What the ratio cannot see
Realisation, yield, quality, the unbilled work that wins the next engagement, and the cost of a week with no slack in it.
Realisation: The Hours That Were Paid For
The companion measure. Utilisation counts hours offered, realisation counts hours paid for, and only their product is about money.
Revenue per Chargeable Hour
Yield is revenue divided by chargeable hours. It moves in the opposite direction to utilisation often enough to be worth watching.
The Unbilled Work That Wins the Next Engagement
Pitches, writing, speaking and relationship time produce next year's revenue and score zero this year. What pricing them at zero does.
Quality Has No Column in a Timesheet
An hour of excellent work and an hour of work that will need redoing are identical in the numerator. Three consequences.
The Client Who Keeps Everybody Busy
An account that absorbed a quarter of a firm's chargeable hours at a third of its standard rate, and looked like its best client on every utilisation report.
Capacity Is Not Demand
A low utilisation figure has two completely different causes and the ratio cannot distinguish them. The distinction decides what to do next.
What a Completely Full Week Actually Costs
A hundred per cent chargeable means no slack, and slack is what absorbs variation. What a firm gives up at the top of the range.