What is Benchmarking?

The search for “best practice” can take place both inside a particular industry and also within other industries where relevant lessons may be learned. Benchmarking involves looking outward (outside a particular business, organisation, industry, region or country) to examine how others achieve their performance levels and to understand the processes they use. In this way benchmarking helps explain the processes behind excellent performance. When the lessons learnt from a benchmarking exercise are applied appropriately, they facilitate improved performance in critical functions within an organisation or in key areas of the business environment. 

Application of benchmarking involves four key steps: 

• Understand in detail existing business processes
  
• Analyse the business processes of others
  
• Compare own business performance with that of others analysed
  
• Implement the steps necessary to close the performance gap 
  

Benchmarking should not be considered a one-off exercise. To be effective, it must become an integral part of an ongoing improvement process, with the goal of keeping abreast of ever-improving best practice.

The Centre has a range of benchmarking tools and services that will assist you in comparing your company with International Best Practices. Please contact us for more information on our services.