Benchmarking For Success

In a competitive real estate landscape where knowledge and strategy separate good agencies from great ones, Barry Plant has introduced a new level of financial clarity and collaboration through its office benchmarking program.

Led by Finance Manager Krissie Doyle and Stephen Dullens over the past 18 months, the initiative allows business owners across the Barry Plant network to gain a clearer understanding of their office performance by comparing key financial metrics against their peers. Now in its second year, the program is delivering valuable insights that are helping offices make informed, strategic decisions about growth, efficiency and profitability.

“Benchmarking is all about helping business owners understand their numbers in the context of the wider network,” Doyle explains. “Most principals come from a sales background, not an accounting one. Our role is to make financial information accessible, simple and actionable so they can make better decisions about their business.”

Each participating office receives a confidential report summarising its performance in key areas, presented in a straightforward, easy-to-digest format. From there, the finance team works directly with business owners to unpack what the numbers mean, identify opportunities and connect them with other Barry Plant specialists who can help, whether in property management, technology or business development.

Barry Plant Korumburra Director, Joanne Gillard, shared insights on her office’s participation in the benchmarking program.

“Participating in Head Office’s benchmarking program delivered genuinely valuable and actionable insights,” said Gillard.

“Being able to compare our costings with offices of all sizes gave us a clear view of where we were over- or under-spending per head. The data was well presented, easy to interpret, and provided meaningful direction for strengthening our operational efficiency.”

Crucially, the program’s success relies on trust and collaboration across the network. “The fact that offices are willing to share their figures for collective analysis speaks volumes about the strength of our group,” Doyle says. “It shows how committed our business owners are to continuous improvement and supporting each other’s success.”

While benchmarking is still a developing initiative within the group, Doyle believes Barry Plant is already well ahead of much of the industry.

“While some groups have very advanced systems, many do not engage in this kind of benchmarking activity,” explained Doyle. “We consider ourselves in the group that adds value to its franchisee through a process such as this, with our focus being on quality, relevance and value to our business owners.”

Barry Plant Lilydale Director, Ash Hutson, described the Benchmarking Program as an exceptionally valuable and insightful experience.

“The program gave me deeper visibility into our Sales and Rentals operations, helping pinpoint opportunities to streamline systems, control costs, and increase profitability,” said Hutson.

“I now have a much clearer grasp of our business expenses and the priority areas that will drive stronger margins moving forward.”

Looking ahead, the team plans to evolve the program to include more tailored benchmarks, such as segmenting by office size, management portfolio, or number of sales staff. This will provide more relevant comparisons and even greater strategic value for participants.

Barry Plant CEO Lisa Pennell explained why initiatives like this are vital to the ongoing growth and success of every business in the group.

“While growth through acquisitions and new businesses joining any group is important, I don’t believe it should be the sole focus as a leader of a real estate group. At Barry Plant, our first priority is to support our existing offices to improve, to grow from within and to become the most successful businesses they can be,” explained Pennell.

“Don’t get me wrong - we love it when leading agents and businesses choose to join us, and our director group is always welcoming and excited too. But we nurture our people and celebrate the talent and achievements that already exist within our network first, rather than always chasing external opportunities with a ‘grass is greener’ mindset.”

“And the proof is in the pudding - the sheer number of existing offices in our group having personal bests now, month after month, tells the story of our success.”

Ultimately, Barry Plant’s approach to benchmarking goes beyond numbers.

“It’s a financial health check,” Doyle says. “It’s about understanding where your business sits today, identifying what you want to achieve tomorrow, and using that insight to plan the path forward.”

Through this program, Barry Plant is seeking to supercharge growth from within and reaffirm the group’s position as one of the industry’s most collaborative and forward-thinking brands.