Measure and Evaluate Benchmarking

To fully evaluate the impact of benchmarking, it is necessary to undertake, where possible, a quantitative assessment of impact with calculable values assigned. The following provide some simple ideas on how to assess benchmarking.

Benchmarking Projects: Frequency

How many benchmarking projects have been undertaken in a given period or how many benchmarking comparisons have been carried out? This is a measurement that indicates the quantity and frequency of benchmarking projects that an organisation carries out to identify new ideas, capture and create new knowledge, or find out whether its practices are considered to be best or most appropriate for the organisation.

Benchmarking: Potential Improvementsor Practices Noted

How many potential improvements or practices have been noted as a result of a benchmarking project? This is a measurement that provides an indication of the initial success of benchmarking projects.

Benchmarking: Improvements Actioned

How many, or what percentage, of the potential improvements or practices that were noted as a result of a benchmarking project have been actioned within the organisation? This is a measurement that provides an indication of the initial success of the benchmarking project.

Benchmarking: Areas Benchmarked

How many areas of business have been benchmarked? This is a measurement that provides an indication of the level of deployment of benchmarking within an organisation. Higher levels of benchmarking may indicate that higher levels of continuous improvement activities are prevalent.

Benchmarking: Planning Duration

How much time has been taken to plan a benchmarking project? This measurement can prove useful in analysis; some benchmarking initiatives may suffer if they are not implemented in a timely manner.

Benchmarking: Key Data

What is the percentage of key indicators for which benchmarking data has been collected? This measurement provides an indication of whether the organisation knows where it is positioned in terms of industry-wide practices.

Benchmarking: Performance

What is the percentage of key indicators for which performance is better than best-practice benchmarks? This measurement provides an indication of the organisation’s performance in terms of industry-wide practices.

Benchmarking: Cycle Time

How much time is taken from the identification of a need—or the implementation of a benchmarking plan or project—to complete and successfully incorporate the best practice identified. This measurement may be used to reduce the cycle time of projects and to ensure that best practices are implemented.

Benchmarking: ROI

What is the benchmarking value-add as a fraction of the cost of benchmarking? This measurement enables calculation of the financial returns of the investment in a benchmarking initiative. It can be calculated by project, annually, or to encompass all benchmarking projects.

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