In a nutshell:
Thanks to our 5 KPIs :
- Avoid the risks of overloading and under-utilization with clear indicators.
- Check that your teams are filling in their timesheets correctly, for accurate staffing tracking.
- Make sure that time schedules for customer projects are respected.
- Analyze internal tasks: identify who spends too much time on them, why, and the nature of these activities.
Managing agency staffing without KPIs means moving forward without reference points. Too many resources mobilized, and your margin collapses. Too few, and your teams burn out or your projects fall behind schedule. Fortunately, there’s a reliable compass: staffing KPIs. With them, you can maximize profitability while preserving your talent. In this article, we’ll take a look at the 5 must-haves.
The risks of managing without KPIs
Without clear indicators, you expose your agency to several major risks:
- Project over-staffing When you allocate too many resources, such as more expensive days or profiles than necessary, you reduce your margin and weaken overall profitability.
- Under- or over-utilized employees Overloaded teams quickly burn out, while under-utilized talent becomes demotivated, increasing the risk of burn-out or turnover.
- Lack of visibility Lack of visibility: Without reliable data, it’s difficult to anticipate your priorities or future needs, turning planning into a headache.
- Missed opportunities and team dissatisfaction Missed opportunities and team dissatisfaction: You may find it difficult to respond to urgent requests or manage slack periods, impacting both your results and team motivation.
These pitfalls compromise not only your agency’s financial performance, but also the well-being of your staff. Conversely, management based on relevant KPIs paves the way for overall optimization. Let’s explore them in detail.
The 5 essential KPIs for optimizing your staffing
1. Utilization (or staffing) rate
The utilization rate measures the actual workload in relation to the total available capacity of your teams. It’s a crucial indicator for avoiding scenarios of overwork or inactivity that harm your agency’s overall performance.
This KPI helps identify :
- Overworked employees.
- Periods or projects where talent is under-utilized.
- Differences between billable time and time spent on ancillary activities.
Why is this important?
Too high a rate leads to overloads, while too low a rate leads to under-utilization of resources and financial losses.
How do I track it?
- Resource management software : Integrate a tool to centralize and visualize individual and collective workloads in real time.
- Customizable dashboards: Configure key indicators to quickly identify situations of overload or under-utilization.
- Forecasting: Use predictive tools to forecast future needs and avoid bottlenecks during peaks in activity or prolonged periods of inactivity.
Expected impact: Balanced workload management improves employee productivity, reduces the risk of burn-out and maximizes the efficient use of resources, while increasing overall profitability.
2. Unproductivity rate
A company wastes 11.4% of its resources through poor project management.
This KPI measures non-billable time or time spent on internal tasks. It highlights inefficiencies in time and priority management.
This KPI helps identify :
- Employees who spend too much time on internal projects or low value-added activities.
- Process bottlenecks that slow down deliveries.
- Time-consuming non-billable activities such as unnecessary meetings or administrative tasks.
Why is this crucial?
Reducing unproductivity maximizes billable time and improves profitability.
How do you monitor and optimize it?
- Timesheet analysis: Regularly review timesheets to identify non-billable activities and internal assignments taking up a disproportionate amount of space.
- Automation : Deploy tools to automate repetitive or administrative tasks, such as data entry or meeting management.
- Optimize meetings: Limit the length and number of participants at meetings, and introduce clear agendas to avoid wasting time.
- Simplified processes: Identify unnecessary steps in your workflows and simplify them to speed up deliverables.
- Team feedback: Organize sessions with your employees to identify time management bottlenecks and prioritize appropriate solutions.
Expected impact: By reducing non-billable tasks, you focus your teams’ efforts on value-generating activities, improving margins and increasing employee satisfaction.
3. The billable objective
The billable objective is used to define a target percentage of billable time per employee, and to compare it with reality in the field. This indicator is crucial for assessing whether resource allocation remains aligned with the agency’s financial objectives.
This KPI helps identify :
- Differences between the expected billable rate and the actual rate per employee.
- Drifts that impact project profitability and increase the cost per employee.
- Signs of an imbalance between time spent on customer issues and ancillary tasks.
Why is this crucial?
A realistic billable target ensures that employees remain focused on high value-added assignments. If the actual billable rate falls short of the target, the result is higher costs per employee and increased pressure on overall profitability.
How do I track it?
- Analysis of billable rates by employee : Regularly track the percentage of time spent on customer projects in relation to total hours worked. Identify discrepancies to adjust your priorities.
- Project profitability monitoring: Check that the time actually spent on customer projects is in line with planned objectives, to avoid financial drift.
- Evaluation of non-customer-related tasks: Identify employees who spend too much time on non-customer-related activities and implement solutions to optimize their time.
Expected impact:
A well-monitored billable target helps to maintain project profitability, avoid rising operational costs and ensure optimal allocation of resources to strategic missions.
Caroline Vignand
Associate Director, POP FOR YOU (Humanskills Group)
Thanks to advance planning of resources and better estimation of time spent per project, the agency not only improved its profitability monitoring, but also saved 5 hours per week. A real breakthrough made possible by the use of Furious.
