How can you use benchmarking to identify potential solutions? (2024)

Key takeaways from this article

• Use honest benchmarks:

  To effectively use benchmarking, keep your data collection and analysis unbiased. This ensures you're working with a true representation of where you stand compared to the competition.

• Let data speak:

  Look at the numbers without preconceptions. Often, the solutions you need are evident in the data itself—sometimes clear as day, other times hidden and waiting to be uncovered.

This summary is powered by AI and these experts

• Leena M. Senior Recruiter @ GE Vernova

• Leena M. Senior Recruiter @ GE Vernova

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  Benchmarking is the process of comparing your company's performance against other companies that operate in the same niche, are of similar size, and have a similar target audience, using benchmarks. Benchmarks are the reference points that will be used for comparison, such as systems, processes, industry standards, and performance metrics.

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  Apples should be compared with apples,Benchmarking is also similar,- Find the right benchmark - Define right parameter- Measure the gap and - Identify the levers to close the gap!

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  In my experience benchmarking can be very useful especially when you find yourself trying to make a case for a change or when you are doing a current state assessment for an organisation. I tend to do a lot of benchmarking when I’m conducting Project or Change Management Maturity assessments for organisations. Ultimately, the benchmarking helps with rating the maturity of the organisation and its practices relative to global best practice.

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  Benchmarking can be a very useful tool when making a case for change. I see 3 clear benefits:Call to Action: Appropriate benchmarks are a strong argument for what can be. It helps define the possible and can be used in the problem statement. Goal Setting: Benchmarking also helps provide a reference point or a goal. You can use carefully selected benchmarks to establish what good looks like for the business and prove that it is a viable target worth aiming for.Performance Measurement: Benchmarks are useful metrics for progress measurement and tracking.In these ways Benchmarking is critical to Transformation and Change Programs with a role at inception, implementation and post implementation monitoring.

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  See Also

  Identifying Benchmarking Risks and Overcoming it7 Pitfalls to avoid in Benchmarking10 Ways to Improve Your Internal Metrics and Benchmarking ProgramsThe Biggest Benchmarking Mistakes And Pitfalls You Must Avoid
• Ankit Gajjar 🌎 Helping You Thrive Online Through Systems and Implementations.

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  Clarity also comes with trying things before catching up to real issues.Solving small problems is no fun, but it needs to be done. Bigger problems sometimes need disruption and not every company or client is up for this.

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  This is the secret sauce. Credibility is key for the Benchmarking process. There must be relevance to the problem statement. But in addition the choice of benchmarks should drive the desired outcomes in a way that the organization can connect to. The focus is on outcomes and the benchmarks/benchmarking has to be sensitive to the feasibility of driving desired outcomes from the organisation. If the organization rejects external sources, look for internal benchmarks that can serve as a proxy for the external inputs. The sources must be stated, credible and accepted.

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• Ken Bradley Seasoned Executive with Proven Track Record

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  Don't just chase the latest trends. Use benchmarking to identify what truly works and tailor it to your unique needs. This isn't about a quick sprint to the finish line, but a strategic marathon towards lasting improvement for your organization.

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  Benchmarking sources will depend on what type of problem statement is. Post that the findings can be arranged from these sources and by using an organized framework we can differentiate the information if it's adding any value or not.

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  Excellent insight. I’d also say two more things.One is to always be honest with your benchmarks and the research around them. Many people can skew their collection, methods or analysis to account for biases. Do not do this.The second. Always let the data to talk. Crucially important to be informed by the data and informed properly. This is difficult at times, and extremely simple in other situations . Sometimes the answer is staring you directly in the face and other times things can be hidden that must be surfaced.Do the hard work.

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  Agreed. The devil is in the details.Effective benchmarks have to be data driven, unbiased and carefully sourced and analyzed. You must correct for any non standard factors.Acceptable benchmarks must be credible. This includes methodology, data sources, analytical approaches.

