How can you benchmark your facilities to industry standards?

1 Define your objectives

The first step is to define your objectives for benchmarking your facilities. What are you trying to achieve? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter to you and your stakeholders? How will you use the benchmarking results to improve your facilities? Your objectives should be clear, specific, and measurable, and aligned with your strategic goals and vision.

2 Select your peers

The next step is to select your peers, or the facilities that you will compare yourself to. You should choose peers that are similar to your facilities in terms of size, function, location, industry, and customer base. You should also consider the availability and reliability of data from your peers, as well as the potential for learning and collaboration. You can use various sources to find your peers, such as industry associations, databases, publications, or networks.

3 Collect and analyze data

The third step is to collect and analyze data from your facilities and your peers. You should use consistent and standardized methods and tools to gather and process data, such as surveys, audits, interviews, or software. You should also ensure that the data is accurate, relevant, and comparable, and that you follow ethical and legal guidelines for data protection and privacy. You should then analyze the data to calculate your KPIs, identify trends, and compare your performance to your peers.

4 Identify gaps and opportunities

The fourth step is to identify gaps and opportunities based on the data analysis. You should look for areas where your facilities are performing well or poorly compared to your peers, and understand the reasons behind the differences. You should also look for opportunities to improve your facilities by adopting best practices, innovations, or solutions from your peers or other sources. You should prioritize the gaps and opportunities based on their impact, feasibility, and alignment with your objectives.

5 Implement action plans

The fifth step is to implement action plans to address the gaps and opportunities that you identified. You should develop SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) action plans that outline the tasks, resources, responsibilities, and timelines for improving your facilities. You should also communicate and coordinate with your stakeholders, such as staff, customers, suppliers, or partners, to ensure their support and involvement. You should monitor and evaluate the progress and outcomes of your action plans using relevant metrics and feedback.

6 Review and repeat

The sixth and final step is to review and repeat the benchmarking process regularly. You should review the results and impacts of your action plans, and celebrate your achievements and successes. You should also identify any challenges or barriers that you faced, and learn from your mistakes and failures. You should then repeat the benchmarking process periodically to track your performance, update your objectives, and discover new peers, data, and best practices.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?