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 agencies: 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.
What is bench time?
Paid time when a team member has no billable client work - the costly gap between projects that drags on utilisation and margin.
What causes bench time?
Gaps between projects, poor capacity planning, or a thin pipeline that leaves billable people without client work.
How do agencies reduce bench time?
Better pipeline visibility and capacity planning, staggering project starts, and using quiet periods for internal or speculative work.
How does bench time affect utilisation?
It lowers it directly - bench hours are available but not billable, so more bench time means a lower utilisation rate.