Introducing a new concept of work practice to an organization means changes have to occur in order to accommodate it. This would lead to organizational changes and may disrupt work patterns. Often, a change is necessary if an organization means to be competitive, and unless new ways and methods are developed and introduced, an organization may find itself lagging and not competitive. Benchmarking is one of those concepts that aim to improve work practices and achieve optimum results. Because change can bring negative connotations, it is important to take careful steps to effect change without major disruption to employees who would, more likely, be resistant to a new concept that may threaten their work comfort zone. So, effective communication, team building, offering support and being patient by allowing time for adaptation are very important steps in implementing change.
A health care organization can use the practice of benchmarking by finding health care facilities with similar problems, examine their solutions and employ the practices that made those institutions successful. They will be able to compare their current situation with those of the other institutions who deliver similar services and who have faced similar problems and developed solutions to become health care industry leaders.
Benchmarking is" a continuous, systematic process for evaluating the products, services and work processes of organizations that are recognized as representing best practices, for the purposes of organizational improvement. A working definition of benchmarking is benchmarking which focuses on analyzing forward looking predictive and future performance comparisons. "(Sarkis, 2001) cited in (Anderson & McAdam, 2004, P.466). The purpose of benchmarking is to help us to a ...