SPEC Headquarters: The quiet hub of worldwide benchmarking activity

Every business day, an average of 16 articles appear on the Internet mentioning SPEC or its benchmarks.

Throughout the course of a year, dozens of papers quoting SPEC benchmarking results are published and tens of thousands of the organization's benchmarks are downloaded.

Several million people visit the SPEC website annually; the site is continuously updated with new performance results, benchmark information, articles and other content.

SPEC has more than 120 members in 22 countries and its brand name is synonymous with performance measurement.

Given all of the above, it might be surprising to know that the SPEC office is staffed by just four people. But that small staff is mighty, comprising 70-some years of experience managing the worldwide realm of SPEC operations.

Here is the current (and long-standing) headquarters line-up:

Dianne Rice, SPEC operations and administrative manager, established the first SPEC offices back in 1991. Along with all of her well-honed management skills, she combines diplomacy and shrewd negotiation with southern charm and hospitality.

Jason Glick, with SPEC since 1998, is the steadfast expert behind SPEC's IT operations. He fits the ideals of an IT professional: The ability to manage multiple projects with a limited budget while keeping SPEC's infrastructure online, updated and secure.

Cathy Sandifer, who joined SPEC in 2002, is a senior webmaster. Her ability to foster teamwork among staff and SPEC members and to get things done on tight schedules and short notice is a rare and valuable combination.

Diana Cercy is the self-declared headquarters "newbie", having joined SPEC in 2014. She's quickly made herself indispensible by handling all manner of customer and membership services in a comprehensive and timely fashion.

The biggest changes I've seen are the number of people involved in SPEC and the continuous increase in the number of benchmarks. And, of course, the use of technology. When I started we barely had email. It took six weeks to create, print and mail the quarterly newsletter with 200 double-sided pages of articles and benchmark results. Now, about 300 to 400 benchmark results are reviewed and published online each week.

-- Dianne Rice, SPEC operations and administrative manager

Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation