Can we have a benchmark?
While benchmarking can come in handy when comparing standard processes across peer organizations, does that work for workstyle assessments? In light of the success of benchmarking in the last few decades, we wonder if benchmarking as a tool can add context and meaning when it comes to work style assessments.
Benchmarking has limits
But first: what is benchmarking? Benchmarking measures the performance of a company's products, services, or processes against those of another business considered to be the best in the industry, aka "best in class." In short, benchmarking can provide helpful insights to optimize the quality management of a process, product, or service.
Experience has taught us that benchmarking works well (or best) when the process is essentially the same at the organizations under comparison. See the relevant literature such as:
' When benchmarks don't work" and "The end of average".
' When benchmarks don't work" and "The end of average".
Does benchmarking work when it comes to work style assessments?
It relates to performance that is directly an indicator based on tangible objectives. When talking about services and support services, in particular, this becomes more diffuse. Benchmarking only works when the 'needle' relates directly to an economic objective. We are discovering a limit of benchmarking. Support services are not entirely relatable to financial goals as it follows customer intimacy and needs to be standardized. It simply differs too much from other organizations, making it unsuitable for benchmarking. The output might look the same, yet the line or 'production' can be different because it follows its path. So does benchmark work when it comes to work style assessments?
At Reworc, one organization's average mobility- or activity pattern may not constitute a performance metric. It could become a performance metric directly connected to a financial, tangible objective, e.g., lowering real estate costs. The Reworc philosophy is that we provide clients insights in a safe, fast and reliable way to quickly understand the needs of the employees and how those translate these needs to space. Each company is part of its trajectory and personal perception of the evolution of work.
Comparing only measurements without their context has proven meaningless in our past projects. Reworc is working on creating meaningful metrics that can be used in comparisons and indicate improvement directions. This Work Information Model is under construction and will evolve until it finds suitable answers that create genuine business value for its users and clients.
