Take advantage of benchmarking and best practices information resources to help you set the bar in your industry. Use best practice resources to help you determine who is the best, who sets the standard, and what exactly that best standard entails.

Use best practice resources to help you determine how you are doing in business. How does your sales team stack up to others? How is your company doing in customer services? How efficient is your team? Whatever the standard is, also use benchmarking resources to see how you qualify for what the set standards are.

To make the most of the available information about best practices:

1. Start with general information about best practices. Understand the definition of benchmarking and the process itself.

2. Consider joining an association to secure additional benchmarking resources.

3. You can also think about hiring a service provider to help you measure your best practice information.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Look for basic information about best practices

Begin by looking for benchmarking resources that cover the basics in best practice information. Look at definition of terms, and don't proceed until you understand the main concept and its ancillary terms.

I recommend: Check out the wide variety of benchmarking information resources, benchmarking and business reference information and best practice study resources from iSixSigma. The basic benchmarking information from themanager.org. See how InvestorWords.com defines setting a benchmark. The Sloan Work and Family Research Network offers an in-depth, comprehensive definition of benchmarking.

Become a part of a benchmarking association for best practice information

Use your membership to a paid or free association to obtain additional benchmarking resources for your business.

I recommend: Purchase a trial membership to The Benchmarking Exchange, your online resource for the practice of benchmarking. Request information to become a part of the Data Mining Benchmarking Association, a free association of companies and organizations with data mining organizations. Consider joining the Facilities & Real Estate Benchmarking Association. Sign up to join the Dispute Resolution Benchmarking Association.

Secure benchmarking resources from professionals

Consider hiring a professional service provider to walk you through the process of benchmarking and provide you the information about best practices that you need.

I recommend: Consider the services of Benchmarking Partners. Let HFM Members help you with benchmarking if you are in the food services industry. See how The Performance Measurement Group can help your business. Look at the benefits of CustomerSat Benchmark Services.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Also consider benchmarking publications like magazines and journals for additional best practice information. These publications can help you stay up to date in industry information as well as track your competitors and other vendors that you do business with.