Job benchmarking is the process of creating a profile of the ideal requirements for a position and measuring candidates against that profile.
Benchmarking is commonly used during the hiring and interview process, but it can also be used to better understand employees in their current roles and identify development opportunities.
Rather than relying solely on intuition or personal preferences, job benchmarking provides a data-informed framework for understanding what a role requires and how candidates may align with those needs.
Key Takeaways
- Job benchmarking creates a profile of the ideal requirements for a specific role.
- A benchmark can help organizations evaluate top candidates against the needs of the position.
- The best benchmarks are built with input from multiple Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to reduce individual bias.
- Benchmarking should be one part of the hiring decision, alongside experience, skills, qualifications, work samples, and personal fit.
- The goal of benchmarking is to define the role, not the person.
- Benchmarking can help organizations make more informed hiring decisions, improve onboarding, and identify employee development opportunities.
- The candidate with the closest benchmark score isn’t always the right hire. Benchmarking provides data and insight to support better decisions.
How Do You Create a Job Benchmark?
The definition of an “ideal candidate” can vary significantly from person to person. While different perspectives can strengthen the hiring process, too many individual opinions can also create confusion, inconsistency, and bias.
One best practice is to involve a group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in the benchmarking process.
A team of SMEs may include:
- Employees who previously held the position
- The candidate’s future direct manager or report
- Future coworkers or members of the team
- Other stakeholders who understand the role and its requirements
“Working in a collaborative environment with multiple stakeholders gets you a variety of opinions and removes internal biases and personal agendas.”
Each SME completes an assessment based on their understanding of the ideal person for the role. The results are then combined to create an average profile. This average becomes the job benchmark.
The result is a data-informed picture of what the role requires across areas such as behaviors, motivators, and skills.
When Should You Use a Job Benchmark in Hiring?
Job benchmarking is typically most effective when introduced after the initial stages of the hiring process.
Organizations can use their standard screening process—including resume reviews, initial interviews, and qualification checks—and then apply the benchmark to their top candidates.
For example, a hiring process might look like this:
- Resume Review: Determine whether candidates meet the minimum qualifications.
- Initial Interviews: Conduct phone or virtual interviews to assess experience and qualifications.
- In-Depth Interviews: Hold one or more additional interviews with qualified candidates.
- Shared Work: Review work samples, projects, writing samples, or other relevant work.
- Benchmarking: Compare top candidates against the job benchmark.
- Final Decision: Consider benchmark results alongside all other relevant information before making a hiring decision.
This approach allows benchmarking to provide additional insight without replacing the rest of the hiring process.
Does Job Benchmarking Reduce Hiring Bias?
Yes. When used properly, job benchmarking can help reduce bias by creating an objective framework for evaluating what a position requires.
Hiring decisions can be influenced by unconscious bias. For example, people often feel more comfortable with or naturally relate to candidates who are similar to themselves. However, similarity does not necessarily mean someone is the best fit for a particular role.
A job benchmark shifts the conversation from “Who do I like?” to “What does this role actually require?”
People tend to like and relate to others similar to them; this phenomenon is known as the similarity-attraction effect. It makes sense that people trust and feel drawn to others with similar attitudes and perspectives, but this can become a big problem in the hiring process. Sometimes, similarities aren’t what the position needs.
That’s where benchmarking comes in. This process provides valuable insight into a candidate’s potential alignment with a role, but it should not be used as the sole factor in a hiring decision.
A candidate’s overall evaluation should also consider:
- Resume and relevant experience
- Education and qualifications
- Technical and job-specific skills
- Validation of those skills
- Interview performance
- Work samples or job-related exercises
- Cultural and organizational fit
Benchmarking is a tool to hone in on top candidates, not a blanket dismissal of talent.
Do You Have to Hire the Candidate Who Matches the Benchmark Best?
No. The candidate with the closest benchmark score is not automatically the best person for the job.
The purpose of benchmarking is to provide additional data and insight—not to make the hiring decision for you.
A benchmark can help organizations understand how a candidate’s behaviors, motivators, and skills compare with the needs of a position. Ultimately, leaders must consider the complete picture and make a conscious, informed decision.
Even when an organization hires someone who does not closely match the benchmark, the information gained through the process can still be valuable.
Understanding a new employee’s natural behaviors and motivators can provide insight that supports:
- More personalized onboarding
- Better communication
- Stronger manager-employee relationships
- More effective coaching
- Individual development planning
- Long-term employee success
As the saying goes, you can’t manage what you can’t measure.
What Makes TTI’s Benchmarking Process Different?
TTI’s job benchmarking process is designed to help organizations use data to better understand a position’s requirements.
A key distinction is that the process focuses on defining the role instead of defining the individual.
By identifying what a position requires, organizations can create a clearer picture of the behaviors, motivators, and skills that may contribute to success in that role.
This approach can help organizations move beyond subjective assumptions and build a more consistent, data-informed hiring process.
Why Should Organizations Use Job Benchmarking?
When used as part of a comprehensive talent strategy, job benchmarking can support better hiring, employee development, and workforce planning.
Improve Employee Engagement
When an employee’s behavioral style, motivators, and skills align with the requirements of their role, they may be better positioned to contribute effectively and engage with their team.
Greater employee engagement can support stronger collaboration, productivity, job satisfaction, and organizational performance.
Reduce the Risk of a Bad Hire
Hiring simply to fill an open position can be costly.
A poor hiring decision can lead to turnover, lost productivity, additional recruiting costs, and the time required to onboard a replacement.
Benchmarking provides another source of data that can help organizations evaluate whether top candidates align with the needs of a position before making a final decision.
Build a Stronger Talent Pipeline
Job benchmarking isn’t just for external candidates.
Organizations can also use benchmarks to understand current employees and identify opportunities for development. This can support internal talent pipelines and help organizations prepare employees for future roles.
Benchmarking can be particularly useful when creating:
- Individual development plans
- Leadership development programs
- Succession plans
- Internal mobility strategies
- Coaching and development initiatives
The goal should be to use benchmarking as a tool for development and insight, not as a justification for terminating an employee.
How Much Should Benchmarking Influence a Hiring Decision?
Benchmarking should be one part of a broader hiring decision, not the only factor.
Benchmark results can provide meaningful insight into a candidate’s potential alignment with a role, but organizations should also evaluate qualifications, experience, skills, work performance, and other job-related factors.
A well-designed hiring process combines multiple sources of information to create a complete picture of each candidate.
The goal isn’t to find a person who matches a benchmark perfectly. The goal is to understand what the job requires, gather meaningful data about each candidate, and use that information to make a more informed decision.
How Do I Get Started With Job Benchmarking?
If you’re ready to explore how job benchmarking can support your organization’s hiring, development, and talent strategies, TTI can help.
TTI’s benchmarking process gives organizations a deeper level of insight into the requirements of a role and the people being considered for it—helping leaders make more informed decisions before, during, and after the hiring process.
Ready to learn more about job benchmarking? Contact TTI to explore how you can use benchmarking to strengthen your talent strategy.