With all the data that is readily available and varying success metrics, determining whether a food service program is on par with other programs can feel elusive. What’s your average check? Food cost percentages? Labor model?
Many of our clients beg the question, “How does our program measure up to others?” We don’t expect you to know the ins and outs of the hospitality industry, but we can arm you with enough information to make you a smart (and sophisticated) client. How do you know if your program is on solid footing? Here’s one way.
Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “People vote with their feet.” If your stakeholders (students, employees, staff) aren’t engaged with your food offering, that’s a blazing red flag. It’s not a perfect science, but we believe you can assess your program based on one question:
Are your diners (students, employees, staff) participating?
For corporate dining, we define participation as the percentage of your employees who participate in dining services each day. In higher education environments, we define participation in a different way. You must ask yourself, “What percentage of total meals available are utilized by students on a meal plan.”
Once you know your percentage, now you need to know how to place a value on it. Is that percentage good? Could it or should it be better? We want to help you make that determination as the savvy client that you are.
With that intent, we created a participation calculator that will tell you where you fall with your participation rate compared to others in your industry.
Here’s how it works:
- Choose your industry using the buttons below.
- Plug in your participation percentage into the calculator.
What if you don’t know your percentage? We would encourage you to ask your food service partner or select, “I don’t know.” - Based on your response, we’ll tell you whether you fall in the red, yellow, or green zone.
If you’re red or yellow, we’ll give you insights on how to improve your rating. If your rating is green, we will applaud you and your food service provider for a job well done! Ready to get started? Check them out:
Assess Your Participation Rate
Select one of the calculators below. It may take a just a moment for your browser to scroll down to the calculator.
