In a recent ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion for the Arkansas Governor’s Quality Awards for the 27th Annual Quality Award Ceremony, Gov. Asa Hutchinson honored seven Arkansas businesses and organizations. An institute of higher education, an architecture and engineering firm and a makeup manufacturer have shown not only their dedication to quality, but also their dedication to continual improvement.
Coordinated by the Arkansas Institute for Performance Excellence, these awards seek to encourage and enhance quality in Arkansas organizations. Each of these organizations self-assessed and selected one of the four award levels that best fit their ability to meet the requirements. In exchange, they receive not just the possibility of an award, but an in-depth evaluation and written feedback report citing their strengths and areas for improvement.
The first level is the Challenge Award, which is the starting point for any organization and requires organizations to define key characteristics such as mission, vision, values, customer groups, and strategic challenges and advantages. The winners of this award include Delta Dental of Arkansas in Sherwood, L’Oreal USA in North Little Rock, PotlatchDeltic Corporation in Waldo and PotlatchDeltic Corporation in Warren.
The second level is the Commitment Award, in which applicants are required to respond to a set of questions and receive a feedback report to better understand both their process and results strengths and opportunities. The winner of this award is Cromwell Architects Engineers of Little Rock.
The third level, the Achievement Award, requires applicants to write a 50-page application responding to more than 200 questions and demonstrate mature processes and a commitment to continuous improvement. Achievement applicants also participate in a one and one-half day site visit. The winner of this award level is Mainstream Technologies of Little Rock.
The fourth and highest level of award, the Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence, was awarded to Black River Technical College in Pocahontas, which earned the distinction by demonstrating effective processes and associated favorable results.
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