Whether you refer to it as benchmarking or comparative analysis, measuring the operating results of your club against available industry data is one way to highlight areas of opportunity for improvement at your club. When performing such an exercise, it is important to carefully select the data to be used for benchmarking. Operating data can vary from region to region in the United States and can be affected by elements such as local economic conditions or climate.
Another factor to consider is the size of the clubs in the data pool compared to yours. Economies of scale that may benefit some larger clubs will not be available to smaller sized ones. It is important that there be relative parity if the comparisons are to be meaningful.
Of course, in order to make any sort of benchmarking analysis possible, you will need to make sure that at least your monthly in-house financial reports correspond with a recognized standard such as the “Uniform System of Accounts (financial reporting) for Clubs”. In addition, your financial statements should be augmented with key statistics such as ratios, guest counts, etc.
