Research by the Work Foundation shows that the most commonly checked aspects of HR were pay and benefits, cited by four-fifths of respondents, absence, used by three-quarters, and job turnover rates, mentioned by two-thirds of bosses.

The survey uncovered differences in approach to benchmarking according to the businesses' size. No businesses with fewer than 100 staff used the practice consistently, but were more likely to use internal performance analysis than their larger counterparts.

Sectoral differences were also clear, with public sector groups far more likely to benchmark equal opportunities policy than, say, manufacturers - just 17% of which did so.