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Now that you know who you are, you need to go about the process
of picking a benchmarking partner. Who should you pick depends
on who you are. The key drivers are: |
- Size
- If you’re a small operation you really don’t
have much in common with GM, or Wal Mart. You need to identify
with someone who can share in and understand the obstacles
that you face everyday.
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- Business
Type - You really don’t want to bare your
soul to a competitor, but you want to compare yourself with
someone who understands your needs. If you’re a manufacturer,
you need to look to other manufacturers. Storage Racks and
Lift Trucks are totally different businesses but they both
involve bending, welding and painting steel. So while there
are differences there also will be enough similarities to
make your benchmarking review valuable.
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- Values
- Make sure your partner and you share the same value system.
How do you both feel about customers, employees, and shareholders.
If you do not share the same values you may get some false
readings.
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Once
you have identified the drivers go out and get recommendations
from consultants and suppliers among others as to who out there
fits the bill. If there is a company out there that has impressed
you previously, add them to the list.
The process for getting that partner can start with a phone
call. That call can be made to your counterpart (ask the switchboard
to connect you to your title), the CEO, or my favorite the Human
Resources boss. The HR person has read every job description
so they should know where to lead you, plus HR people are always
looking for benchmark data on compensation. |
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Yes, it’s
going to take many failed attempts before you find that partner(s).
Once you have identified a partner you need to set the ground
rules and work out a schedule for the visits and information
exchange sessions. This is the time to establish the parameters
for the information exchange. Don’t be afraid to say
NO if your partner asks too sensitive of a question. Take
care of these issues now before you get too far down the road.
Who
should be on your team? The team leader needs to be someone
who can insure that change can be implemented. This might
need to be the General Manager or a Vice President. The remainder
of the team needs to include all the functional experts (Inventory,
Transportation and Engineering).
Most importantly however, operating supervisors need to be
included. These are the people that know your operation and
are the people who need to learn and implement change.
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