We often talk to clients who are looking for "best practice". But we also sometimes talk to clients who think best practice is a followers game - and of course what is good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander (so to speak). A recent blog at HBSP's site talked about some of the pitfalls of the "best practice" approach:
“What’s best practice?” Just about any manager seeking to improve corporate performance has fielded this question from leadership. The theory is that the manager should find a successful company, find out what practices have made them successful, mimic those practices, and expect success.
Blindly worshiping at the altar of best practices is dangerous. The problem is that practices that work incredibly well in one circumstance can be ill-suited for another circumstance.
As Tess always says, strategic workforce planning is a menu, not a prescription - there is no one "best practice" for your organization. From the menu (our workforce planning whitepapers are a good start), choose activities that fit your needs, leverage your strengths and set a journey in place for you. Don't just take something out of the box!
Agree Stacy. Taking something out of the box should be done when it provides the strategic value you are looking to get from an application. If it does not then push on until you get that value.
I'm thinking the concept of "benchmarking" or best practices was never about adopting wholesale what someone else was doing. It was a process to analyze what "world class" or industry leaders were doing then adapting all or parts to your organization.
Nothing wrong with being a follower when it improves your performance, productivity, and results.
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