Dynamic Benchmarking is the company facilitating ACA’s Benchmarking Intelligence platform. Learn more about the expertise they bring to the table and how you can get started with the program today. Plus, you can get all your questions answered at our March 19 Office Hours event!
03/13/2024 1:45 P.M.
6.5 minute read
You may have noticed an email in your inbox from Dynamic Benchmarking in the last few months. Who is this company and how is it connected to ACA International?
ACA’s Benchmarking Intelligence platform is hosted by our outside vendor, Dynamic Benchmarking, which provides benchmarking technology for nearly 100 prominent associations.
We chatted with Nicole Succop, an account manager with Dynamic Benchmarking, who explained how her company works and how she helps ACA members navigate the Benchmarking Intelligence platform.
You can join Nicole at the upcoming Office Hours Zoom call on Tuesday, March 19 at 2 p.m. EST to learn more about the Benchmarking Intelligence platform. Put it on your calendar! Nicole can help ensure you have all the info you need to meet the upcoming March 31 data collection deadline.
What is Dynamic Benchmarking and what is your role in ACA’s Benchmarking Intelligence Program?
Succop: At Dynamic Benchmarking, we are focused on transforming how companies and associations perform through data-driven decision-making. We believe there is always room to improve. But to improve performance, you must set goals. And to set goals, you must measure current performance. With that in mind, we’ve created a safe and secure mechanism for sharing data so that business and individuals can learn from each other without fear of sharing private information.
As the account manager for ACA’s Benchmarking Intelligence program, participating members should think of me as an additional resource for the online tool.
I regularly monitor the program’s response progress throughout both the data collection and results’ release cycles of the year. I also regularly perform data validation reviews at the close of each data collection period to ensure the results shared with participants represent the truest and cleanest data we can provide.
As the third party that stores each participant’s data, I can assist individual participants with data verification, navigational access throughout the platform, and personalized reporting through the application of filters.
The ACA team relies on my experience and knowledge of benchmarking and data security, and I rely on ACA’s leadership team as the subject matter experts in credit and collections. Together, we’ve built a unique and personalized experience for ACA members to measure their agency’s performance and also compare themselves to other agencies like them.
What other associations have you worked with on similar projects?
Succop: Dynamic Benchmarking has worked with a wide variety of organizations across many different industries. Operational stats, financial health, compensation/benefits, and diversity, equity, and inclusion are the top-performing categories we build and implement.
Industry-wise, we are all over the association marketplace. We serve customers from groups dedicated to ambulatory services, nursing, accounting, township management, telecommunications, trucking and more.
Over the years, we’ve performed several case studies with some of our clients about their custom programs within the Dynamic Benchmarking tool. Some of our most recent case studies can be found here: Case Studies | Dynamic Benchmarking.
How do I know the data I submit will be anonymous?
Succop: As a third party, Dynamic Benchmarking has built our platform to provide anonymity while collecting user data safely and securely. Our platform uses multiple layers of security and encryption with all data submissions as well as the delivery of results. Individual data is encrypted and protected by SSL when in transit from the individual’s browser to the Dynamic Benchmarking databases.
All ACA username and password information is managed and stored separately within the ACA databases. All access to the Benchmarking Intelligence program is through the member’s login credentials on ACA’s website.
Additionally, all survey responses are only ever released to participating members and authorized ACA team members as aggregated data that cannot be traced back to specific companies, facilities or individuals. No data results will ever be made available for any single metric that has fewer than five responses, even when filters are applied.
What goes on at the Benchmarking Office Hours events?
Succop: Our Office Hours events are Zoom calls designed to be an “open conversation” specifically on the topic of ACA’s Benchmarking Intelligence program. I am the Zoom call organizer and moderator, and my role is to answer any and all of your questions about using the Benchmarking Intelligence platform.
ACA representatives do not participate in these Zoom calls. If anything comes up that requires the attention of an ACA representative, that situation is handled on a case-by-case basis for data sensitivity purposes.
Most of what I’ve shared with ACA from these calls is typically in reference to suggestions for the program, such as additional metrics or calculations with the data already being collected that would be useful for comparison. Some participants may recall over the last year that there have been a few occasions in which we’ve added one of the above data points for future use.
In past calls, we’ve had both current and prospective participants of the Benchmarking Intelligence program join to specifically ask questions about the data being collected; how best to source it within their own organization; how to determine who within the organization would benefit from participating in both data entry and reporting review; as well as general questions about best practices when it comes to ACA members and their quarterly operations and reporting.
When there are multiple participants from different organizations on the call, everything is discussed in conceptual format or in review of a “test account” within the system that holds fictitious data so that no one member’s individual data points are being shared with others. Meanwhile, when an individual is solo in the call, this presents me with an opportunity to review that account’s data specifically in hopes of helping to clear up whatever might be in question.
I encourage you to join one of our upcoming Zoom calls to get personalized answers to your questions. These Office Hours events are for both current participants and interested newcomers.
The next Office Hours event is:
Tuesday, March 19 at 2 p.m. EST
How to Take Advantage of This Member-Exclusive Benefit
ACA International’s Benchmarking Intelligence platform provides participants with a free benchmark report with anonymous, aggregated industry information, allowing them to see how their operations stack up against those of their peers.
If you haven’t signed up to participate yet and want more basic information about what this platform is and how it works, visit the Benchmarking Intelligence page on our website.
ACA members can also watch an explanatory webinar hosted by ACA CEO Scott Purcell, ACA President David Williams, President-Elect Tim Haag and Past President Courtney Reynaud. To watch it, go to the Benchmarking Intelligence page on ACA’s website, make sure you are logged in (only logged-in members can watch the video), and scroll down to the Webinar Recording box.
“The data in this system is so important to identifying areas where you might be underperforming or overperforming, as well as how to capitalize on those things,” Reynaud said in the webinar. “I know a lot of people look at their P&L, monthly collector reports, monthly sales reports and things like that to get a sense of how they are doing. But this platform goes so far beyond that. It is a culmination of all of that information and more that will help you drive business decisions as you go forward as well as correct any issues that you might find along the way if you spot outlier trends.”
Ready to start? Reach out to ACA’s Member Services team here, and let them know that you want to participate in the Benchmarking Intelligence program. (You must be a Company Division member of ACA to participate.) You’ll need to sign and return an agreement before you are granted access to the secure platform.
Once you have access to the platform, you can download a full exportable list of the entire question set and begin reviewing the metrics and compiling the relevant data. Get started today!
Remember, subscribe to ACA Daily and Member Alerts under your My ACA profile when logged in to acainternational.org to receive updates on the ACA Huddle.