Increasing the effectiveness of benchmarking in the restaurant industry

Benchmarking has been shown to be an important activity in almost every industry. Benchmarking allows for measurable processes, systems and results to be compared (benchmarked) against those of other organisations. The foodservice industry has a variety of attributes that can be measured and compared. First, though, restaurants should be classified on the basis of attributes such as service level, average check, type of food served, availability of alcohol, and the presence or absence of entertainment, etc. This study discusses the importance of benchmarking and why a reliable classification system is needed to allow effective benchmarking to occur. It then takes an existing and newly developed system and builds on it by adding two important (and differentiating) operational characteristics. Using cluster analysis and these variables as the basis of differentiation, seven groups were discovered. Implications for practitioners and academics are discussed. A comprehensive classification system, quantitatively derived, allows restaurant practitioners and academics to have a clear way to compare and benchmark performance in various foodservice environments. This also allows the large variety of foodservice segments to differentiate between the operational and performance variances that are inherent due to the distinctions mentioned.