Benchmarking

benchmarking

Even if you think you are doing everything right, how do you know unless you compare?

No organization is the best at everything and the same is true for yours. So, if you aren’t benchmarking, you can’t possibly be doing everything you should be doing.

Benchmarking is a form of measurement – where you measure against something else to see where you are lagging, identify the areas and take corrective action.  This can be external or internal benchmarking.

Going Beyond Standard Benchmarking

While numbers are a start, benchmarking isn’t just about comparing numbers. It’s a process to target problem areas, identify solutions and implement changes that improve results.

Intelligent benchmarking also looks at processes, resources and systems, comparing how other do it so you can learn and implement. It tells you whether your operations are as efficient and effective as possible and identifies things you can do to so you can  serve the core needs of your organization better.

What are the Benefits?

Taking Benchmarking one step further - from comparing numbers to evaluating practices - gives you the details you need to make changes and improvements in processes, resources and systems based on leading practices and other organization’s successes.

Benchmarking should be a learning process, not just a measurement exercise. You should effectively compare the results and then dig deep to understand what you can do differently. With Intelligent Benchmarking, you can sell your ideas and justify your initiatives.

  • Details support initiatives
  • Evidence and Facts sell
  • Results are compelling
  • Comparisons carry weight

Strategic Advisor’s Role

We develop the benchmarking approach, identify comparable organizations and implement data collection, including both numbers and practices as applicable. As a 3rd party, we can guarantee confidentiality for participants and get involvement that you may not be able to get.

Then we analyze the data and information, provide comparisons to your results and practices and make recommendations for changes and improvement. We can also help with business cases and implementation of initiatives coming out of the benchmarking process.

Independant, factual information from this process has a better chance of helping you develop, sell and implement new initiatives to improve results or perhaps validate your current operational approach.

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Benchmarking Even if you think you are doing everything right, how do you know unless you compare? No organization is the best at everything and the same is true for yours. So, if you aren’t benchmarking, you can’t possibly be doing everything you should be doing.
Service Contract Reviews A Service Contract Review by an independent third party can help you ensure that you are getting the services you expect, that your contract documentation, including procurement, pricing, measurement and management, are delivering the best value and even establish the best approach for a renewal or re-bid.
Personal Coaching Coaching is a standard business approach to help managers and leaders with their development and with specific elements of their job. A confidential third party who isn’t invested in the organization’s politics or imbedded culture guides you or your staff through ideas and options with an un-biased, broad based view that helps you look at things more objectively.
Training & Education Are you holding a quarterly or annual meeting with your global, regional or local Facilities team? Need something to pump up your staff, give them training on strategic, leadership or management approaches in FM or help them collectively deal with an issue?
FM Systems Implementation Implementing Property Management and Facilities systems including CAFM, CMMS, Work Order management and Help Desks can sometimes be the single most important thing you can do to improve service, reduce costs and preserve your assets, including reducing future costs.
Team & Meeting Facilitation Finding solutions,developing ideas, brainstorming or holding an annual staff session is easier with an external facilitator to draw out results and shephard discussion, giving your better value, less wasted time and full participation.
Business Cases Effective Business Cases that get the results you need are not easy. They take research, analysis and strategy, not to mention a well crafted and written document that gets the point across and influences your boss, board of directors, council, CFO and anyone else who has the ability to accept or reject your business case.
Satisfaction Surveys Satisfaction Surveys provide you with key information about your FM services to help you make decisions and improve services. Strategic Advisor develops and implements surveys for Facility and Property Managers. This includes Customer Satisfaction Surveys, Employee Satisfaction surveys, Tenant opinion surveys and more.
Asset Management Services Asset Management delivers results by integrating all aspects of managing properties It provides overall management of the facility maintenance, capital planning, repair and replacement strategies, energy cost reduction strategies and more. It helps you develop a strategy to manage your facilities and maintain asset value, minimize costs and ensure your facilities serve your core business effectively.
Writing & Presenting for FM Communicating clearly is important to get your ideas across, influence others, look professional and get better results. Yet most Facility Managers and Property Managers have never had formal training in this important area. Get better results by understanding how to create clear, compelling and influencial communications.
Transition & Change Transitioning can include internal organizational changes, implementation of systems, outsourcing, out-tasking or subcontracting initiatives.
Strategic Planning Strategic planning implies looking at the future, but most managers are so busy dealing with operational issues, personnel issues, customer service and the day-to-day facility requests and issues. If you want to improve or change your organization or your facilities and buildings, you need a solid strategic plan that maps the requirements, benefits, risks, issues and implementation plan so you can get approval and move forward.
RFQ / RFP Procurement Well structured Request For Proposals (RFP) get the best results for your contracting initiative. They are harder to develop than it seems, and often internal staff are too busy with other initiatives or are too close to the services to effectively develop the RFP's. You end up living with your service contracts for several years at a time, so you want things to go smoothly.
Customer Service Customer service is just as important in an internal service delivery model as it is with externally facing services. It's often even harder to achieve, however, and can have a significant impact on the customer satisfaction food chain, since what you deliver affects the productivity and success of those receiving your services.
FM Assessments Is your FM organization and systems giving you what you need? Are you up-to-date on the leading practices and what you could be doing differently? A review can help you fine-tune or completely revamp your organization and systems.
Policies & Procedures Consistent and effective results require well developed policies and procedures that not only meet the needs of the service, they are easy to understand and implement. The benefit of documenting them is to provide training material, consistency and an auditable process you can measure for performance.
Performance Management Managing performance is the most important thing you can do to improve your service and processes. If you don't measure results, you don't have solid management information that enables you to make decisions and improvements that lead to your success.

The problem is identifying the right measures that won't drive the wrong behaviours and then effectively reporting, analyzing and acting upon the results.
Outsourcing Decision Outsourcing can be a viable business model. Your organization may or may not benefit from outsourcing, however your success depends on effective analysis, decision-making and implementation. We help you assess the benefits and identify the costs and risks of this important decision. The exercise can also help you identify what you can do internally instead of outsourcing.

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