ISO 9001 versus the EFQM-model

What is the difference between ISO 9001 and the EFQM model? This is a question I hear often when I am meeting clients. Well, to start with, these are 2 different concepts with different fields of application.

ISO 9001 is an international standard that sets the requirements for an organization's quality management system (QMS) to demonstrate that its QMS is capable of consistently delivering products and services that meet customer requirements and applicable laws and regulations. Furthermore, this standard aims to increase customer satisfaction through the effective application of the management system, including the improvement processes of this system and the assurance of conformity with the requirements of the customer and the regulations.

An ISO 9001 certificate means that the organization, based on a third-party audit, has proved to be in conformity with the requirements of that standard. Either an organization complies, or it fails, there is nothing in between.

The EFQM Excellence Model is an integrated management framework to assess your organization's ability to create sustainable value for your stakeholders, now and in the future. It is a framework that your organization and its stakeholders see as one integrated ecosystem. It enables organizations to better understand the causal relationships between the “why” of strategic decisions, “how” it puts these policies into practice and “what” it achieves as a result of its actions. At the beginning of last year, the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) of the United Nations were included in the model. In summary, the model helps organizations achieve long-term success and sustainability.

An EFQM Recognition assessment results into an extensive feedback report with identified strengths and opportunities for improvement of each of the Model's criteria. The assessment also provides a score that expresses the level of excellence that an organization has achieved. Based on the overall assessment score, organisations are given a 3 – 7 star rating. The achieved recognition is valid for 3 years. A select group of outstanding top companies (a kind of “champions league”) participate in the annual EFQM Global Award. The objective of the EFQM Global Award is to recognise outstanding organisations worldwide, whether private, public, or not-for-profit. These organisations demonstrate an indisputable track record of success in turning strategy into action and the continuous improvement of their performance.

Would you like to learn more about what this model can do for your organization?

Send me an email. Or have also a look at my RS-Q website … link