{"id":24314,"date":"2014-04-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-18T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/benchmarking-competency-modeling\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T19:11:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T23:11:04","slug":"benchmarking-competency-modeling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/benchmarking-competency-modeling\/","title":{"rendered":"Benchmarking is not Competency Modeling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Human capital management is a relatively new science, but there is no denying that this practice has made tremendous progress over the past few decades, particularly in terms of recognition and efficiency within a greater organizational context.<\/p>\n

Modern scientific advances, namely within the fields of behavioral and cognitive psychology, have helped support the development of many human resources theories that sought to establish a pattern to building and managing a workforce in a manner that sought to produce continuously superior results.<\/p>\n

Of all the human resources theories to emerge over the years, competency modeling and benchmarking have probably been some of the most scrutinized. Strangely, it appears that the two schools of thought have grown to oppose each other, as if one couldn’t exist alongside the other.<\/p>\n

But could it be that rather than taking sides, HR professionals \u2013 and consequently, organizations at large \u2013 could stand to gain by incorporating both approaches into their practices?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/p>\n

Benchmarking, or the \u2018grass is always greener\u2019 theory<\/b><\/h2>\n

The Global Benchmarking Network characterizes benchmarking as \u201cthe systematic search for efficient procedures and better solutions for complicated problems and processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Under a more generic definition, benchmarking could be defined as the comparative study of processes within a precisely segmented group to identify best practices. Let\u2019s remember that benchmarking can be external or internal, meaning that the group under review could range from an entire industry to an organization\u2019s own branches, departments or teams.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the group surveyed, the objective of benchmarking is to allow an organization to measure its \u2018relative success\u2019 as a means to improve and, ultimately, optimize its results.<\/p>\n

Within an HR framework, we find that the most common metrics measured through benchmarking are recruitment costs, compensation, training expenses, and turnover. For example:<\/p>\n