Point, Counterpoint - Part III by Dr. Jon Anton November 9, 2005   One Reader’s Point of View on Benchmarking: "I would have to say that some benchmarking is needed yet keep in mind what matters most is what you do with that data."   Gary Lemke’s Response: I couldn't agree more. Often we see organizations using benchmark data to justify positions or calls to action. It is seen as a credible way to report to management. The reader suggests benchmarking has a place but it is not a substitute for quality initiatives that improve your processes with the goal of a better customer experience. At the end of the day, isn't a better customer experience the real objective?   Dr. Jon’s Counterpoint: I think the Readers’ Point of View is excellent, and in this case, I respectfully disagree with my colleague Gary Lemke. In my opinion, call center performance data that is first validated, and then benchmarked (in other words, “compared”) with a peer group of call centers in a true “apples-to-apples” comparison, can be very functional in helping a manager discover, define, select, and determine ROIs for improvement initiatives. Benchmarking can assist the call center manager by doing the following: Assist the manager in the selection of a true apples-to-apples Peer Group from thousands of participating call centers, Calculate the negative gaps in performance as compared to this highly customized Peer Group, Calculate the annual cost of the poor performance, List the call center process, or processes, that are most likely causing the poor performance, (there 24 distinct call center processes that impact the agent’s performance during a customer service telephone call, Link call center product providers (vendors) in each of the 24 processes that have specific solutions that can narrow the performance gap being investigated, Calculating an ROI for the improvement initiative. I would conclude my Counterpoint by again agreeing with the Reader’s Point of View, and going even further by strongly encouraging a thorough understanding of the benchmark data AND its limitations. Benchmarking is not a “cure all” but it is one of many valuable sources of “business intelligence” that can assist astute managers in improving their call center operations. In the twelve years that the Purdue University Center for Customer-Driven benchmark research has been available, literally thousands of call center managers have carefully and successfully used this data to improve their call centers.