What is the EFQM Model?
The EFQM Model (European Foundation for Quality Management Model) is a widely used framework for organisational excellence developed by the European Foundation for Quality Management. First introduced in 1991 and updated most recently in 2020, it provides a comprehensive, criteria-based framework for assessing and improving organisational performance.
The EFQM Model is used by thousands of organisations across Europe and beyond — from large multinationals to public sector bodies and small businesses — as a tool for self-assessment, benchmarking, and driving continuous improvement.
The structure of the EFQM Model
The 2020 EFQM Model is structured around three interconnected areas: Direction (purpose, vision, strategy, and culture), Execution (stakeholder engagement, creating sustainable value, driving performance and transformation), and Results (stakeholder perceptions and strategic and operational performance).
The model emphasises the importance of "agile" execution and "transformational" leadership — reflecting the increasingly dynamic environment in which modern organisations operate. Results are assessed not just financially but across the full range of stakeholders, including customers, employees, society, and the environment.
The EFQM RADAR logic
The EFQM Model uses RADAR (Results, Approaches, Deployment, Assessment and Refinement) as its assessment logic. RADAR asks: What Results are being achieved? What Approaches are in place to achieve them? How broadly are those approaches Deployed across the organisation? How are the approaches being Assessed and Refined over time?
This logic ensures that assessments look not just at outcomes but at the quality and maturity of the management practices driving those outcomes — a more holistic and useful picture than results alone.
The EFQM Excellence Award
The EFQM organises the EFQM Excellence Award, one of the most prestigious quality and excellence awards in Europe. Organisations that go through the formal assessment process receive detailed feedback that highlights both strengths and areas for improvement — feedback that is itself highly valuable regardless of the award outcome.
Many organisations use EFQM assessment as a management development and improvement discipline rather than primarily as an awards process.
EFQM and strategic management
The EFQM Model provides a comprehensive framework for strategic and organisational performance management that complements tools like the Balanced Scorecard and strategic planning methodologies. For businesses seeking a structured, evidence-based approach to continuous improvement, EFQM provides a rigorous and internationally recognised reference model.
Advisors working with clients on management excellence will find that the EFQM Model, combined with execution platforms like Empiraa GPS, provides a powerful end-to-end framework from assessment through to goal-setting and execution tracking.