GRQC is your trusted partner on the path to sustained excellence.
GRQC helps area organizations achieve sustained performance excellence by helping their leaders and teams learn and adopt best practices in improvement processes and organizational culture. We offer a broad range of easy-to-access services to meet the needs of all organizations, regardless of size, sector or experience with continuous improvement.
Join us for upcoming events!
Wed, Mar 26Guidance from local Healthcare leaders
Coming up in 2025:
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March - Managing Stress and Maintaining Well-Being in Disruptive Times
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April - Leadership Practices in the Military
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May - Group dynamics and facilitation
And more. Check back for details!
Learn About Partner Programs and Events
March PEN Webinars
We are pleased to invite you to these upcoming Thursday morning webinars from Performance Excellence Network (PEN).
Accelerating, Achieving, Sustaining Excellence: A (re)Introduction to Baldrige - March 6
Today’s environment is complex: leaders are navigating new and unique challenges, as most sectors and industries deal with staffing & talent shortages, economic & budget constraints, and ever-shifting customer & market expectations. While not a prescriptive “silver bullet,” the now 38-year-old Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework provides leaders of any organization or any community a pathway – and some structure and evidence-based guidance – on priorities for improvement, such that they are focusing precious resources on the “right” things. Baldrige is about improving results.
This discussion will feature a panel of leaders from several sectors, each exploring the value of Baldrige in helping their organizations improve outcomes, optimize resources, and better align operations.
Click here for more information and registration.
Insights to Excellence: An igniteEX Prequel - March 20
In many ways, what’s required for organizational excellence these days has changed: there are new work environments (such as hybrid), severe talent shortages, emerging technologies (like artificial intelligence). But we still need to satisfy our customers; we still need to engage our teams; and we still need to improve & innovate our processes, operations, and products/services. It’s a little of “the more things change, the more they stay the same” meets “same as it ever was.”
This panel discussion will feature several “mini-sessions” from our upcoming igniteEX 2025 Conference, each offering one or two ways to immediately improve your organization’s (or team’s) performance. You will leave with at least six actionable insights that you can begin to use immediately to improve performance during these ever-changing times. And you’ll also get a sneak preview of six (of the 30+) case studies featured at igniteEX 2025. The conference is April 10-11; more information here.
Click here for more information and registration.
Upcoming Programs at MCC
Monroe Community College is offering several programs this fall that may be of interest to GRQC members and friends. Here is a listing.
AI Certificate for Corporate Management - AI Certificate for Corporate Management (monroecc.edu)
Certified Stratasys Operator (3-D Printing) – https://campusce.monroecc.edu/monroecc/course/course.aspx?C=938
Universal Robots Operator Training - Professional Development | Economic & Workforce Development Center (workforceforward.com)
RIT|Certified - Upcoming Belt Programs
Yellow, Green and Black Belt certification via an academic (for-credit) pathway are available every semester. Use the following links for information about these programs:
Click here to visit the RIT|Certified website and search for courses.
View presentations and videos from recent
GRQC programs
Mapping Success: Process Flow Mapping Techniques for Excellence in Service Organizations
The first step in many process improvement initatives is to understand the current state. Process Flow Mapping is one of the most effective tools to use for this.
In this program, Jason Becker and Lucas Dodge review the basics of process mapping, give examples from projects they have faciliated, and answer qusetions about potential pitfalls, implementation challenges, and value stream mapping.
Jason and Lucas have volunteered for many years as team leaders in GRQC's popular Day of Quality, where teams of volunteer experts go on-site to help organizations solve process problems of their own choosing. GRQC is looking for volunteers for this year's Day of Quality, as well as organizations who might like a day of free expert consultation to solve a problem that keeps them awake at night. Click here for more information.
Click below to view the presenter slides from this event.
Click below to view the Zoom recording for this event.
New York’s SMART I-Corridor: the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse Tech Hub
The NY SMART I-Corridor, spanning the Rochester-Buffalo-Syracuse super-region, is among a dozen regional tech hubs to receive first-in-the-nation implementation funding to activate an innovative growth strategy. Its vision is that, by 2034, one in four American-made chips will come from within a 350-mile radius of the NY SMART I-Corridor – cementing our region as the epicenter of U.S. semiconductor production.
