The paper presents the main findings of the project 'Benchmarking employment performance and labour market policies' conducted by the Research Network of the European Employment Observatory, under the direction of the author. After a preliminary overview of the analytical areas covered and the topics contained in the project report (para. 2), the paper considers the role of benchmarking in the implementation of the European Employment Strategy (para. 3). It goes on to present the main results and observations deriving from the whole project (para. 4), discussing some of the conceptual and methodological issues arising from the use of benchmarking techniques to foster convergence in labour market efficiency, employment performance, labour market policies and firms' human resource management. Some brief concluding remarks (para. 6) address the institutional implications that arise in the implementation of an effective benchmarking procedure aimed at meeting the requirements of the European Employment Strategy.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Althin, Rikard and Behrenz, Lars ( 1998) 'A technical efficiency analysis of Swedish employment policies', in Leonello Tronti (ed.) (1998).
2.
Anxo, Dominique and Storrie, Donald ( 1998a) 'Measuring labour market efficiency and performance: a conceptual analysis', in Leonello Tronti (ed.) (1998), sections 1.1-1.5.
3.
Anxo, Dominique and Storrie, Donald ( 1998b), 'Ranking labour market and policy efficiency' , in Leonello Tronti (ed.) ( 1998).
4.
Bertelsmann Foundation (1996) International Employment Ranking, Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Foundation Publishers.
5.
Censis (1993) Fare rating del sociale, Rome: typescript.
6.
Competitiveness Advisory Group (1996) Enhancing European Competitiveness. Third Report to the President of the Commission, the Prime Ministers and the Heads of State , Brussels: European Commission, typescript.
7.
Dispersyn, M., van der Vorst, P., de Falleur, M., Guillaume, Y., Hecq, C., Meulders, D. and Lange, B. ( 1991) 'The Construction of a European Social Snake', Revue Belge de Securité Sociale, Brussels: Ministère de la Prevoyance Sociale .
8.
Efmd-Create (1996) Report on Basic Activities in the Formation, Brussels: European Foundation for Management Development, typescript.
9.
European Commission (1997a) The Way Forward - The European Employment Strategy, DG V, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
European Commission (1997c) 'Benchmarking policies for the prevention and reduction of long-term unemployment', DG V, Brussels: typescript, 8 September.
12.
European Commission (1997d) 'Comparative analysis of national performance on integration of young people into the labour market', DG V, Brussels: typescript, 18 September.
13.
European Council (1997) Extraordinary European Council Meeting on Employment. Presidency Conclusions, Luxembourg: typescript, 20 and 21 November.
14.
European Council and European Commission (1997a) Employment and Growth in Europe: The Way Forward. 1996 Joint Report on Employment to the Dublin European Council, in European Commission (1997 a).
15.
European Council and European Commission ( 1997b) Joint Employment Report 1997 to the Luxembourg European Council, Commission final draft, Brussels: typescript, 1 October.
16.
European Council and European Commission (1998) Joint Employment Report 1998 , Brussels.
17.
European Council and European Commission (1999) Joint Employment Report 1999 , Brussels.
18.
Gazier, Bernard ( 1998) 'The experience of the Bilans Sociaux in French large firms:1977-1997', in Leonello Tronti (ed.) (1998).
19.
Houseman, Susan N. ( 1998) 'Labour policy evaluation: lessons from the American experience' , in Leonello Tronti (ed.) ( 1998).
20.
McKinsey Global Institute (1992) Service Sector Productivity, Washington D.C.: McKinsey and Company Inc.
21.
McKinsey Global Institute (1993) Manufacturing Productivity, Washington D.C.: McKinsey and Company Inc.
22.
McKinsey Global Institute (1994) Employment Performance, Washington D.C.: McKinsey and Company Inc.
23.
Nitta, Michio and Otsuka, Misutzu ( 1998) 'The unemployment rate as an indicator for labour market performance: the case of Japan', in Leonello Tronti (ed.) (1998).
Oecd (1997) Industrial Competitiveness - Benchmarking Business Environment in the Global Economy, Paris: OECD.
26.
Schmid, Günther, Schütz, Holger and Speckesser, Stefan ( 1998) 'Measuring labour market efficiency and performance: a conceptual analysis', in Leonello Tronti (ed.) (1998), sections 1.6-1.9.
27.
Speckesser, Stefan, Schütz, Holger and Schmid, Günther ( 1998) 'Benchmarking labour markets and labour policies performance with reference to the European Employment Strategy', in Leonello Tronti (ed.) (1998).
28.
Schütz, Holger, Schmid, Günther and Speckesser, Stefan ( 1998) 'Ranking national labour market performance: the case of the Bertelsmann Foundation', in Leonello Tronti (ed.) (1998).
29.
Toma, A.ndrea (1998) 'Benchmarking labour market and employment performances: the main international experiences', in Leonello Tronti (ed.) (1998).
30.
Tronti, Leonello (ed.) (1998) Benchmarking Employment Performance and Labour Market Policies, European Commission, Employment Observatory - RESEARCH Network, Berlin: I.A.S.
