Progressive Excellence Program® Testimonials
The PEP program is an effective approach to start an Excellence Journey. Management and employees alike can absorb the criteria and put programs into action to address organizational gaps.
Kevin Braun, Director Quality & Strategic Planning, Ricoh Canada Inc. - 2007
The Verification process is an excellent opportunity for the organization to ‘stop and reflect’ on what we are doing, why? and how well? From the senior team down, it provides staff within the organization a chance to ‘think about why’ they chose Trillium as their place of employment, and to learn about Trillium.
Karen Jackson, Director of Knowledge Practice, Trillium Health Centre – 2007
The NQI framework has acted as a compass to our Journey to Excellence. Having used the NQI PEP criteria for over two years, we do not know how we ever managed without it!!!
Rav Bains, Director of Service, Peel Children’s Aid Society – 2008
The MNR started their NQI PEP® Journey in 2004. At that time, the ministry was awarded the NQI PEP® Level 2. We have been continuing on the NQI PEP journey to get the entire ministry up to a Level 3 and eventually to a Level 4. We have been doing so by taking the progressive approach. We take one or two high profile program areas and regions per year and undertake a very thorough assessment. In 2006, Ontario Parks became the first government organization in Ontario to reach NQI PEP Level 3. In 2008, Southern Region achieved NQI PEP Level 3 certification.
The PEP assessment process has been an invaluable exercise for this ministry. It is an excellent way to see where the opportunities lay within an organization. It also demonstrates to staff that you are concerned about how the people in your organization are treated and how they feel. It clearly demonstrates the areas where you need improvement (e.g. stakeholder’s relationships, processes, etc...) We will continue our journey towards Organizational excellence!!
Louisa Vatri-Norris, Quality Management Analyst, Ministry of Natural Resources – Southern Region – 2008
Participating in the NQI Progressive Excellence journey has allowed TEGH to further enhance the level of quality of care and service we provide to patients on a daily basis. It has also demonstrated our commitment to quality improvement.
Wolf Klassen, VP Program Support, Toronto East General Hospital – 2008
The NQI PEP® process has provided us with a structured approach in our quality journey. The progressive nature of the implementation process that the NQI framework endorses helped us break our quality journey into comprehensive manageable components. We use The NQI framework to look at what we do and the services that we provide with new eyes. The NQI set of principles that the criteria reinforces are easy to understand, realistic to implement, provide measurable objectives and are based on a strong value system and good common sense. Our team has been successfully delivering service to clients across diverse education sectors for many years. Our objective is to provide information and key performance indicators for student success. Our products and services are aimed to advance the education system for the benefit of all students around Toronto. As a team that includes Researchers and Project Managers that work with various data sources for student success, we have always known and counsel our clients on the importance of measurement, data integrity and evidence based decision making. You know that old saying “the shoemaker’s children have no shoes?” We all need help with our own life and work from time to time. The NQI PEP® process is helping us take an inward look at our own internal dynamics and work processes. The NQI PEP® Criteria provides an objective perspective to our conversations around quality. It is a neutral place of common reference that helps us ensure that as we busily aim to delight our clients with high quality service, we purposely engage on a continuous cycle of learning and improvement.
Silvia Girod, Manager Corporate Planning, Toronto District School Board – Organizational Development – 2008
We have found NQI’s criteria and framework to be aligned well with Accreditation Canada’s standards. The criteria have given us further insights as to where we can focus our staff and client quality improvement activities.
Pat Malone, Corporate Integrity Officer, Saint Elizabeth Health Care – 2008
Our ministry’s Forest and Range Evaluation Program (FREP) is seen as one of our most successful programs. Some of the major elements of that success are the on-going focus on high standards, best practices, adaptive management and continuous improvement. The NQI’s PEP process gives us a nationally-recognized way of integrating quality into every component of our FREP program, and has resulted in FREP being internationally recognized as leaders in resource stewardship monitoring.
Ian Miller, Ministry of Forests and Range – 2008
NQI has helped provide a framework for the development of the British Columbia Forest and Range Evaluation Program that is based on quality, continuous improvement and meeting client expectations. NQI has been a key part of our success.
Peter Bradford, Stewardship Evaluation Officer, Ministry of Forests and Range – 2008
We are benchmarking ourselves against the best business practices around the world. There is no greater comfort feeling and knowing that you have comprehensively covered all aspects of business operations. This is what organizations should aim for.
Thomas Chen, Quality & Data Management Specialist, Ministry of Forests and Range – 2008
The PEP program allows organizations the opportunity to take a hard look at what they do, how they do it and ensure it is the best. PEP is an all-encompassing initiative.
Rob Van Shaik, Director Project Ultimate Experience, BMW Group Canada – 2008
PEP has provided us with achievable milestones and a way to measure progress along the quality journey. The Quality Fitness Test and the site verification visit are great ways of involving lots of people. Achieving NQI PEP® certification provides tremendous motivation to get to the next level.
Edith Pajek, Project Leader, Industrial Accident Prevention Association – 2008
NQI PEP has served as a "Roadmap" for our Healthy Workplace Steering Committee to develop and support an exemplary health-related workplace Wellness Program for our organization.
Jody Young, Industrial Program manager - HW Manager Lead, Ministry of Labour - 2008
Very helpful & fruitful exercise. Helped us focus our strategy & direction to all aspects of healthy workplace & formalize what we have been doing.
