Avoid the most common pitfalls
Tips for a successful Assessment
11. Keep the scores in perspective
The scores produced during an assessment are useful in several ways: they help to confirm the messages contained in the text of the findings – about which areas and strong and which are weak. And they allow progress over time to be measured. However, the main substance of the assessment lies in the findings and the insights that these contain. Conducting an assessment just in order to obtain scores is like using a Ferrari to go shopping for groceries.
There is another pitfall related to scoring. The scores are not a reliable guide to what needs to be improved first, and focusing on scores for this purpose will often lead to poor choices. The lowest scoring item is often something that the organization has no hope of tackling successfully at this point in time!
The most consistent and reliable way of selecting priorities for improvement is to take advantage of the informed judgment of the participants (and their improved understanding of the organization) to arrive at a consensus.
A simple and effective process to accomplish this is described on pages 179-182 of "From Baldrige to the Bottom Line".
Further reading
This
article just touches on some of the key issues.
For lots more information on how to conduct an assessment effectively, see
"From Baldrige
to the Bottom Line".