means welcoming members to our offices every day and having the chance to engage with them directly. Our members will also have the opportunity to use our meeting and events facilities at a discounted rate, in a much more pleasant and inspiring setting, with all the modern technology you would expect from a leading organisation.

BQF has a long history of supporting business excellence and innovation. Looking back, what do you feel its key achievements have been so far?I think we have done really well with the UK Excellence Awards, which are immensely prestigious and still attract huge demand for entries. When you think that major awards from other sectors have folded yet we have continued on a high for 22 years, that’s a great achievement. That success is down to our values and to the people who work here. While I’ve spoken of the need to be braver and more modern, we never want to lose the sense of hard work, dedication and loyalty that has set us apart for so long.

TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGECASE STUDY COLAS


paint, brushes and trays from local shops, a bit like Challenge Anneka.

Our ‘Society’ scores are also aided by our robust environmental management system. Minimising the environmental impact of our operations has a great influence on public perception.

At the end of last year, Colas won two major jobs from one of our major clients, Highways England. We strongly

believe that business efficiency improvements resulting from using the EFQM Excellence Model and external assessment under the Recognised for Excellence (R4E) scheme were instrumental in the company winning these and other major contracts.

Colas has been assessed under the Model for a decade and our scores have improved year on year.

In September, we retained our 5 stars in R4E for a third time – with our best-ever score of more than 600. This was excellent news for Colas as we are one of the very few in our industry to have this external recognition. Not only that, but just four firms out of 585 last year reached that level.

Within our sector clients are asking more and more of us for no extra cost. The Model has enabled us to improve our business processes to cut out waste, deliver more with the same resources and keep hold of great staff who enable us to deliver

excellent work efficiently.Over the last 10 years the

company has been transformed against every measure in the Model, and this has been reflected in the overall shape of the business. Colas has seen its turnover increase by 89% and operating profit by 112%. Our workforce has doubled in size too. Even during the recession, our business continued to grow.

Our R4E assessment success is due to a combination of what we do and making sure we tell people about it. Many of the things we do, we’ve been doing for many years, but we hadn’t recognised how valuable they were because we didn’t know what to compare ourselves against. ‘Society’ is the area where we have made the most substantial increases (see right).

Colas does a great deal for the community, including sponsoring sports teams and working with schools. Aligned to Colas’ safer driving campaign, we have worked with schools on road safety initiatives, including adapting our in-house classroom training materials for delivery to audiences of young drivers in schools and colleges. I was part of a team that painted a community centre: we had to source

A decade of EFQM assessment has played a key part in our development, says Colas Business Improvement Manager Deborah King

Starter for ten“In September, we retained our 5 stars in Recognised for Excellence for a third time”DEBORAH KINGBusiness Improvement Manager, Colas

UP TO SPEEDCOLASFounded in 1922, Colas has 20 offices and depots across the UK and around 2,000 employees. Its services include transport information systems, traffic management, highways maintenance and management, airfields, surface treatments, construction projects and landscape design.

UP 27%

UP 26%

UP 13%

UP 28%

UP 24%

UP 31%

UP 23%

UP 83%

UP 30%

Leadership

Strategy

People

Partnership

& resources

Processes, products

& services

Customer

resultsPeople

resultsSociety

results

Business

results

COLAS’ R4E SCORE IMPROVEMENTS FROM 2009 TO 2015

A Colas resurfacing team at work

Deborah King will be explaining more about Colas’ approach at the EFQM Excellence Model Users Group on Wednesday 16 March

SPRING 2016www.bqf.org.uk 13EXCELLENT INSIGHTS

ASK THE EXPERTSSPECIALIST ANSWERS TO YOUR BUSINESS QUESTIONS

Q: How can an organisation thrive in a time of change?A: As a provider of social

housing, Black Country Housing Group (BCHG)

faces change and new challenges each time a new government comes into power.

We have found that strong leadership, good communication and an empowering culture have helped us to successfully adapt and thrive in a time of change.

In the summer Budget 2015, the government introduced a number of policy changes which presented our sector with significant challenges. No-one in the sector could have predicted or planned for measures such as a 1% reduction of rent each year for the next four years. This means that our predicted turnover will be drastically reduced. The impact of extended right-to-buy legislation is

currently unknown, but it could reduce our capital assets, impacting both our borrowing power and our rental income. Welfare reforms also represent a major threat to our income stream, as our residents struggle to survive on a lower income, with a risk of increased arrears and possible evictions.

When faced with such dramatic and influential changes, it is important that an organisation has strong leadership that responds swiftly to change, making sound decisions and robust plans. Immediately following the summer Budget announcements we started to assess the impact on our strategic and financial plans, and model possible scenarios for the business. Decisive action was taken: we revised our strategic and financial plans and started to make

immediate changes to the organisation to adapt to the challenges we now faced.

During a period of change it is important to communicate with your employees in a proactive, honest and united manner. This communication needs to be as immediate as possible to prevent panic and rumours starting. Being open and transparent will build trust and understanding among staff, and a united message from the top down, consistently reinforced, will avoid confusion and ensure that everyone works together towards the common goal.

At BCHG, our CEO has been keeping all colleagues up-to-date and the Executive team outlined the specific impact at our following staff conference. The same messages are communicated in team meetings with opportunities to feed back through our staff forum. Briefings were sent to all staff and shared on our intranet – all of which received positive feedback from our employees, despite some of the negative changes we have had to make.

This has all been underpinned by the inclusive and empowering organisational culture we have worked to build at BCHG. It has enabled us to adapt positively to challenges we face, and helped our employees take ownership of the changes we have implemented. In the last three years more than £100,000 worth of efficiency savings have been made through an employee-led innovation initiative. These savings have been reinvested in our communities, benefiting local people and motivating employees, who feel rewarded by seeing the difference that they make.

“Being open and transparent will build trust and understanding”

OUR EXPERTMeenu Bangur is Marketing and Communications Assistant at Black Country Housing Group


CASE STUDY BARCLAYS

Banking for a new ageWith its focus on advocacy, transparency and innovation, BQF Gold Plus Member Barclays is flying the flag for a modern new banking sector. Ellie Renshaw, Head of External Representation, talks us through its transformation


UP TO SPEEDBARCLAYSBarclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for 48 million customers and clients worldwide.

“Our mission is to ‘get the right outcome in the right way’, and that permeates everything we do”ELLIE RENSHAWHead of External Representation, Barclays

tackled. Quality scores are based on random sampling in a volume that’s statistically significant. Consistency is ensured through a three-stage evaluation, validation and collaboration process – importantly, where complaint processes or policies are not supporting a ‘customer-obsessed’ culture, specific cases are discussed at senior-levels to determine and agree further action. An overview is made available to Operations, Quality Assurance and Management teams in the form of a comprehensive reporting suite, and a dedicated Quality Root Cause Analysis Team is on hand to drive continuous improvement.

