Manuale_Bench_ENG_ok

“ LEARNING FROM THE BEST”

MANAGERIAL HANDBOOKS 2008 - NO. 2

“APPRENDERE DAI MIGLIORI”

QUADERNI MANAGERIALI 2008 - NO. 2

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“Learning from the best”MANAGERIAL HANDBOOKS 2008 - N. 02

12 Check list – analyse phase 13 Improvement plan

14 Check list – adapt phase

Appendix pag. 33

Screening questionnaire

AVETE PROGETTI PER IL FUTURO?BANDI 2007

Chapter I pag. 6

the principles of benchmarking

1What is benchmarking 2 The fundamentals of benchmarking

3 Why benchmarking

4 The benchmarking sphere 5 Benchmarking typologies

Chapter II pag.10

the methodology of benchmarking

1 Plan phase 2Collect phase

3 Analyse phase 4 Adapt phase

Chapter III pag. 19

operational benchmarking manual of fondazione Cariplo

1 The benchmarking Code of Conduct

2 Flow-chart of the benchmarking process

Chapter IV pag. 24

operational tools & templates

1 Collection of benchmarking proposals

2 Prioritisation of the benchmarking process

3 Benchmarking plan: structure

4 Check list – plan phase

5 Screening questionnaire

6 Selection of the benchmarking partners

7 Partner selection matrix

8 Agenda for benchmarking visits

9 Check list – collect phase

10 Cause and effect diagram

11 Benchmarking report: structure

Index

Benchmarking Manual

Introduction

Benchmarking means ‘comparing’, usually to the best, through a well-defined process.

Benchmarking is intended to trigger continuous and non-continuous improvement processes. When followed by internal transformation, benchmarking yields outstanding results.

To be effective, benchmarking should be carefully planned and managed in order to ensure all information required for the subsequent improvement actions is properly gathered.

Benchmarking involves comparison against the “best in class”.

Finally, benchmarking is closely related to learning and creativity. It involves curiosity, method, commitment and imagination. The positive outcome of benchmarking depends greatly on the capacity of people to search for and embrace excellence, wherever it may be.

Since we believe that even a creative activity such as benchmarking requires method and professionalism, we have prepared this Manual, a management guide to practical application. The Manual was drafted by a Fondazione Cariplo work team that gathered the most advanced know how on the topic and adapted it to the specific philanthropic context within which the foundation operates.

This initiative is part of the organisational “Excellence Program” and it represents a fundamental milestone in the continuous improvement path on which the Foundation embarked many years ago.

Pier Mario VelloSecretary General

Benchmarking Manual

Benchmarking Manual6

Chapter I

The principles of benchmarking

1 What is benchmarking

2 The fundamentals of benchmarking

3 Why benchmarking

4 The benchmarking sphere

5 Benchmarking typologies

7

1 What is benchmarking

The process of continuously and systematically comparing and measuring against leader organisations worldwide.

A process aimed at collecting information which will help the organisation develop a program to improve its results.

2 The fundamentals of benchmarking

improvement Benchmarking

allows to identify possible performance gaps with ›respect to best practice organisationsallows to understand how best practices reach higher ›levels of performances helps identify the necessary actions to fill the detected ›gaps and start a concrete improvement program

Continuity

Benchmarking has to be an integral part of Strategic ›Planning

method

The organisation has to adopt and apply systematically ›a well-defined benchmarking methodology

For benchmarking to be successful it is not always necessary to identify the absolute “best practice” in the world. It is very unlikely that an organisation is the best in everything it does. What is meant by best is those practices that have been shown to produce superior results, selected through a systematic process, and judged as exemplary. The internal transfer of a good practice needs to deal with adaptation to the specific characteristics of the organisation and must not (and can not) be limited to an automatic and impersonal replica.

3 Why benchmarking

benchmarking is a tool to:

• compare your own processes and results with those of other institutions, direct competitors and similar organisations

• identify opportunities to close the performance gaps by improving the processes

• identify, in an objective way, your strengths and weaknesses

• overcome internal resistance to change• justify activities, resources and methods in place• seek innovative methods to stimulate the thinking of

internal groups

Benchmarking Manual8

benchmarking helps to answer some questions:

• Are we really achieving superior performances?• Are we sure that our improvement plan will make us

world-class?

benchmarking is not

• a mere comparison of numbers• a simple “replica” or “alignment” operation• unrelated to the other activities / strategies of the

organisation• a “tourism” activity between organisations• an activity carried out with “convenient” partners; on the contrary, partners’ selection should be based on their potential contribution to performance improvement

4 The benchmarking sphere

Comparisons with similar organisations

Market research

Strategicbenchmarking Operational

benchmarking

Processbenchmarking

Product benchmarking(philanthropic

services-intervention)

Time/operational costs for • each activity

Management costs•

Growth potential• Innovation potential• Financial performance •

potentialSkills acquisition potential•

Performance of processes • & services offered

Claims/suggestions • handling

Contractual fulfilment•

Projects • Project support services • Scientific and operational • models• Knowledge transfer•

