Many of the organizations I work with belong to associations or other kinds of networks, or are operating units of larger organizations or systems. For this reason, they probably have an advantage when it comes to process improvement that they may not have fully leveraged yet. That advantage is the ability to use Benchmarking as one of their improvement approaches.
A Different Approach Benchmarking is the study and adaptation of a best practice from another organization or operating unit. Instead of starting with a blank sheet of paper (reengineering or redesign) or only examining your own process to identify possible improvement opportunities (most other improvement methods), with Benchmarking, you utilize aspects and design principles of an existing best practice. This can save time and effort.
A Shorter Path Users of the approach find that it often leads to significant breakthroughs, mainly becouse they are studying and adapting a highly effective process or system. In reality, finding the best practice to benchmark may be the toughest part of the approach. But that’s where membership in an association or network or being part of a larger multi-unit organization can give you an even easier and quicker path to results. There are very likely best practices already in use in these groups – almost every organization or operating unit has one or more best practices. They have only to be studied and adapted (benchmarked) by other members of the group.
Interested? You can read more about Benchmarking by accessing my White Paper here. You’ll learn about the critical steps, the difference a single letter can make, and the giraffe’s heart, among other things. Like any effective improvement approach, Benchmarking does require some care in application, and there are a few nuances that may be counter-intuitive at first. I would be glad to drop by or give you a call to talk about the possibilities for Benchmarking in your organization. Just contact me at your convenience.