When it comes to career development, there are a lot of things to look at and work on to help you grow.

Experts believe that benchmarking is one of them, and this includes taking ownership of your career development in general.

Generally, benchmarking is known as a process for improving by continuously identifying, understanding, and adapting outstanding practices and processes both inside and outside an organisation, or simply learning from others.

Faustin Mutabazi, an entrepreneur and executive officer for Educational Consultancy Bureau, an organisation that supports education and curriculum activities in Rwanda says benchmarking is important to both the organisation and the individual.

He says that for career development, learning from others through benchmarking helps one to understand where they are at the moment, and what needs to be done in the future to achieve their career development.

"When you are stuck in one place, learning from others can help you open your eyes and go for opportunities that will help you grow. For career exploration, benchmarking allows an individual to explore other options,” he says.

According to Mutabazi, benchmarking is all about comparing your workplace's operations and what you deliver to those in other organisations within your industry.

Matthias Nkeeto, a mentor counselor and educator says benchmarking helps one discover new opportunities for increased growth and success within their working environment.

"This aspect is vital if you want to improve the efficiency of what you are doing. It can also help you realign your processes to achieve specific goals and maintain ongoing competition with others with the same skills as yours,” he says.

He goes on to note that one can find out from those within his/her domain to just gain insights into what they are doing best so that you can as well work on achieving the same.

In addition, Nkeeto says benchmarking an individual provides an excellent opportunity for you to be motivated to work hard always.

This, he says can lead to one coming up with specific goals and how to attain them at the right time, as it helps you understand your expectations and objectives in life more.

Importance to organisation

From different research and studies, it has been established that benchmarking can help an organisation stay updated on recent trends and innovations within its industry.

• It may also help companies identify ways to improve their operational efficiency and improve the quality of their products or services.

• It is believed that benchmarking also allows businesses to understand numerous competitors collectively rather than looking at one.

• When businesses understand their competition's procedures, they may expand their ideas to increase productivity and performance.

• Performing regular benchmarks contributes to a company's overall effectiveness and efficiency. They allow an organisation to identify any potential areas of improvement internally.

• Understanding why your competition is succeeding can give you important insights that enable you to create measurable objectives.

• Reviewing competitors' performance may help you set a standard for success in your workplace, develop innovative strategies to make an impact, and effectively monitor your progress towards each goal over time.