Bench time
Bench time is the period when a salaried consultant has no billable mission but is still paid. In staffing firm vocabulary the person is sitting on the bench.
Definition
Bench time is the span during which a salaried consultant is available but assigned to no billable client mission. The salary, social charges and office overhead keep running while client revenue drops to zero. In staffing firm vocabulary the consultant is described as sitting on the bench, waiting for the next assignment to begin.
Bench time is measured with a bench rate: idle days divided by the working days that were actually available after holidays and absences. Some sources say the bench rate simply equals 100 percent minus the activity rate. That identity only holds when every available non billed day is truly idle; internal work or training days break it.
Formula
Bench rate = idle days divided by (available working days after holidays and absences), times 100.
Example: A consultant with 3 idle days out of 17 available working days has a bench rate of 18 percent.
Why it matters
The bench is the most direct margin leak in a staffing business: a paid salary producing no revenue. Each idle week is a known cost set against unknown future revenue, so the loss lands in the current month while the recovery may never come. Untracked bench also distorts planning, because managers see a full roster and assume capacity that is actually burning cash.
How to reduce bench time
- 1
Watch mission end dates weeks ahead instead of discovering them on the last day, so gaps become visible while there is still time to react.
- 2
Book internal and training time honestly in the plan, otherwise bench gets overestimated and real idle days hide behind activity that was never billed.
- 3
Line up the next assignment during the final weeks of the current mission, so one engagement hands over to the next without a gap.
How Okouro shows it
The Okouro allocation board lists upcoming mission end dates and idle capacity, so bench time forms visibly weeks before it happens. Managers see which consultant goes free and when, and can fill the gap early. A free plan is available to start tracking bench.