What How

Process BMK Operational BMK Strategic BMK

9

5 Benchmarking typologies

True innovation often comes from the comparison against organisations that operate within different sectors and with different scopes.

internal benchmarkingIt involves comparisons within the same organisation, among different functions, units or, as it often happens in larger organisations, the different branches or companies of the same group.

strategic benchmarkingIt is the comparison between similar organisations and can be conducted through third party research.

functional benchmarking It involves comparisons at functional level between organisations, despite the sector they operate in. This approach makes the collection of data easier and often yields the most innovative practices.

generic benchmarking It is similar to functional benchmarking, but focused on processes that are common to every organisation. The benchmarking partner should be the “best in class” (an excellent organisation) and the comparisons are generic. The technological lack of homogeneity between an organisation and its benchmarking partner can make an objective comparison difficult, hence it is often advisable to engage an external consultancy company.

10 Benchmarking Manual

Chapter II

The benchmarking methodology

1 Plan phase

2 Collect phase

3 Analyse phase

4 Adapt phase

11

What to benchmark

Deciding what to benchmark implies the identification of the possible areas for improvement within the organisation, in light of the superior performances achieved by other organisations.The prioritisation of the process(es) to benchmark has to be based on the evaluation of:

the actual › performance of the process, hence the identification of the processes that are in greater need of improvementthe › strategic importance of the process

Once the process to be benchmarked has been selected, it may be useful to map it (for example by creating a flowchart) in order to analyse and identify in more depth the problem areas within the process.

skills of the benchmarking team

Team spirit ›Strong motivation ›Ability to plan workload ›Knowledge of the processes, the organisation and the ›strategyPredisposition toward innovation ›Communication skills ›

Development of the benchmarking Plan

The following have to be accurately described in the Benchmarking Plan:

the activities and the resources (temporal, financial and ›human) necessary to carry out the benchmarking study the measures and the indicators that will be used ›both during the benchmarking study – to compare the organisation’s process performance with that of the benchmarking partners – and following the benchmarking study, to evaluate if and to which extent the implementation of improvement initiatives has produced the desired results

At the end of the Plan phase we suggest to use the “Check list – Plan phase” (paragraph 4.4).

The benchmarking methodology

The benchmarking concepts and methods presented ›hereafter are inspired by the EFQM Benchmarking MethodologyThe EFQM approach has been developed as a result of a ›benchmarking studyThe contents of each phase are based on the best ›methodologies available

CoLLeCt

PLan

anaLYse

aCt

1 Plan phase

During the Plan phase one must:1) Decide which process(es) to benchmark2) Analyse the process and identify the benchmarking object 3) Form the benchmarking team4) Develop a benchmarking plan


information sources

• It is advisable to start by consulting and analysing the secondary research sources (documents and information readily available within the organisation or of public domain) before undertaking (expensive) primary research (i.e. information collected through studies and ad hoc surveys)

• The secondary research is finalised to the creation of a first list of possible benchmarking partners. This research can have a qualitative and/or quantitative focus.

Example of secondary research sources:

Library research ›Consulting firms (and the networks or databases they ›base their researches on)Associations and professional organisations (chamber ›of commerce, public research agencies, etc.)On-line databases ›Universities, Business Schools ›Conferences and seminars ›

n.b. a mediocre secondary research is a prime cause of benchmarking failure!

Data collection hierarchy

2 Collect phase

During the Collect phase the project team has to:1) Consult the information sources available for the research of benchmarking partners2) Identify potential partners3) Develop the screening questionnaire4) Select partners5) Collect data 6) Manage benchmarking site visits

Site visit

Site visit questionnaire

Screening survey

Primary research

Secondary research

Direct contactConference calls, phone

interviews and BMK visits

research and investigationQuestionnaires, surveys,

consultant studies

Public domain informationEsperti e studi interni, referaggi

internal informationInternal studies and experts, referrals

Low-key monitoringPress reports, newspapers, sector magazines, news

13

Data collection on the whole system

Every process is part of a more complex system made of interacting parts: therefore, the data should be collected both on the specific benchmarking object and on the partner’s organisational system on the whole.

identify potential partners

What to Do • Remember that an organisation does not excel in

everything it does• Select more than one partner and identify the best

elements from each• Select partners based on clear criteria• Verify that the organisation is a leader in the area of

interest

What not to Do • Select a partner in a random way, or based on

“convenience” (for example, because it is located in the same territory or simply because it showed an interest in participating to the initiative)

Communicate with the potential partner

• Once the list of potential partners has been drafted, a screening has to be conducted so as to identify the ideal partner for the benchmarking study: this screening is carried out by submitting a questionnaire (screening questionnaire)

Process

human resources

technologyorganisational

structure

• The organisation promoting the benchmarking study should illustrate the prospective benefits of the initiative to the potential partner

• Identify the “benchmarking contact” (person appointed for the benchmarking initiative) within the partner organisation

• Mail the screening questionnaire to:establish the willingness of the partner to ›

participate determine the time requirements ›describe the benefits ›

• Provide a copy of the Code of Conduct and highlight that the benchmarking study will be conducted according to its guidelines and principles

• Conduct the screening

screening questionnaire

• The screening questionnaire must focus on the key success factors related to the specific function or process that will be submitted to benchmarking

• The screening questionnaire has to: be concise (no more than 20 questions) ›include “qualifying” questions (formulated expressly ›for the specific partner)contain closed and open questions, depending on ›the information to be collected: use the former when processes can be described through quantitative data, and the latter when process analysis can’t disregard qualitative informationassign a weight to each question according to its ›importance (optional)be tested internally before sending it to the partner ›

avoid ambiguous questions »make easily understandable questions »include only necessary questions, i.e. that can »provide a clear and comprehensive view of the subject, and that are related to the functions and the processes to be benchmarked

be sent to the partner before the site visit; this way ›they can comment on it, add other questions and collect data before the first visit.


management of benchmarking visits

• Benchmarking visits, thanks to the direct comparison with the partner, facilitate the exploration of the benchmarking object (face-to-face visits usually favour the collection of sensitive information on the partner’s processes)

• The visit should be scheduled after the conclusion of the secondary information collection and the analysis of the screening questionnaire results

• For the positive outcome of the visit:the objectives and the specific subjects that are going ›to be explored during the visit are clearly definedeach member of the team has the right competencies ›and, if needed, training sessions are arranged before the visitthe team is organised in subgroups made of two ›persons, respectively dedicated to running the interviews and processing the reporteach subgroup has its own questionnaire and ›guidelines for the interviewthe hosting organisation has previously received the ›list of the areas of interest and the questionnaire

3 Analyse phase

During the analyse phase it is necessary to:1) Analyse the benchmarking results2) Identify the current performance gaps3) Establish the causes of the performance gaps4) Develop an improvement plan

analyse the benchmarking results

• Following the benchmarking visit, the work team should hold a debrief to compare notes and the information gathered by the various subgroups

• Hold review sessions to:analyse the “lessons learned” from the benchmarking ›visitevaluate the benchmarking partner ›verify if the partner is really achieving better results ›understand what is causing the partner’s superior ›resultsquantify the performance gaps ›identify the partner’s best practices ›evaluate the opportunity to adopt and incorporate ›these best practices (and how)

analyse performance gaps

• Determine the performance gap between your process and your benchmarking partner

• Use all the data – qualitative and quantitative – to assess strengths and weaknesses

• Analyse the performance trends, other than its current values: higher current performances should not detract from the goal of continuous improvement

• The reasons for the gaps can be understood by analysing:

the processes ›the HR organisational structure ›operational location ›the systems and technologies in use ›

• The cause and effect diagram (fishbone diagram by Ishikawa) can be used to understand performance gaps (what, how and why it happened)

15

Develop an improvement plan

By definition, benchmarking activities are aimed at collect information which will help the organisation develop an improvement plan. Therefore, every initiative should, end with the compilation of a benchmarking report, through which the work team can communicate and share the knowledge acquired.The improvement plan should be based on the information collected and indicate the performance objectives of the processes analysed. Performance targets should be established considering both the level of performance achieved by the excellent organisations, and the needs expressed – and considered priority – by the client/beneficiary. Furthermore, the improvement plan should indicate performance indicators at least for the key internal processes.Achievement of targeted levels of performance often requires process redesign (or redesign of a specific philanthropic intervention). The new designs, functional to the improvement process, can be multiple; therefore it is necessary to examine and draw up a rank order of the various alternative designs, before selecting the optimal solution. The following chart contains some of the criteria that may be used to rank the alternative solutions:

Performance criteria implementation criteria

• Impact on customer satisfaction • Cost/difficulty to implement

• Impact on process performance:Process cycle times ›Error rates ›Cost savings ›… ›

• Implementation times

• Effects on employees • Impact on other processes/organisations

• ... • IT system requirements

• Degree of process participants buy-in


Every proposal of redesigned process should be supported by a business case, a document that provides the strategic and economic justification for the start up, prosecution or termination of the initiatives it refers to. The business case should illustrate:

basic assumptions ›benefits from ›

a financial perspective »an internal organisation perspective »customer’s perspective »the innovation and learning perspective »

Costs ›one-time »on-going »

risks ›sensitivity analysis »strategies for mitigating risk »

The improvement plan should also ensure and provide for the:

• design of the improved business system: Process, Technology, Organisation, People

• integration of the goals into the organisational strategy

• the key stakeholders’ support (process owner, management, customers/beneficiaries, etc.)

• anticipation of possible barriers to implementation• definition of the project teams in charge of the

implementation of the improvement plan• obtainment of the executive approval for

implementation, i.e. of the content of the improvement plan and the resources required to implement it

4 Adapt phase

This last phase is concerned with:1) The internal transfer of best practices2) Overcoming resistance to change3) Implementing the improvement plan4) Managing and monitoring the implementation 5) Recalibration 6) Developing a plan for continuous improvement 7) Have an end-of-project revision

internal transfer of best practices

The ability to transfer best practices internally is correlated to:

a. the completeness and the degree of deployment of the benchmarking approach adopted by the organisation. Special attention should be paid to:

a clear definition of the roles of process owners, ›project leaders, and of the benchmarking support group the preventive definition of the modalities and ›procedures to adopt at the end of the benchmarking study to ensure the effective use of the results as input for strategic planning

b. the availability and effective use of tools for sharing best practices.

Examples:Department and team meetings ›IT/Intranet ›Workshops to present/discuss the end-of-project ›reportInformative workshops ›… ›

17

overcome resistance to change

Possible resistances to change have to be foreseen and the necessary actions to overcome them must be taken. The force field analysis is commonly used by organisations for the purpose of analysing the factors (forces) that can help (positive factors) or work against (restraining factors) meeting an objective.Different factors can obstruct the actual transfer of best practices within an organisation:

top management’s insufficient perception of the ›importance assigned to the benchmarking projectdifficulty or impossibility to standardise the best ›practice processorganisational structures that encourage “silo thinking” ›(no sharing of the acquired knowledge within the different areas/functions)an organisational culture that fosters individual ›expertise rather than the creation and sharing of knowledgelack of contact and information exchange ›lack of time ›

implementation of the improvement plan

The implementation of the improvement plan must be managed in the same way as any other project:

Identify each action ›Assign owners to each action ›Establish schedule and milestones ›Define measurements/indicators criteria ›Identify the resources required and justify with a ›business case

Before implementation, it is advisable to run a pilot test to:

demonstrate that the changes lead to the desired ›resultsdemonstrate that the implementation plan is solid › .

management and monitoring: pilot test

• Since no process design can be perfect, it is advisable to run a test to:

verify the design ›prove the implementation plan ›Follow the implementation schedule ›Keep track of milestones achieved ›Revise the solution to reflect the “lessons learned” ›Monitor the results of the pilot test ›Measure process results to determine whether ›process performance has actually improved

• Run a root-cause analysis to identify and take action if the process is not producing the desired results

measure project performance

root-cause analysis

Continue to rollout

review the plan and implement the necessary changes

Did the plan work (were the desired results achieved)?

no

Yes


management and monitoring: rollout

• The rollout consists in the step-by-step implementation of the improved process, following the evaluation of the pilot results

• A rollout plan should be developed to guide future implementation efforts. Such plan should include the following elements:

description of the rollout approach ›implementation areas ›rollout responsibilities ›rollout schedule ›key milestones and measures of success ›resource requirements ›

• Create process documentation (flow-charts, indicators, etc.) that can be used in different situations/areas of the organisation

• Extend the implementation of the solution resulting from the pilot test – if applicable – to the other departments of the organisation

• Define a training plan for all those affected by the solution

recalibration

Research has shown that following the implementation of an improvement plan, nearly 50% of the organisations do not evaluate best practices to verify the real benefits obtained.However, the following questions should always be asked:• Have we reached the established objectives?• What is the current and future status of our benchmarking

partner?• Do we need to review our goals and operational

strategies?• Are there other organisations we should benchmark

against?

Plan for continuous improvement

• Needs will continue to change… beneficiary needs change continuously › new resources may become available inside the ›organisation the performance and/or the best practices of the ›other organisations can evolve

• It is, therefore, necessary to adopt a continuous improvement approach to keep the process vital, as well as its capacity to respond to the needs

Project closeout review

At the end of the project the benchmarking team should:• Prepare a presentation of the benchmarking study

containing: an overview of the benchmarking process ›a summary of the main results ›the performance gaps compared to the best practices ›the improvement actions implemented ›the tangible and intangible benefits ›the resources used ›

• Everyone interested in the implemented initiative should be involved in the presentation

• Process a final report• Conduct an analysis of the “lessons learned”

What worked ›What did not work ›What improvements can be made in the future to the ›process/method of benchmarking.

19

Chapter III

Operational benchmarking manual of Fondazione Cariplo

1 The Benchmarking Code of Conduct


The general methodology proposed by EFQM has been simplified and adapted to the needs of the Fondazione Cariplo, and the benchmarking tools and internal procedures have been accordingly selected and defined.The benchmarking code of conduct proposed by the foundation is based upon the codes used by EFQM and APQC (standard of the American Productivity & Quality Center).


1 The Benchmarking Code of Conduct

Benchmarking must be conducted in an ethical ›way: it is based on the principle of free exchange of information to benefit all the parties involvedIt is essential to carry it out within an ethical ›framework, such as the European Code of Conduct of benchmarking, that contains a series of outlining principles

Preparation › Contact › Exchange › Confidentiality › Use › Legality › Completion › Understanding and Agreement ›

introduction

Benchmarking - the process of identifying and learning ›from good practices in other organisations - is a powerful tool in the quest for continuous improvement and performance breakthroughs The Fondazione Cariplo guarantees the confidentiality ›of the information and an ethical behaviour in the benchmarking operations carried out by its employees, both inside the foundation and towards external organisations The present code is aimed to guide benchmarking ›encounters and to advance the professionalism and effectiveness of benchmarking in the non-profit sector

Adherence to this code will contribute to efficient, effective, actual and ethic benchmarking.

Principle of preparation

The Fondazione Cariplo shall: Demonstrate commitment to the efficiency and ›effectiveness of benchmarking by being prepared prior to making an initial benchmarking contact Prepare in an adequate way every benchmarking ›meeting to make the most of the benchmarking partner’s time Help benchmarking partners prepare by providing them ›with a questionnaire and agenda prior to benchmarking visits Request legal advise every time it is deemed necessary, ›before starting any benchmarking contact, and in particular before sending out the questionnaires

Principle of contact

The Fondazione Cariplo shall: Respect the partner’s organisational culture and ›cooperate on the basis of shared procedures Use benchmarking contacts designated by the partner ›organisation if that is the preferred procedure Agree with the designated benchmarking contact how ›communication or responsibility is to be delegated in the course of the benchmarking exercise, and ensure the reciprocal comprehension of these procedures Obtain an individual’s permission before providing his/ ›her name in response to a contact request Avoid communicating a contact’s name in an open ›forum without the contact’s prior permission

Principle of exchange

The Fondazione Cariplo commits to: Make available the same level and type of information ›that is requested to the benchmarking partner, provided that the principle of legality is observed Communicate fully and early in the relationship to ›clarify expectations, avoid misunderstanding, and establish mutual interest in the benchmarking exchange Be honest and complete ›

21

Principle of exchange

The Fondazione Cariplo shall: Treat benchmarking findings as confidential to the ›individuals and organisations involved Not communicate such information to third parties ›without the prior consent of the benchmarking partner who shared the information. When seeking prior consent, the foundation and the benchmarking partners shall specify clearly what information is to be shared, and with whom Consider the participation of an organisation in the ›benchmarking activity confidential, hence it shall not be divulged to the outside without the organisation’s prior permission

Principle of use

The Fondazione Cariplo commits to: Use the information obtained through benchmarking ›for the sole scope defined and agreed for with the benchmarking partners Request authorisation from the partner before using ›communication of its name with the data obtained or the practices observed Not to use in any form the contact lists or other contact ›information provided by benchmarking networks for purposes other than benchmarking

Principle of legality

The Fondazione Cariplo commits to: Take legal advice if there is any question regarding the ›legality of an activity If the benchmarking is conducted with for-profit ›organisations:

Avoid discussions or actions that could lead to or »imply an interest in restraint of trade, market and/or customer allocation schemes, price fixing, bid rigging, bribery or any other competitive practices Not discuss the pricing policies of the partner with »competitors

Refrain from the acquisition of information by any ›means interpreted as improper, including the breach or inducement of a breach, of any duty to maintain confidentiality

Not discuss, disclose or use any confidential ›information that may have been obtained through improper means, or that was disclosed by another in violation of a duty of confidentiality Not pass on - as a consultant, client or otherwise – ›benchmarking findings to another organisation without first getting the permission of the benchmarking partner and without first ensuring that the data is appropriately “blinded” and anonymous, so that the participant’s identity is protected

Principle of completion

The Fondazione Cariplo commits to: Follow through each commitment made to the ›benchmarking partner in a timely manner Endeavour to complete each benchmarking study to the ›satisfaction of all benchmarking partners as mutually agreed

Principle of understanding and agreement

The Fondazione Cariplo commits to: Identify and take ownership of the partner’s ›expectations and behave accordingly Agree with the partner on how to share and disclose the ›information provided, and do not use it in any way that would break that agreement


benchmarking protocol The participants to the benchmarking activity:

Know and abide by the benchmarking Code of Conduct ›of Fondazione Cariplo Have basic knowledge of benchmarking and follow the ›benchmarking process defined by the foundation Before initiating contact with potential benchmarking ›partners they should have:

determined what to benchmark » identified key performance variables to study » recognised superior performing organisations » completed a rigorous internal analysis of the »process to be benchmarked

Prepare a questionnaire and interview guide, and share ›these in advance, if requested Possess the authority to share and are willing to share ›information with benchmarking partners Work through a specified contact and mutually agreed ›agreements

When the benchmarking process proceeds to a face-to-face site visit, the following behaviours are encouraged: Provide the meeting agenda in advance › Maintain a professional, upright, courteous and ›dynamic behaviour Introduce all attendees and explain why they are ›present Adhere to the agenda › Be sure that neither party is sharing proprietary or ›confidential information unless prior approval has been obtained by both parties, from the proper authority Share information about your own process, and if ›asked, consider sharing study results Offer to facilitate a future reciprocal visit › Conclude meetings and visits on schedule › Thank your benchmarking partner for sharing the ›information on its process

