Should You Benchmark?

Benchmarking and best practice

I spent 8 hours today learning all about benchmarking.

It was fascinating…

Here are some of the highlights:

You should benchmark against procedures that are accepted as being the most effective.

Benchmarking provides a means to compare your firm against other businesses, and identify areas where you can improve your performance

The benchmark is a technique or methodology that, through experience and research, has proven to reliably lead to a desired result.

A commitment to using the benchmark in any field is a commitment to using all the knowledge and technology at one’s disposal to ensure success.

Benchmarking identifies reliable, objective and independently validated comparative data to inform financial and strategic decision-making.

Are you bored yet?

I was.  So let me suggest another perspective:

Benchmarking is a good thing to do

• It opens your eyes
• You will learn how other organisations do things
• Somebody somewhere is solving your problem better than you are
• You can’t help but generate new ideas and innovate

And don’t forget, a day out of the office is always a good thing.

But it isn’t a lift and shift

• You can’t hope to copy somebody else’s practices, their environment and culture are different
• If you are only ever aspire to be as good as somebody else, you will only ever be mediocre
• Benchmarking the best implies you can’t get better

Worst of all benchmarking doesn’t fuel engagement.  Nobody likes being told what to do.

Learn what good looks like

Find out all you can about Zappos or Toyota or John Lewis

But don’t benchmark the best practice, beat it.

If you enjoyed this post click here to receive the next

Read another opinion

Image by Ann Fisher