FAQs
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Won’t participants share only the information or data that will result in high rankings for their organizations?
There’s always that risk in opinion based surveys, sponsored benchmarking and those programs that don’t promote ownership from all participants, however, programs that encourage all participants to take part in developing the study dimensions, defining the data elements and reviewing the summaries in a collaborative manner will tend to provide results that highlight both those areas of strength as well as those that represent opportunities.
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How do benchmarking programs ensure that the right questions are being asked, or that the right subjects are being measured?
Effective benchmarking begins with participants identifying an area of study and working together to establish a series of dimensions; categories of qualitative and quantitative interest that will form the basis of question generation. Once an inventory of reasonable questions and metrics is available, agreement on the most relevant or important ones will finalize the scope of a program that provides the most value to the most participants.
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Why would I share my exceptional performance metrics with other competitors in the industry?
Benchmarking isn’t just for those participants that need significant improvement in their organizations. Champions, or category leaders, benefit just as much, if not more, by validating their expected position, identifying the size of the gap between them and some of their challengers and, most importantly, tracking the speed at which those challengers may be closing that gap. Effective benchmarking does not erode competitive advantage but improves the quality, cost and performance of the overall industry in which you compete.
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How is data collected and, more importantly, how is it secured from the other program participants?
Effective benchmarking relies on a mix of qualitative and quantitative data collection requiring different collection methods, preferably with the least amount of manual manipulation as possible to ensure integrity and commonality among participants. Qualitative data is best collected electronically through online survey tools that provide a common structure for answers and data aggregation. Quantitative data is best collected when set up as a query, as defined by the collection agent, of existing participant ERP, CRM, accounting, and operational management systems. Data is then checked for any anomalies by the collection agent and discrepancies followed up and addresses through brief interviews. Participant data is then able to be stored electronically, blinded by an identification key available only to the collection agent and then safely compared in a specific anonymous database.
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In benchmarking that includes purchasers, shippers and service providers, how do I know that my participation results won’t be used against me?
There’s no way to predict how any participant will use the results, however, this issue truly underlines the importance of proper participation and proper blinding of the data. By being involved in the development of a program, participants in mixed interest programs have a greater opportunity to interact with each other and define areas of common importance and areas that should be off limits given competitive, regulatory or legal reasons. Most importantly in this case is the strict adherence to a blinded benchmarking methodology that ensures proper anonymity for all participants and makes it extremely difficult to review the results and ‘back in to’ a competitor, purchaser or suppliers identity.
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With all the draws on my resources, where do I find the time, people and support to participate in another ‘exercise’?
Effective benchmarking does take time, but doesn’t have to be a significant draw on resources. By engaging a program or data collection agent familiar with the industry or issue being benchmarked, providing an easily understood definition of data requirements and leveraging technology to make the data collection easier, participants will get the richest analysis possible with the least amount of time spent on their part. This also highlights the need to objectively review and prioritize the benchmarking programs that provide the most cost benefit to your organization and invest in those.
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We currently participate in a number of benchmarking type programs, how do we differentiate those that are truly valuable from those that merely provide an overview of the issues?
When investing in benchmarking, and it is an investment, there are 3 important outputs that need to be present to ensure the value of the exercise; the results should 1) identify actionable items that can be addressed in the short term, 2) outline performance gaps that can be translated into opportunities for mid and long-term strategic planning exercises and 3) provide insight and promotional material that can be used with both your internal and external constituents. Programs that offer anything less than these benefits should be reconsidered in participation priority.
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How do we garner the appropriate internal support and financing for those benchmarking programs that we believe are worth the time, effort and expense?
Your program or collection agent can provide you with a tremendous amount of support, including cost/benefit analysis, examples of output and how it can translate to immediate action or long-term strategy, as well as helping you prepare for, and participate in, your internal socialization, financing and approval meetings.
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What can I do with benchmarking results to improve my organization?
Organizations are required to make tradeoffs in order to achieve their primary objectives or support overall corporate strategies. Benchmarking provides a dashboard’s view of how those tradeoffs affect performance, both internally and externally, over time, as well as how they impact your competitive position. Effective benchmarking results should be an integral part of your organization’s annual operating plan as well as your mid to long-term strategic planning activities.
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Can benchmarking be effective if performed once, or do I have to participate multiple times to see any opportunities?
Proper benchmarking is always effective; however, the real value in benchmarking comes from the accumulation of performance comparisons over time. This allows the participants to establish a baseline index of performance and then track the effectiveness of their tactical and strategic decisions over time. This performance index roadmap is the tool that results in overall improvement of the competitive set over time.