Sterling Award

This final step in the Sterling assessment process leads to the recognition of "Role Models for Organizational Performance Excellence." Applicants for the Governor's Sterling Award have implemented the Sterling Criteria and are competing to win the state's most prestigious award for performance excellence.

Organizations submit a 50-page application that is scored against the seven categories of the Sterling Criteria: Leadership, Strategic Planning, Customer and Market Focus, Information and Analysis, Human Resource Focus, Process Management, and Business Results.

When an organization submits a Governor's Sterling Award application, the Sterling Office assembles a team of six to eight Examiners. These Examiners complete an independent review of the application. They then meet for two days to come to consensus on their findings of strengths and opportunities for improvement, and to prepare for the substantial five to six day site-visit.

On site, the team interviews employees at all levels of the organization, reviews additional documents and results to verify and clarify the original application in its relationship to the Sterling Criteria for Organizational Performance Excellence.

Finally, the team prepares a detailed written feedback report highlighting key strengths and opportunities for improvement for future organizational planning.

The Sterling Panel of Judges selects organizations that have successfully implemented the Sterling Criteria across the organization, and these recipients are recognized at the annual Governor's Sterling Award Banquet.

Since its inception, the Sterling Council has acknowledged 64 organizations as Governor's Sterling Award recipients and "Role Models for Organizational Performance Excellence."

The Governor's Sterling Award application is most suitable for organizations that:

  • Do long and short-term strategic planning
  • Have a refined set of measures and targets
  • Use comparative and benchmark data to set targets
  • Have identified, documented, and measured the effectiveness of key customer, product, service, business, and support processes
  • Have clearly defined comprehensive human resource plans
  • Have positive results over time (trends) in many to most key business areas
  • Utilize a standardized process to review in-process and end-of-line results, take corrective action, and make improvements

Quick Links

To find out more about the Florida Sterling Council , call (850) 922-5316.

2012 Governor's Sterling Sustained Excellence Award

The Governor’s Sterling Sustained Excellence Award is an annual award to recognize Florida organizations that are former recipients of the Governor's Sterling Award (within the past five years) for sustaining performance excellence.

  • Application of Intent Due: October 21, 2011
  • Application Due: January 9, 2012

Click here for the 2012 Governor’s Sterling Sustained Excellence Award Application
Click here for the 2012 Governor’s Sterling Sustained Excellence Award Application