Self-assess to understand your own processes and performance in detail.

Analyse others' successful processes and performance.

Compare your performance with that of others you have analysed.

Implement the necessary changes to close the performance gap.

Benchmarking does not mean simply copying others' practices, it requires the ability to innovate and adapt what you have learnt from others according to your organisation's specific needs. It is a dynamic process that evolves with growing experience, and with application to different organisational and cultural settings.

To benchmark successfully :

A shared, common vision of the performance improvement goals and objectives

Open and committed high level support

The commitment of all stakeholders in the process to progress and change

A willingness to examine critically one's own practices

The ability and willingness to co-operate and share information and expertise with others

To be able to learn from others' best practices

The flexibility to implement the necessary changes

Procedures to monitor subsequent progress

When applied appropriately, the lessons learnt from a benchmarking exercise can facilitate performance improvement in key areas of the business environment or in critical functions within an organisation.

Benchmarking can be applied to many different areas and at many different levels, ranging from the manufacturing industry to public service administration, at individual department or company level, as well as at sectoral or policy level. Benchmarking has already been successfully implemented as a tool to improve performance in the private sector and, more recently, in the public sector by government administrations and other public institutions.

European Commission

Czech Republic

Denmark

France

Germany

Norway

Netherlands

Spain

United Kingdom