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• Chinmay Bindal Top Consulting Voice | Capgemini | Shadow Board | Tech Mahindra XDS (BORN) | Capgemini | Deloitte USI | HSBC | CSM® | CAPM® | IBM Design Thinking | CCRA™ | CPBM® | MBA 2018-20 - IFMR GSB | Cricket Talk - All India Radio

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  Transforming data into solutions is the real secret sauce! Armed with insights, let your problem definition and objectives be the north star guiding your brainstorming journey. One needs to prioritize solutions like a strategic maestro, considering feasibility, cost, and impact. Think of it as a consulting chess game – every move aligns with your client's vision and values. In my little experience, this approach has worked wonders. So now isnthe time to turn benchmarks into breakthroughs!#BenchmarkingSuccess

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• (edited)

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  In my experience, Benchmarks serve a purpose - to drive outcomes. The 3 main uses of Benchmarking are:1- Fueling a Call to Action2- Goal Setting3- Progress TrackingDepending on the situation they can provide a case for building a strategy with objectives, goals and KPIs. Or act as a basis for departmental or employee level performance metrics.In all cases the definition of a ‘true north’ opens up focal points for creativity and brainstorming to achieve the desired outcomes.You must be practical and consider the feasibility and cost in the context of your particular constraints. With the presence of a defined goal, and a full understanding of the constraints, the potential of a situation can be maximized to achieve the goal.

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• (edited)

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  External Benchmarking should be a key component driving business activity. It’s important to understand your relative competitiveness;1- respond to any weakness or gaps2- Exploit relative strength to the maxWhilst financial or productivity benchmarks are important, the primary benchmarks should be customer or client related. It’s no good having the perfect financial or productivity benchmark if the client metrics are poor/declining. This will come back to bite the company regardless of current performance. Customer perspectives and purchase patterns can be a key defining the right areas for investment and future development. I have seen too much focus on internally relevant benchmarks to the detriment of client/customer experience.

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• Eva González Colomina Technology and innovation for to manage your agri-food, environmental and research laboratory | Instrumentation, consumables and support services ⚗️ Chromatography | Spectroscopy | Training |Maintenance

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  Una vez que tienes claro de donde vienes y a donde quieres llegar, identificada una fuente fiable y aseguarte que los datos que vas a usar son comparables, entonces puedes recurrir a la estadística.El test de la t-student puede ayudar. Se utiliza para determinar si hay una diferencia significativa entre las medias de dos grupos de datos.Permite decidir si dos variables aleatorias normales y con la misma varianza tienen medias diferentes.Puede usarse en numerosos escenarios, para comprobar si la modificación en las condiciones de un proceso producen un aumento o disminución de la media.Recomendación: esta prueba se utiliza cuando la población no sigue una distribución normal o cuando el tamaño de la muestra es pequeño (n<30).

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• Sam Bhat Ideas to Reality

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  Benchmarks in most technologies are already available as per some accepted standards. So unless your thing ca best that benchmark, do lot even bother. Work on your software product, regardless of it being in store or compute side of thing’s. By the way for startups it is almost impossible to beat published benchmarks!

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  There are times where an internal R&D team becomes complacent and thinks the product, they have built is the best and ignores what customers, sales, marketing are bringing in competitive data. In my case I have seen product market share erode quarter by quarter. I took the lead convincing executives to invite 3 different competitor software technical evaluation in-house. This provided us to understand the strengths & weaknesses of competitive product. Strategy was to see if our internal product stands the test. On the other hand, if any one of the competitors comes up as a clear winner, internal R&D was given the timeline to blow away the competition or else pursue M&A with the competitive winner.

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• Canan YILMAZ Pazarlama Direktörü-Marketing Director at STOLLER TURKEY

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  Another addition could be how benchmarking shows us where we are in objective way. When we inside a bussiness we may evaluate ourselves lower or higher in both case we may limit growth. However getting an objective measurement by benchmarking could be valuable to see next opportunities

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