Define capacity
Account for role, schedule, leave and non-project responsibilities.
Services operations guide
Make utilization explainable, contextual and useful
Utilization can support staffing and capacity decisions, but a single percentage should never be treated as a universal measure of employee value or productivity.
Approve time
Base reporting on attributable, reviewed records.
Keep context
Interpret utilization with delivery quality and business needs.
01
Establish the inputs
Agree definitions before comparing reports.
- Available capacity
- Billable and non-billable work
- Leave and internal responsibilities
- Allocation versus actual approved time
02
Build a reliable workflow
Connect planning, time capture and review.
- Employee allocation
- Project and activity timesheets
- Manager or project approval
- Corrections and audit history
03
Avoid harmful interpretations
Use the metric for planning, not as an isolated performance judgment.
- Review sustained patterns, not single periods
- Account for role and project availability
- Pair with quality and outcome evidence
- Give employees a way to correct records
Practical answers
Questions about services operations guide
Clear answers to common evaluation, implementation and operating questions.
01What is a good utilization percentage?
There is no universal target. It depends on role, seniority, sales and internal responsibilities, leave, project demand and the organization’s operating model.
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