ARCHIVED - Quality Service - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update (Guide X)

This page has been archived.

Guide X: Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update to Guide VIII

March 1996

Table Of Contents

1. The Time is Now!

2. Benchmarking

3. Best Practices Sharing

4. A Systematic Approach

Appendices

A. Examples Of Benchmarking and Best Practices Sharing

B. Contacts To Call For Help / Contributing Your Best Practices

C. Bibliography

D. Benchmarking and Best Practices Sharing Team

Endnotes

1. The Time is Now!

Quality is Everyone's Business

Federal departments, agencies, and Crown corporations must provide Canadians with quality services despite significant fiscal restraints. To remain viable, public service organizations must create corporate cultures that value leadership, encourage client and employee involvement, and continuously improve services, work processes, and management practices. In recent years, public service organizations have initiated many changes. A sampling includes:

• Human Resources Canada, through its Income Security Programs Redesign Projects, will save $40 million annually by computerizing employee access to client files.
• Revenue Canada worked with importers to implement industry-tailored solutions involving "electronic commerce", "streamlined reporting and release", "periodic entry processing", "offsetting debits and credits", and other procedures. Companies estimate they will save tens of millions of dollars over several years from these procedures.
• Benchmarking initiatives in the United States have led to major improvements in the services and products of such federal agencies as the Census Bureau, Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management.
• A number of Canadian government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations have initiated benchmarking processes, including AECL, TBS, CIDA, PWGSC, Health Canada, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Many departments and organizations, after restructuring and downsizing, are trying to regain momentum. They are looking for ways of providing quality services while systematically managing change and continuous improvement, objectives aligned with the government-wide quality services initiative.

Quality Services and Treasury Board Secretariat Expectations

The aim of the quality services initiative is to create the conditions for employees to respond better to Canadians' demands and help to rebuild public confidence in the federal government.[1] Starting in 1996, departments will be required, in their Business Plans, Outlook Documents or Estimates, to report on measured improvements to client satisfaction and on their quality service plans. As part of the government's renewed expenditure management system, the Treasury Board Secretariat is also requesting that departments define expected results in their business plans, then report on performance. It is no longer sufficient to ask how well a program is performing; departments must now demonstrate their "value-added accomplishments".[2]

The Benefits of Benchmarking and Best Practices Sharing

With constant pressures to improve services, resource use, delivery times, and overall operational efficiency and effectiveness, Benchmarking and Best Practices Sharing are increasingly being accepted as powerful and useful organizational change tools to be used as part of a planned approach to improving service quality.

Benefits of Benchmarking

Benchmarking may

• improve strategic planning;
• provide assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of the current core business processes and related critical work processes;
• foster organizational methods and practices;
• lead to significant cost savings, and improvements to products, services and business processes by comparing and adapting current methods and practices to those identified as "best practices";
• foster and sustain an improved organizational capacity to successfully implement quality and process improvement initiatives.

Benefits of Best Practices Sharing

Best practices sharing may

• educate leaders and employees of new possibilities;
• improve management practices, work processes and services;
• accelerate continuous improvement;
• promote networking;
• stimulate others to action;
• minimize "re-inventing the wheel";
• recognize creative leaders, employees and teams.

A Practical Kit

This guide should help you integrate these management change tools in your organization. Following this introductory section are:

Section 2: Benchmarking - what it is; how it is used

Section 3: Best Practices Sharing - Some Points To Ponder

Section 4: Launching initiatives

Appendix A: 34 examples

Appendix B: Names of useful contacts; invitation to share your best practices

Appendix C: Bibliography

Appendix D: Benchmarking and Best Practices Sharing Team

Endnotes

2. Benchmarking

"Benchmarking is the practice of being humble enough to admit that someone else is better at something and wise enough to try and learn how to match and even surpass them at it."[3]

Benchmarking In The Federal Public Service

Formal benchmarking is the continuous, systematic process of measuring and assessing products, services and practices of recognized leaders in the field to determine the extent to which they might be adapted to achieve superior performance. Some features of formal benchmarking, namely determining a strategic orientation, goal setting, performance measurement and best practices sharing, are integral to how federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations have operated for years. It is a legacy to build on. The challenge is to take advantage of the tremendous potential of systematically benchmarking the best practices of public service and industry leaders and to incorporate them into business strategies, management practices, work processes and services.

Some North American private and public organizations have adopted benchmarking and have realized significant improvements in processes, quality service, customer satisfaction, employee performance and reduced costs by learning from others and acting on the knowledge they have gained through the process.

Two Levels Of Benchmarking

Strategic Benchmarking is using best practices to develop corporate, program, product strategies and results. It includes:

• the strategic study of the characteristics of effective continuous improvement strategies of public and private organizations, of change processes, of leadership styles, etc. to establish a vision, strategies, leadership competencies, client benefit results;
• specific studies of the strategies and approaches of high performing organizations;
• studies of trends and orientations as guides to action, e.g., technological trends.

Operational Benchmarking is assessing and implementing the best practices of industry or public service leaders to improve processes to the extent possible to meet organizational goals. It includes:

• creating awareness and support at the senior executive level, and establishing dedicated benchmarking resources;
• building benchmarking into business planning and continuous improvement;
• establishing operational performance levels to sustain competitive advantage;
• using a systematic, multi-step benchmarking process to improve business and work processes, and internal and external customer satisfaction.

Performance Measurement

Benchmarking is an integral component of a performance management process, where the relative comparisons to the benchmarks become some of the indicators for performance. It involves the establishment of service standards, performance levels, performance indicators, baseline measurements or benchmarks as comparisons against which to measure future performance, within or outside the organization, to sustain competitive advantage and to encourage or force improvement.

Performance measurement may include:

• a qualitative or quantitative comparison of performance with other parts of an organization or against other organizations, and
• time lapse data which indicate improvement or deterioration (e.g. year over year).

Once internal benchmarks have been determined, organizations involved in benchmarking then seek out industry or public service leaders to make comparisons and to implement best practices.

Finding A Benchmarking Partner Or Partners

When looking for industry or public service leaders to partner with, an organization will make one of four types of comparisons; it will make an internal comparison, benchmark with a competitor, benchmark along functional lines, or benchmark generically:

• Internal benchmarking

  Comparisons within the Public Service e.g., Revenue Canada's audit process compared to the Auditor General's process

• Benchmark with a competitor

  Comparisons between direct competitors e.g., Ford's automobile design process compared to General Motor's process

• Functional benchmarking

  Comparisons between functions inside and outside the Public Service e.g., AECL's library function compared to Weyerhaeuser's library function

• Generic benchmarking

  Comparisons to "unrelated" organizations known for innovation e.g., Xerox benchmarked L. L. Bean's product distribution process

The Steps To Benchmarking

The American Society of Quality Control (which set up the International Benchmarking Clearinghouse) and many consulting firms offer training in benchmarking models, tools and techniques. Xerox, Price Waterhouse, McKinsey and AT&T are among many firms which have spun off benchmarking groups as a result of their own experience. While the models may vary in their design and emphasis, they are all fairly similar.

