In the consulting world, utilisation is a critical metric that employers monitor carefully. Poor utilisation can significantly impact career development, often negatively influencing decisions regarding promotions and salary increases.

For those who may not be familiar with the term “utilisation,” this article refers to it as a measure of the amount of a consultant’s time recorded working on projects where that time can be charged to a client over a designated period of time.

Utilisation is typically expressed as a percentage, and it’s one of the key levers that managers have at their disposal when setting budgets, alongside adjusting charge-out rates and salaries.

During the budgeting process, it’s common practice for junior staff to be assigned higher utilisation rates, while the responsibility goes to more senior staff to provide juniors with enough chargeable project work to help them achieve their numbers. This arrangement leaves those senior staff accountable for their own utilisation and that of others.

Most billable work comes from winning projects with external clients. Deliverables related to those projects are then broken down into smaller scopes of work and assigned to individual team members.

Successful consultants who consistently meet their utilisation targets understand how to engage effectively in the process. They build a network of internal and external clients who trust them with projects and share opportunities with them before discussing these with others.

According to Phill Willburn, a leader in the field of Social Capital Research and a Director at Network Leader, ‘your network is the number one predictor of your career success. Above and beyond what school you went to, your own background, what degree you have, your reputation, and your skills, your network is the number one predictor of success”.

In fact, professionals with ‘network awareness’ are 35% more likely to receive top performance reviews, 43% more likely to earn promotions, and 42% more likely to stay with an organisation. https://www.networkleader.com/

Focusing on your network will enhance its quality and effectiveness when you have clear goals and strategies, and it’s never too late to start.

Here are a few tips for your consideration,

• Relationships take time to build and need to be two-way.
• Have something valuable to share with your network.
• Connect with people outside of your normal circles for new news.
• Consider your future connections and not just your past connections.

In summary, your network and your utilisation go hand in hand. By strategically identifying and nurturing your core relationships at work on a continuous basis, you can take charge of the flow of chargeable project work you and others have. Remember that building your core network is about authentically sharing and building relationships with the people who count.

Ground has two certified trainers to guide you through your Network Awareness journey, building your social capital using the Network Leadership Diagnostic.

Patrick McManus

Director

Ground Recruitment