EFQM Excellence Model for Executive Management Training Course

Course overview

Executive teams are often asked to demonstrate that strategy, governance, culture, operations and performance measures work as one management system. Yet many organisations operate with disconnected scorecards, improvement projects that do not scale, and board reports that describe results without explaining the capabilities producing them. The EFQM Excellence Model provides a disciplined structure for diagnosing these gaps, prioritising change and linking leadership decisions to sustainable stakeholder value.

This five-day course equips executive managers to use the EFQM Model as a management framework rather than a compliance exercise. Participants work with the Model’s Direction, Execution and Results dimensions; assess organisational maturity using RADAR logic; translate purpose, vision and strategy into deployable approaches; and test whether results are relevant, segmented, predictive and causally linked to organisational practices. The course also covers stakeholder analysis, performance dashboard design, transformation portfolio governance and evidence-based self-assessment.

Teaching combines facilitated executive discussion, EFQM-based case analysis, RADAR scoring workshops, peer challenge sessions and applied planning. Participants use an organisational case or a supplied case to build an EFQM diagnostic: stakeholder priorities, a selected criterion assessment, evidence requirements, maturity findings and a 90-day improvement roadmap. They leave with a practical executive briefing pack that can be refined for use with their leadership team, strategy office or governance committee.

The course is designed for experienced managers who influence enterprise strategy, performance, quality, transformation or governance. It is particularly valuable where an organisation is preparing for an EFQM assessment, integrating multiple management systems, strengthening business excellence practices or seeking a clearer line of sight between strategic intent and measurable results.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Apply the EFQM Model’s Direction, Execution and Results dimensions to diagnose an organisational management challenge
• Construct a stakeholder-value map linking stakeholder needs, strategic choices and performance measures
• Use RADAR logic to evaluate the soundness, deployment, assessment and refinement of a management approach
• Score selected EFQM criteria using evidence statements, strengths and areas-for-improvement records
• Design a strategy deployment cascade from purpose and vision to objectives, initiatives and ownership
• Evaluate result indicators for relevance, usability, segmentation, trend, target and comparative performance
• Prioritise improvement initiatives through an EFQM maturity-gap and impact-versus-effort analysis
• Produce a 90-day EFQM improvement roadmap and executive briefing pack for leadership review

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Chief Executives and General Managers — who need an enterprise framework for aligning strategy, execution and results
• Executive Directors — who govern cross-functional performance and must demonstrate sustainable stakeholder value
• Heads of Strategy — who translate corporate direction into deployed objectives, portfolios and measures
• Business Excellence Leaders — who lead EFQM self-assessments and organisation-wide improvement programmes
• Transformation Directors — who must prioritise change initiatives against evidence of capability and performance gaps
• Quality and Performance Managers — who integrate management-system evidence, dashboards and improvement cycles

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least three years of management, strategy, performance, quality or transformation experience and familiarity with their organisation’s planning cycle, key performance indicators and governance structure. They should be able to discuss a real business unit, enterprise process or strategic priority during workshops. Prior exposure to EFQM, RADAR or formal excellence assessments is helpful but not required; the course introduces each method from first principles. No statistical software, assessor qualification, ISO auditor certification or prior experience with EFQM AssessBase is required. Participants should bring access to non-confidential performance information if using their own case.

Training methodology

An EFQM practitioner leads short, decision-focused teaching sessions followed by application to a running organisational case. Participants interpret Model criteria, examine leadership-team evidence, score selected practices with RADAR logic and challenge the credibility of results dashboards. Small groups compare scoring rationales and negotiate improvement priorities, replicating the calibration required in a self-assessment team. Each day adds a component to an executive EFQM diagnostic, culminating in an individual or team 90-day roadmap and a peer-reviewed leadership briefing on day five.

Course outline

Day 1: Using EFQM as an executive management system

• EFQM Model purpose, structure and management-system application
• Direction, Execution and Results dimensions
• Leading with purpose, vision and strategy
• Creating sustainable value for stakeholders
• Organisational culture and leadership behaviours
• Enterprise context and stakeholder ecosystem analysis
• Selecting an EFQM assessment scope and governance team

Workshop: Participants create a stakeholder-value map and define the assessment scope, leadership sponsors and business questions for a case organisation.

Day 2: Assessing direction and execution

• RADAR logic: approaches, deployment, assessment and refinement
• Sound approach design and evidence requirements
• Strategy deployment through objectives, initiatives and ownership
• Operating model alignment with strategic direction
• Innovation, technology and data-enabled value creation
• Partnership and ecosystem management practices
• People engagement, capability and culture evidence

Workshop: Teams assess one execution approach using a RADAR evidence sheet and produce scored strengths, gaps and validation questions.

Day 3: Measuring results and organisational performance

• EFQM results criteria and stakeholder perceptions
• Strategic and operational performance indicators
• Result relevance, usability and strategic linkage
• Trend analysis, targets and external comparisons
• Segmentation of results by customer, market and workforce group
• Leading indicators and cause-and-effect hypotheses
• Executive dashboard design and performance-review questions

Workshop: Participants redesign a weak executive scorecard, adding stakeholder measures, segmentation, trend logic and review questions.

Day 4: From assessment findings to transformation priorities

• Evidence-based EFQM scoring and consensus calibration
• Strengths and areas-for-improvement statement writing
• Maturity-gap analysis across Direction, Execution and Results
• Root-cause testing for performance shortfalls
• Impact-versus-effort prioritisation of improvement initiatives
• Transformation portfolio governance and benefit ownership
• Risk, dependency and resource analysis for improvement plans

Workshop: Groups convert assessment findings into a prioritised improvement portfolio with owners, dependencies, benefits and risks.

Day 5: Leading an EFQM improvement cycle

• Designing the EFQM self-assessment cycle
• Evidence collection plans and source verification
• Facilitating cross-functional assessment workshops
• Communicating findings to executive and board audiences
• Ninety-day action planning and review cadence
• Using EFQM AssessBase and digital evidence repositories
• Preparing for EFQM recognition or external feedback

Workshop: Participants present an executive EFQM briefing pack containing their diagnostic, priority actions, governance cadence and 90-day roadmap for peer review.

Tools & standards covered

EFQM Model, RADAR logic, EFQM AssessBase, Microsoft Power BI

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions