A One-Page Monthly Pack That Partners Read and Act On
A firm's people numbers should show capacity, progression and cost on one page, in terms that partners use for their own decisions. We help you fix definitions for each measure, build a short monthly pack, show the trend and not only the latest figure, and tie each measure to a decision someone is expected to take. The partners choose what to act on; we make sure the numbers are consistent and that they arrive on time.
Not sure what you need? Tell us about your business in six short steps and we will come to the first meeting prepared.
Share your requirementsThe starting point
Do Partners See the Same People Numbers?
Firms measure revenue carefully and people loosely. Headcount is quoted from memory, utilisation from the billing tool, and attrition from whoever last counted. When partners meet, each brings a slightly different set, and the meeting is spent reconciling them.
We help you decide the few numbers that matter, define them once and put them in front of partners every month.
You may be experiencing:
- Headcount that differs between finance, HR and the partners' lists because trainees, contract staff and notice-period leavers are counted differently.
- Utilisation quoted without saying what is in the denominator, such as leave, training or bench time.
- Attrition reported as a single figure, with no split by level, practice or whether the exit mattered.
- Promotion and progression kept in partners' notes, so nobody can say how long people spend at each level.
- People cost reported at firm level, with no view by practice or against the engagement pipeline.
- Reports that take days to assemble and are out of date by the time they are read.
- Dashboards built once and abandoned because nobody agreed what the numbers meant.
What we can help with
Our HR Analytics and Reporting Services for Professional Services Firms
Measure Definitions
Write a definition for each measure, covering what counts, the period, the source and the owner, so that headcount, utilisation, attrition and cost mean the same thing wherever they appear.
Capacity and Headcount Reporting
Show people by practice and level, including trainees and contract staff separately, with open positions, joiners, leavers and planned leave.
Utilisation in Context
Show chargeable time alongside leave, training, internal work and bench time, so that the figure is read in context and not as a stand-alone verdict on a person.
Progression and Time in Level
Report promotions, time in level and the readiness view of the succession register, so partners can see whether people are moving.
Attrition and Hiring View
Show exits by level, practice and tenure, the regretted split, hiring against plan and the stage at which candidates are lost.
People Cost View
Present salary cost, variable pay and intake cost by practice and level against the plan, with the assumptions marked, for review with the finance partner.
Dashboard Specification
Draw the page layout, the charts and the order of measures, and decide who sees which view, for example partners, practice heads and HR.
Reporting Cycle and Review Agenda
Set the date each month by which the pack is ready, who prepares it and the short agenda on which partners discuss it and record decisions.
The deliverables
What You Receive
Depending on the agreed scope, you receive:
- A document of measure definitions.
- A one-page monthly HR pack in an agreed layout.
- Trend views for headcount, utilisation context, attrition and cost.
- A progression and succession summary.
- A dashboard specification, with views for each audience.
- A review agenda that links each measure to a decision.
- A feed plan for taking data from your systems into the pack.
Step by step
How We Work
Ask What Partners Decide
We start from the decisions partners take about people and ask what they want to see before taking them.
Fix the Definitions
We draft definitions, test them on last year's data, and agree them with finance, HR and the practice heads.
Build the Pack
We create the one-page layout and the supporting views, using data from your current sources.
Run It for Two Cycles
We prepare the pack, check it with those who know the numbers and adjust the layout and definitions.
Automate and Hand Over
We record a baseline, set up the feed on your system or the GullyHR platform where possible and hand over the cycle to your team.
The difference
One Set of People Numbers
A short monthly pack helps the firm to:
We do not promise outcomes. We record a baseline before work starts, covering the time taken to prepare each report, the number of versions of headcount in circulation and the measures with an agreed definition, and report against it, so you can see what changed and what did not.
- Use the same definitions in every discussion.
- See capacity and utilisation by practice and level in context.
- Watch progression and time in level.
- Look at attrition by group and not as a single figure.
- Discuss people cost against the plan.
- Link each measure to a decision and an owner.
Find your fit
Who This Service Is For
Firms With Several Practices
Where partners see different numbers.
Firms Preparing for Growth
That need a people baseline before they expand.
Finance Partners and HR Heads
Who assemble reports by hand each month.
Engineering and Design Consultancies
That compare people cost and project hours across studios.
Staffing Companies
That track bench, deployed staff and internal team numbers.
