The City of Irving made history this year by becoming the first municipality to receive the highly esteemed Texas Award for Performance Excellence (TAPE). As the state version of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award—which celebrates high-performing organizations on the national level—TAPE recognizes role model organizations that demonstrate exceptional performance in areas of management, leadership, customer service, workforce focus, process management, results and strategic planning.
“We are beyond fortunate to have such an exceptional group of employees who helped the City of Irving make history as the first municipality to be recognized with the Texas Award for Performance Excellence,” said City Manager Tommy Gonzalez. “From a management and leadership perspective, receiving such a high honor in these economic times confirms that Irving’s team members are among the best and brightest in the nation.”
Success factors include Irving’s approach to fiscal management, efficiency, strategic focus, citywide process improvement, as well as facility and program innovation. The City of Irving hosted examiners for three days who conducted employee interviews and focus groups this past February. Receipt of the TAPE award comes on the heels of Irving being recognized by the Dallas Business Journal as one of the 2010 Best Places to Work in North Texas.
“Receiving the 2011 Texas Award for Performance Excellence is something everyone can be proud of because every team member played a part in bringing this recognition to the City of Irving,” said HR/Chief Performance Officer Lynda Johnson. “What’s great about TAPE is that it salutes the high-performing culture of the entire organization, not just one department.”
Administered by the Quality Texas Foundation, TAPE was conceived in 1990 by former Texas Gov. Ann Richards. Several TAPE recipients have gone on to receive the prestigious Baldrige Award, which is the nation’s highest honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence. The award will be presented during the annual Texas Quest for Excellence Conference at the Westin DFW in Irving on June 27.