Rigorous as this approach may be, Ellie is quick to point out that it’s not an exercise in navel gazing. “Our model is much more than an internal quality check; it’s as much focussed on the external – our customers and clients.”

CUSTOMER TO ADVOCATESo what does this customer focus look like in practice? For starters, it’s proactive. Ellie explains: “When everything is ticking along nicely – a customer accesses your services and things go fine – they might score you a seven or eight out of 10, and that feels nice. However the true test for Advocacy is how you deal with customers’ problems - when things don’t go to plan. On the whole, people are actually pretty understanding that sometimes things go wrong. What’s crucial is how you deal with it.

“Do you respond quickly, listen to the customer’s concerns, make them feel that you’re on their side, and show them that they’re valued? Crucially, do you fix the problem and take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again? If you can do that, you will really ‘wow’ people, and that’s where you turn a customer into an advocate and a seven into a 10 out of 10. It’s about being proactive, both in resolving challenges and pre-empting them before they become a problem.”

The corporate values are particularly relevant here, and Barclays’ staff are measured not only on whether they meet key business objectives, but on how they reach them. Again, the best guide is to think of the customer.

“As an example, in our product design process the customer is central to everything we do,” says Ellie. “If it’s hard to explain, that’s a good hint that something’s not quite

Transparency isn’t a term that consumers generally equate with financial services, a sector whose post-recession rebirth has

been difficult at best. Yet progress is being made, and slowly but surely banks such as Barclays are casting off the old image of a traditional, closeted industry and embracing a new era of open communication and customer focus.

Ellie Renshaw is proud of the company’s award-winning communications strategy, both as Director of the Advocacy Team and Head of External Representation. Talking with UK Excellence, Ellie reveals that Barclays’ approach combines a genuinely open and responsive culture, built on a solid quality framework.

“Our mission is to ‘get the right outcome in the right way’, and that permeates everything we do, from how we drive advocacy in our customer base to how we bring new products to market,” says Ellie. “In recent years we’ve focused on collaborating closely across teams to create a more joined-up approach. Historically there was a tendency to work in silos, but our new corporate values – launched two years ago – introduced a set of principles that characterise all our work: Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship.

“Stewardship is particularly important in terms of Advocacy. The goal there is to leave things better than how you found them. Taking personal ownership for everyday improvements is important as we, along with the wider banking sector, strive to rebuild trust in financial services.”

SOUND FOUNDATIONSWhile Barclays does not specifically apply the EFQM Excellence Model to its business, its own model, named ‘Rampart’, shares many of its principles. Rampart has rolled out across the Quality Assurance Division, where it aims to offer a consistent approach to customer service and recognise those individuals who take ownership of complaints and ‘leave things better’ by tackling the root causes of issues.

Like the Excellence Model, Rampart takes a holistic view of the process from the customer’s perspective (in this case the complaints procedure), so that broader issues can be identified and

Barclays’ new brand values encourage staff

to take ownership of improvements

Banking for a new age


right. When you apply the values, it’s quite easy to see what needs to change.”

One of the most transformative changes for Barclays in recent years has again been led by customer demand: the move towards social media. While most banks have been slow to respond to what analysts refer to as the ‘sharing economy’, Barclays was one of the first to embrace it. “At first, customers were using social media to talk about us, but we recognised it as a very relevant platform to connect with them,” says Ellie. “It shouldn’t be a one-way street.”

To that end, Barclays is active across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, dealing with some 6,000 messages each week, more than half of which are made up of tweets. To keep up with demand, the bank employs social media monitoring through a dedicated UK contact centre offering a 24/7

TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGECASE STUDY BARCLAYS

Informal meetings can be part of the ‘sharing economy’

Barclays aims to deliver smarter

human banking

service. Unusually, Barclays does not ‘data cleanse’ i.e. delete negative comments, preferring to keep online conversations transparent.

While this is a valuable, and growing, way of communicating with customers, Ellie sees it as just one more way of engaging. “What we’re aiming to deliver is Smarter Human Banking – we want to make it effortless to do business with us. That’s where social media becomes so valuable. If someone just wants to check branch opening hours they’ll have a very fast response from one of our team, and repeatable transactions are easy and seamless with the help of mobile technology, such as our new Mobile Banking App.


In with the new

Barclays has launched a number of market-leading new products as a direct response to customer demand. UK Excellence profiles four of the best

CHEQUE IMAGINGIn May 2014, Barclays became the first bank to launch cheque imaging, allowing customers to pay in cheques instantly from wherever they are, 24 hours a day, through their Barclays Mobile Banking App. More than 51,000 personal and SME customers now use the service, which has since expanded to allow corporate clients to pay in cheques direct from their office.

This won the Technical Innovation award at the 2015 Drum DADI Awards, beating competition from the likes of Google and Yahoo!

BEACON TECHNOLOGYBeacon technology sends a notification to a member of the Barclays team when a customer with accessibility needs enters the branch. Designed to improve the level of in-branch service for people with disabilities, the device shares the customer’s name, picture and access needs to the Barclays colleague’s device, enabling them to provide any additional support necessary and deliver the best possible customer service.

VOICE BIOMETRICSBarclays Wealth and Investment Management is the first wealth manager to successfully launch Voice Biometrics, a pioneering ‘voice security’ service which identifies customers by the sound of their voice. When a customer calls to access their account, their voice print (a unique biometric featuring more characteristics than a fingerprint) is captured, and they’re invited to enrol in the service. When they next call, their identity is silently verified to the customer service agent on the line. Close to 10,000 Wealth and Investment Management clients in the UK now use the service, and the time taken to verify their identity is now less than 10 seconds.

VIDEO BANKINGIn another first, Barclays became the first bank to launch video banking, in November 2014.

The service enables customers to carry out a face-to-face video call with a Barclays colleague through a wifi-enabled device, offering the first 24/7 face-to-face banking service.

Video chat is part of Barclays’ innovative, omni-channel offering, which also includes secure webchat and mobile chat for round-the-clock customer service.

→Award-winning

cheque imaging innovation

“However there are still some instances where only a human will do, for example in the case of bereavement or choosing your first mortgage, so we must deliver on both fronts. Ultimately we’re giving customers more choice and flexibility in how they interact with us.”

SEE IT. OWN IT. FIX ITOf course, these ‘human’ interactions rely on the communication skills of Barclays’ frontline staff, and on the processes that underpin customer services. While company leaders work closely with quality teams – often personally calling customers to address complaints or thank them for positive feedback – staff at all levels are empowered to drive improvements through the company’s ‘See It. Own It. Fix It’ scheme. Ellie shares one example from a Barclays colleague of the difference this kind of engagement can make:

“Last year one of my customers came to see me, having suffered the loss of a close relative. They had been provided probate services through Barclays but I was concerned that the customer did not know what she had agreed to and, 18 months after her bereavement, the matter had not been resolved and she had received an unexpected bill. There must have been more we could do to make the customer’s life easier.

