Applying the Baldrige Criteria for Performance

Excellence to Talent Management

January 21, 2009

5 of 12

Establishing a realistic goal involves benchmarking (how others are doing it), comparison data (how well are others doing it), and competitor information (how well are “they” doing). In a webcast poll conducted by the Human Capital Institute, 50% of respondents said that their organizations were in the “early stages’ of using benchmark data.

Establishing goals or targets that are reasonable still requires effort and innovation to achieve desired results. A process to identify and address gaps between goals (projected performance) and actual performance helps establish appropriate time frames to achieve goals, and considers how much effort is required to close the gaps. By considering the law of diminishing returns for effort required, and alternatively, the risk of not pursuing a goal, organizations can decide which improvements are worth pursuing.

5 of 12