Generic Steps to Benchmarking:

1. Identify management practice, work process or result to be improved.
2. Analyze your practice, flowchart process or identify results indicators.
3. Measure your own performance.
4. Identify benchmarking partners.
5. Determine data collection method.
6. Collect data.
7. Determine performance gap.
8. Project future performance.
9. Develop action plan.
10. Implement action plan.
11. Monitor results.
12. Recalibrate benchmarks (Repeat process ...).

Possible Costs Of A Benchmarking Study[4]

• Benchmarking Team (5-7 people, one day per week)
• Study Duration (3-12 months average, 6 months is typical)
• $35-70,000 is typical (excluding implementation)
  
  

3. Best Practices Sharing

"The characteristic that sets apart companies that achieve high levels of customer satisfaction is their willingness to learn from - and share with - others. They "steal" shamelessly and share openly because they have learned how valuable that process is."[5]

Best Practices Sharing In The Federal Public Service

Best Practices Sharing involves the capture, dissemination and sharing of a work method, process, or initiative to improve organizational effectiveness, service delivery and employee satisfaction. Federal government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations have a long history of defining needs, measuring performance, adapting and sharing best practices to ensure quality service. This legacy of informally benchmarking a management practice, process or service, and then applying a best practice, is a foundation to build upon to promote a wider sharing of best practices, and to apply formal benchmarking leading to the major improvements needed to meet present challenges.

The possibility of involving all employees in the sharing of best practices as part of continuous improvement initiatives, which include informal and formal benchmarking, is fast becoming a reality. This is due to the emergence of a wealth of information sources, namely: departmental and Treasury Board Secretariat data bases of best practices, the Canadian Centre For Management Development (CCMD) data bases of research and best practices; and the opportunity to economically access information electronically through the InterNet (and World Wide Web) and 1-800 numbers. Vigorous leadership is needed now to regain momentum lost during major restructuring efforts, to adopt systematic improvement approaches such as formal benchmarking, and to share and implement best practices to ensure optimum organizational effectiveness, quality service, and employee satisfaction.

Best Practices Sharing should be:

• widespread:
  • face-to-face, on paper and electronic;
  • within teams, departments, the federal Public Service, Canada, the world;
  • available to employees at all levels in the organization;
• effective:
  • to systematically improve service, processes, client and employee satisfaction;
  • by briefly describing the practice and results, and designating an accessible contact person;
  • by leaders, trainers, facilitators and employees supporting best practices sharing;
  • by taking full advantage of present and future technological possibilities.

There are many examples of the face-to-face, paper and electronic sharing of best practices in Appendix A and descriptions of how best practices sharing is being improved or supports continuous improvement. These examples are listed under "Best Practices Sharing Examples", page 14, with the names and telephone numbers of contact persons. Additional contacts are listed in Appendix B, page 18.

Some Points To Ponder

1. What is the most effective way of sharing best practices? Staff say orally - in meetings or other face-to-face fora, where participants can hear of a practice, pose questions, discuss pros and cons and agree on a course of action.
2. Why do some leaders allege that it is difficult to provide meaningful recognition to employees? Encouraging and championing employees' suggested improvements is one of the most powerful forms of recognition available.
3. Why are yesterday's "heresies" today's best practices (e.g., telework, flexible working hours, hotelling, benchmarking, client and employee surveys, client consultations, sharing best practices)?
4. Given the benefits of best practices sharing, why aren't more organizations doing it better and more systematically?
   
   

4. A Systematic Approach

Why Is It Important?

As part of its quality services initiative, the Treasury Board Secretariat is fostering a government-wide use of benchmarking and best practices sharing. This section describes what is involved in "initiating", "supporting" and "sustaining" benchmarking and best practices sharing.[6] You should adapt the advice to your own department's situation.

What's Involved?

The success of benchmarking and best practices sharing depends on senior executive leadership. That leadership will foster a common understanding of what benchmarking and best practices sharing means and its implications for the organization. It will also produce commitment to the concept, thereby sustaining and supporting employees and managers involved in benchmarking and best practices sharing to generate continuous improvements. To do this, the senior executive team must:

• engage (perhaps using a facilitator) in a free and open exchange on the subject of benchmarking and best practices sharing; and agree on what these are, what they can do, costs and expected benefits, and what executive decisions are needed to make them happen;
• entrench benchmarking and best practices sharing in the organization's planning, performance processes and management practices;
• commit the necessary resources to develop and train managers and employees to be involved in benchmarking and best practices sharing;
• designate a member of the senior executive team to manage the initial efforts of the organization in implementing benchmarking and best practices sharing;
• select an area, product, service, or system in the organization that is likely to benefit quickly from a benchmarking exercise;
• determine how to promote benchmarking and best practices sharing throughout the organization by all practical means.

How To Initiate The Process

Establishing a context and a strategy statement

When benchmarking and best practices sharing are introduced into an organization, employees need to know where they fit within the existing quality and process improvement initiatives. Developing strategy statements helps legitimize their use.

Strategy 1:

To continuously improve client satisfaction and operational results by focusing benchmarking efforts on finding and implementing best practices in core business and work processes.

Strategy 2:

To share best practices throughout the organization to educate staff, accelerate continuous improvement, enhance communications and promote networking.

Creating the environment and setting expectations

For benchmarking and best practices sharing to take root, management must create an environment where there is a greater incentive to use the tools than to ignore them. This can be done by recognizing improved levels of client satisfaction and operational results from benchmarking and best practices sharing exercises. Embedding these process improvement tools in the annual business plan will also help ensure their use.

Providing management awareness training

Managers must know what benchmarking and best practices sharing are, so there is consistent implementation. Best practices sharing frequently means being involved with groups like the Interdepartmental Quality Network, the Ottawa Benchmarking Forum, or becoming used to accessing and contributing to departmental and other electronic best practices data bases. Competency in benchmarking can be obtained from training courses, seminars and conferences, articles and books, and networking with benchmarking practitioners.

