Labor Productivity
How do you calculate restaurant sales per labor hour?
Direct answer
Restaurant sales per labor hour equals net sales divided by total labor hours for the same period. It measures revenue productivity, not labor cost, profit, service quality, or legal staffing adequacy.
Key points
- SPLH = Net Sales / Total Labor Hours.
- Compare like-for-like concepts, channels, dayparts, and service models.
- Pair productivity with labor dollars, guest outcomes, safety, and workload.
What to do next
- 1Choose net sales and clocked labor hours from the exact same period.
- 2Calculate the total and segment by daypart, department, or channel.
- 3Investigate demand forecast, schedule placement, prep model, and service result before changing hours.
Worked example
If net sales are $48,000 and the team works 1,200 hours, sales per labor hour are 48,000 / 1,200 = $40.