“I was determined to sort things out. If my customer had to go through this, so did every other – so it was escalated to senior management, which resulted in me linking up with the people who managed the bereavement process. By luck, the contract was about to be renewed with the supplier so I was invited to review the scripts we use and process to follow. I couldn’t believe where we managed to get to in such a short space of time.

“The process has now been completely reviewed and is definitely something I can be proud of.”

Ellie reflects: “The thing about change – whether that’s changing how we work or launching new products and communication channels – is that it’s an opportunity to improve but it’s also a chance for something to go wrong. Despite that, we’ve found the process very rewarding. We’ll continue to innovate and challenge ourselves to do the best we can for our customers.”

“Ultimately we’re giving customers more choice and flexibility in how they interact with us”


CASE STUDY GKN

UP TO SPEEDGKNOperating over four divisions, GKN is often cited as dating back to the industrial revolution. Its story began with the formation of the Dowlais Iron Co in 1759 in South Wales.

Already the world’s leading manufacturer of automotive driveline components, in 2013 GKN Driveline

cemented its reputation for innovative technology with the launch of the first ever intelligent all-wheel drive disconnect system. This market-disrupting technology was carefully honed during the summer

of 2013, and launched to consumers in the 2014 Range Rover Evoque, Jaguar Land Rover’s most successful model to date.

The GKN All-Wheel Drive System reacts to the driving environment by automatically disconnecting the major rotating driveline components, improving fuel economy by up to 4%. To date the Evoque has won over 160

Gearing up for great innovationFor GKN Driveline, the EFQM Excellence Model (LEAN Enterprise) has given the company a definite competitive advantage – but it’s one that’s tempered by a commitment to ‘humanising’ the mechanical environment

international industry awards, with GKN Driveline technology underpinning its performance. This is excellence in practice, and GKN Driveline credits its LEAN and EFQM Excellence Approach with getting it swiftly to market:

“We used the Model to re-engineer our complete programme execution and development process, speeding


“The rigour of our systems is very important” TREVOR PILLAYSenior Vice President, Quality, Risk Management and LEAN, GKN Driveline

Driveline is already the recognised leader of drive system technologies but to keep our competitive advantage we have to be willing to reinvent the game.”

Despite being the largest business in the global giant GKN Plc – a FTSE 100 company with more than 50,000 employees and revenues approaching £7bn – Trevor believes the company’s agility facilitates this spirit of reinvention.

GKN Driveline first engaged with the Model back in 1998, when it provided what Trevor refers to as a “health check” on its LEAN practices. While LEAN focused primarily on waste elimination, GKN Driveline wanted to be “the best of the best”, and the Model provided an insight into the broader business strategy. Trevor comments: “We wanted to drive effectiveness and efficiency across our operation. To my mind, LEAN is process orientated and focuses on efficiency, while the EFQM Model considers the humanistic elements in making your business more effective. It asks ‘Are you doing the right things, for the right reasons?’ and encourages you to look outside of our own industry for the widest view of best practice. For example, we found the best examples of packaging and distribution in the transport industry and at businesses such as DHL.” A MODEL OF SIMPLICITY GKN Driveline was also attracted by the simplicity of the nine box Model, and set about tailoring it to link back to existing company practice. In an award-winning communications strategy, the company created pictograms for each of the nine boxes, which provided a clear and engaging overview of the Model at work.

“It cuts across the complexity of our global business, overcoming both language and cultural barriers, and putting excellence into a GKN Driveline context,” says Trevor. “In our experience, one of the earliest challenges in implementing the Model is getting buy-in from your people beyond the executive level. The pictograms gave the process credibility because individuals could easily see how it applied to the work they carry out, day by day.” The need to secure buy-in from employees at every level was particularly important to GKN Driveline, which places a strong emphasis on ‘humanising’ business processes.

it up to enable us to be first to market with a successful product launch,” explains Trevor Pillay, Senior Vice President, Quality, Risk Management and LEAN. “The Model provided a framework through which we could assess our development process for improvements in a live program, allowing us to quickly fine tune the technology and deliver it to market.”

The Range Rover Evoque was GKN Driveline’s first trial of this new approach to Programme Excellence, and the Model allowed the team to learn lessons from the process and carry these forward into future

developments. In late 2013, GKN Driveline developed the automotive industry’s first two-speed eAxle for the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, and this was recently followed by the launch of the first all-wheel drive sports car with ‘drift’ technology, for the Ford Focus RS, which launches this spring. APPLYING INNOVATION Both product launches benefited from the carefully honed principles of the Model. “The beauty of the Model is that it forces us to look at future trends and apply innovation and creativity,” says Trevor. “GKN

Gearing up for great innovation

The Range Rover Evoque uses the

GKN All-Wheel Drive System

the human connection. If the user interface doesn’t deliver a sense of exhilaration and fun then you’ve missed the point. That’s why we can’t take a narrow focus on our technology offering within the automotive industry: we have to also look to the global businesses that are pushing into the future with ever smarter consumer technologies.”

A site visit to a Siemens factory proved particularly inspirational for GKN Driveline. While its own factories are primarily mechanical and geared towards traditional industry, Siemens’ smart factories – with their mobile computers and real-time data – seemed like a glimpse into a more efficient future.

“We’re not in direct competition with Siemens so we were able to enter into open dialogue,” Trevor observes. “The site visit is a particularly useful way to experience different ways of working because you have an opportunity to find out the benefits from the people on the


CASE STUDY GKN

“The rigour of our systems is very important, and we’re passionate about driving quality and performance through robust processes and a ‘zero defects’ philosophy that maintains the highest industry standards,” says Trevor. “We operate a three tier defence: the first tier links processes, oversight and key performance indicators; the second focuses on internal assessment and governance; and the third is external review and accreditation, such as our BQF membership.

“So we operate a very strong quality culture, but quality alone can seem quite mechanical. Ultimately, quality relies on people making the right decisions in their day-to-day roles, so you have to make it more personal. Our corporate vision is to deliver excellence in everything we do, every day, and the GKN Driveline code places a strong emphasis on ethics and values to act as a guiding compass for employees at every level. I never separate business ethics and

personal ethics because ultimately both are about doing the right thing, and that instinctive emotional response is very powerful. One out of every two cars produced globally annually has GKN Driveline technology, and that’s a responsibility we take very seriously.”