Focusing activities

Most organizations designate a person or small group to ensure successful implementation of benchmarking and best practices sharing. This minimizes the risk that similar internal groups will ask the same organization for the same kind of information. Smaller organizations could assign this task to the person responsible for implementing the overall quality initiative. The group or person responsible for quality, benchmarking and best practices sharing should:

• understand how best practices are shared, and the benchmarking process;
• apply benchmarking and best practices sharing in a consistent manner;
• establish and manage the user network;
• establish contacts and a best practices data base;
• provide training and technical support, as required.

Developing guidelines

Senior management should ensure that benchmarking and best practices sharing guidelines are prepared for managers and staff. These guidelines should become the standard procedures for implementing benchmarking and best practices sharing activities. The guidelines usually outline the "what" and "how" of benchmarking and best practices sharing. They should also include details about visit protocols, information sharing and the ethical, legal, and non-disclosure considerations related to benchmarking.

Establishing an internal network

Most organizations form formal or informal networks between their functional or cross-functional benchmarking and best practices sharing representatives. These serve to source and update activities in these areas. They also fulfill the need to disseminate information and requirements throughout the organization. They can also help spread the word on benchmarking and best practices sharing.

How To Support The Process

Identifying champions and process owners

Most organizations need champions for major change initiatives. The champion's role should go beyond sponsorship to one of advocacy by challenging the leaders of the organization to aggressively pursue the use and resulting benefits of benchmarking and best practices sharing.

The champion should also be an advocate for focusing benchmarking activities on the organization's key ten to fifteen business processes. The champion should ensure that the key business processes are identified, prioritized, and benchmarked against the best processes of industry or public service leaders. Experience shows that the highest payback comes by applying benchmarking and introducing the best practices of industry leaders to these processes. In addition to champions, each process is usually assigned a "process owner". Senior level process owners are in the best position to commission teams to implement benchmarking studies on behalf of process clients/customers.

Commissioning teams

Experience shows that benchmarking teams function best with six to eight people. It is necessary that all team members should know the process being examined, however some team members should have operational experience. To maximize innovation, teams should also have at least one "blue sky" thinker and/or someone familiar with present and future information technology tools and techniques. Team members should possess analytical, research, problem-solving, process improvement, and project management skills. Teams should use an accepted benchmarking process model and protocols in order to ensure project success.

Providing team members skills training

Over and above team skills such as project management, problem-solving, and process improvement, team members need to understand:

• what benchmarking and best practices sharing are;
• how they fit into the quality process;
• what the benchmarking process and protocols are;
• who to partner with (benchmarking);
• how to gather and process information;
• how to plan and manage a best practices sharing or benchmarking study;
• how to implement process change.

Following an accepted benchmarking process

There are a number of well tested multi-step processes that have supplied their users with successful results. Experienced practitioners understand the need for consistent, replicable results derived from a standard way to conduct studies. A standard process ensures credibility in comparison and consistency in results.

How To Sustain The Process

Executive management roles and responsibilities

Executive management roles and responsibilities include:

• advocating the importance of benchmarking and best practices sharing;
• integrating benchmarking and best practices sharing with current management practices;
• focusing benchmarking and best practices sharing on strategic business and work processes;
• commissioning benchmarking teams;
• using leadership and employee involvement to foster organizational learning through process comparison, either internally or externally;
• building high-level contacts with potential benchmarking partners through corporate memberships, councils, associations, etc.;
• leading, sponsoring and providing resources for benchmarking and best practices sharing initiatives;
• championing breakthrough changes;
• rewarding and recognizing results from benchmarking and best practices sharing.

Middle management roles and responsibilities

In addition to some of the roles and responsibilities shared with executive management, middle managers must:

• provide resources for benchmarking training and facilitation;
• champion and participate in benchmarking and best practices sharing;
• follow a structured approach to benchmarking studies;
• coordinate benchmarking initiatives across functional and cross-functional processes;
• monitor the progress of benchmarking and best practices sharing projects;
• inform executive management of progress and results.

Team leader roles and responsibilities

Benchmarking team leaders must:

• understand and follow the accepted process and protocols;
• form teams with the skills needed to complete studies successfully;
• keep sponsors and champions informed about team progress;
• document and disseminate the results of benchmarking throughout the organization;
• lead or be a team member of "new" process implementation teams.

Communicating successes

The sharing of best practices and case studies expands and intensifies buy-in and commitment to continuous improvement and benchmarking, recognizes achievement and stimulates others. Showcasing success stories can be done in many ways, including:

• reporting results in business plan reviews;
• creating formal benchmarking/best practices data bases;
• including them in employee newsletters and management meetings/updates;
• reporting results at internal/external seminars;
• organizing formal and informal reward and recognition events;
• using an internal network of benchmarking sponsors, champions and team members.

Introducing benchmarking and best practices sharing is an important change for many federal government departments. Therefore, managers have to structure an initiative, get the buy-in and commitment from leaders, and make sure a communications strategy is planned before actually getting into the "how-to" aspects of the process.

Get Involved!

It is through the active involvement of leaders and employees working together to learn about, share and implement best practices; and using a systematic improvement approach, including formal benchmarking, that organizations learn, improve, and achieve excellence. Good luck in your journey of exploration, discovery, development, and evolution. This Guide will be revised as we continue to share additional knowledge, tools, techniques, and practices.

BE AWARE - COMPARE - SHARE - GET THERE

APPENDIX A

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Examples of Benchmarking and Best Practices Sharing