Shreyshree Raja, Director, Organizational Development, Mount Sinai Hospital – 2008
Pursuing external validation of our commitment to quality has reminded us of our many strengths, and helped us to focus on continuous improvement. Our NQI representative provided thoughtful insight that we can use to improve the health and wellness of our workplace, and the quality of the work we do.
Ben Lemire, Business Analyst, Ceridian Canada Ltd. - 2008
The NQI PEP program provides clear and concise criteria that must be met in order to promote a higher level of wellness within the workplace.
Brian Moniz, Operations Supervisor, Toronto Police Service – 2008
NQI provides organizations with a framework to implement an effective healthy workplace program and provides a solid foundation for future growth.
Corey Boyle, Rick Hart and Jennifer Faulkner, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board - 2010
Very often we do not know what good looks like. Having an outside audit group challenges your organization to do the planning and thinking up front.
Linda Billing, Manager Employee Support Services, Upper Canada District School Board - 2010
NQI PEP has given us the confidence to recognize that we can do good things, that we can continue to improve our services if we recognize both our strengths and challenges, and that excellence is achievable.
Don McDavid, Strategic Business Advisor, MOF/MOR Strategic Business Unit, Ontario Public Service –2010
The implementation of the NQI Progressive Excellence Program has given us the necessary structure to put in place the good management practices that we wanted or needed to incorporate anyway. It enabled us to do so in a manner, and within a time frame, that made sense to us. Using Canada’s Healthy Workplace criteria as a sub-set of the excellence model is changing our organizational culture for the better.
Carol Robinson, Strategic Advisor, Canadian Forces Housing Agency – 2010
NQI provided a standardized approach to quality improvement and organizational excellence, and a road map to achieve success. The NQI system supported an evolution in our culture by identifying process gaps and how we monitor and plan for a healthy workplace.
Pat Malone, Corporate Integrity Officer, Saint Elizabeth Health Care – 2010
An exceptional program ensures an organization stays strategically focused on implementing and sustaining a healthy workplace environment.
Brian Moniz, Operations Supervisor, Toronto Police Service – 2010
An objective and thorough approach to review, enhance and implement internal/external programs that improve employee engagement and client satisfaction.
Kimm Trichilo, Supervisor Quality Assurance , Peel Regional Police – 2010
The NQI PEP® for Public Sector has provided the Town of Okotoks with a formal process for continuous improvement and organizational excellence that has enabled us to improve employee engagement and pride in their achievements.
Nancy Weigel, HR & Communications Manager , Town of Okotoks - 2011
The NQI PEP® journey has proved invaluable in keeping our large, extremely complex, integrated health region focused on those vital components which continue to take us down the path to creating truly healthy and vibrant workplaces where employees are encouraged and enabled to maximize their health in able to provide excellent care and service.
Donna Chalifoux, Healthy Workplace Consultant, Saskatoon Health Region - 2011
MPAC is thrilled to have achieved the Progressive Excellence Program Level 2 criteria for Quality and Healthy Workplace. PEP provides us with a common sense balanced approach to improvement that complements our ongoing work. The accomplishments we achieve along the way sustain our commitment towards even greater success.
Brenda Morrison, Manager, Customer/Data Quality Assurance, Municipal Property Assessment Corporation - 2011
CMA Canada has been a Partner in Excellence with the National Quality Institute for over seven years. We consider the staff at NQI, and the resources they have provided to us, to be key to the significant achievements we have realized on the road to organizational excellence.
Lianne Thompson, Director, Quality, CMA Canada - 2011
The Excellence Canada Quality and Healthy Workplace PEP framework has challenged our company to continue the pursuit of excellence. The self-assessment has uncovered a number of opportunities, and the external recognition allows us to celebrate our strengths.
Benjamin Lemire, Business Analyst, Ceridian Canada Ltd. – 2011
The Capital Projects Division, Alberta Infrastructure of the Government of Alberta is ecstatic with achieving not only Excellence Canada PEP® Level 3 certification, but also qualifying for a silver award from the Canada Award of Excellence. The PEP framework provided our division with a manageable roadmap to follow in our journey of excellence. We’re excited about moving to the combined Quality and Healthy Workplace® framework as we go for Gold and Level 4 certification.
Diane Dalgleish, Assistant Deputy Minister, Capital Projects Division, Alberta Infrastructure – 2011
We were looking to improve corporate culture and business performance. PEP provided the system, in manageable steps, to make this happen. The results thus far have been very positive!
Wendy Vissers, PEP Coordinator, Acadian Seaplants Limited – 2011
How do you find out if your organization is doing well or not? How do you benchwork with some of Canada’s best managed organizations? Work with NQI and you will be pleased!
Thomas Chen, Quality and Data Management Specialist, Forests and Range Evaluation Program, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations – 2011
I have to say that it was awesome to see and feel the positive energy from everyone as they exited from the focus groups held during our on-site verification. We really do have an excellent staff and the work and effort that we all put into the PEP program resulted with an on-site verification that was a great celebration of our progress and that left a big smile on my face as I went to sleep that night. So thank-you to the entire team at Excellence Canada for a fantastic PEP Level 2 experience.
Christopher Glanville, Project Manager – Corporate Quality, City of Barrie – 2012