FUTURE FOCUSThis integration of the human and the mechanical also permeates GKN’s vision for the future, and to that end the collaborative opportunities provided by the BQF have provided both a challenge and an inspiration.

“The Model provokes us to think more broadly about our business, while our BQF membership helps us to benchmark our performance with the best of the best, beyond our own industry,” says Trevor. “Our goal is to be the leader in conventional and electrified driveline systems, but great technology is not enough if somewhere along the way you lose

“To keep our competitive advantage we have to be willing to reinvent the game”

Over 55,000 people work for GKN companies and joint ventures


‘shop floor’. They told us the benefits of real-time data, which saves them spending time writing reports, so we got to see first-hand how continuous improvement can benefit the company not just from the top down, but crucially from the bottom up too.”

Now almost two decades into their excellence journey, GKN Driveline is something of a veteran. What advice would Trevor offer to companies which are just starting out? “Take the time to build your plan properly and involve key stakeholders from the very beginning, so that everyone has a sound understanding of the processes, milestones and key performance indicators. By allowing plenty of time for planning, you can announce a way of working that’s coherent and easy to understand. This was crucial in allowing us to move forward seamlessly and engage everyone in our mission to drive a culture of continuous improvement and excellence.”

GKN: ‘Engineering that moves the world’Across its four key divisions – Aerospace, Driveline, Powder Metallurgy and Land Systems – engineering group GKN Plc aims to drive technological progress in key global markets. Profiled below are four of its key innovations

GKN AEROSPACE> At a glance: • 12,350 employees • 7 countries • 33 manufacturing locations • £2,226m sales in 2014 > Taking flight This January, GKN Aerospace delivered innovative wing components as part of a major research programme which measures the benefits of ‘natural laminar flow’ (NFL). By adopting a totally new design approach and applying novel manufacturing technologies, GKN was able to produce components with exceptional surface finish and ultra-high tolerances. Installed on the starboard wing of the Airbus A340 flight test aircraft, tests will take place in 2017 to measure the economic and environmental benefits. It’s expected that the NFL wing will reduce wing drag by 8% and improve fuel consumption by around 5%.

GKN DRIVELINE> At a glance:• 25,650 employees • 22 countries • 46 manufacturing locations• £3,444m sales in 2014

> Moving up a gearIn the growing market for electric and hybrid vehicles, consumers demand not only exceptional fuel efficiency and low emissions, but also dynamic performance. In response to consumer demand, GKN Driveline has developed the industry’s first two-speed eAxle, which delivers electric power throughout a vehicle’s entire speed range. Optimised for weight, packaging and efficiency, the two-speed eAxle supports effective hybridisation, contributing to an outstanding driving experience. The technology features on the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, a vehicle that is changing the perception of hybrid vehicles. Working closely with BMW, GKN drew on the expertise and knowledge of its global engineering network to deliver the project from concept to production in just 24 months.

GKN POWDER METALLURGY> At a glance:• 6,900 employees • 10 countries • 34 manufacturing locations• £916m sales in 2014> Pressing demandGKN Powder Metallurgy has pioneered a new manufacturing technology

which is already boosting productivity across the globe. Working with a leading machine manufacturer, the

division developed and built a new type of press capable of manufacturing more complex parts, at a higher speed, to a better

quality, at a lower cost. The ‘advanced

compaction presses’ are particularly useful in

delivering specialist production techniques which

can offer freedom of design. The first

presses were installed at GKN

Powder Metallurgy in St Mary’s Pennsylvania in 2014 to support the launch of

a complex gear for an electronic parking brake. They are now in use across North America, Europe and Asia.

GKN LAND SYSTEMS> At a glance:• 5,200 employees • 15 countries • 37 manufacturing and service locations• £776m sales in 2014> Winning the racePart of GKN Land Systems, GKN Hybrid Power has won plaudits for its innovations in hybrid flywheel technology. Known as Kers in the Formula One world, flywheel technology replaces traditional batteries through the use of a flywheel, which recovers kinetic energy during braking and releases it upon acceleration. GKN’s flywheel technology is at the heart of the Audi R18 e-tron Quattro, which has won for three consecutive years at the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race. In 2015, GKN Hybrid Power was presented with the prestigious Dewar Trophy by the Royal Automobile Club in recognition of its successful project to apply this motorsport-derived technology in buses, trucks and trains. The first commercial application of flywheel technology was applied to buses across several UK cities, where it delivered 20% greater fuel efficiencies and reduced vehicle emissions.

→


CASE STUDY EUROVIA

UP TO SPEEDEUROVIAEurovia UK is one of the leading highways, infrastructure and maintenance companies working throughout the United Kingdom. Eurovia provides a vast range of services including highways maintenance, small and medium infrastructure schemes and surfacing treatments and a technical design consultancy service.

It’s pretty seldom that a business department requests more frequent self-assessments, but such is the level of engagement with the EFQM Excellence

Model at Eurovia UK that teams are keen to keep pushing forward.

“There’s a solid commitment to the Model throughout the business, with our divisional managers taking ownership of their own self-assessment scores and action plans,”

explains Process & Improvement Director Yogesh Patel.

“They take a very open and welcoming approach to the process and actually see it as an opportunity to show off their progress. If the assessment is delayed, people will knock on my door and ask ‘When is this happening?’. If that’s not a sign of positive engagement I don’t know what is!”

This commitment is testament to the results the Excellence Model has delivered to the business for more than a decade. “We have many years of evidence showing that the divisions with the highest EFQM scores are also safer and more profitable,” says Yogesh. “Our statistics reveal a strong correlation between our quality improvement measures, safety and profitability. That’s why we can have confidence

Driving operational excellenceHighways and infrastructure company Eurovia UK has discovered the value of self-assessments in transforming its business

Driving operational excellence


“The divisions with the highest EFQM scores are also more profitable”YOGESH PATELProcess & Improvement Director, Eurovia

ON THE GROUNDPart of the global group Eurovia SAS, Eurovia UK has a £500-600m turnover and operates across two key workstreams: Term Services, which is responsible for the day-to-day maintenance and management of the highway network, and Contracting and Production, which focuses on major schemes and the production of construction materials. This diverse business is spread across the UK, and its ongoing expansion challenges the leadership team to maintain quality and consistency.

This is where the Model – and the self-assessment process in particular – is worth its weight in gold. The Eurovia UK business plan tasks each department with continually improving its EFQM score, and these targets are explicitly discussed at leadership meetings and workshops, where they provide a key indicator of improvement. Each division undergoes an internal self-assessment every 12-18 months, which helps the divisions to identify opportunities for improvement and develop action plans to tackle key challenges. These assessments are used to highlight best practice, and teams are actively encouraged to share their results, ideas and learning across the group.