This region is already home to five cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication plants, including Micron’s Syracuse megafab – the largest semiconductor facility in the nation - and around 100 innovative supply chain firms. Driving this success is a first-of-its-kind coalition of over 100 institutions, united by a bold vision - to redefine the future of technology. Joe and Ben describethis innovative approach and its implications for US manufacturing and the upstate New York economy.
Click below to view the presenter slides from this event.
Click below to view the Zoom recording of this event.
GRQC Resource Center
GRQC is your resource for tools and templates, case studies, local consulting resources, and links to industry-leading websites to aid you in your pursuit of performance excellence and quality improvement. Click on the links below to access information.
Download favorite tools of GRQC Board members
Dowload presentations from recent GRQC events.
Visit these websites for useful tools and templates.
Check back often to access new material that you can use!
Tools You Can Use - Free From GRQC!
GRQC has assembled a searchable library of tools developed by our members, partners and friends, and is offering them free to website users. Find tried and tested tools, templates and information about a wide variety of quality processes: control charts, FMEA, Lean, Pugh matrix, and many others. You can search the library by keyword or by sector (business, healthcare, education, etc.). When you find what you need, simply click on the tool name to download it to your PC.
Click the button below to go to the webpage Homegrown Tools in the GRQC Knowledge Center, and take advantage of the expertise of our members and friends.
Find Resources You Can Use On The Job
2024 Performance Excellence Awards Recognizes 22 Award Winners, Including Three Platinum Award Recipients
An enthusiastic crowd descended on the Memorial Art Gallery October 16 for the 2024 GRQC Showcase and Performance Excellence Awards. The attendees networked with friends and colleagues in beautiful surroundings, learned about this year's winning projects and several organizations highlighted in the exhibit hall, and enjoyed an informative keynote address by Christina Gullo of True North Executive Solutions, LLC. And for the second consecutive year, three organizations won the coveted George K. Hansen Platinum Award!
Click below to meet this year's winners.
Click below to view photos from this exciting event.
Teams from Hillside, Rochester Regional Health, and UR Medicine won the George K. Hansen Platinum award, which indicates a level of excellence so extraordinary that it is normally awarded only every few years. It was a bittersweet moment for many in the hall - joy over celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments of these local organizations, tempered by sorrow over the passing of George Hansen, who contributed so much to Rochester's quality community over the years, and whose name the award bears.
The GRQC Performance Excellence Award Program helps organizations in all sectors of the economy gain valuable insights into strategic areas of their operations, connect with like-minded leaders in high performing organizations, and earn formal recognition for achieving excellence through continuous improvement methodologies. A GRQC review team, including experienced Malcolm Baldrige examiners and past Empire State Advantage and Partners in Performance Excellence examiners, evaluates each application using a simplified version of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award scoring guidelines. “GRQC is a beacon to local organizations seeking to be the best versions of themselves,” said Mark Gruba, who served as the emcee for the event.
Click below to view the list
of award winners and their projects.
Be a Part of GRQC's Mission - Volunteer!
Would you like to partner with GRQC to advance performance excellence in the community without making a long-term commitment? We have just the thing for you – volunteering to help one of our committees! GRQC has eight committees that help us achieve our strategic objectives. These committees are staffed by GRQC Board members and volunteers. We invite you to visit our new Volunteer Opportunity website page and reach out to any of the committee contacts to lean more or to express your interest. Volunteer opportunities are open to GRQC members and non-members alike. We’d love to have you join us!
Become a GRQC Member
GRQC benefits its members through a wide variety of program activities and membership services, including:
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Participation in GRQC Workshops and Programs.
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Participation in GRQC’s community projects.
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Interaction with leaders and innovators regarding best practices in quality.
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Contributing to making the Greater Rochester area a community of excellence.
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Opportunities for networking with other organizations on the journey to excellence.
Our Champion and Advocate Level Members
