Seven Arkansas organizations honored with Governor’s Quality Awards
Seven Arkansas organizations honored with Governor’s Quality Awards
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (October 10, 2024) – The Arkansas Institute for Performance Excellence (AIPE) today honored seven organizations with an Arkansas Governor’s Quality Award during the 30th Annual Governor’s Quality Award Celebration at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. The recipients, which include a utility company, information technology firm, a hospital, a garage door manufacturer, a supplement manufacturer and two service organizations, were recognized for their accomplishments. Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Leslie Rutledge presented the awards at the event.
Springdale Water Utilities earned the program’s highest honor—the Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence. This award level requires applicants to demonstrate systematic processes and excellent results in key areas. To qualify for this award, applicants must write a 55-page application and host a two-and-a-half-day site visit for examiners to verify and validate their performance. Springdale Water Utilities became one of five Arkansas entities in the history of the program to earn this award level more than once. The utility company first earned this award in 2018.
Quadrivium, Inc., a Springdale-based information technology company, earned the Achievement Award, the third of four award levels. These award recipients demonstrate systematic processes that result in favorable performance. Additionally, these honorees complete a 45-page application and participate in a one-and-one-half day site visit.
ARORA, Arkansas’ federally designated organ recovery center, received the Commitment Award, the second of four Governor’s Quality Award levels. To qualify for this award, the applicants are required to respond to a condensed set of questions about their organization’s processes and receive a feedback report to better understand their organizations’ results, strengths and opportunities.
Four organizations received the Challenge Award—the first award level within the program. Recipients of this award included: Baptist Heath Medical Center-North Little Rock, Bio-Tech Pharmacal in Fayetteville, Easterseals Arkansas in Little Rock, and Windsor Door in Little Rock. The Challenge Level is the starting point for organizations within the program. To qualify for the Challenge Award, these organizations define key characteristics such as mission, vision, values, customer groups and strategic challenges and advantages.
The Governor’s Quality Award program is coordinated by the AIPE, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce. The goal of the program is to encourage Arkansas organizations to engage in continuous quality improvement, which leads to performance excellence. Created as a nonprofit organization, the program is dedicated to building a strong infrastructure for Arkansas businesses. The award process aligns with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and uses the Baldrige Excellence Framework.
Before applying for the program, organizations must determine which level of the program to pursue by assessing their organizational processes and reviewing the award-level requirements. Each level of the program poses a higher standard of performance requirements for participants and provides an in-depth evaluation of their organization and a written feedback report citing strengths and areas in need of improvement. Only 27 Arkansas organizations have ever received the highest achievement level within the program—the Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence.
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