Speaking to other HR professionals or promoters of the company's view does not help. Also, benchmarking is a scientific process. Materials available over the internet do not work.
The Process of Benchmarking
1. Do your gradation fixation: Define grade and employee category, experience, qualifications, traits required, job description, and KRAs. Also, check if you are looking to tap candidates from specific B-schools and/or a specific industry. This will be your data for benchmarking.
2. Once it is done, appoint an agency to carry out a benchmarking study for the similarly defined parameters. Decide on the minimum sample you want to test. Ideally, for each position to benchmark, there should be at least 5 interviews conducted. Do not forget to check their career progression, minimum time spent in each organization, and how they have received their salary hikes. Also, you may need to collect supporting data.
3. Also, compare overall working conditions, hierarchy, work environment, and other preferences.
4. Jobs posted on Naukri and Monster do not help as they are approximate, and during final hiring, most of the time, organizations end up paying more salary.
Remember, a wrong fixation and wrong benchmarking can cost the organization heavily. If you pay a higher salary, it has a recurring impact—financially and also on the return on investment in human capital. If you pay less than the market standard, you may not be able to attract competent candidates.