What Do Examiners Do? Duties, Terms and Conditions, Timeline

If you are appointed to the Baldrige Board of Examiners, you'll

• attend a training course—named one of the Top 10 Government Leadership Development Programs by Leadership Excellence—focused on the Criteria for Performance Excellence and the Baldrige award process
• observe the Terms and Conditions of Appointment, including the Code of Ethical Conduct
• independently review an application for the Baldrige Award
• as part of a team of experts, participate in a consensus review of the applicant organization via teleconference and an online scorebook
• prepare the final scorebook as a foundation for the feedback report sent to the applicant as an aid in its journey toward performance excellence
• perhaps help conduct an in-depth, on-site review of an applicant organization
• act as an ambassador for the Baldrige Program and for performance excellence
• receive a recognition certificate honoring their efforts in support of the Baldrige Program
  

Terms and Conditions of Appointment

Term of Appointment

Examiners are appointed for approximately one year, beginning in April.

Timeline and Time Commitment

Serving on the Board of Examiners requires training for and completion of an Independent Review and a Consensus Review of an award application, typically about 145 hours between April and August. Additionally, 20-25% of our examiners complete a site visit, a commitment of up to an additional 150 hours during September and October, including a seven-day trip to an award applicant's work site and completing a team report for the applicant.  While it is a large time commitment, we strongly encourage our examiners to be available for site visit work.  Most of our examiners say that the site visit is the most rewarding part of an examiner's work.

• You must be able to accommodate the schedule set by your evaluation team—even if your work requires temporary or extended travel or residence outside the United States.
• You'll be able to complete portions of the work at your workplace or home via overnight mail, telephone, secure fax, and secure Web. You'll need to travel only for training and site visits.
  
  

Dates	Participants	Activity	Approximate Time Commitment
April-May	All	Self-study Classroom training in Maryland	40-60 hours 3-4 days
June-July		Independent Review	35-45 hours
July-August		Consensus Review (including planning, preparation, consensus calls, and postcall work)	45-60 hours
September-October	20-25% of the Board	Site visit preparation	20-30 hours
October		Site Visit	6-7 days, 14-16 hours per day

Code of Ethical Conduct

As a Baldrige examiner, you'll be expected to observe the Code of Ethical Conduct. A provision in this code states that you will safeguard the confidentiality of all award applications, including the identity of applicants.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

If you are selected as an examiner, we'll ask you to provide information that allows us to determine conflicts of interest with Baldrige Award applicants. You'll be asked to disclose the identity of employers, competitors, key customers, key suppliers, and clients—past, present, or potential—whose interest might be favorably or unfavorably affected by your actions as Baldrige examiner. This includes disclosure of

• companies in which you have financial holdings
• affiliations that may present or seem to present a conflict of interest for you

We'll use this information only to assign you to applications, and we'll keep the information confidential.

You'll be asked to sign your disclosure before you attend training. Any material misstatement of fact in your application or incomplete disclosure of conflicts of interest will be grounds for disqualification from the review process or dismissal from the Board of Examiners. In addition, you'll agree to update your employment, financial, and client records periodically throughout your appointment.

Adherence to Award Application Review Processes

You'll be expected to meet all the requirements associated with reviewing an organization's award application fairly and competently. For example, you'll need to use the Criteria for Performance Excellence and the corresponding scoring system, adhere to review processes, meet site visit requirements if you participate, and avoid conflicts of interest. Thorough documentation and written communication are essential.

Assignment of Board Members

We assign examiners to award applications with the goal of ensuring the fairest, most competent evaluation possible. You'll be assigned to an application based on your knowledge and experience and on the need to avoid conflicts of interest.

Expenses Covered

The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program covers the cost of prework materials and the examiner training course.  Examiners or their employers must cover travel costs associated with examiner training in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  Additionally, the Baldrige Program covers all travel-related costs for site visits.