Group IMS Manager Phil Morton has seen first-hand how this approach has not only benefited the company at a strategic level, but also delivered meaningful change ‘on the ground’.

“Our Surfacing business has recently undergone massive growth in both turnover and regional expansion,” he explains. “Where previously our teams were working on patching and resurfacing predominantly, in the south of England, we’ve now expanded out of the south-east and into Essex, the Home Counties and the west towards the Midlands. These services are delivered by small mobile teams working with very advanced equipment and specialist techniques, and the challenge was to find a management style that could maintain quality, service reliability and staff engagement during this expansion.

“The Model revealed a weakness in the quality of our plant and equipment a few years back, and this became an important practical investment in safeguarding our operations [see page 25].”

in our formula.” Ingrained with Eurovia UK’s overall business plan, this ‘formula’ is: safety + people + EFQM = profit. It’s a pretty compelling summary of a process that has supported Eurovia UK through its evolution from a small pavement patching company to a market-leading, multi-million pound contracting, production and maintenance service provider.

“Eurovia UK has been a BQF member for over 10 years, and our commitment and belief in the Excellence Model has remained unchanged across that time, even

through changes in leadership,” says Yogesh. “We see it as a holistic approach that combines people, processes and tools to drive change across the whole business. The nine key elements of the Model help us to look at ourselves from a number of perspectives – from direction and strategy to process and skillsets, and finally to the end results and our relationship with our supply chain and customers. The Excellence Model focuses on results – it doesn’t ignore the bottom line and it looks at the enablers that will allow us to sustain success in the long term.”

Improving the surface of the

ringway in Hemel Hempstead


CASE STUDY EUROVIA

The fact that these exercises deliver tangible improvements has helped to take people at all levels of the company ‘on the journey’, and has played a part in unifying a workforce that could

otherwise feel disparate.Phil Morton notes: “Our machine crews

have their own foremen and operators who

travel together

and work closely as

part of their own little team, and we

always felt it was important to sit

down and talk with

them face to face. I had an interesting discovery recently when the logistics just didn’t work out for a meeting, and we had to talk on the phone instead. I had reservations about doing it this way but it was actually a really useful conversation and we learned a lot more about their activities that way.

“It turns out that the operators actually preferred to talk on the phone, as they felt less nervous and more able to talk freely. The feedback was that they were pleased to be asked their views and enjoyed talking about their work. It’s important for staff morale that they feel they work for an organisation that takes their feedback on board.”

The Excellence Model has given Eurovia UK a blueprint for success

THE STORY CONTINUESYet as firmly embedded as the Model may be, there’s an inherent danger in becoming too comfortable – a point that’s not lost on Yogesh. “I’m not going to just paint a rosy picture here, because of course there are challenges,” he observes.

“Yes, we carry out assessments and our scores average up to 500, with some divisions scoring 600+, but there will always be some areas that lag behind. That’s why it’s so important that we continue to learn from each other and don’t become so comfortable that we see it only as a chance to show off.

“There’s a danger that departments will only put forward their best communicator for the self-assessment process, rather than


those people who are genuinely at the heart of the business.

“We’re aware of that and have trained our internal assessors to dig a bit deeper. We now have more than 20 assessors trained to different levels, and they never assess their own division. Additionally, we have a central auditor who sits within the Business Improvement team and undertakes cross-divisional assessments to identify best practice and share experiences.”

As it prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary this year, Eurovia UK is now turning its attention to the future, and defining a long-term strategy to see it through the next 40 years and beyond. It’s safe to say that the Model will continue to provide a vital tool on that journey.

EFQM Excellence Model on the roadThe insights provided by the EFQM Excellence Model have had a tangible impact on Eurovia UK’s way of working, as these two case studies illustrate

RACE OF CHAMPIONSWhen its contracting business began a dramatic regional expansion, Eurovia UK was challenged with delivering technology that could keep up with demand. While the business was aware of the need to improve its plant and equipment, the Model and self-assessment process crystallised the issue.

Managers discovered that there wasn’t enough high-quality equipment to go round, and the more experienced operators tended to get their pick of the best tools available. This could threaten the teams’ ability to deliver consistent quality of service to customers, so the decision was taken to make a capital investment in a new plant and equipment. This investment was supported by better on-call servicing and maintenance

arrangements and an innovative approach to using contract hire for additional equipment. The feedback was decisive: operators reported that the equipment “can’t be faulted” and is “the best I’ve worked with”.

The new kit was put to the ultimate test on 20-21

November 2015, when Eurovia UK transformed a turfed area of the Olympic Stadium in London into a

high-quality asphalt racing track, ready

for Sebastian Vettel to claim glory in the Race of Champions.

SECTOR 16 TRAININGGiven the technical nature of the work, it’s a surprising fact that the highways maintenance industry has no industry-applied training. Group IMS Manager Phil Morton says: “If you want to be a road surfacer there’s currently no standard industry training. How you get there is hit and miss.”

Determined to change that, Eurovia UK has devised its own training programme – Sector 16 – which will help operators to understand the principles behind their craft and drive home the importance of maintaining the highest quality. This has the potential to develop into an industry training standard, upskilling surfacing operatives to become ‘Paving Technicians’ to deliver a value-added service to customers.

Sebastian Vettel drove on a track

laid by Eurovia in November 2015

→

“It’s important for staff morale that they feel they work for an organisation that takes their feedback on board”PHIL MORTONGroup IMS Manager, Eurovia

“We’re not looking at one part of the business but focusing much more broadly on what we do and how we do it,” says Yogesh. “Over four decades the needs of our customers and suppliers have evolved, and government procurement models have changed dramatically. This has led us to become a full service provider with PFI investment and 25-year contracts. We’re now more profitable, more organised and more structured in our operations. The fact that the Excellence Model is as relevant to a multidisciplinary organisation as it was to a small pavement patching business is testament to its versatility and robustness. This is not a point-in-time quality measurement but an evolving story of improvement.”

Eurovia UK branding is visible on its fleet

of vehicles

Road surfacers at work in Shropshire

26 SPRING 2016www.bqf.org.uk NEW BOARD MEMBERS

TNT MARIANNE CULVER

Improvement Team has been refreshed and has a new mandate as we focus on giving customers a delightful experience, on time, every time.”

This focus on continuous improvement and transformation gives TNT and BQF a natural affinity. TNT has been a Premier Member of the BQF for more than two decades.

“I’m delighted to join the board at BQF, an organisation that has been the voice of quality for many years,” says Marianne. “Like TNT, the BQF is re-energised under new leadership and I’m pleased to participate in a process that will refresh both the brand and the membership offering. I love the notion that businesses don’t exist as islands: we can share and collaborate, learning from one another and driving innovation across the UK.”