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Phases activities sgProject

team

bmK

partner

bod

bodies

bmK

support

team

Document / tool

PLan

Define priorities / macro-themes of the BMK program Annual program plan

Create project team

Decide what to benchmark BMK process prioritisation matrix

Develop a benchmarking plan Benchmarking plan

Verify Plan phase check List Plan Phase - Check List

Forward benchmarking proposals Benchmarking proposal

Select BMK proposals Notes on the evaluation of the proposals (to forward to BoD)

Approve BMK proposals BoD meeting minutes

CoLLeCt

Consult information sources and identify potential BMK partners

Secondary sourcesPrimary sources

Develop and test screening questionnaire Screening questionnaire

Select partner BMK partner selection matrix

Submit screening questionnaire and gather data

Manage benchmarking visits, if applicable BMK visit agenda

Verify Collect phase check list Collect Phase - Check List

anaLYse

Analyse BMK results, identify performance gaps (and its causes)

Cause and effect diagram

Process benchmarking report Benchmarking report

Communicate/share benchmarking report: int /@lab

Communication plan

Verify Analyse phase check list Analyse Phase - Check List

Evaluate opportunity to develop an improvement plan

SG notesBoD meeting minutes

aDaPt

(Re)Set up project team

Develop an improvement plan to transfer best practices internally

Improvement plan

Approve the improvement plan Meeting minutes

Manage and monitor improvement plan implementation

Verify Adapt phase check list Adapt Phase - Check List

End of process

Process owner Secretary General

START

END

YES

YES

YES

YES

NO

NO

NO

NO


Chapter IV

Operational tools & templates










10 Cause and effect diagram


12 Check list – analyse phase

13 Improvement plan


In this section some tools, techniques and operational advices are offered to support benchmarking activities.Some of these tools are specific to benchmarking, others are widely used within the management and organisational field throughout the world.

25


Benchmarking projects’ proposals can be brought to the attention of the Secretary General by the different departments of the Foundations (Strategic observatory, Senior Program Officers, Project leaders, Committees).Benchmarking projects can be referred, within the philanthropic field, to the processes and strategic goals of the foundation, as well as to the analysis of possible new complex projects.

The presentation of the project proposal must include:Reference to the micro area / process to be ›benchmarkedBrief description of the benchmarking project ›objectivesHypothetical project team and benchmarking ›partnersEstimated project’s time ›


The matrix that follows analyses two dimensions of the process:

Strategic importance › of the process: how strategic is this process for our business? Current performance › of the process: how well is the process being performed?

In order to successfully prioritise the process to be benchmarked it is necessary:• To evaluate the strategic role of each process by attributing

a score based on the contribution of each process to the realisation of one or more Critical Success Factors (use an evaluation scale from 1 to 10, with 9 = substantial contribution, 6 = good contribution, 3 = weak contribution,

0 = no contribution)• Identify the criteria to analyse the process Performance:

these criteria should consider both the internal performance measurement and the measurement of the clients’ external perception on the process performance (use an evaluation scale from 1 to 5, with 5 = excellent performance, 3 = good performance, 2=poor performance, 1=embryo phase)

• Sum up the scores that each process obtained based on the performance criteria; perform this operation for the “strategic importance” variable.

Process Variables

Critical success factorsOverall

strategic importance

∑

Performance (internal/external)

Overallperformance

∑1 2 3 4 5 2i 3i 4e 5e

P1 3 9 0 3 6 21 2 1 3 2 12

P2 0 1 6 0 9 16 4 5 3 4 19

P3 3 3 6 6 0 18 2 2 4 2 15

0 0 3 9 3 15 3 2 1 2 10

Pn 3 6 3 0 6 18 4 2 3 4 18

Arithmetic mean 17,6 14,8


• Transfer the scores of the processes analysed in the previous matrix on Cartesian axis, indicating on the abscissa the variable “strategic importance” of the process, and on the ordinate the process “performance”, maintaining as value at the origin of the axis the arithmetic means obtained for the two variables


The benchmarking plan should include: A mapping and analysis of the process, the indication ›of the problem areas and explanation on why a benchmarking project is deemed to be significant and usefulDescription of the work team, its competencies, and of ›the workload distribution Identification of an adequate set of indicators/ ›measurements for the processDescription in detail of the activities that are going to be ›carried outInformation on the potential benchmarking partners ›Project’s time requirements ›Project’s management costs ›

The benchmarking plan must be submitted to the Secretary General and eventually be approved by the Board of Directors.

Pn19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

P2Average Performance

AverageStrategicImportance

P3

P1

Px

17 18 19 20 211615

The processes above average strategic importance but below average process performance, are a priority for improvement and benchmarking.

27


C h e C K L i s t - P L a n P h a s e ✓

1The key processes of the organisation have been prioritised and priorities shared with the benchmarking process owner?