A. Benchmarking Examples

Strategic Benchmarking

1. Benchmarking Trust (Public Service Commission)

2. Benchmarking Change (CCMD and The Conference Board Of Canada)

3. Corporate Development Strategy (Revenue Canada)

4. IBM's Approach To Benchmarking (IBM Canada)

Operational Benchmarking

5. Library Systems Benchmarking Project (Atomic Energy Canada)

6. Internal Benchmarking Task Analysis Reviews (Transport Canada)

7. International Benchmarking - Trade-mark Processing (CIPO)

Performance Measurement

8. Performance Benchmarking (Revenue Canada and IRS)

9. Change Initiatives - Measuring Local Progress (Revenue Canada)

10. A Framework For Benchmarking IT Applications (Revenue Canada)

11. Two Industry Examples (Boulangeries Weston and Ault Foods Limited)

B. Best Practices To Learn From /

Benchmark Against

12. Mail-in Program To Replace Interviews (Citizenship & Immigration)

13. Quality Management Program (Fisheries and Oceans)

14. Grants and Contributions Management (Health Canada)

15. METS Process Improvement Teams PIT Kit (Natural Resources Canada)

16. Payment Authorization Centre (Province Of Quebec)

17. New Business Relationship (Revenue Canada)

18. Supporting Volunteers Serving Canadians (Revenue Canada)

19. Consolidating Revenue Canada (Revenue Canada)

20. Tax Information Phone Service (T.I.P.S.) (Revenue Canada)

C. Best Practices Sharing Examples

21. Maximizing Electronic Mail For Sharing (Citizenship & Immigration)

22. The IPAC Collection (CCMD)

23. Improving Communications Using Best Practices (Revenue Canada)

24. Internal Electronic Sharing (Revenue Canada)

25. Using Newsletters To Share Best Practices (Revenue Canada)

26. Best Practices Fair (Revenue Canada)

27. Innovation And Quality Exchange (Treasury Board Secretariat)

28. HR ConnEXions (Treasury Board Secretariat)

29. Interdepartmental Quality Network (Treasury Board Secretariat)

30. Transformation Newsletter (Treasury Board Secretariat)

31. Improving The Employment Situation Of Employment Equity Target Groups (TBS)

32. Electronic Registries To Track Progress / Best Practices (CMHC, IRS)

33. Sharing Best Practices To Continuously Improve (General Electric)

34. Re-engineering With Love (Corning)

---

A. BENCHMARKING EXAMPLES

Strategic Benchmarking:

1. Benchmarking Trust (Public Service Commission - PSC)

The PSC benchmarked how 9 successful manufacturing & service organizations built trust. Building trust revolved around 5 principles and sets of supporting actions including employee participation in decision-making processes, autonomy, feedback, supportive supervisor behaviours and open communications. Conclusions are in a monograph "Trust with Organizations, Part 2 - Building Trust", available in a bilingual format.

Contact: Réal St-Amand, Public Service Commission, (613) 995-9269

2. Benchmarking Change (CCMD and The Conference Board Of Canada)

As part of an applied learning course on benchmarking, 30 senior managers benchmarked the change management practices of 12 public and private sector corporations selected on the basis that each had successfully managed a large-scale, planned change activity. It was done under the auspices of the Canadian Centre for Management Development (CCMD) and the Conference Board of Canada. A report is available titled "Meeting the Challenge: Managing Change in the Nineties", which describes the principles underlying effective change management practices; and identifies management competencies, attitudes and behaviours essential to that process.

Contact: Barbara Wynne-Edwards, CCMD, (613) 953-4563

3. Corporate Development Strategy (Revenue Canada)

Revenue Canada had many improvement initiatives prior to the consolidation of the Customs & Excise, and Taxation components in 1993. A Strategy was developed to build on progress and to reinforce consolidation. It includes flexibility to use best practices from within the organization & elsewhere. Some next steps are senior mgt. accountability for implementation; an implementation plan that includes info. sessions, internal consultants and facilitators, etc. "A Guide To Managing Corporate Development" is being prepared which has strategies, practices, contacts, guidance on goal setting, planning, measuring results and following up.

Contact: Dorothee Bouwhuis, Corporate Development Division, (613) 954-6086; Bruce Lawrence, Corporate Development Division, (613) 954-6085; Bruce Veinot, Corporate Development Division (613) 957-3695

4. IBM's Approach To Benchmarking (IBM Canada)

In the early 1990s, surveys showed customer satisfaction had dropped. IBM Canada suffered large losses. Yet by 1995 customer satisfaction had returned: the company was reporting $10 billion in revenue and was profitable. IBM did this through benchmarking. The company measured itself against various models to come up with the "Best of the Breed" (BoB) competitors in each of market segments. Five items became part of its two-year transformation agenda: clear market segmentation, process re-engineering, best customer value, development of highly skilled teams, and enablement (empowerment) of staff.

As a result of this initiative, IBM experienced massive restructuring. It eliminated management layers and reorganized into small operating units. It got out of many business lines. Eleven basic processes were reevaluated. It set some performance improvement targets as high as 200 per cent. Two levels of authority were dropped. It revamped the corporate culture to take risks, be responsive, and faster paced.

Contact: Bob Mornan, General Manager for the Public Sector (613) 788-6071

Operational Benchmarking:

5. Library Systems Benchmarking Project (Atomic Energy Canada)

The Technical Information and Services Division used a formal benchmarking process to compare their costs, processes and strategic plans with those of 5 private sector, high-tech organizations. The results included:

• wider and quicker access to research information by using a single information technology system;
• library services more closely integrated with R&D customers;
• library processes refined to improve cycle times.

Contact: Mike Luke, Whiteshell Labs, Pinawa, Manitoba, (204) 753-2311, extension 2484

6. Internal Benchmarking - Task Analysis Reviews (Transport Canada)

Transport Canada believes in a rational, customer focused approach to maximizing resource utilization and program effectiveness. One means is to have internal mgt. consultants conduct comparative "task analysis reviews" with field managers of like programs. Similar reviews are done for a HQ function except that a "Customer Satisfaction Survey" is given to field users of HQ products / services as the basis to prepare an "importance/satisfaction" grid for the elements surveyed. Both the field and HQ reviews result in the benchmarking of resource use compared to performance by activity, a rational basis for making resource & program decisions, the identification of (internal) best practices to make improvements and a facilitated workshop where managers present data, discuss findings and take action.

Contact: Bill McCullough, DG, Mgt. Consulting Services, (613) 993-7412; Nick Heley, Chief, Management Practices, (613) 990-3421

7. International Benchmarking - Trade-mark Processing (CIPO)

As part of its Client Service Improvement Program, the Trade-mark Branch of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has started a benchmarking initiative with the trademark offices of the United Kingdom, Sweden and Australia. The initiative will focus on the key processes involved in the prosecution of trade-mark applications and trade-mark assignments. It will determine and compare application volumes, processing times, output quality, technology environments, human resources and costs. It is the intention of the Branch to identify and adapt best practices wherever possible in order to continue to improve the level of service to its clients.

Contact: Barbara Bova, Director, Trade-marks Branch, (819) 997-2423

APPENDIX A (cont'd)

A. BENCHMARKING EXAMPLES (cont'd)

Performance Measurement:

8. Performance Benchmarking (Revenue Canada and IRS)

Revenue Canada: The Department has published service standards for several of its services. It continues to develop new standards as part of a broader approach to provide informative, transparent & quality services. For many years the Department has produced statistics on the quality and quantity of production, at a program level, for offices involved in income tax activities. Year over year data is used as benchmarks to report results.

IRS: The Internal Revenue Service of the United States has applied performance benchmarking in their Tax Processing Centers. As tax forms were processed, results were posted in each Centre on bulletin boards so that staff could see performance comparisons of each of the other centres for the same work and with previous year's performance.