■ BQF also welcomes Patrick Nolan of HSBC to the board

Appointed UK Managing Director of express carrier TNT last January, Marianne Culver joined the

business at a pivotal moment in its 70-year history. Following the failed acquisition by UPS in 2012, TNT embarked on a period of significant transformation, a challenge that Marianne was delighted to take on.

“I have 25 years’ leadership and turnaround experience in the electronics industry, and have always maintained an ethos of high service and high quality,” says Marianne. “TNT is a fine company with a strong history, but it’s no secret that it lost its way a little in 2012. Lack of investment led to a period of turbulence and leadership change, but the appointment of Tex Gunning as CEO brought new energy and expertise to the business.

“Tex led the development and implementation of our

transformational ‘Outlook’ strategy, which I’m confident will re-establish TNT as the unbeatable B2B express service in the UK, irrespective of whether the intended bid by FedEx is successful or not.”

TNT’s Outlook strategy is built around three key priorities: focus on profitable growth, invest in operational excellence and organise to win. “We need to fix our express business, shore up specialist services and transform our entire operation against those three key pillars,” says Marianne.

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a key priority for TNT. “We’re working to boost sales effectiveness and optimise our contact centre, as well as upskilling our people through training and learning opportunities,” she says. “We appointed a new Director of Customer Service, Quality and Experience to transform the customer’s end-to-end multi- channel journey. Our Continuous

BQF is pleased to welcome new board member Marianne Culver of TNT. UK Excellence finds out more about her aspirations for the role

Signed, sealed …

Marianne welcomes new lorries to the TNT

fleet in April 2015

“I love the notion that businesses don’t exist as islands”MARIANNE CULVERManaging Director, TNT

SPRING 2016www.bqf.org.uk 27BQF DIRECTORY

TRAINING COURSES, WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS, EVENTS & NETWORKING

TRAINING COURSES

We offer a range of training opportunities to help improve performance in your organisation.

LEAN SIX SIGMA – PROCESS MEASUREMENTLondonTuesday 8 March to Thursday 10 MarchTuesday 26 April to Thursday 28 AprilBirminghamTuesday 19 April to Thursday 21 April

LEAN SIX SIGMA – DATA ANALYSISLondonTuesday 9 February to Thursday 11 FebruaryTuesday 22 March to Thursday 24 MarchTuesday 10 May to Thursday 12 MayBirminghamTuesday May 3 to Thursday 5 May

LEAN SIX SIGMA – FOUNDATION GREEN BELTLondonTuesday 23 February to Friday 26 FebruaryTuesday 12 April to Friday 15 AprilBirminghamTuesday 15 March to Friday 18 MarchEdinburghTuesday 16 February to Friday 19 February

ONE-DAY WORKSHOPS

Delivered by experts, our workshops will equip you with the basic tools to start your journey to excellence, and enable you to identify key areas for improvement in your business.

HOW TO USE THE EFQM EXCELLENCE MODELLondonThursday 25 February

INTRODUCTION TO LEAN SIX SIGMALondonThursday 3 March

HOW TO USE BENCHMARKING TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCELondonThursday 10 March

HOW TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT AN EFFECTIVE BALANCED SCORECARDLondonThursday 14 April

CHANGE MANAGEMENTLondonThursday 21 April

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTLondonThursday 28 April

HOW TO USE THE EFQM EXCELLENCE MODELLondonThursday 5 May

Tuesday 17 May to Friday 20 May

LEAN SIX SIGMA – MANAGING CHANGELondonTuesday 23 February to Thursday 25 FebruaryTuesday 12 April to

Thursday 14 AprilBirminghamTuesday 15 March to Thursday 17 March

LEAN SIX SIGMA – ADVANCED BLACK BELT TOOLSLondonTuesday 5 April to Thursday 7 April

EFQM TRAINING COURSES

EFQM ASSESSOR TRAININGLondonTuesday 8 March to Thursday 10 MarchTuesday 12 April to Thursday 14 AprilThis course can alternatively be offered in-house

The Lean Six Sigma Academy’s Advanced Green Belt Programme builds on Foundation Green Belt and consists of a further two three-day modules: Process

Measurement and Data Analysis. MinitabTM software adds a comprehensive data toolset to the DMAIC framework covered in Foundation Green Belt.

These powerful tools will enable your DMAIC projects to take performance to the next level and promote the development of data-based decision making.

Lean Six Sigma – Process Measurement

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCELondonThursday 12 May

PROGRAMME AND PROJECT MANAGEMENTLondonThursday 19 May

In-house workshops and bespoke training courses are available to BQF members and non-members. To find out more, please call 020 7654 5020 or email [email protected] to discuss your requirements.

BQF DIRECTORY


Phil Davenport, Chair of the Rail Industry Networking Group, says that the EFQM Excellence Model is a key tool for shaping strategic thinking within any industry

BQF Special Interest Groups offer members the chance to share knowledge and experiences. Here we focus on the Rail Industry Networking Group.

What is the group’s remit and why was it started?The Rail Industry Networking Group is unique within BQF, as it’s the only group that is specific to an industry sector. The EFQM Excellence Model is widely used in the rail sector, with nearly all train operating companies and a number of key partner organisations using the Excellence Model. There is a huge amount of good practice in the sector and a number of rail companies have been finalists and winners of various Excellence Awards over the years.

Recognising that there was a

wealth of good practice sitting on our doorstep, we felt that there would be benefit from sharing experiences of using the Model and looking for ways in which we can learn from each other in areas that are relevant to the problems we see in rail.

That doesn’t mean we only talk to rail industry sector people in our events. A typical event will have a best practice case study from within the industry, one from outside the industry and an overview from a topic expert on what is shaping best practice in that area. We aim to host our

sessions at a partner organisation so there is an opportunity to see some of the things we’ve discussed, rather than being stuck in a conference room (one event at Greater Anglia’s training facilities even gave us the opportunity to try out their train simulators). We also build in plenty of time for informal networking and discussion.

The group was formed in late 2013 and so far we have held seven events. Topics are finalised by a steering group, which I currently chair, and we meet after each event and through regular telephone conferences to review how things are going. We have three events each year and we aim to spread these throughout the country, rather than being centred on London.

“A number of rail companies have been finalists and winners of various Excellence Awards”

RAIL INDUSTRY NETWORKING

Showcase: BTChange and programme management in a fast-moving digital worldBT Centre, LondonWednesday 2 March

In this fast-paced digital age, we all need the skills and agility to deliver excellent and sustainable results from any change programme.

This masterclass will prepare you to plan your future change and transformation initiatives, as we invite you to hear from BT’s renowned futurologist, Dr Nicola Millard, who will share the likely developments in the business and consumer world.

