Benchmarking for Quality Improvement (PowerPoint PPTX Slide Deck)

Benchmarking is an ongoing, systematic process for measuring and comparing the work processes of one organization to those of others that exhibit functional "best practices." The goal is to provide an external standard for measuring the quality of internal processes, and to help identify where there may be opportunities for improvement. To be effective, benchmarking should be integrated into operations throughout the organization and should be an ongoing process that analyzes data collected over time. It is a learning process that helps institutions discover how they can best improve the direct or indirect services they offer to their customers.

Benchmarking has occupied a prominent place in quality management and is regarded as a powerful tool to improve quality of products and services. In the last two decades the applications of benchmarking have tremendously increased making it one of the most preferred tools for quality improvement. According to a survey more than three fourth of the companies in the Fortune 500 list have used this technique for improving their quality. While the concept itself is not new what makes it more attractive and affordable is the kind of choices available for benchmarking along with the variety of models that can help in successful benchmarking. This set of slides provides a comprehensive view of benchmarking covering the fundamentals as well as applications and methodology. It also highlights the importance and benefits of benchmarking thereby indicating why benchmarking has become so popular. A comparison of models is also provided. In addition the set explains the precaution to be followed before embarking on the journey of benchmarking.