Contacts: Bruce Lawrence, Corporate Development Division, (613) 954-6085; Teresa Errett, Corporate Development Division (Service Quality), 952-7098

9. Change Initiatives - Measuring Local Progress (Revenue Canada)

Some offices hold a 3-day, facilitated workshop to assess progress implementing service quality. Prior to the workshop, employees fill in a questionnaire on progress in improving service, employee involvement, leadership, communications, work processes, etc., after 1-2 years of change initiatives. Employees are asked whether change occurred and the degree of change in order to establish old and new benchmarks. The results are presented to workshop participants (a cross-section of staff including management team members). It includes progress and areas to work on, as a basis for immediate discussion and the development of plans of action and follow-up.

Contacts: Bruce Lawrence, Corporate Development Division, (613) 954-6085; Dora Lee, Management Consultant, HR Branch, (613) 998-5764

10. A Framework For Benchmarking IT Applications (Revenue Canada)

Cost and performance models are being developed for IT applications. The models will enable work teams to benchmark the performance of each subsystem to the divisional and branch averages. A first annual baseline assessment is nearing completion. The processes and software tools needed for continuous metrics are being developed.

• Subsystems in Production:

• Subsystems performing in the top quarter can be examined for best practices; those in the bottom quarter examined to determine root causes, estimate potential resource recovery and make business cases for improvement.

• Development of New Systems:

• The business size of the specifications can be measured repeatedly through the development cycle to manage the scope of work. The total cost and costs by stage can be estimated and controlled throughout the project life cycle.

• Analysis of Productivity Factors:

• Trend analysis can be used to discover portfolio life cycle management strategies. Each staffing tactic, work management method, quality management method, systems development technique, technical tool, or technology can be benchmarked to branch averages to discover its degree of positive or negative influence.

Contact: Watson Seto, Project Leader, ITB Metrics, (613) 954-6751

11. Two Industry Examples[7]

Boulangeries Weston Quebec

The nature of the business made identifying objectives and measures based on a quality management program relatively easy. Accounting by activity was adopted to measure the viability of each product and quality and performance standards such as rejection rate are posted throughout the plant. The most important factor is that employees actually understand the significance of these measures - that the profit lost due to the rejection of one loaf of bread can only be recovered by producing 5 additional loaves.

Ault Foods Limited

Ault has applied a "Human Resources Index" to measure the value and quality of human resources. The HR Index has been rigorously tested and Ault has demonstrated that there is a significant relationship between index results and corporate performance at the operating level. Management uses this tool as a measure of employee response to change initiatives and as an indicator of the need for human resource management interventions.

B. Best Practices To Learn From / Benchmark Against

Departments, agencies and Crown corporations provided the following best practices to learn from or use as part of a benchmarking initiative. These sample practices are intended as a beginning and as a possible model for others who will contribute practices to future editions of this Guide or to data bases like the Interdepartmental Quality Exchange and CCMD's Management Resource Centre. Contacts for accessing these data bases are given throughout this Guide and in Appendix B.

12. Mail-in Program To Replace Interviews For Inland Immigration (Citizenship and Immigration)

A study showed that nearly 80% of the immigrant admissions workload was generated from six categories of applicants from within Canada. Approximately 100 points of service existed across Canada to handle applications, and staff members traditionally met applicants in an interview setting. A "mail-in" processing project was started in April 1994 to replace the existing processes. Two application processing centres were established: one in Vegreville, Alberta, the other in Mississauga, Ontario.

Results:

• The mail-in program reduced the points of service by nearly one-half.
• Approximately 30% reduction in regional workload and operating costs was achieved.
• The $12.5 million investment in the two processing centres will be paid back within two years since the net result was to realize annual savings of $6.5 million.
• A higher client satisfaction was recorded (e.g. shorter turn-around time).
• A consistent quality of decision-making was achieved.

Contact: Peter Hill, Chief, Planning and Renewal, (819) 997-8174

13. Quality Management Program (Fisheries and Oceans)

Restructuring and downsizing were the major reasons for initiating a new inspection system. A Quality Management Program (QMP) was implemented by the department in 1992. Members of the fish products industry now are responsible for monitoring their own processes and products while the department monitors the industry. The QMP involves a rating system whereby plants with a history of high levels of compliance are monitored less frequently.

Results:

• The number of plant inspections was reduced by more than 50%. Inspection efforts are directed to areas that require closer monitoring.
• Service standards (time frames) are monitored nationally for inspection activities.
• The inspection system is highly regarded by others, meets various international standards and maintains Canada's reputation for producing high quality fish products.

Contact: Vance McEachern, Inspection Directorate, (613) 993-6930

14. Grants and Contributions Management (Health Canada)

Health Canada has a goal to provide a uniform departmental Grants and Contributions (G&Cs) delivery model to replace over 20 different forms and a variety of automated systems to track applicants. In March 1995 a report was issued recommending:

• finalize and adopt a generic application form & contribution agreement;
• provide electronic access for clients to G&C application & program material;
• integrate a hybrid shareware and off-the-shelf G&C applications;
• set evaluative criteria and performance indicators.

Expected result:

The application processing time will be reduced and the approval process expedited.

Contact: Ottley Lacelle, Chief, Systems Development, (613) 952-9532

15. METS Process Improvement Teams PIT Kit (Natural Resources Canada)

The Mineral and Energy Technology Sector's PIT Kit is a guide to forming, leading and participating in a process improvement team (PIT). Members of the METS Quality committees, former PIT members and facilitators contributed to the development of this document. It provides a wide range of information starting with what a PIT is all about, how and why it is formed, what goes in a team's mandate, how to choose the members, what their role is, etc. It also includes many practical techniques to use during their meetings, i.e. how to map a process, how to conduct surveys, etc. Finally, this kit contains an inventory of PIT activities, and a list of trained facilitators.

Contact: Gisèle Vazquez, TQM Office, (613) 992-6255

16. Payment Authorization Centre (Province of Quebec)

Quebec's "Centre d'autorisation et de paiement des services de santé Inc. (C.A.P.S.S.)" is an electronic data interchange (E.D.I.) network for real-time transmission, validation, authorization and payment of claims in the health care field in Quebec.

Results:

• C.A.P.S.S eliminated the use of forms, centralizes and validates information, minimizes the application process, time and costs; provides better levels of service; better control over program access and payments;
• Services are available in 95% of pharmacies throughout Quebec. There are 265,000 users and 6,600 businesses using the services of C.A.P.S.S.;
• The audit function was eliminated and human resources reduced by 18%;
• Pharmacists receive payments during same working day.