How it usually shows up in professional services
Partners in professional firms are comfortable with numbers: billable hours, realisation, utilisation, debtors and fees per partner are reviewed regularly. People measures are not given the same attention. Headcount is quoted differently by finance, HR and the practice heads, because trainees, retainers and part-time or associate-level staff are counted in different ways. Attrition is known as a feeling more than a number, and the figure that exists is rarely split by level or practice. Utilisation is shown but without the overload that sits behind a healthy average, and employee cost is not set against fees. Progression data, such as time in grade and promotions, is not collected. Reports are prepared by hand from several files, take time to produce and arrive after the decisions they might have informed.
Common challenges
Where it goes wrong in professional services
Headcount has several answers
Finance, HR and practice heads count trainees and associates in different ways.
Averages hide overload
A healthy utilisation average can conceal a few people working far beyond a sustainable load.
Attrition is a feeling
There is no split by level, practice or partner to show where people leave from.
Cost is not set against fees
Employee cost is reported without comparing it with the fees the practice earns.
A better process
What a working version looks like
- 01
Fix the definitions
One written definition of headcount, attrition, utilisation and cost, used by finance, HR and the practices. The HR reporting approach starts here.
- 02
Build a one-page pack
Headcount by level and practice, open roles, utilisation with overload flags, attrition by level, promotions and cost against fees.
- 03
Show the trend
Each measure compared with the previous periods, so movement is visible, not only the level.
- 04
Tie it to decisions
Each month the partners decide on hiring, workload moves and retention actions, using the pack.
- 05
Automate the feed
Pull the figures from the HR and time systems, using reports automation once the definitions are agreed.
What to check this week
- Ask three people for current headcount and compare the answers.
- Look at utilisation for the busiest practice and list the individuals above a sensible load.
- Check whether attrition is available by level for the last year.
- Find out how long the monthly people report takes to prepare.
- Ask what decision the last HR report actually changed.
What this looks like in professional services
The parts of hr analytics and management reporting that are specific to this sector, rather than general.
People Numbers and Firm Economics
Where utilisation is the business model.
What this coversHide
People Numbers and Firm Economics
Where utilisation is the business model.
What this coversHideIn a professional firm, people reporting and financial reporting are the same exercise. Utilisation, realisation and headcount drive the economics directly.
- Utilisation and realisation by individual, team and grade
- Headcount by grade against the pyramid the firm intends
- Attrition by grade, team and partner
- Recruitment and ramp-up cost against fee contribution
- Chargeable hours distribution, including outliers at both ends
- Leverage ratios by practice area
- Progression and promotion rates by grade
- Recorded-hours outliers monitored as a wellbeing signal
Monitoring recorded-hours outliers serves two purposes at once - it identifies both the people at risk and the engagements that are mispriced.
Questions on this, in professional services
Usually headcount and capacity by practice and level, utilisation read in context, attrition split by level and regret, progression and time in level, and people cost against plan. We help you choose a short list and define each.
A figure on its own hides leave, training, internal projects and bench time, and can unfairly judge people on work they were not given. Showing the context allows partners to discuss capacity and allocation, not only individual performance.
From your HR records, timesheet or practice-management tool, payroll and recruitment tracker. We list the sources, who owns each and how they reach the pack, and note gaps where data has to be captured first.
Reports show groups, and small groups are combined or withheld so that individuals cannot be picked out. Detailed views are restricted to the partners and HR leads who need them.
Where the sources allow, yes. Records, calculations and the monthly pack can be configured as reports on the GullyHR platform or in your own system, refreshed on a schedule, with a person still checking before it goes to partners.
We set out the options, show what each does to the number and ask the partners to choose. The choice is recorded in the definitions document, so the disagreement is not reopened each month.
Headcount by level and practice, utilisation with overload flags, attrition by level, open roles, time in grade, promotions, training completion and employee cost against fees.
Report the distribution as well as the average, and flag individuals whose hours stay above an agreed level for several weeks.
Monthly for the main measures, and a deeper quarterly review of progression and retention.
It shows whether a practice is staffed at a cost that its revenue can support, and prompts questions about the level mix.
Replace Five Versions of Headcount With One Page
Tell us which people numbers partners ask for and where they disagree. We will discuss how to build a pack around them.
Prefer to talk first? Call +91 80958 58589 or write to hello@gullyhr.com.
Discuss Your Management Pack
Share a few details about the reporting you have now.
The general method — what hr analytics and management reporting covers, the questions it answers and what an engagement produces — is the same whatever the sector, and is set out on the hr reporting and analytics page. What is above is the part that differs for professional services.
To run this in a system rather than on paper, see reports, analytics and automation.
Other HR topics for professional services
Where to start
Most engagements begin with a review of how this runs in your business today, then a written process and the sequence to implement it.
See all HR topics for professional services, or another industry.