How to benchmark franchisee performance fairly
Compare like with like, show position instead of rank, and turn the gap into something an owner can act on.
A benchmark can be the most useful thing a franchisor gives an owner, and the easiest to get wrong. Rank a store 41st of 44 and the conversation becomes about the ranking. Show it where it sits against stores like it, and what the gap is worth, and the conversation is about the store.
Compare like with like
- Same format: a drive-thru pad and a food-court unit don't share a normal.
- Same maturity: leave out stores open under a year, or compare them by week since open.
- Same market type where it matters: urban, suburban, highway.
- Same definitions: net sales and labor measured from the same POS fields.
Use the median and a band
Averages get pulled by outliers. The median and the middle half of stores give a range an owner can accept as normal. Five positions read better than a rank: needs attention, below typical, typical, above typical, leading.
Turn the gap into money
"Hourly labor 4 points over median" is a fact. "About $1,280 a week at $32,000 in sales" is a reason. Then show what stores in the top quarter do differently, because a gap with no example is just a grade.
Share within the rules
Check what your franchise agreement says about data access and sharing. Keep peer figures aggregated and anonymous, and don't circulate named league tables without agreement. Exchanging current or future prices or wages between competing operators can raise antitrust issues, so ask counsel before sharing anything about pay or pricing. The recommendation is yours to make; staffing decisions stay with the owner.
Where Franlever fits
Franlever places every store in one of those five positions on sales, hourly labor, ticket, orders, rating and waste against its brand's median, computed fresh from current data rather than stored as a score.
Common questions
- How should franchisors compare franchise locations?
- Against comparable stores — same format, maturity and market type — using the median and a normal band rather than a rank, with gaps expressed in dollars.
General information for restaurant and franchise operators, not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. Figures in examples are illustrations, not predictions or promises of results. Laws and platform policies change and differ by location, so check the current rules and talk to a qualified advisor about your situation.