# Productivity Standards as defined by covers/labor hours



## theages (Feb 7, 2010)

Chefs- I'm trying to write an article which specifies a general range of productivity for restaurants (FOH & BOH) as well as for just BOH. The purpose of the article is to give chefs (and managers) an idea of acceptable, normal, realistic ranges for this often either over-looked or overemphasized calculation.

I think that the starting point of implementing a labor budget needs to be to determine the desired level of service expected of the venue, and then budget a productivity number around that. So far I have found the following general productivity numbers based upon total covers divided by total labor hours (including OT). The numbers exclude salaried positions.

*Covers per labor hour (FOH & BOH)*

?? High-end Restaurants
.8 - 1.1 Mid to High-end Restaurants (guest check +$35pp)
1.8 - 2.2 Family Style Restaurants
2.5 - 3.5 Buffets
?? Fast Food
*Covers per labor hour (BOH)*

?? High-end Restaurants
1.4 - 2 Mid to High-end Restaurants (guest check +$35pp)
3 - 5 Family Style Restaurants
4.5 - 6.5 Buffets
?? Fast Food
Would greatly appreciate any feedback with how these numbers relate to the types of venues you run/have run. Also, if your budget is based up a labor % of dollars (labor $ divided by gross food $) that would also be helpful.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

I don't even remember anymore.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

I'm curious as to why you don'e include the labor of the salaried full time people?
You wouldn't get the full scope of covers to labor hours without them.


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## theages (Feb 7, 2010)

Chefross - Some places do include salaried staff, others don't. I guess it's a matter of what end result you're looking to achieve, For my purposes I want to track the manageable labor hours/$ of my hourly staff, their productivity rating, and how the scheduled/forecasted numbers compared to actuals.


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