Investment Time on the Rise?

The average employee has 79 unbilled days a year. Surprised? That’s based on the industry median utilization of 60%, and doesn’t include vacation, holidays, or sick leave. That means the average 100-person firm has 7,900 days of unbilled time that can be applied to various corporate functions and initiatives (you can do the math to determine what’s available in your firm).

So what is your firm doing with all that time? In the current economy, many firms are running lower utilizations, which obviously is a drag on the bottom line. But another way to think about it: Investment time is increasing. That’s time that can be invested in stepping up marketing, strengthening client relationships, improving your project delivery practices, or developing your staff. These are all actions that will help you better compete in tumultuous times. Are you managing investment time effectively?

Some suggestions:

• Eliminate nonproductive time. There is a distinct difference between nonbillable and nonproductive time, although some in our business seem to equate the two. When workload drops, redirect people's time to productive nonbillable tasks. Treat these tasks like projects, with budgets, schedules and accountability.

• Build teams to increase effectiveness. We do projects in teams because they increase productivity and collaboration. Nonbillable tasks generally warrant a team approach as well. Of course, it's important to assign an effective and committed leader to each team. Avoid the mistake of overloading current leaders with too many responsibilities; this is a time to help develop other leaders at various levels.

• Broaden involvement in business development. Since generating new work is a growing concern for most firms in this economy, redirecting nonbillable hours to this function is a likely priority. This doesn't just mean more sales activity. There are many opportunities for people at all levels of your firm to get involved: performing internet research, creating intellectual capital, networking with existing acquaintances, getting marketing resources (e.g., resumes, project descriptions, contact lists, etc.) in order.

For more advice on capitalizing on your investment time, check out my article "Investing Nonbillable Time."