NETWORKING EVENTS

IN CONVERSATION WITH MATTHEW SYEDLondonThursday 18 FebruaryHear from the award-winning journalist and Olympian

SHOWCASE: BTBT Centre, LondonWednesday 2 MarchChange and programme management in a fast-moving digital world

EFQM EXCELLENCE MODEL USERS GROUPLocation tbcWednesday 16 March

RAIL INDUSTRYMerseyrail, LiverpoolTuesday 22 March

What are you planning next?On 22 March 2016, we’ll be focusing on Social Responsibility and Sustainability at Merseyrail in Liverpool. This is an area of the Model that organisations sometimes struggle with, so we’re expecting some inspirational sharing.

How can I get involved?The networking groups can get pretty full and we do give preference to rail industry attendees, as that’s part of the remit of the group. Having said that, we are more than happy to include people from outside the sector if there is space!

All the networking groups are listed on our website www.bqf.org.uk. Rosie Day at BQF is the main point of contact for the Rail Industry Networking Group, and she can be contacted at 020 7654 5006 or [email protected]

Looking at social responsibility and sustainability with examples from members

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCELocation tbcWednesday 18 May

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

Our special interest groups are designed around a combination of learning and networking, bringing members together

BUILT ENVIRONMENTRosie Day020 7654 [email protected]

BUSINESS CONTINUITYEmily Short020 7654 [email protected]

BQF CONTACTS

DIRECTOR GENERAL Russell Longmuir020 7654 5002

SALES AND ACCOUNT MANAGEMENTIan StokesManaging Director020 7654 5007

Ian SwainDirector of Sales020 7654 5014

Sara JeffersonBusiness Development Manager020 7654 5018

Miles DurhamBusiness Development Manager07876 225927

Ben SloanMembership Development Manager020 7654 5005

Greta CowenMembership Development Manager020 7654 5013

EVENTSRosie DayEvents Manager020 7654 5006

Emily ShortEvents Executive020 7654 5020

Savannah LayPA and Events Assistant

MARKETINGAmanda AllbrightHead of Marketing020 7654 5009

Autumn ChawnerMarketing Executive020 7654 5010

SERVICESDiane DibleyDirector of Services020 7654 5000

Gail TutcherDirector of Training and Services07342 882739

Melissa RankineHead of Business Services

FINANCE AND ITBahram MavahebiFinancial Controller020 7654 5004

Rodney Harrison-MerchantAccounts Officer and Credit Controller020 7654 5008

Charles AlmondIT Manager 020 7654 5015

“A typical event will have a best practice case study from within the industry and one from outside the industry”

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCEGreta Cowen020 7654 [email protected]

EXCELLENCE MODELGreta Cowen020 7654 [email protected]

LEAN SIX SIGMAEmily Short020 7654 5006 [email protected]

RAIL INDUSTRY Sara Jefferson020 7654 5018 [email protected]

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTRosie Day020 7654 [email protected]

30 SPRING 2016www.bqf.org.uk TRAINING AND CONSULTANCY

ORGANISATIONSCONTACT 020 7654 5000 // [email protected] // www.bqf.org.uk

Catalyst’s mission is to ‘Enable Results’ by accelerating the rate of performance improvements, and extending the deployment of world-class best business practice. We provide training and consultancy solutions covering a range of business improvement activities. Our primary focus is Lean and Six Sigma, Process Management, Culture Change and Business Excellence.0845 345 2282 // [email protected] // www.catalystconsulting.co.uk

Catalyst Consulting

As products, processes and organisations journey from inception to maturity, costs and risks accumulate. Oakland Consulting, a leading quality improvement consultancy, offers a mix of strategic and operational support. We help clients to manage and avoid risks throughout the change journey, accelerate change, reduce costs, improve quality and protect reputations.0113 234 1944 or 0113 234 1988 // [email protected] // www.oaklandconsulting.com

Oakland Consulting

Renault-Nissan ConsultingRenault-Nissan Consulting provides improvement consultancy and support that draws on over 20 years’ experience of helping their parent companies and numerous other organisations. Using such methodologies as Lean and Six Sigma, we work in a diverse range of industries and have delivered over £1bn of validated savings to date. Renault-Nissan Consulting also jointly lead the BQF Lean Six Sigma Academy. 01923 697269 // [email protected] // www.rnconsulting.co.uk

TQMITQMI focus on delivering immediate benefits for clients. We are recognised as a leading consultancy for the application of the EFQM Excellence Model and all advanced aspects of improvement, such as engagement, customer advocacy and cost effective processes. TQMI’s goal is to transfer capability to you to ensure lasting improvement, innovation and success.01928 734266 // [email protected] // www.tqmi.co.uk

Organisations that want to succeed need to be adaptable, but sustainable success doesn’t happen by itself; it has to be planned, led and managed. It is not just our unique blend of skills but our passion to deliver excellence that makes us different. Here’s where we can help: Business Continuity; Business Excellence; Management Systems; Project Management; Quality Improvement; Standards Compliance.01494 772327 // [email protected] // www.leyhill.com

Ley Hill Solutions

Our registered training and consultancy organisations

The following are BQF registered training and consultancy organisations. Inclusion on the register is an indication of an organisation’s ethical stance and commitment. However, it is for a customer to establish the suitability and competence of any of the organisations with which they engage.

TO ADVERTISE IN

PLEASE CONTACT ALISON FRASER Call 0141 946 8708 or email: [email protected]

• A20 Consultants• 4GM Consulting• ATOL Business Services• Berkshire Consultancy• BMN Management• Catalyst Consulting• Footloose Enterprises• Global Excellence Consulting• IQ Management Systems• Key Performance• Keypath Group• Ley Hill Solutions• Oakland Consulting• Oakwell Management

Services

• Partners in Change• Perfex• Process Management International• Quality Assurance Advisors• Renault-Nissan Consulting• SGS United Kingdom• Teal Consulting• TOQUEX• Touchstone Renard• TQMI• Trimentis• You & More

NORTH OF ENGLAND EXCELLENCE

NEWSIMPROVING COMPETITIVENESS AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE REGION

North of England Excellence (NoEE) is a not-for-profit organisation working to improve the competitiveness and productivity of the northern economy by inspiring, supporting and recognising excellence. www.noee.co.uk


Two organisations enjoy a triple win at North of England Excellence awards ceremony

L eading businesses and organisations in the Northern Powerhouse region were

crowned at the 2015 North of England Excellence Awards.

There were triple honours for healthcare firm JRI Orthopaedics and Northern Rail, while Network Rail was a double winner.

Other winners came from the transport, software, local government, power and social care sectors.

The honours were presented at a gala dinner held at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.

Andrew Palmer, Chief Executive of North of England Excellence, said: “Our winners are proof that companies operating in the Northern Powerhouse region have a readiness to be best in class, run outstanding operations and, more importantly, achieve sustainable results.”

