Governments Increasingly Using Benchmarking to Improve Performance, Accenture Global Survey Finds

Entitled "Assessment of Benchmarking Within Government," thestudy, based on a survey of more than 230 government executives in 10countries, looked at the extent to which government organizationscurrently conduct benchmarking, the different benchmarking modelsused, the results, and plans for future activity. It also assessedleading practices and the benefits of using them.

Benchmarking -- which compares the efficiency and effectiveness ofa process or processes in one organization to those in otherorganizations -- is often used by private-sector firms to help lowercosts while improving the performance of administrative services suchas finance, human resources, payroll, procurement/supply chain, andinformation technology.

One key finding of the study: Governments are increasinglyadopting benchmarking as a valuable and critical management tool. Morethan half (57 percent) of respondents said they view benchmarking as"very important," with another 40 percent saying it is "somewhatimportant." Nearly three-fourths (73 percent) of respondents said theycurrently conduct benchmarking, and more than two-thirds (69 percent)of those who do not said they were "very likely" or "somewhat likely"to begin doing so.

"Governments around the world are almost uniformly under greaterpressure to provide better services at lower costs," said Mark Howard,global program director for the Finance & Performance Managementservice line within Accenture's Government practice. "By integratingbenchmarking activities into planning and budgeting processes,governments can often achieve better results from existing funds andresources, providing an opportunity to redirect resources to improvecitizen-facing services."

"Most government leaders are outward focused - better delivery ofservices to our citizens and stakeholders," notes John Kost, managingvice president of Gartner Government Research. "Too few governmentleaders are attentive to the details of their administrativeprocesses. Done correctly, benchmarking offers a quick snapshot todetermine if these processes need some attention and improvement. Ifthey do, the effort could free up additional resources for directcitizen services."

Although benchmarking is becoming more popular in government, mostrespondents acknowledged room for improvement, with only 22 percentrating themselves "very effective" in their use of benchmarking. Inaddition, just 7 percent of respondents said their benchmarkingefforts identified best practices, and only 4 percent said theseefforts helped them to standardize procedures and systems. In short,governments are finding where there are gaps in their performance, butthey are not identifying how to improve their performance.

Further, while more than two-thirds (70 percent) of respondentssaid they expected to be able to use their benchmarking programs toincrease customer satisfaction, only 5 percent said they measuredimprovements in that area.

When asked why they started benchmarking, the greatest number ofrespondents -- 79 percent -- said they did so to achieve improvementsin productivity and efficiency. And, by and large, they've realizedthose benefits: 51 percent said they have seen efficiency-relatedimprovements as a result of benchmarking.

Proven Success Factors

To gain insight into what elements of government benchmarking aremost effective, Accenture separately examined responses from the 35respondents who rated their organizations' programs as "veryeffective." Among the findings:

-- Twenty-two (22) of these 35 respondents said their organizations had established formal, continuous benchmarking programs, with 15 of those using outside benchmarking contractors to collect and analyze information.

-- Twenty-six (26) of the respondents said their organizations conduct external benchmarking, looking to private-sector organizations and/or governments outside their country.

-- Eighteen (18) respondents said they have been conducting benchmarking for more than five years, and another seven said they have been conducting benchmarking for between three and five years.

Combining its findings from the survey of government executiveswith the company's experience in helping private-sector clients withtheir benchmarking activities, Accenture has identified severalrecommendations for ensuring success in a benchmarking program:

-- Establish benchmarking as a continuous, formal, ongoing management program and practice, rather than an ad-hoc tool to deal with the 'issue of the day.'

-- Give it time; organizations are resistant to uncovering and analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, so it may take a few years for the benchmark program to be widely accepted.

-- Be prepared to engage external help and expertise in benchmarking and analysis of results. Using that external help will also assist with internal politics.

-- The most effective benchmarking includes looking at organizations outside of government and in other countries.

Methodology

As part of a global study on benchmarking in government, KadenceUK Ltd., on behalf of Accenture, conducted telephone interviews inJanuary and February 2006 with 231 government executives in 10countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain,the United Kingdom, South Africa and the United States. Respondentswere functional leads/managers representing at least one of fouradministrative areas: finance, human resources, procurement, andinformation technology. Respondents also included budgeting/planningmanagers and general managers/administrators with an overall view ofthe organization's operations and reporting frameworks.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology servicesand outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenturecollaborates with its clients to help them become high-performancebusinesses and governments. With deep industry and business processexpertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenturecan mobilize the right people, skills and technologies to help clientsimprove their performance. With more than 133,000 people in 48countries, the company generated net revenues of US$15.55 billion forthe fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2005. Its home page iswww.accenture.com.