The Value Of Benchmarking tions and goals for improvement Gives employees the information and tools to improve performance Creates an environment for people to work “smarter” Replaces emotion with real data. You need to regularly review your pro-cesses and be willing to adapt to changes in the market or innovations that advance your company. Understanding where your competi-tion is gives the opportunity to evaluate your company and make improvements as needed. Garrett has seen benefits from bench-marking, saying: “Returns can be measured in built-in service quality, excellent safety performance, reduced lost time accidents/ incidents and improved worker morale. The results: Superior safety performance; sav-ings for our clients; and improved quality all culminating in less rework, greater produc-tivity and efficiency.” Benchmarking encourages an atmo-sphere of continuous evaluation and improvement. Data collected and evaluations made can be the difference between winning a bid and losing it. Always consider what you are doing and how it can affect your company. Announcing the new better than ever! CMMOnline.com — What You Can Benchmark Costs Know what is included in the cost of the services you provide. Clients might notice your prices are higher but that you offer the best possible return on investment. Delivery Make sure your delivery process has a strong performance baseline to measure against. Numerous companies have started optimizing their drivers’ routes to reduce gas costs. Health and safety Health and safety are high priorities in the cleaning industry. Benchmarking processes and performance can help you learn how to reduce accidents and improve compliance with law. Quality Quality inspections allow you to compare your output against your contract requirements. Monitor services performed in as much detail as possible — for example, by area, frequency and type of service. Customer satisfaction Find out what is important to your customer and then focus on those items. Your time and attention will pay off as your customer chooses to renew their contract with your company. Other areas There are many other factors that can be benchmarked within your organization — rev-enue growth, gross product, number of estab-lishments you service, etc. Any information you gather should be tracked and used for continuous improvement. CM New Multi-media pages • Podcasts • Video library Customizable news headlines • Customizable home page features Cleaning & Maintenance Management is proud to announce the launch of our new website, highlighting our award-winning design and editorial. Now you can nd answers to your questions in the form of articles, podcasts, online seminars, e-Newsletters and more all with just a click of your mouse. And when you register for the site (It’s FREE) you can customize your home page, comment on articles, rate articles and communicate with your peers on our Bulletin Board. 20 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • June 2011
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