An analysis of the contribution of benchmarking to the performance of community based organizations in Kisumu city, Kenya

There is concurrence in organizations’ development conversation that benchmarking is important in community development. In the face of economic, climate, health and food crises, benchmarking an organization with other organizations to design and implement strategies that minimize the impact of events remain relevant for sustaining progress. The study was set to analyze the contribution of benchmarking to the performance of Community Based Organizations in Kisumu City, Kenya. The study made use of correlation design and targeted 1202 respondents from 16 active Community Based Organizations in Kisumu City. The sample size obtained through Fisher's model was 291 respondents. Stratified sampling method was used to reach out to the respondents. Structured questionnaire tested for validity and reliability was made use of in data collection. The results revealed a statistically significant strong positive correlation coefficient (R =.657; p<.05) between benchmarking and performance. Benchmarking had a statistically significant contribution to the performance of Community Based Organizations (F (1, 289) = 219.343; p<.05) attributing 43.1% variance. For every one standard deviation increase in benchmarking performance increased by.657 units. In conclusion, benchmarking made a statistically significant contribution to the performance of Community Based Organizations. The study recommends: intensified practice of benchmarking in organizations with a view to enhancing performance; and identifying other benchmarking operational strategies that can be used in organizations with a view to improving performance.