HR reporting and analytics for PR Agencies: seeing hours by client, task and team
PR retainers are priced on what is promised, while the work grows by the week. Simple numbers on hours, reports and exits show where scope drifts and where the team is overloaded.
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Share your requirementsWhy HR reporting and analytics matters in PR agencies
Partners in PR agencies know their clients well but often not their team's time. A retainer for four releases a month grows quietly into events, social posts and a weekly call. The account manager absorbs it, works late and feels unappreciated. Nobody can show the partner a number.
A few measures are enough. Hours by client and task type from a weekly entry, hours spent on monthly reports, exits and leave by team, and a count of after-hours crisis work. Reviewed together each month, they show which retainers cost more than they bring in and who is carrying the extra load.
How to set it up
1. Pick five measures
Hours by client, hours by task type, time on reports, after-hours work and exits by team. Do not add more at the start.
2. Collect a weekly entry
Each person records hours against client and task in two minutes on Friday. Keep the categories short.
3. Show the numbers monthly
Make a one-page summary for partners comparing sold scope with logged time for each client, and listing the people carrying the most.
4. Discuss what to do
Choose actions such as repricing, trimming scope or moving a task. Record the decision and review next month.
5. Link to people decisions
Use the same numbers in hiring plans and reviews. The workforce planning work can build on them.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Compare the scope of your five largest retainers with hours logged.
- Count after-hours work last quarter, by person.
- See how long monthly reports take and who does them.
- Check how many exits came from teams with the highest load.
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
Less than you might expect when the numbers are used to fix scope and share load, not to police. Keep the entry short and show people what changed because of it.
Hours against sold scope for each client. It shows which retainers need repricing or a trimmed scope, and it protects staff from absorbing the extra silently.
Keep to a handful of measures and a one-page summary. If a number does not lead to a decision within a quarter, drop it.