Performance measurement asks: how are we performing?
Tracking KPIs such as revenue, margins, productivity or staffing levels helps organisations understand their own development over time.
Make performance comparable — and the comparison relevant
Performance Benchmarking
Help participants understand how they perform compared to relevant peers and identify opportunities for improvement.
Performance benchmarking turns operational, financial or strategic data into meaningful comparisons, dashboards and benchmark reports.
Typical outputs
- Individual benchmark reports
- Peer-group comparisons
- Performance dashboards
- KPI analyses
- Trend reports
- Industry benchmarks
Typical applications
- Financial benchmarking
- Operational benchmarking
- Franchise benchmarking
- Membership benchmarking
- Branch performance comparisons
- Best-practice identification
The goal
The goal of a benchmark is not simply to compare organisations.
Performance benchmarking helps participants understand where they perform well, where improvement is possible and how they compare to relevant peers.
From performance measurement to performance benchmarking
Performance benchmarking adds: how does that performance compare?
By comparing the same measures with relevant peers, reference groups or previous periods, organisations can identify differences, trends and opportunities for improvement.
Benchmarking does not automatically explain why
A KPI may reveal a performance gap, but additional analysis is often needed to understand the underlying causes. Operational data, process reviews or qualitative research can help explain differences.
Measure. Compare. Analyse. Then decide what the difference means.
What can you benchmark?
The focus of a benchmark depends on the sector, research question and decisions participants need to support.
Typical benchmark categories include:
Financial performance
Compare financial performance across participants using metrics such as revenue, profitability, margins and cost structures.
Productivity & capacity
Analyse how efficiently resources are used through measures such as revenue per FTE, utilisation rates and productivity ratios.
Operational performance
Compare operational KPIs such as volumes, efficiency, cycle times and service delivery performance.
People & organisation
Benchmark workforce-related measures including staffing levels, employee turnover and absence rates.
Quality & outcomes
Include customer, quality or outcome indicators to provide additional context alongside financial and operational performance measures.
What makes a benchmark meaningful?
1. Clear definitions
Participants should measure the same thing in the same way. Otherwise, differences may reflect interpretation rather than performance.
2. Comparable data
Validation helps identify incomplete, inconsistent or unusual submissions before results are compared.
3. Relevant reference groups
Not every participant should be compared with every other participant. Meaningful comparisons depend on selecting peers with relevant characteristics such as size, sector or business model.
4. Appropriate KPIs and normalisation
Raw numbers often reflect size rather than performance. Ratios and relative measures can make comparisons more meaningful.
5. Context in the reporting
Participants should understand what they are being compared with and how results should be interpreted.
For you
Who uses performance benchmarking?
Trade Associations
Help members understand their performance while building valuable industry insight for the association.
Performance Benchmarking for Trade AssociationsFranchise & Networks
Compare locations, franchises or network members and identify opportunities for improvement through meaningful performance comparisons.
Performance Benchmarking for Franchise & NetworksConsultants & Advisors
Support client discussions with objective benchmark data and scale a consistent benchmarking methodology across engagements.
Performance Benchmarking for Consultants & AdvisorsAdded benefit with our Survey Tool
Technology supported by benchmarking expertise
The Survey Tool automates data collection, validation, calculations and individual and market reporting.
Compare to Compete combines a configurable platform with practical benchmarking experience to support both the technical and methodological aspects of a benchmark programme.
Our customers
Proof in practice
NOAB & Fiscount
Since 2011, NOAB and later Fiscount have used a shared benchmarking programme to provide participating firms with individual benchmark reports and sector-wide insight. Approximately 25% of member firms participate in a typical round.
Read about NOAB & Fiscount →SRA
SRA uses recurring benchmarking and organisation cultural research programmes to provide member firms with comparative insight and long-term trend analysis.
Read about SRA →Frequently asked questions
What is performance benchmarking?
Performance benchmarking is the systematic comparison of standardised performance measures or KPIs with relevant peers, groups, previous periods or other reference points. It adds external or comparative context to ordinary performance measurement.
What is the difference between a KPI and a benchmark?
A KPI is a measure of performance. A benchmark is a reference against which that measure is compared. The same KPI can therefore be compared with several benchmark groups or reference points.
Do we need to compare every participant with the same group?
No. Different reference groups can be appropriate when characteristics such as size, type, region or business model materially affect the comparison. The research design should determine which groups are relevant.
How do you make KPIs comparable?
Start with common definitions and calculation rules. Where appropriate, normalise measures using a meaningful denominator such as FTE, revenue, transactions or another unit. Then validate the submitted data before comparing results.
Knowledgebase
Knowledge before software
How to choose relevant reference groups
Why peer selection can change the meaning of a benchmark.
Read guide →Mean, median or percentile: what should a benchmark show?
How different group statistics answer different questions.
Read guide →Why KPI definitions determine benchmark quality
How definitions and calculation rules prevent false comparisons.
Read guide →From comparison to improvement
Why a performance gap is the start of analysis, not the conclusion.
Read guide →Discuss your research question
Considering a benchmarking programme?
Tell us who participates, what should be measured and what participants should receive in return. We'll help define the benchmark structure, reporting approach and supporting technology.
Start with comparability. Then build the benchmark.
Discuss your research question