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Setting Up Utilization Targets

Set up and track utilization targets by creating a field, assigning targets, adding them to reports, and applying custom formulas.

Updated this week

A utilization target is a set percentage that defines the expected billable hours an employee should achieve within a given period, such as a month.

For example, you might set a target for an employee to have 80% of their time billable. This metric helps you measure and track how efficiently each team member is using their time in relation to their goals.

This guide will walk you through setting up and tracking these targets in Productive, ensuring that you can monitor performance effectively and optimize your team's productivity.

1. Create an Employee Field for Utilization Target

Before you can set up utilization targets for your employees, you need to create an employee field in Productive. Follow these steps:

1) Navigate to Employee Fields

Go to Settings > Employee fields.

2) Create a New Field

Click on Add new field.

3) Configure the Field

  • Type: Select Number as the field type.

  • Name: Enter "Utilization Target".

  • Description: Add a description for better organization.

  • Format value: Set to Percentage.

  • Optional: Set the field as sensitive, making it visible only to your account admins.

4) Save
Click Create field to add the new field. After saving, it will appear in the Employee fields list.

2. Add Utilization Targets to Employees

Now that the field is created, you need to assign utilization targets to each employee.

  1. Access Employee Details

    You can do this through either Settings > Users or Resourcing > Employees.

  2. Edit Employee Info

    Find the employee for whom you want to set a target and go to the Info tab.

  3. Set Utilization Target

    • Enter the percentage target for the employee. For example, if the monthly target is 80%, enter 80.

3. Add Utilization Targets to Reports

To check if your team is meeting or missing their utilization targets in reports, add the Utilization Target field and a custom formula to the Billable Utilization by Person report.

  1. Open the Report

    Navigate to the Billable utilization by Person report from the Reports library.

  2. Add the Utilization Target Field

    • Click on the fields dropdown.

    • Find your new field and add it to your report by clicking on it.

  3. Add Custom Formula

    • Click on the fields dropdown.

    • Select + Add formula.

  4. Enter the Formula

    • Use the following formula to calculate the difference between the actual utilization and the utilization target:


      @(Billable / Worked) - @Utilization Target

    • This formula will show how close each employee is to meeting their utilization target by comparing their actual billable hours to the total hours worked.

  5. Save
    Click Create field to apply the formula to your report.

  6. Format Values

    To clearly distinguish who is exceeding or falling short of the target, format the newly created field with color coding.

    Set values above the target to display in green and those below the target in red.

    To achieve this, set the Goal to 0 and choose the Colorize the value option.

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