What’s a reasonable email readership rate? Compared to what? Benchmarking compares an organization’s performance — using metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) – to standardized data from the historical performance within your own company or other companies within your industry.
Executives commonly use benchmarking to evaluate their business’s financial and operational performance against their peers. It provides a less insular and more objective comparative measure. The primary goal of benchmarking is to use relative comparison data to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement.
Modern internal communications teams can leverage benchmarking to improve employee attention, readership, and engagement, mainly using analytics from their primary digital channels like email, intranets, and social/chat apps. Comms teams wondering if their results are good can now compare them within their own organization and to industry benchmark data.
Benchmark data and best practice guides can help communicators understand what influences employee behavior; strategically decide where to invest time and effort; and determine the best channels, cadence, and narratives to motivate and educate employees toward organizational objectives.
How to leverage benchmark data
Using company averages and industry standards to measure the effectiveness of your communications can help you achieve more meaningful results – with evidence to support your decisions. Let’s look at how to leverage benchmark data to create a more analytical corporate communications program.
- Identify relevant metrics. What KPIs are essential for evaluating your company’s communications performance? These will vary depending on your organization’s objectives. Standard communications KPIs include employee productivity, net retention, and employee engagement survey score. Related contributory measures include attention, readership, and engagement metrics by primary channels, including email, intranet, and meeting/chat apps. Sub-data include open rates, page views, click-through rates, and event participation.
- Locate published benchmarks. Next, you want to research and find quality internal and industry benchmarks (or averages) for the KPIs and metrics you identified in step one. While not all metrics are readily available, industry associations, research and consulting studies, and industry reports provide access to most data. For example, PoliteMail publishes an annual Benchmark Report with aggregated, anonymized communications data from over three billion internal emails sent to over 14 million employees from over 320 participating companies in 10 S&P industry sectors.
- Standardize and Compare. Step three is to make sure to standardize your data to the benchmark. Every benchmark KPI and metric has a calculation; Make sure you compare apples to apples. This may mean adjusting your data or the benchmark data to compensate for a difference in the base data or the calculation. When done, you can fairly compare your performance against the averages of other units or groups within your company or to industry benchmarks.
So how do you measure up? You can measure the percent differential using the formula (M – B)/B * 100, where M is your measure, and B is the comparative benchmark. This will give you a positive or negative percentage differential. Depending on the measurement, it may be a positive or negative outcome.
For instance, if you are lower than the benchmark, let’s say a -10% differential for “employee turnover,” that’s a positive performance outcome since lower turnover is better. This comparative step calls attention to your strengths and weaknesses and helps identify areas for improvement.
- Make an Action Plan. Now that it’s clear where your data falls below the industry average or your historical performance, you can set objectives. You can develop a strategic action plan to address these areas and reference benchmark data for best practices or other strategic guidance. Set realistic goals that account for available resources and timeframes, and actively monitor the impact of any changes you make.
- Routinely measure progress. A good practice is to monitor your company’s performance against benchmarks and your goals. Most organizations maintain a quarterly comparative review cycle with monthly intervals. As you assess your progress, test new tactics, and monitor changes in results, adjust your strategy and tactics based on the measures. Also, ensure your company updates the benchmarks and adapts to industry changes to improve continually.
Benchmarking against industry averages is just one approach to assessing your company or team’s performance. Other benchmarking methods may include comparing against competitors, best-in-class organizations, or your company’s historical performance.
To build a more analytical and evidence-based communications team — and be able to report measured results to executives — start by leveraging benchmark data. Identify relevant KPIs, compare your performance, identify opportunities for growth and improvement, and continually monitor your progress. You can build a more strategic communications plan that produces meaningful outcomes and report comparative performance over time.
