Debunking the benchmarking myth : The pitfalls of failing to compare like with like

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the pitfalls of failing to compare like with like when undertaking employee‐satisfaction surveys. Design/methodology/approach – Reveals how answers can be affected by people's expectations, slight changes in the wording of a survey, the order in which questions are asked, or the scoring system used. Findings – Demonstrates why like‐for‐like comparisons with other employers' surveys are almost impossible and puts forward the view that the information that is most valuable in informing management decision‐making comes from the internal comparisons a survey should permit. Practical implications – Puts forward ways in which to make an employee‐satisfaction survey into a valuable source of management information. Originality/value – Advances the view that an employee‐satisfaction survey that produces data which are nice to know, but do not lead to action, has not earned its keep.