The 21st North of England Excellence Awards was attended by 400 business leaders from across the region. Special awards were presented by the board of North of England Excellence to David Teale and Dave Rusk, recently retired from their roles as Chief Executive and Education and Training Director respectively.

North of England Excellence Award 2015 winnersNorth of England Excellence Award JRI OrthopaedicsNorth of England Business of the Year (sponsored by Merseyrail) JRI OrthopaedicsCustomer service OneFile, Manchester Network Rail, York Northern Rail, YorkDigital Excellence Northern Powergrid, NewcastleEthical Culture Northern Rail First TransPennine Express, ManchesterInnovation Q-Park, LeedsInternational Trade (supported by UK Trade & Investment) JRI Orthopaedics, SheffieldLeadership Blackpool CouncilLean Network RailLearning and Development After Adoption, ManchesterSustainability (sponsored by Urenco) Northern Rail

ABOVE: Winners celebrate at the 2015 NoEE awards ceremony

Northern greats recognised at awards

North of England Excellence has strengthened its top team with the arrival

of Linda Harrison from the manufacturers’ organisation EEF as its new Director of Education and Training.

Linda has more than 20 years’ training experience across a range of sectors.She previously managed EEF’s Manufacturing Growth programme, helping firms across northern England and Scotland to improve their productivity, quality and efficiency.

Linda said: “I’m looking forward to working with companies and organisations across the north to help make a real difference to their operations and processes.”

New Director looks ahead

W akefield & District Housing (WDH) is celebrating after winning a European EFQM

Excellence Award.The judging panel was impressed by

WDH’s long-term plans to improve the lives of its customers, its outstanding results in all performance areas and its vision, which is supported by an “inspirational leadership”. WDH is the first organisation from the UK to win the award, which was presented at the EFQM Forum in Brussels.

Wakefield win

PAUL SLOANE

INNOVATION 32 SPRING 2016

www.bqf.org.uk

Are private companies more innovative than public companies? What happens to an innovative start-up

which goes public? Will the same team of people who were so agile and entrepreneurial in the start-up become even more innovative once they have some capital and recognition behind them? Apparently not.

Shai Bernstein of Stanford University compared firms that went public with similar firms that stayed private. His 2014 report, Does Going Public Affect Innovation?, found that when companies went public the quality of internal innovation declined and

projects. Furthermore, he found that the quality of innovation produced by inventors who remained at the firm declined following the IPO and key inventors were more likely to leave. The firms that went public were also more likely to generate spin-out companies, suggesting that inventors who left remained entrepreneurial and would often go on to found their own businesses. These effects are partially mitigated by the ability of public firms to attract new inventors.

Bernstein points out that newly public firms often use their injection of capital to acquire companies in the years following an IPO. This helps drive innovation. He claims that the patents acquired are generally of higher quality than the patents produced internally following the IPO.

Going Public: How Stock Market Listing Changes Firm Innovation Behaviour is a 2015 paper by Simon Wies of Goethe University, Frankfurt, and Christine Moorman of Duke University, North Carolina. They compared 207 consumer goods companies and a sample of more than 40,000 new products between 1980 and 2011. They found that companies which go public produce more innovations than before, but that those innovations are less bold.

On average public companies launch 12% more product innovations than equivalent private companies but they produce fewer radical new products. The authors say this is because going public increases capital which allows more innovations but it also introduces “myopic incentives and disclosure requirements” which can inhibit riskier innovation.

It looks as though we pay a heavy price in lost innovation because of the stock market’s obsession with quarterly results. Private companies can take bigger risks and follow longer-term strategies which deliver more innovation.

Paul Sloane is the author of The Innovative Leader and The Leader’s Guide to Lateral Thinking Skills published by Kogan Page. He speaks and leads workshops on creativity, innovation and leadership. Visit www.destination-innovation.com or read more of Paul’s articles on our dedicated blog at www.bqf.org.uk/news/category/innovation

firms experienced both an exodus of skilled inventors and a decline in the productivity of remaining inventors. Public firms can, however, more easily attract new human capital and acquire external innovations.

Bernstein says that “going public causes a substantial decline of approximately 40% in innovation novelty as measured by patent citations”. At the same time, he found no change in the scale of innovation, as measured by the number of patents.

His conclusion is that these results suggest that the transition to public equity markets leads firms to reposition their R&D investments toward more conventional and safer

“It looks as though we pay a heavy price in lost innovation because of the stock market’s obsession with quarterly results”

How does going public affect inventiveness?

EFQM Excellence Model Training Courses Comprehensive training in how to use the EFQM Excellence Model and RADAR logic to give you the skills to perform external assessments for Awards and Recognition schemes, widen your knowledge and understanding, and enable best practice transfer for your own continuous improvement programmes.

These are the only of� cial EFQM Assessor Training courses in the UK and are delivered by experienced trainers using EFQM training materials.

EFQM Assessor Training

This three-day training course enables you to become a quali� ed EFQM Excellence Assessor and could qualify you to participate in external assessments. It is ideal for experienced managers wanting to enhance their professional business skills, including detailed analysis and report writing.

Leader for Excellence

This two-day training course will enable you to lead performance improvement initiatives in your organisation. The course equips delegates to lead and manage improvement projects, including how to use the EFQM Excellence Model to identify areas for improvement and adopt a structured approach to address them.

We can also deliver in-house courses for every stage of your corporate or personal Excellence Model journey.

For more information:T Gail Tutcher 020 7654 5000E [email protected]

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2016 Workshop Programme “BQF’s dynamic new workshop programme delivers professional development to a standard found nowhere else in the UK.”Karen Leftley, Head of BT Group Cost Transformation Practice

Our exciting new workshop programme for 2016 will be launching soon and will consist of three major streams:

Core Introductory Workshops

• EFQM Excellence Model

• Lean Six Sigma

• Change Management

• Programme and Project Management

• Continuous Improvement

Business Tools and Techniques

• How to Design and Implement an Effective Balanced Scorecard

• How to use Benchmarking to Improve Performance

• Solving Organisational Problems with Effective Root Cause Analysis

• Understanding and Enhancing the Customer Experience

• Developing your Leadership Capability

Current and Trending Topics

• Cloud Computing

• Arti� cial Intelligence

• Excellence in Talent Recruitment and Retention

We will be adding to this programme throughout 2016.

For more information please contact Emily Short on:

T +44 (0)20 7654 5000E [email protected]

bqf.org.uk

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BQF MEMBERSHIP MAGAZINE SPRING 2016 …€¦ · BQF MEMBERSHIP MAGAZINE SPRING 2016 @THE BQF #BQF ... CASE STUDY Eurovia UK shares the virtues of a self-assessment programme ... firework