2 Has the selected process been mapped and analysed?

3 Have the beneficiaries of the process and their needs been clearly identified?

4 Have the problem areas within the process been identified?

5 Has a work team with the appropriate skills been formed?

6Does at least one member of the work team have a good knowledge of the benchmarking methodology?

7Has an adequate set of indicators/measurements for the target process been defined in order to allow its performance (time, cost, quality) to be benchmarked against others?

8Has a project plan, containing a detailed description of the scheduled benchmarking been carefully defined?

9Have the resources indicated in the project plan been approved by the benchmarking process owner and/or other competent bodies?

10Has a checkpoint review been held with the benchmarking process owner, to verify the project plan and to obtain approval to move to the collect phase?


The screening questionnaire must:Lead to a list of final potential benchmarking partners ›Allow to identify “good practice” partners deemed worthy ›of a site visitBe based on the information gathered during the plan ›phase and on the questions that remained unanswered after the analysis of the secondary data; this information must not refer exclusively to the benchmarking process but to the whole context the organisation operates in, the dominating culture, people competencies, etc…Be tested before being distributed ›Be the result of cooperation among the potential partners ›so that all the participants can benefit from it

The modality and time of collection of the questionnaire – by fax, email, phone, etc - has to be previously agreed with each partner.


• Once the benchmarking plan is approved, the team should identify the potential partners by using the criteria the team considers more fitting

• Secondary research should lead to the identification of a set of candidates, coherently with the benchmarking typology the team intends to carry out (internal, competitive, functional or generic benchmarking)

• A selection matrix can be used to identify benchmarking partners, by listing all the organisations and attributing a score to each (going from 1 to 10), on the basis of predetermined criteria

• The organisations with the highest score represent the “best potential partner”



Potentialpartners

Partner selection criteria

overallscore

e.g.: ease of gathering

information

e.g.: importance

of information

e.g.: innovative

contribution etc. etc.

internalPartner aPartner bPartner c

strategicPartner dPartner ePartner f

functionalPartner gPartner hPartner i

genericPartner jPartner kPartner l


C h e C K L i s t - b e n C h m a r K i n g V i s i t ✓

1 Has the host partner agreed and been provided with a visit agenda beforehand?

2 Have the areas of interest/processes that are going to be investigated in depth been identified?

3 Has the team identified the objectives/specific issues it wants to learn during the benchmarking visit?

4 Did a preparatory meeting with the work team take place before the visit?

5 Have flexible questions/guidelines been processed for the interviews?

6 Has the host organisation been anticipated the areas of interest and the questions?

7Has it been established which members of the team, based on their expertise, will lead the questioning in each area and who will process the report?

8Has a communication plan that guarantees, at the end of the visit, an effective sharing of the knowledge acquired, been developed?

9 Has a written report been processed?

29


C h e C K L i s t - C o L L e Ct P h a s e ✓

1 Has a detailed secondary research been conducted?

2Has the list of potential benchmarking partners been shared with the Legal Service and/or other bodies/departments that could usefully contribute to the correct identification of the partners and/or highlight possible constraints or counter indications to certain choices?

3 Have the potential partners been contacted?

4 Has the screening questionnaire been tested internally?

5 Have methods and criteria to collect data been defined?

6 Has a clear and concise set of questions been developed and discussed with the partners?

7 Has the method of data analysis been developed and verified using pilot test data?

8 Has a site visit agenda been drafted and agreed with the partners?

9 Have the site visit findings been documented in a report?

10 Have all the commitments made to partners and survey participants been delivered?

11Has a collect phase checkpoint meeting been held with the benchmarking process owner and has agreement to move to the next phase been reached?

cause(methods)

cause(materials)

cause(methods)

cause(equipment)

cause(...)

effeCt

cause(...)

10 Cause and effect diagramThe cause and effect diagram, also known as fishbone diagram by Ishikawa, can be a useful tool to identify the causes of performance gaps (what, how and why it happened).



section a - introduction 1 Executive summary

2 Benchmarking object

3 Project team

4 Partner (and selection criteria)

5 Sponsor (if applicable)

section b - site Visits 8 Site visit - partner 1

9 Site visit - partner 2

10 …

section C – screening11 Screening questionnaire

12 Screening results

section D – Project time / costs13 Project planning (Gantt/Pert)

14 Budget / final costs

section e – Lessons learned15 Comments and advice on the benchmarking methodology / project

sezione f – azioni di miglioramento16 Proposal of possible improvement actions

appendixes17 Information sources

Project motivations ›Summary of the methods used (WBS, workshops, ›meetings, screening questionnaire, site visits…)

Main results achieved ›Good practices identified ›

For each site visit describe the partner and its ›good practice

31

12 Check list – analyse phase

C h e C K L i s t - a n a LY s e P h a s e ✓

1 Has a debriefing of the benchmarking team been held after the benchmarking visit?

2 Has a detailed analysis of collected data been run?

3Has a root cause analysis been conducted for each performance gap and have all the causes been identified?

