We have talked a lot about the need to perform and be better. After all, do any of us really aspire to do the same thing day after day; performing our jobs in rote fashion without conscious thought? If so, we are destined to deliver the same results. And there is one thing for certain, acceptance of the status quo signals the beginning of the inexorable death march for any organization.

So, we commit to do better. But how do we know what “better” is…and how to get there? It’s one thing to say “cut this by 10%” or, increase this by 12%.” But you need a plan and a process to achieve those results.  Benchmarking is one of the best ways to get there and can transform and organization.

Benchmarking is a word we are all familiar with and thrown around often by consultants including those who specialize entire in benchmarking.  The definitions vary and can be quite specific depending on your industry. But simply stated, benchmarking is just comparing something you are doing now to something you consider, or know, to be a standard… a better result.

In the property operations and management market we serve, there are many processes and results that can easily be benchmarked. It takes effort and commitment, but the effort more than work it. Not only will you improve the specific process you are benchmarking, but you will send a signal to your team and organization, that we are here to get better at everything we do.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at some specific property operations processes and discuss how you might use benchmarking to improve them.