Contact: Johanne Brosseau, (514) 289-2842

17. New Business Relationship (Revenue Canada)

In an unprecedented partnership with Canadian business, the Department has been moving to fundamentally alter the administrative procedures for importing commercial goods into Canada. This effort has been complemented by extensive consultations with a cross-section of businesses, trade associations and other government departments. The New Business Relationship is designed to significantly reduce the costs and complexities of importing and to facilitate the competitiveness of Canadian companies through concepts such as electronic commerce, streamlined reporting and release, audit verification, and increased client assistance. Companies estimate they will save tens of millions of dollars over the next several years due to these tailored options and streamlined procedures.

Contact: Diane Tait, (613) 941-0096

18. Supporting Volunteers Serving Canadians (Revenue Canada)

The Community Volunteer Program is composed of volunteers who help the elderly, shut-ins, the disabled, single parents, etc. complete income tax forms; people who might have difficulty fulfilling their obligations and receiving their refunds. Revenue Canada supports volunteers with training and instructional materials. It also surveys volunteers to gauge results and use their comments to improve tax forms & procedures. For 1994, the 7,117 volunteers who responded to survey (54%) said they helped over 200,000 people.

Contact: Monique Sike, Client Services Directorate, (613) 957-9370

19. Consolidating Revenue Canada (Revenue Canada)

Legislation was passed to enable the "consolidation" of Revenue Canada - Taxation and Revenue Canada - Customs and Excise. Implementation was via an Administrative Consolidation Project Team, regional project teams, office-level project teams, full-time co-ordinators, extended and extensive consultation with staff and internal clients, several models of possible structures / territories / service models produced for management consideration. Levels of internal administrative services were maintained and major savings realized.

Contact: Dorothee Bouwhuis, Corporate Development Division, (613) 954-6086

20. Tax Information Phone Service (T.I.P.S.) (Revenue Canada)

A country-wide telephone information line called the Tax Information Phone Service (T.I.P.S.) features pre-recorded voice messages that provide clients with general and personal income tax information. Clients identify themselves and request information using the keypad of their telephone. T.I.P.S. provides clients with immediate answers to routine questions thereby allowing enquiries officers to concentrate on answering the more challenging questions.

Contact: Darlene Ouellet, Client Services Directorate, (613) 957-2929

C. Best Practices Sharing Examples

In some of the following examples the ways best practices are shared (i.e., face-to-face, on paper or electronically), are best practices themselves (e.g. Citizenship and Immigration's "Maximizing Electronic Mail For Sharing"). In other cases the emphasis is more on a continuous improvement process and the results of the best practices sharing (e.g., Revenue Canada's "Improving Communications Using Best Practices").

21. Maximizing Electronic Mail For Sharing (Citizenship & Immigration)

Virtually all of our approximately 60 overseas and 100 Canadian offices are connected electronically. What has emerged is that managers in these far flung offices have begun, quite spontaneously, to use "E-Mail" to share information and best practices and to broadcast calls for information and assistance to colleagues, 1 or 2 colleagues in some cases or a more general broadcast for help in others. Usage of this practice is increasing because people are seeing the obvious benefits, because they are getting used to networking electronically and also because it makes sense to be seeking assistance and support during these periods of rapid change.

Contact: None. It is like InterNet: self-managing and informal.

22. The IPAC Collection (CCMD)

CCMD is making available the Institute Of Public Administration Of Canada (IPAC) collection of award applications. The several hundred IPAC applications provide information on management practices at all levels of government. The collection is available for viewing at CCMD.

Contacts: Margot Brown, (613) 996-6165, John Dingwall, (613) 995-6019

23. Improving Communications Using Best Practices (Revenue Canada)

Senior management and Revenue Canada's (10,000+) Audit community were looking for ways of improving communications and auditor effectiveness. Each field and HQ office was asked to form a committee of a cross-section of employees to report communication best practices, barriers & recommendations. A report including the best practices was sent to the Audit committees in each office for action. Most practices involved face-to-face contact with opportunities to ask questions, comment, share and develop ideas, see the reaction of others, etc. The leader's role in initiating and sustaining communication processes was stressed. There were many examples of how leaders shared information, held effective meetings (town halls, skip-a-step, team, cross-divisional, etc.), involved staff in problem solving and improving services, championed staff ideas, empowered staff, etc.

Contacts: Barry Paulson, National VECR Committee, (613) 952-7426; Loretta Bemister, National VECR Committee, (604) 666-8557; Marcel Ricard, National VECR Committee, (613) 941-0909

24. Internal Electronic Sharing (Revenue Canada)

Managers, trainers, consultants & team leaders wanted to electronically share the best practices from Revenue Canada's change initiatives.

• When 100 practices were written up, they were put on "conference boards".
• Practices usually are on 1 screen, describe results, have a contact name and tel. number.
• Practices are grouped under Service and Organizational Development topics.
• Authors input practices without vetting. System adds name. No problems in 3 years.
• 800 letters and growing.

Lessons Learned:

1. Keep It Simple - a brief description, contact name and telephone number.
2. Use existing platforms (low cost and low learning curve).
3. Work with innovative employees to write out 50-100 best practices. Get permission for contents and sharing. Arrange by topics and begin electronic sharing.
4. Market continuously - electronic messages, presentations, newsletters, etc.

Contacts: Bruce Lawrence, Corporate Development, (613) 954-6085; Andrée Tremblay-Thomas, Corporate Development, (613) 952-1928

25. Using Newsletters To Share Best Practices (Revenue Canada)

Revenue Canada has many internal newsletters published by district offices, work areas and interest groups. Over half were created during the period of the Administrative Consolidation of Customs and Excise, and of Taxation into one Revenue Canada, and of their respective continuous improvement initiatives. Most include a wide variety of information and the sharing of best practices.

At least one "Talking Newsletter" is produced using the existing telephone system. The system is accessible from either inside or outside the office (many employees work outside the office). Employees dial the telephone number, enter the password, followed by the number of the menu they want, in order to hear a recorded message.

Contact: Francine Chartrand, Corporate Development Division, (613) 954-8230

26. Best Practices Fair (Revenue Canada)

In December 1992, the Customs Programs Branch, Trade Administration committed itself to a new set of operating principles - "to judge ourselves by how well we served our clients, and by how well we treated each other". The ADM challenged employees to turn these principles into reality by starting projects within each work unit that would improve service to the public and the work environment.

Several months later, all employees of the Branch were invited to the "In Search of Excellence" exhibition of Branch exemplary practices to share the results. Over 60 exemplary practices were exhibited in kiosks manned by Branch staff. There was a sense of pride of accomplishment, of sharing, of learning from colleagues; surprise at the ingenuity, creativity and humour in preparing the exhibits; and satisfaction from the variety of service and organizational improvements.

