Market evidence is frequently commissioned to answer a narrow question: are we paying the right amount. It can answer a broader one.
A well-constructed view of a market describes structure as well as cost. How competitors organise a function tells a board what capability is considered necessary at their scale, and where the organisation is carrying work at the wrong level.
Availability matters as much as price. A role may be correctly benchmarked and still difficult to fill, because the population that matches it is small, settled, or concentrated in three businesses.
We would rather present a limited evidence base honestly than complete it with estimates. Where we do not have data, we say so, and we set out what it would take to obtain it.
Used properly, market evidence does not make the decision. It removes the assumptions the decision would otherwise rest on.
Evidence does not make the decision. It removes the assumptions the decision would rest on.
