Question: The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, at the official ceremony of awards to the winners of the Altyn Sapa competition in 2021, ordered to hold the Altyn Sapa presidential award in the field of quality according to European standards. Azat Abdrakhmanovich, please explain the given order of the head of state.

-National awards (prizes) in the field of quality have been established practically in all economically developed countries of the world. These awards are given to the winners of annual competitions for excellence in ensuring the quality of products or services provided. In accordance with the Decree of the President of October 9, 2006 No. 194, the Prize of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Altyn Sapa" is awarded annually on a competitive basis for the organization's achievement of significant results in the quality of products or services, ensuring their safety, as well as for the organization's realization of very effective methods quality management.

The ceremony of awarding the prize of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the winners of the annual competition is the key event of the year, because the prize is personally presented by the Head of State. It indicates the great importance of this competition for the country.

It should be reminded that from the very beginning the Concept of the Altyn Sapa Prize was based on the principles of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Model. In this regard, and also taking into account the international integration of our country, the recommendation of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev on the need to harmonize the conditions for holding the national competition with European requirements sounds very relevant.

Question: What regulatory documents are used for the procedure of the competition and the ceremony of awarding the winners in Kazakhstan?

-The main conditions of the rules for holding a competition for the prize of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Altyn Sapa" and awarding the titles of laureates were approved by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated October 9, 2006 N 194. The organizer of the competition is the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs "Atameken", which announces at the beginning of the year the conditions for competition, then for the participants of the competition special seminars are held to explain the main conditions of the competition. In the future, the application documents of the participants for the competition are considered by the regional commissions. The materials of the best enterprises that have reached the final of the Republican competition are checked by a special expert Commission at the Atameken, whose members visit to introduce with the achievements of these organizations in that moment. One of the important indicators is the stability of the organization's achievements over a period of at least three years: a stable high quality of products or services provided.

Question: What nominations of the competition are there?

Organizations participate in the competition in the following nominations:

1) "The best industrial enterprise";

2) "The best enterprise producing goods for the population";

3) "Best Service Provider";

4) "The best enterprise producing food products or agricultural products."

Three prizes are awarded for each nomination in the following categories:

1) a small business entity;

2) a medium-sized business entity;

3) a subject of large business.

Question: What is the similarity between the conditions of the Altyn Sapa Competition and the model of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)?

As I have already noted above, the Altyn Sapa Award was built according to the structure of the EFQM Model, although the procedure for holding the European Award for Excellence was different from the practice of holding the Republican competition. The requirements for registration of application documents and the methodology for assessing the achievements of organizations participating in competitions until 2020 were practically the same. The concepts of both models took into account the potential of the organization, as well as how these organizations used their available resources: human, financial, informational and others to achieve high results. In these models, the performance assessment of enterprises and organizations was carried out according to practically identical criteria. However, in 2020, EFQM approved a completely different approach to building a Model of Excellence, changing the structure of the Model and Concept, orienting it towards achieving sustainable development and focusing on future global changes. In this regard, making changes to the structure of the Altyn Sapa Competition Model by taking into account the new EFQM Model, as well as to the content of the requirements will be a natural process. It will allow the best Kazakhstani companies to be ready to participate in the European competition.

Question: What is the significant difference between the requirements of the Kazakhstan Prize and the EFQM?

First of all, it should be noted that the Concept of the European Model of Excellence provides for the possibility of organizations achieving outstanding results in the field of product quality over a long period of time. As the saying goes, "there is no limit to perfection." While the "Altyn Sapa" competition is held annually, the winners are awarded the same year and the competition has no continuation

A significant difference between the Kazakhstan competition and the European Model of Excellence lies in the fact that all participants in the European competition gain extremely important experience for their company in achieving high quality products, services provided, achieving leadership and sustainable development, even if they have not become winners. This competition is held transparently with broad coverage of the winners 'achievements, and finally, the winners' achievements and their successes can be found during the "Open Doors" days, which can be attended by everyone who is interested and ... even competitors. Consequently, no one has any doubts as to why this or that company won the competition. All of their financial results are published in the open press. Unfortunately, we cannot say this about the winners of the "Altyn Sapa" competition, as well as in other matters. Kazakhstani organizations remain closed to a wide range of specialists, the press and society throughout the entire competition. We can only assume that these are good companies, but they are not used to an open relationship, to the exchange of experience and information. Thus, we in Kazakhstan do not get all the benefits that we could get from the Altyn Sapa competition. This applies both to the winners of the competition and to ordinary participants and the business community. Everyone is hiding behind the so-called "commercial secret", although no one pretends to learn about the "know-how" that the winning company uses, and everyone is only interested in the general formulas for the success of one or another winning company.

Question: What would you recommend to the organizers and participants of the "Altyn Sapa" competition next year?

The organizers of the competition should quickly make changes to the concept, structure and criteria of the competition "Altyn Sapa" in accordance with the changes made to the Model of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM 2020). By being the official National partner of EFQM, our organization is ready to provide all kinds of methodological assistance in this matter.

For business representatives, we can offer to conduct official licensed EFQM trainings not only to clarify the requirements of the new Model, but also to provide consulting services to enterprises and organizations who wish to develop and implement modern quality management concepts, apply production efficiency assessment tools, achieve sustainable development and leadership. I think these proposals are very interesting for Kazakhstani companies, which can train specialists at an affordable price in their hometown at European training, and with the presentation of EFQM certificates.

We are also open to cooperation with specialists in different directions on a wide range of topics, including the implementation of a benchmarking system, innovative management, independent certification of personnel in the field of quality management, environmental management, industrial safety, energy management, etc. More details of our projects can be found on the portal: standard.kz. I invite both organizations and individual specialists to cooperate.

I congratulate all Kazakhstanis on the upcoming new year 2022! May this year bring our country success in overcoming the consequences of the pandemic and successful economic development!

Standard.kz