Contact: Tia McEwan, (613) 954-7403

27. Innovation And Quality Exchange (IQE) (Treasury Board Secretariat)

The Treasury Board Secretariat is posting examples on Internet of initiatives of departments, agencies and Crown corporations which significantly raised service levels or lowered costs. Information is presented on total quality management, service standards, activity-based costing, cost reduction, outsourcing, re-engineering, commercialization, etc., along with the names of contact persons to exchange experiences and practices.

Twenty initiatives have already been posted. Initiatives have metrics associated with them. Public sector managers can find out what world class performance is for their business line, as described in the IQE's classification system. Future plans include a news group for dialogue on re-engineering and quality. You can hyperlink to the Innovation and Quality Exchange from the Treasury Board Secretariat's home page located on the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/

Contact: Adel Shalaby, Treasury Board Secretariat, (613) 957-2493

28. HR ConnEXions (Treasury Board Secretariat)

HR ConnEXions is an electronic repository of best practices from departments and other parts of the government, submitted by the authors. Over 100 notes were posted in 1991. About another dozen examples were added since. The information is in summary form (one screen), bilingual and provides a contact person's name. We are looking at how to update information and to be part of a larger contemporary electronic sharing of practices.

Contact: Danielle Zierl, Treasury Board Secretariat, (613) 957-3725

29. Interdepartmental Quality Network (IQN) (Treasury Board Secretariat)

Public servants interested in quality, from federal government departments, Crown corporations and agencies, meet the first Thursday of every month to share experiences, practices and common concerns. They get involved in conferences such as the "Quality Learning Event", editing the Transformation bulletin, contributing best practices to the Interdepartmental Quality Exchange (IQE) and other fora, etc. Many were involved in preparing the quality service publications, including this Guide.

Contact: Chris Dodge, Treasury Board Secretariat, (613) 957-2484

30. Transformation Newsletter (Treasury Board Secretariat)

Transformation is a forum for federal employees to exchange ideas about changes, and to share our experiences and approaches in delivering quality services. The first issue - Fall 1995, had articles on "Changing the Corporate Culture", "The Plus Is Putting People First (Health Canada's Learning Centre Plus), "A Few Words From Art Eggleton", "Update on Downsizing", "Sharing Services: Sharing Success" and "Pushing the Envelope for Open Government". Most articles have contacts and tel. / fax numbers.

Contact: Terri Doherty, Treasury Board Secretariat

31. Improving The Employment Situation Of Employment Equity Target Groups (TBS)

A "Best Practices" study was done on the employment of Women, Persons with Disability, and Aboriginal Peoples in a range of Canadian organizations to help the Federal Government improve the employment situation of target groups. Recruitment, training, development, counselling and community support initiatives were documented to provide departments with ideas. A best practices framework was provided to assist departments to design strategies. A "compendium of ideas for managers" was prepared.

Contact: Emmanuel Tsèvi, Treasury Board Secretariat, (613) 952-3053

32. Electronic Registries To Track Progress / Best Practices

• Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) has an electronic data base in which the progress and emerging best practices of "Business Improvement Teams" are recorded.
• The Internal Revenue Service (United States) has used a central computer registry to track progress and best practices of Quality Improvement Teams throughout the service.

Contacts: Susan Smith, (CMHC), (613) 748-2323; Bruce Lawrence, Revenue Canada, (613) 954-6085

33. Continuous Improvement GE-Style (General Electric)[8]

Fortune Magazine described how the GE corporation transforms itself using 3 continuous improvement methodologies - division-size employee "workouts" to get action on key service and organizational issues, "process mapping" by employee teams to reengineer complex processes and "best practices" sharing to accelerate the pace of change.

34. Re-engineering With Love (Corning)[9]

Corning is described as a model to emulate when reengineering and sharing practices. Its initiative began with setting objectives that included employment protection. Employees and internal facilitators carried out reengineering using continuous improvement methods. The results were significant process improvements and cost reductions without major job losses. Another result was greater acceptance and trust of reengineering projects. The sharing of best practices was an important feature of this methodology.

APPENDIX B

CONTACTS TO CALL FOR HELP

Do you have a question? Are you starting a project and wonder where to begin?

Help is available from anyone named on the following list. Simply contact the person or persons who look like they could be of help. They will do their best to answer your question, provide you with helpful information or point you in the right direction.

Roman Borowyk          Best Practices sharing     
Citizenship and                                   
Immigration                                       
(613) 953-3184                                    

John Dingwall          Best Practices Sharing     
CCMD                                              
(613) 995-6019                                    

Chris Dodge            Director                   
TBS                    Innovative and Quality     
(613) 957-2484         Services                   

Pat Griffith           Benchmarking               
TBS                                               
(613) 952-8685                                    

Ken Hart               Benchmarking               
Foreign Affairs                                   
(613) 996-1435                                    

Nick Heley             Benchmarking (Task         
Transport Canada       Analysis)                  
(613) 990-3421                                    

Ted Hitsman            Benchmarking               
TBS                                               
(613) 952-3373                                    

Bruce Lawrence         Best Practices Sharing,    
Revenue Canada         Benchmarking               
(613) 954-6085                                    

Grant MacKay           Best Practices Sharing     
PWGSC                                             
(819) 956-5048                                    

Adel Shalaby           Best Practices Sharing     
TBS                                               
(613) 957-2493                                    

Mike Whitfield         Benchmarking               
Atomic Energy Canada                              
 (613) 584-3311                                   

Barbara Wynne-Edwards  Benchmarking               
CCMD                                              
(613) 953-4563                                    

Note:

1. The Ottawa Benchmarking Forum includes representatives from educational institutions, and the private and public sectors. Its objective is to promote and gain acceptance for benchmarking as a tool fostering organizational excellence. Forum resource persons include: Allan Knaut, Team Facilitator, Newbridge, (613) 591-3600 Ext. 1507; Debbie Knaut, Education, D.K. Enterprises, (613) 831-2713; Ian McKechnie, Publicity, Mitel, (613) 592-2122.
2. The CCMD and Treasury Board Secretariat contacts are excellent resources to find out who may be working on a particular type of initiative or project.
3. InterNet:

a. Ottawa Benchmarking Forum http://superior.carleton.ca/mtcm/ocmn/ (OCMN, Program and Activities)

b. The American Productivity & Quality Center AND International Benchmarking Clearinghouse (IBC), Texas, http://www.apqc.org/

c. The Benchmarking Exchange (TBE), http://www.benchnet.com/

CONTRIBUTING YOUR BEST PRACTICES

The examples of Benchmarking and Best Practices Sharing presented here are intended as a modest beginning. The Guide will expand as other departments, agencies and Crown corporations contribute examples. At the risk of sounding like we are pleading for your help - which we are - if you found the present Guide useful, please return the favor by contributing an idea or example, or by adding your name to the list of contacts to call for help. To contribute or to become a contact, please contact any of the following people:

