Benchmarking is the systematic process of searching for and implementing best practices from other organizations. It involves understanding your own performance, studying high-performing competitors or similar organizations, and using what you learn to improve processes. There are three main types of benchmarking: internal, competitive, and process benchmarking. The benchmarking process involves deciding what to benchmark, understanding your current performance, planning a benchmarking study, collecting data on others' performance, learning from that data, and implementing findings through goal-setting and action plans. Benchmarking is an effective improvement tool but must be properly implemented and not seen as a substitute for innovation.