Benchmarking

Benchmarking (also "best practice benchmarking" or "process benchmarking") is a process used in management and particularly strategic management, in which organizations evaluate various aspects of their processes in relation to best practice, usually within their own sector. This then allows organizations to develop plans on how to adopt such best practice, usually with the aim of increasing some aspect of performance. Benchmarking may be a one-off event, but is often treated as a continuous process in which organizations continually seek to challenge their practices.

Benchmarking is a powerful tool because it overcomes "paradigm blindness." Paradigm Blindness can be summed up as the mode of thinking, "The way we do it is the best because this is the way we've always done it." Benchmarking opens organizations to new methods, ideas and tools to improve their effectiveness. It helps crack through resistance to change by demonstrating other methods of solving problems than the one currently employed, and demonstrating that they work, because they are being used by others.

Churches and ministry organizations can benchmark and track many things:

• Attendance
• Offerings
• Tithes
• Reports
• Outreach
• Evangelism
• Growth
• New Births
• Baptism
• Membership
• Volunteers
• Web Hits
• News Articles

Each of these can be tracked in many ways. Whatever the specifics, benchmark the things that reflect your goals, objectives, and priorities.