Benchmarking The Art of using Numbers to Tell Your

Self- Operated Foodservice Story

Julie Jones,

Ohio State Wexner Medical Center

Liz Boone,

Corporate Dining

What is Benchmarking?noun• a standard of excellence, achievement or other against

which similar things must be measured or judged• any standard or reference by which others can be

measured or judged

verb• to measure something against a standard

www.dictionary.com

AHF Benchmarking Express

• Toolkit of resources for members– Provides indicators that describe their

facilities in operational terms– Standardizes the language used and allows

comparisons to other organizations similar to yourself

– Allows you to compare your operation over time

How Familiar Are You with AHF Benchmarking Express Program?

A Short Story

Supporting Characters• AHF Benchmarking Express- Developed by self-operated

healthcare foodservice directors for the industry and used by other industry benchmarking programs

• Flexible online platform that allows you full access to your historical data which can be exported or used in reporting

• Traditional Benchmarking is a FREE member benefit

• Mentors and Benchmarking Committee

Narrows focus to the most important key indicators

Be the Lead Character(s)

• Influence others in your organization • Write your own story vs. others writing it

for you - core conflict

• Understand your operations’ impact – the plot

• Solicit the right partners for support- supporting characters

The Plot• Key performance indicators (KPI) that

describe performance• Ongoing comparative cost tool – view data by

Patient or Resident Day, Adjusted Patient Day or Meal compared to other similar facilities

• Track changes over time within your own facility

• Set performance targets

Chapters In Your Story - KPI• Average Retail Transaction• Net of Cash per Patient or Resident Day• Net Cost per Patient or Resident Day• Total Food Cost per Patient or Resident Day• Dietitian Hours Worked per Patient or Resident Day• Labor Hours per Meal• Floor Stock per Patient or Resident Day• Supply/Other per Patient or Resident Day• Statistics: Total Meals; Total Patient or Resident

Meals; Total Patient or Resident Days, Adjusted Patient Days

What chapters are important to your administrators?

• Food cost• Supply cost• Labor hours or cost

Have you asked?

Telling Your Story

• Communicate performance metrics to administrators – “ongoing conversation”– 3,000 ft level – big picture – select few KPI– Be selective about data you share

• Benchmarking is business critical function– “Benchmark ready” for problem areas

• Share key metrics and targets with staff

KPI

Benchmarking Reports – Visual Aids

Features– Key Performance Indicators - Green, yellow,

red • Quickly identify the desired percentile ranking• Track performance over time

– Filter to select best “setting” - bed size, service type, hospital type and location

– Export the percentiles to a spreadsheet• Create your own internal dashboard• Measure internal changes over periods of time

Trend Report

Monthly Report – Snapshot in Time

Enhanced Benchmarking

• Dashboard approach• Easy to understand...good, better, best• Customize reports• Comparison data over time

– 3 years of historical data included

• Nominal annual fee to cover dashboard licensing fee

Enhanced Dashboard

Core Conflict

• Antagonists – Food service contractors– Supply chain or labor consultants– Others

Running the Credits

• Immediate access to monthly KPI for your facility once data submitted

• Solicit collaborative Benchmarking partners – other AHF member facilities to connect with

• Benchmarking Listserve and Mentoring– stories, tips and tools used by other facilities– Mentoring with AHF Benchmarking Committee members

• Communication tool– Reports options to share data with your administrators – Create comparison reports using your data when faced with

contractor quotes

Will you be the hero of your self-operated foodservice story?

Library Resources• Website

www.healthcarefoodservice.org/benchmarking

• Request a mentor via email– AHFBenchmarking@CorporateDining.com

• Consider adding Enhanced dashboard program to your membership