M4D Winter Release 2018

The Value of Benchmarking How does your business stack up? How does your current performance compare to previous performance? How about other businesses in your industry? What does the future look like for you, your competitors, or your industry as a whole?

The answer to these questions lies in benchmarking—but what value does benchmarking actually provide in architecture, engineering, and design businesses, and how can it be used to give your business an edge?

Quite simply, benchmarking is a radar for change; in and of itself, benchmarking is only a means to an end—and it’s worthless if not accompanied by a call to change.

The value is not in the benchmarking, but in the decisions you make, as leaders, to create change that will enhance your performance. Benchmarking leads to focus on change and provides a clear direction for the change process.

There are two components to benchmarking performance: 1. Comparing your business with your own historical and expected performance 2. Comparing yourself to the industry and other businesses By benchmarking in these areas, there will always be a call to action, a call to change.

For instance, for a business that’s operating in the top quartile, benchmarking could highlight areas where they are doing well and should provide a focus for how to maintain their advantage, as well as presenting an opportunity to raise their standards.

Alternatively, for business in the bottom quartile, benchmarking identifies areas of opportunity where they can make improvements such as: 1. Reviewing fees 2. The work they are taking on 3. How they’re producing it 4. Employment costs