Organisations that demonstrate outstanding performance on the various standards are recognised through the business excellence awards.
Recognition
Singapore Quality Award
The Singapore Quality Award (SQA) was launched in 1994 with the Prime Minister as its patron. It is the most prestigious award conferred on organisations in recognition of their attainment of world-class standards of performance excellence. In order to attain the SQA, organisations need to achieve at least 700 points. The SQA assessment is based on the criterion found in the
SQA criteria booklet.
Singapore Quality Award with Special Commendation
The Singapore Quality Award with Special Commendation (SQA SC) was launched in 2006. It recognises past SQA winners for scaling greater heights of business excellence and for demonstrating sustainable global leadership in key business areas, products or services as compared to when they first won the SQA. SQA SC applicants need to demonstrate that they are recognised as benchmarks by international organisations. In order to attain the SQA SC, organisations need to achieve at least 800 points. The SQA SC assessment is based on the criterion found in the
SQA criteria booklet.
Innovation Excellence Award
The Innovation Excellence Award (I-Award) was launched in 2001. It is the highest accolade given to innovative organisations in Singapore and is based on the business excellence niche standard for innovation. It is conferred upon the best of the best in recognition of their position as models of innovation excellence. The I-Award recognises and celebrates organisations whose outstanding innovation capability development approach has contributed significantly to business excellence. The I-Award assessment is based on the criterion found in the
Innovation Scorecard for Business Excellence (I-SCORE) self-assessment tool.
People Excellence Award
The People Excellence Award (PE Award) was launched in 2001. It is the highest accolade given to organisations for people excellence. It is conferred upon the best of the best with a total approach to managing people and achieving high performance through its people systems. The PE Award recognises and celebrates organisations whose outstanding people management capability has contributed significantly to business excellence. The PE Award assessment is based on the criterion found in the
Assessment of People Excellence (APEX) self-assessment tool.
Business Excellence Awards Winners
Awards Process
The BE awards process is an annual cycle, with the application window being between January and March each year. Organisations may apply for any of the BE awards elaborated on above. They may also apply for integrated BE awards assessment. It is only possible to apply for a 2-in-1 integrated BE awards assessment. There are several steps in the BE awards process, which are summarised below.
For more detailed information on the BE awards application and assessment process, please
click here for the Briefing Slide on the BE Awards.
A briefing for interested BE awards applicants is held at the start of each year. To find out more about the BE awards process, please email
be@spring.gov.sg.
All resources required for BE awards application are in the
BE Resources section.
- Write Application Report
The application report should address the criterion of the BE award that the organisation is applying for. The criterion for each of the BE awards can be found here. The length of the application report should adhere to the specified guidelines.
If the organisation is applying for the SQA or SQA SC, ten copies of the application report should be submitted. If the organisation is applying for the I-Award or PE Award, five copies of the report should be submitted. The deadline for the submission of application reports is the end of March each year (after online application).
- Submit Online Application
Information required at the point of online application includes certification details (e.g. previous certificate number, if applicable), organisation details and Management Representative details. Click here for the online application page. Please note that the application window is between January and March each year.
- Pre-site Visit Meeting
The pre-site visit meeting is typically held in June and typically lasts for half a day. The objectives of this meeting is to facilitate understanding of the organisation’s business and to facilitate the planning of the site visit agenda by the BE awards assessment team. The agenda of the pre-site visit meeting will be agreed upon between the organisation and the BE awards assessment team beforehand.
- Site Visit
The site visit is typically held in July. Typical duration of site visit is three days for SQA and SQA SC assessments, and 2 days for I-Award and PE Award assessments. Integrated awards assessments typically take between three and four days. The actual length of site visit will depend on the size of the organisation. The agenda of the site visit will be agreed upon between the organisation and the BE awards assessment team beforehand.
- SQA Management Committee Meeting
The SQA Management Committee meetings are typically held in the third quarter of each year. The Management Committee recommends potential awards winners to the Governing Council. Click here for more information on the Management Committee.
- SQA Governing Council Meeting
The SQA Governing Council meetings are typically held in the third quarter of each year. The Governing Council approves and endorses the awards winners. Click here for more information on the Governing Council.
- Awards Presentation
The BE Awards Gala Dinner is typically held in the fourth quarter of each year. BE awards winners will be officially recognised at this platform.
- Feedback Session
The feedback report will be sent to the organisation shortly after the BE Awards Gala Dinner. A feedback session between the organisation and the BE awards assessment team will also take place.
- BE Sharing
BE awards winners will share their best practices at the BE Sharing, which is typically held in the first half of the following year.
Fees
There is no application fee for the BE awards. However, $1000 is charged for each day of the site visit. Typical duration of site visit is three days for SQA and SQA SC assessments, and 2 days for I-Award and PE Award assessments. Integrated awards assessments typically take between three and four days. The actual length of the site visit will depend on the size of the organisation. All fees are subject to 7% Goods and Services Tax.
Eligibility Guidelines
All public and private organisations in Singapore (except trade associations and professional societies) may apply for the Business Excellence (BE) Awards. Private organisations must have a major business operation in Singapore. Subsidiary companies or business units applying for any of the BE awards should fulfil the following criteria :
- It should be a business entity with clear definition of an organisation as reflected in the corporate literature e.g. organisation charts, business scope, performance measures, administrative manuals and annual reports.
- It must have existed at least three years prior to the application.
- Its senior management team should be responsible for a wide range of management activities.
Subsidiaries or business units which primarily perform the business support functions of the parent company are not eligible. Examples of business support functions are sale marketing/distribution, customer service, research and development, legal services, purchasing, finance and accounting, and human resource management. A subsidiary/ business unit and its parent may not both apply for the award in the same year.
Responsibilities of BE Awards Winners
Award recipients are required to share information on their successful performance and best practices with other organisations. This may take the form of seminar presentations, hosting company visits and other forms of public sharing activities like publication of the application report. However, recipients are not required to share proprietary information even if such information was part of their award application.