Process improvement measures in social area organisations: A study in institutions for elderly: survey results

The main objective of this study is to develop a strategy for implementing various quality measurement tools as part of a continuous improvement programme in institutions for the elderly in Portugal.

The empirical data were drawn from a survey performed in 32 institutions for the elderly, aiming to ascertain the level of knowledge of several performance measures and quality tools and their degree of implementation. Based on data and on total quality management principles, a performance measurement framework was designed and tested in two organisations.

The results confirmed the existence of a relevant gap between theory and practice and also showed that innovation measures were considered the less relevant and less used. Overall, it was concluded that the degree of quality management systems implementation (a small number of institutions have a quality system certified) affects positively the success of a performance measurement system.

The findings suggested the utility of the framework for quality improvement; however, some institutions took advantage from isolated improvements and individual measures without adopting a performance measurement system, confirming that the adoption of such a system will face obstacles.

The outcome of the study provides specific knowledge to social area organisations. The proposed framework is also a means of compliance with ISO 9001 requirements on performance measurement and continuous improvement and more general management needs.