What it is for: Benchmarking is the practice of comparing a measure of your performance with the same measure elsewhere, such as a peer organisation, another branch or a published standard. You leave with a short table showing each measure, the comparator, the aligned definition, the gap and its limits, plus an agreed decision.
Who it helps: Service owners and analysts setting a target or judging whether performance is good, average or weak against peers.
When to use it
You need to judge whether a performance level is good, average or weak.
You are setting a target and want it grounded in what others have achieved.
You want to learn from a peer that does the same work differently.
How to use it
State the decision the benchmark will support.
Choose two to four measures and define exactly what is counted.
Pick fair comparators and align definitions and periods.
Calculate the gap in plain terms, using medians as well as averages.
Write the limits aloud before anyone concludes, then decide and learn.
Tip: Always ask when the clock starts and stops; most unfair comparisons fail on this.
Credits and sources: Original Tiremesù worksheet and wording. Further reading: ASQ https://asq.org/quality-resources/benchmarking
Full guide and film:https://www.tiremesu.com/guides/benchmarking