Bruce Lawrence, (613) 954-6085
Adel Shalaby, (613) 957-2493
Mike Whitfield, (613) 584-3311

APPENDIX C

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Beating the Competition. Washington, D.C.: Kaiser Associates, Inc. A Practical Guide to Benchmarking, Michael Kaiser (ed) n.d.
2. "E for Effort in Program Evaluations: Oregon and Florida". May 12 1992. pp. 62-63.
3. "Developing Performance Measures and Performance Budgets". Performance-Based Governance n.d.. 13-19.
4. The American Productivity & Quality Center. "Benchmarking, Benchmarking Processes". Houston, Tx: Joe Robey, The American Productivity & Quality Center, 123 North Post Oak Lane Houston, Texas 77024, 1-800-776-9676 ext 4716 n.d..
5. Barrett, Katherine; Greene, Richard. "Focus on the Best". PW, March 2 1993. pp. 36-37.
6. Bruder, Kenneth A. Jr; Gray, Edward M. "Public Sector Benchmarking: A Practical Approach". Performance Measurement: Special Section, September 1994. pp. s9-s14.
7. D'Cruz, Joseph R. "Does Canada Compete?". CMA Magazine, October 1993. pp. 30, 32.
8. DeToro, Irving. "The 10 Pitfalls of Benchmarking". Quality Progress, v.28, #1, January 1995. pp. 61-63.
9. Drucker, Peter. "Really Reinventing Government". The Atlantic Monthly, v.273, #2, February 1993. pp. 49-59.
10. Fischer, Richard J. "An Overview of Performance Measurement". Performance Measurement: Special Section, September 1994. pp. s2-s8.
11. Government of Alberta. Measuring Up. Alberta: Gov't of Alberta, 1994. pp.1-6, 76-78.
12. Grifel, Stuart S. "Organizational Culture: Its Importance in Performance Measurement". Performance Measurement: Special Section, September 1994. pp. s-19-s22.
13. Hatry, Harry; Gerhart, Craig; Marshall, Martha. "Eleven Ways to Make Performance Measurement More Useful to Public Managers". Performance Measurement: Special Section, September 1994. pp. s15-s18.
14. Intersol Consulting Associates Ltd., Facilitator's Handbook For Benchmarking Change., 1994.
15. Kilman, Ralph. Beyond the Quick Fix: Managing Five Tracks to Organizational Success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1984.
16. Kinni, Theodore, B. "Measuring Up: Benchmarking Can Be Critical, But it Doesn't Have to Be Expensive". Industry Week, December 1994. pp. 27-28.
17. Mallick, Pramod; Meador, Stephen W.; Shangraw, R.F. Jr; Selman, John R. "DOE Benchmarking for Cost Management". AACE Transactions 1994. pp. 6.1-6.6.
18. McCampbell, Atefeh S.; Slaich Light, Lucy. "Purchasing Efficiency and Staffing Benchmarks: A County Government Study". International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, Winter 1995. pp. 29-36.
19. Paine, Katharine Delahaye. "Move Over Tom! Benchmarking is the New Tool for the 90's". IABC Communication World, June/July 1994. pp. 42-44.
20. Petrick, Joseph; Scherer, Robert; Westfall, Frederick. "Benchmarking and Improving Core Competencies". Quality and Participation, v.17, #4, July/Aug. 1994. pp. 82-85.
21. Roberts, Barbara, Chairperson; et al. Oregon Progress Board. Oregon Benchmarks: Standards for Measuring Statewide Progress and Institutional Performance. Salem, Oregon: Oregon Economic Development Department, Report to the 1995 Legislature, Dec. 1994.
22. Shepherdson, David. Meeting the Challenge: Managing Change in the Nineties. Canada: The Conference Board of Canada, 1994.
23. Spendolini, Michael J. The Benchmarking Book. New York: AMACOM, 1992.
24. "Benchmarking for Quality Management & Technology: An International Journal".

Note:

These books, articles and references are available through the Management Resource Centre of the Canadian Centre For Management Development, Karen McGrath, (613) 995-6170.

APPENDIX D

BENCHMARKING AND BEST PRACTICES SHARING TEAM

Ivan Blake            Environment Canada     

Roman Borowyk         Citizenship and        
                      Immigration            

Ann Ferguson          Public Service         
                      Commission             

David Flavell         Treasury Board         
                      Secretariat            

David Gnam            Solicitor General      

Sylvia Gold           Canadian Centre For    
                      Management             
                      Development            

Pat Griffith          Treasury Board         
                      Secretariat            

Ken Hart              Foreign Affairs        

Murray Hay            Public Works and       
                      Government Services    
                      Canada                 

Nick Heley            Transport Canada       

Duncan Jamieson       Transport Canada       

Bruce Lawrence        Revenue Canada (Team   
                       Co-leader)             

Lise Labelle          Environment Canada     

Grant MacKay          Public Works and       
                      Government Services    
                      Canada                 

Sue Morgan            Treasury Board         
                      Secretariat            

Adel Shalaby          Treasury Board         
                      Secretariat            

Emmanuel Tsèvi        Treasury Board         
                      Secretariat            

Mike Whitfield        Atomic Energy Canada   
                      (Team Co-leader)       

ENDNOTES

[1]"Quality Services" (9 Guides and An Overview), Treasury Board Secretariat, October 1995.

[2]Mayne, John, Treasury Board Secretariat, Accountability for Program Performance: a Key to Effective Performance Monitoring and Reporting, September, 1994. (Draft)

[3]"Benchmarking", presentation overheads from the International Benchmarking Clearinghouse, p. 4.

[4]"Benchmarking", presentation overheads from the International Benchmarking Clearinghouse, p. 20.

[5]"Survey Shows It Pays to 'Borrow' and Implement the Best Service Practices", Coopers and Lybrand Consulting Centre for Excellence in Customer Satisfaction, The Lakewood Report, August 1995, p. 7, 8.

[6] For strategies and performance indicators, please refer to "Quality Services", Guide VIII: Benchmarking and Best Practices", Treasury Board Secretariat, October, 1995.

[7] Shepherdson, David, "Meeting The Challenge", CCMD, p. 21, 22

[8] "GE keeps those ideas coming", Fortune, August 12, 1991, p. 40-45.

[9]"Re-engineering With Love", The Economist, September 9th-15th, 1995, p. 69.