4. Rate of time spent on projects sold
This KPI measures the proportion of time your teams spend on billed projects, as a proportion of total hours worked.
This KPI helps identify :
- Differences between planned and actual time spent on customer projects.
- Time wasted on non-priority or inefficient activities.
- Under-utilized resources on projects where their skills could be better exploited.
Why is this crucial?
This KPI ensures that the time invested by employees generates maximum value for the agency.
How do I track it?
- Forecast/actual comparison : Integrate resource management software to automatically compare the time planned for each project with the time actually spent. These discrepancies need to be analyzed regularly to detect inefficiencies or adjust practices.
- Detailed dashboards: Set up indicators to track :
- The ratio between hours billed and hours worked.
- Variances by project or team to identify less profitable missions.
- Qualitative analysis: Hold project reviews to identify why certain projects consume more time than expected (unforeseen difficulties, underestimated planning, poorly allocated skills).
- Optimize priorities: Identify low-priority tasks that are eating into the time available for billed assignments, and implement solutions to reduce or outsource these activities.
- Employee feedback: Consult teams to understand any blockages in their time management, and adjust your processes to reduce waste.
Expected impact:
Better control of this KPI will enable you to increase the productive time allocated to customer projects, improve the profitability of each assignment and maximize the use of employee skills.
5. Absence rates
The absence rate measures the impact of absences (leave, illness, turnover) on the agency’s overall productivity. This KPI should not be limited solely to one-off absences, but should also include the effects of departures and arrivals which can affect project continuity.
This KPI helps identify :
- Recurring absences that disrupt schedules.
- Critical periods when staff turnover or vacations have an impact on project continuity.
- The need for additional flexibility to deal with unforeseen events.
- Transition phases linked to the departure and integration of new employeeswhich can lead to interruptions in projects.
Why is this crucial?
Precise monitoring of absences and transitions helps prevent disruptions to projects, anticipate peaks in activity and reduce overload for the remaining teams. Poor management of these phases can delay projects and impact customer satisfaction.
How do you monitor and optimize it?
- Real-time monitoring : Use a centralized system to record absences and staff movements. This gives you an overview of planned leave, unscheduled absences and transition periods.
- Dynamic dashboards: Set up indicators to track :
- Absence rates by team or period.
- Critical absences (on key projects or at sensitive times).
- Transition periods (notice periods, onboarding) to anticipate the impact on projects.
- Structured transition plan : Anticipate departures and integrations with clear handover processes. Implement solutions such as mentoring, project documentation or accelerated training for newcomers.
- Back-up resources: Plan flexible solutions such as back-up staff or a pool of freelancers to maintain project continuity.
- Regular communication: Keep your teams informed of upcoming departures and arrivals, to better organize the distribution of tasks and smooth transitions.
Expected impact : By integrating the management of absences and transition phases, you can limit disruption to your projects, ensure continuity in production and reduce the work overload for your teams. In this way, you strengthen your organization’s resilience in the face of staff turnover.
How to integrate these KPIs into your daily practices
Involve your teams in the process
Good KPI monitoring starts with good adoption of tools and practices. Teams that understand the importance of KPIs are more committed to monitoring and respecting them.
Field tip: Organize regular updates to share performance and explain how data influences your decisions. Collective buy-in strengthens team dynamics.
Centralize your data for a global view
Working with KPIs scattered across several files or tools is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces. Effective centralization lets you visualize the status of your resources in real time.
What to do? Use a single platform to collect, analyze and share data in real time. Set up customizable dashboards accessible to all managers.
Impact: You gain visibility and can make informed decisions quickly.
Automate indicator tracking
Tracking KPIs manually is time-consuming and error-prone. Automation allows you to devote your time to strategic tasks.
What to do?
- Set up automatic alerts to detect critical deviations in real time.
- Use a tool to automate reporting and obtain accurate data.
Impact: You save time and improve the reliability of your analyses.
(With Furious, dashboards update automatically according to the data entered by your teams. You even receive alerts to anticipate overloads or imbalances).
Switch to predictive analysis
Effective management doesn’t stop at the present: it looks to the future. Thanks to forecasting tools, you can anticipate future needs and better allocate your resources.
What to do?
- Integrate forecasting tools to anticipate variations in activity.
- Analyze historical trends to adjust your strategies.
Impact: Reduce unforeseen events and optimize your schedules.
Evaluate your practices regularly
KPIs are not static. Your agency’s needs evolve, and your indicators must adapt to remain relevant.
Our tip : After each project, organize a review to analyze what worked (or didn’t) and adjust your methodologies. This will help you maintain agile, high-performance management.
Turn your KPIs into strategic leverage
Tracking these KPIs gives your agency the means to effectively manage its staffing while maximizing profitability.
With Furious, you can visualize these KPIs in real time. Thanks to clear dashboards and automatic alerts, you can turn your data into informed decisions. The result: greater visibility, less stress, and an agency that stays on track for growth.
Don’t let KPIs be just numbers: make them the strategic levers of your success.
Book your free demo now and discover how to manage your agency with serenity and efficiency.
