Benchmarking: turn your results into meaningful action

 

Understand how your organisation compares, identify where there may be opportunities for improvement and use your results to help focus action. 

 

Download the 2026 benchmarking results: 

Compare your results with the raw data:

 

Register for an exclusive workshop

 

What to expect from the 2026 benchmarking report

Safety Climate Tool

40-question survey | 8 health and safety factors 

Organisational commitment; health and safety oriented behaviours; trust; usability of procedures; engagement; peer group 
attitude; resources; accident and near miss reporting. 

 540,993 responses | 1,160 assessments

Stress Indicator Tool 

35-question survey | 6 work design factors 

Demands; control; support; relationships; role; change. 

 83,452 responses | 329 assessments

Home and Hybrid Working Tool 

30-question survey | 8 work design factors 

Remote demands; remote control; remote peer support; remote management support; remote relationships; remote change; work/home interface; remote monitoring. 

17,862 responses | 75 assessments 

 

See more than a survey score 

Running a survey gives you a picture of your workers' attitudes and perceptions. Benchmarking helps you understand that picture by comparing your results with relevant data from other organisations. 

 It can help you: 

  • understand where your organisation is performing well 
  • identify areas where there may be opportunities for improvement 
  • compare your results with relevant organisations 
  • decide where to focus attention and resource 

Benchmarking is not about being the best. It is about understanding your position and identifying where action could have the greatest impact.

 

Put your results into context 

A score on its own only tells you part of the story. Benchmarking gives you another point of reference, helping you understand how your results compare with a wider population. Percentile rankings can show whether a result sits lower, around the middle or higher within the relevant comparison group. 

  • UNDERSTAND - what does our data tell us?
  • COMPARE - how do our results compare with relevant organisations?
  • CHALLENGE - do the results support our assumptions about performance?
  • FOCUS - where could action make the greatest difference?

 

Benchmarking is a starting point, not an answer

A higher benchmark position does not necessarily mean that no action is needed, and a lower position does not necessarily mean your organisation is performing poorly. Results should be considered alongside your organisational context and feedback from workers 

 

What benchmarking gives you 

  • all-industry data: a broad reference point across organisations using the tools 
  • industry comparisons: more contextual comparison where sufficient sector data is available 
  • percentile rankings: understand where a score sits within a reference population 
  • min, mean, and max scores: see the spread of results within the relevant data set 
  • annual updates: latest benchmarking information included as data is refreshed annually 

 

Compare like with like 

Different industries can have different risk profiles, operating environments, regulatory requirements, workforce structures and levels of maturity. Industry-specific benchmarking can therefore provide a more relevant comparison. 

Important balance 

More specific comparisons can be more relevant, but smaller datasets may be less representative. Context and sample size still matter. 

 

Decide where to focus

The lowest score is not always the place to start 

Benchmarking can help you look beyond individual scores and consider where improvement could make the greatest difference. A result should be interpreted in context, not treated as a standalone judgement. 

Use the results to ask: 

  • what is this result telling us? 
  • why might we be seeing this result? 
  • what is happening behind the score? 
  • would improvement here make a meaningful difference? 
  • what other evidence do we have? 

 

Turn insight into action

  • PLAN - establish your organisational baseline
  • DO - repeat the survey
  • CHECK - see how your results have changed since the previous survey as well as the wider context
  • ACT - identify where further action may be needed

Once priorities are identified, benchmarking should help move the organisation from discussion to clear, owned and measurable action. 

 

Every action should answer

What? 

What are we going to do? 

Why?  

What problem are we addressing? 

Who? 

Who owns the action? 

When? 

When will it be completed? 

How? 

How will we deliver it? 

Measure? 

How will we know it has worked? 

 

Use your results to inform discussions, agree practical actions and review the impact of the changes you make. The goal is continuous improvement, not simply a better ranking. 

 

New to the HSE tools? 

Explore the Safety Climate Tool, Stress Indicator Tool and Home and Hybrid Working Tool to find the right assessment for your organisation