What is benchmarking?
Although the word “benchmarking” has become commonplace in a business setting, the term comes from a different field.
The origin of benchmarking lies in the practice of mapping an area’s physical features. Land surveyors would chisel a line into a permanent object, such as a rock or wall, to serve as a reference point for measuring elevations and distances.
Over time, the term has come to broadly mean a standard for assessing the strength or weakness of something else. It’s a tool for setting goals, evaluating performance, and making more informed decisions.
What are the benefits of benchmarking?
What’s a reasonable email open rate for a small business? What about a large corporation with offices in multiple countries? What about a young startup that only has fully remote employees? And how would anyone even know?
The answer to all these questions is benchmarking.
Using a variety of metrics, benchmarking allows companies to evaluate their results against industry peers. It sets a reference point to help uncover both areas of weakness and opportunities for growth. It’s also a tool for measuring progress.
Internal communicators armed with company averages and industry standards ultimately have more meaningful ways of gauging the effectiveness of their strategy and making evidence-based decisions than those who don’t.
What are the different types of benchmarks?
While several approaches to benchmarking exist, below are three popular types:
Internal benchmarking:
This type compares metrics between departments within the same company to discover which teams are exceeding and which could benefit from some assistance.
External benchmarking:
This type compares metrics with rival companies of a similar size to help identify areas of weakness and opportunities for growth.
Strategic benchmarking:
This type compares metrics with companies in other industries to uncover innovations and best practices that could benefit any organization.
Once organizations understand the different types of benchmarking available, the next step is establishing meaningful benchmarks of their own.
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How to set benchmarks
Setting benchmarks may sound easy, but it’s important for internal communicators to establish a solid foundation before jumping to any conclusions. Inaccurate and unreliable data is dangerous, as it presents a distorted view of what’s actually happening within a company.
Below is a step-by-step guide for internal communicators looking to get started with benchmarking today:
Define your goals:
Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. Be as specific as possible and make sure your plans align with the company’s overall objectives. The more you know about your final destination, the more equipped and encouraged you’ll be to follow the map.
Identify the key metrics:
Whether you want to increase email open rates or decrease employee churn, you need to gather relevant data that measures your progress. Make sure the data is consistently tracked and easily accessible at all times. Big gaps in information will lead to problems down the road.
Establish a baseline:
Collect data on your current performance to secure a starting point. Again, it’s crucial that these figures are accurate, as everything that follows depends on them.
Measure and adjust:
With everything in place, start monitoring. Pay attention to how changes in your process correlate with the numbers going up or down. If you’re experiencing more of the latter than the former, don’t be afraid to regroup, revise, and try again.
How to compare your company’s internal communication with industry standards
Comparing internal communication performance against industry standards helps organizations understand whether their engagement levels are typical, lagging behind, or outperforming their peers. However, meaningful comparisons require context.
The most effective benchmarking compares organizations with similar characteristics, such as company size, industry, geographic distribution, or workforce structure. For example, a global enterprise with frontline employees across multiple time zones may naturally see different communication patterns than a fully remote software company.
Internal communicators should begin by identifying reliable benchmark sources, including internal communication platforms, industry reports, and communication analytics tools. Once benchmark data is gathered, compare it against key metrics to track for internal communication effectiveness such as:
- Email open rates
- Read rates
- Click-through rates
- Time spent reading
- Device usage
- Channel engagement
- Employee feedback and survey responses
- Communication frequency and consistency
The goal is not simply to chase higher numbers. Instead, benchmarking should help communicators identify trends, uncover opportunities for improvement, and better understand employee behavior.
If one communication channel consistently underperforms industry averages, for example, it may indicate a need for stronger audience targeting or less messaging. On the other hand, outperforming benchmarks can reveal strategies worth expanding across the organization.
A good place to start is PoliteMail’s Internal Email Benchmark report, which analyzes benchmarks across 10 industry sectors and 7 distribution sizes.
Best practices for measuring internal communication impact
Measuring the impact of internal communication requires more than measuring a single metric. Effective measurement combines engagement data, employee feedback, and long-term trends to create a more complete picture of communication performance.
One of the most important best practices is consistency. Organizations should measure the same metrics over time using standardized reporting methods. Consistent tracking makes it easier to identify meaningful trends and determine whether communication strategies are improving engagement.
Another key practice is aligning communication metrics with business goals. If an organization is focused on employee retention, for example, internal communicators may prioritize metrics tied to employee engagement and trust such as participation and retention rates. If the goal is operational efficiency, communicators may focus more heavily on message reach, readership, and information accessibility.
Segmentation is also critical. Looking at organization-wide averages alone can hide important differences between departments, regions, or employee groups. Breaking data into smaller audiences often reveals communication gaps that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Qualitative feedback should also complement quantitative metrics. Surveys, pulse polls, comments, and manager feedback can provide context behind the numbers and help explain why employees are or are not engaging with certain communications.
Turning benchmarks into continuous improvement
Setting benchmarks is only the beginning. To create meaningful improvements, organizations must consistently monitor performance, review trends over time, and adjust their communication strategies as employee behaviors evolve.
Successful benchmarking programs establish regular reporting cadences, such as monthly or quarterly reviews, to evaluate progress against established goals. Rather than reacting to isolated fluctuations, communicators should focus on long-term patterns that reveal whether engagement is improving, declining, or remaining stagnant.
Continuous monitoring allows organizations to:
- Identify communication fatigue before engagement drops significantly
- Test and refine messaging strategies
- Improve audience targeting
- Measure the impact of process changes
- Adapt communication channels to employee preferences
Most importantly, benchmarking should support better decision-making and employee engagement, not simply reporting. Making improvements and incorporating employee feedback is one of the hallmarks of establishing and maintaining employee trust and retention. The most effective internal communication teams use benchmarks to guide strategy, justify investments, and create more engaging employee experiences over time.
Setting benchmarks for internal communication success
Benchmarking gives internal communicators more than just numbers. It provides the context needed to make smarter decisions, improve employee engagement, and demonstrate the value of communication efforts over time. By consistently measuring performance, comparing results thoughtfully, and adapting strategies as needed, organizations can build communication programs that are both measurable and meaningful.
Get started on your internal communications benchmarking journey with our comprehensive guide.
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