Bench time
Paid time when a team member has no billable client work - the costly gap between projects that drags on utilisation and margin.
For example, a developer finishes a project a week before the next one starts and spends that week on internal tasks. The salary is still paid, but no client is billed - a week of bench time that quietly eats into margin.
Why it matters to your firm: bench time is one of the biggest hidden costs in an agency: idle, paid hours that no client funds. A little is healthy slack, but too much - usually a capacity-planning or pipeline failure - is pure margin lost, which is why utilisation is watched so closely.
A little bench time is healthy slack; sustained high bench - idle, unbillable staff - quietly destroys margin, so watch it weekly.
- Ignoring bench until it shows up in the P&L.
- Hiring ahead of demand and parking people on the bench.
- Filling bench with busywork instead of pipeline.