4 Have future performance trends and target performance levels been established?

5 Have improvement actions been planned?

6 Have alternative solutions been evaluated and the best one selected?

7 Has an implementation plan been prepared for each improvement action?

8

Has a checkpoint meeting been held with the benchmarking process owner to verify the analyse phase and reach an agreement regarding the possible solutions, resources and timeframes necessary to implement an improvement plan? Has the approval been obtained to proceed to the adapt phase?

13 Improvement plan

The improvement plan must be prepared on the basis of the analyse phase results and of the improvement actions suggested in the benchmarking report. It should provide for:

Summary of the benchmarking results ›Performance targets and indicators ›Process redesign ›Identification of the strategies to be implemented ›Definition of the work teams ›Indication on the implementation time frames ›Evaluation of the impact on other processes ›Specification of the costs ›Proposition of a continuous improvement plan ›

The improvement plan must be submitted to the Secretary General and to the Board of Directors.



C h e C K L i s t - a Da P t P h a s e ✓

1 Have the benchmarking findings been documented in a written report?

2 Has the report been provided to all the participants in the benchmarking study?

3Has a force field analysis been conducted and have actions to reduce resistance to change been incorporated into the implementation plans?

4 Have pilot tests to verify the process design and the implementation plan been completed?

5 Has a plan for continuous improvement of the process been agreed upon and implemented?

6Has a lessons learned review been conducted and have consequent improvements to the benchmarking process been implemented?

7Has there been a project closeout meeting with the process owner to verify that all the objectives of the benchmarking exercise have been achieved?

8Has benchmarking become an integral part of the continuous improvement planning and strategy of the organisation?

33

Appendix


Screening questionnaireSelection of the benchmarking partner

General information on the potential benchmarking partner organisation

Name / Surname

Title

Organisation

Address

ZIP Code

City

Country

Telephone

Email

Fax

Information on the activity of the potential benchmarking partner organisation

Type of organisation

Specify legal status:

profit

______________________________

non profit

_________________________________

Primary intervention sector(s):

If a profit:

Pharmaceutical/chemical Distribution Transportation IT/electronics Food

Insurance Banking/financial Consultancy Telecommunications Other: ____________________

If a non profit:

Arts and culture Scientific research Environment Social services Socio-sanitary assistance

Sports and entertainment International activities Education/training Other: ____________________

35

Benchmarking object: Management of projects on the theme of “________________”

Are projects on the theme 1. of “_____” provided for in the mission and/or strategic planning of the organisation?

no yescomments______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Has the organisation realised 2. projects on the theme of “_____”?

no sìIndicate a project that you consider a “good practice”: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What are the reasons that 3. lead to the start of the project on the theme of “_____”?

___________________________________________________________________• ___________________________________________________________________• ___________________________________________________________________•

Have the project objectives 4. on the theme of “_____” been clearly defined?

no yesBrief description of the objectives::______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Briefly describe the project 5. strategy (i.e. realisation phases, modalities, time frames, budget, etc…)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Has the project on the 6. theme of “_____” allowed to resolve successfully specific problems?

no yeswhat:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Indicate the factors that have 7. contributed the most to the success of the project:

Innovative character of the project Experience of the project partners Financial resources allocated to the project Measurability / visibility of the results Other:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


If the project has been 8. realised in partnership with other organisations: what criteria was the selection of the partner based on?

Geographical Activity sector Expertise in managing similar projects Financial Possible strategic impact Other:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Briefly describe the process 9. of partners’ research and selection

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The roles and responsibilities 10. of the project partners

10.1 Were they established? no yes

10.2 Were they formalised in a document? no yes

The organisation resources 11. used in the project

11.1 Have they been specifically assigned to it? no yes

comments________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11.2 Have they been selected based on specific competencies and qualifications? no yes

comments________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The project evaluation 12. process

12.1 Was it laid out and formalised no yes

comments________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12.2 Is it based on systematic measuring criteria? no yes

comments________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

37

In evaluating the project 13. what aspects were measured and / or evaluated?

Results Impact Costs/financial management Risk Competencies

Knowledge sharing Lessons learned New follow-up actions Other:

______________________________ ______________________________

Indicate three strengths and 14. three weaknesses of the project

Strengths:1. __________________________________2. __________________________________3. __________________________________

Weaknesses:1. _________________________________2. _________________________________3. _________________________________

Were the lessons learned at 15. the end of the project used to implement follow-up improvement actions?

no yesWhat:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Have the results of the 16. project contributed to the definition of best practices?

no yes

Have the results of the 17. project been shared?

17.1 Within the organisation? no yes

specify how:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

17.2 Outside the organisation? no yes

specify how:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Indicate the project phases 18. in which the organisation bodies (Board of Directors) are involved

Entire process Only for strategic matters For approvals For financial matters Bodies are not involved

Other phases ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________


Does the management of the 19. project abide by a Code of Conduct?

no yescomments:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Attach a summary of the project 20.

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