HR reporting and analytics for Management consulting: utilisation, bench and exits on one page
A consulting firm's main cost is people, so the owner needs a clear picture of how many are working on billable engagements each week. A one-page report on utilisation, bench and exits does that.
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Share your requirementsWhy HR reporting and analytics matters in management consulting
Utilisation is the figure every partner quotes and few trust. It comes from timesheets that were filled on Friday from memory, grouped by grade, and compared with a target nobody agreed. Partners argue about the number rather than about what to do.
A simple report fixes the inputs first. Daily timesheets against engagement codes, bench days counted from allocation records and exits logged with grade and practice give a base that people accept. Then the weekly page can show utilisation by grade, bench days by person, hiring against plan and exits, and the partner meeting can talk about actions.
How to set it up
1. Agree what counts as billable
Write down which hours are billable, which are proposal time and which are training or leave. Agree the target per grade with the partners, and note that a manager's target differs from an analyst's.
2. Fix timesheet discipline first
Daily entries, a weekly manager check and a rule that late entries are flagged. The figures are only as good as these entries.
3. Record bench days from allocation
When a consultant leaves an engagement, note the date. When they join the next, note that date. The gap is bench time, and it is easy to count once the dates are kept.
4. Build one page for the partner meeting
Show utilisation by grade, bench days, hiring against plan, exits by practice and travel claims late over a set number of days. Keep it to one page and the same layout each time.
5. Pick one action per meeting
Look at the largest gap, such as a practice with high bench days, and agree who will do what by the next meeting. Review last meeting's actions first.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask three managers how they fill timesheets and compare it with what the records show.
- Count bench days per person for the last quarter and see who has the most.
- Check whether exits by practice are tracked anywhere.
- See if the partner meeting agenda has a standing HR page.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach HR reporting and analytics in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Set it by grade and by your own work mix, with partners agreeing it. Managers spend time on sales and coaching, so a single target for all grades misleads. Review the target each year.
Yes, with daily entries of a few lines against fixed codes. The burden is lighter than a Friday scramble, and managers can spot gaps early instead of arguing about them at invoice time.
Yes. Showing people their own numbers and bench days is fairer than keeping them private. Keep individual comparisons within the manager conversation, and use team figures more widely.