Insightful allows organizations to customize their employee utilization score by selecting the most suitable formula and defining which activities count as productive. This guide explains how utilization is calculated, the different formulas available, and how to adjust them to align with your business needs.
The utilization score (%) measures whether employees are putting in as much productive time as is expected from them. Therefore, this metric helps evaluate productivity and provides insight for improving individual and team performance.
Insightful offers organizations the flexibility to choose from multple utilization formulas, enabling them to select the one that best aligns with their business goals.
In addition to selecting a formula, the admin can adjust which employee activities are considered productive and instantly preview how those changes impact the utilization score. This allows for a deeper understanding and fine-tuning of the formula to ensure an accurate utilization score %.
To set or modify the utilization formula, the admin can go to Settings → Utilization card.
How is the employee utilization score calculated?
The utilization score is determined by the formula you choose and any additional settings applied. However, the core calculation of all formulas follows this structure:
Utilization score % = (sum of activities that you consider productive/tracked time based on your formula) x 100
The following sections will provide a detailed breakdown of the numerator (productive activities) and denominator (tracked time) components of the utilization formulas.
Selecting what are productive activities
The numerator of the formula represents the productive activities your organization tracks to measure utilization. Admins can customize which activities are considered productive, tailoring the calculation to their specific needs.
Below are the different types of employee activities available in the formulas:
Productive Time (can’t be excluded from productive activities)
Represents an employee’s computer activity categorized as productive, based on your organization's productivity label settings.
Neutral Time
Represents computer activity labeled as neutral in your organization's productivity settings. Any unreviewed computer activities are also considered neutral by default.
Meeting Passive Time
Represents offline meeting time (without computer activity), pulled from calendar meeting events synced via an active calendar integration.
Manual Productive Time
Represents manually entered work-related time spent offline that has been labeled as productive when logged.
Manual Neutral Time
Represents manually entered work-related time spent offline that has been labeled as neutral when logged.
Break Time
Represents the amount of break time clocked by employee during their work hours.
Insightful's stealth mode doesn't support breaks due to their reliance on user input and a visible break button.
Understanding work expectations
The way work expectations are set depends on the utilization formula you choose. Essentially, the denominator defines the benchmark against which productive activities are measured.
Let’s break down the different types of work expectations used in the formulas:
Expected Productive Time
The minimum number of hours employees are expected to work productively each day. Defined by the admin. It is used in the Fixed Hours formula.
Scheduled Time
The total duration of a scheduled shift, based on the defined start and end times. Defined by the admin. It is used in the Scheduled Time formula.
Work Time
The time between an employee’s first clock-in and last clock-out of the day, including any idle (inactive) time. It is used in the Work Time formula.
Active Time
The total time employees spend actively working on their computer throughout the day. It is used in the Active Time formula.
Explore different utilization formulas
For a detailed breakdown of how each formula works, we recommend exploring related articles.
Fixed Hours formula
Ideal for organizations that set a required number of work hours per day while allowing flexibility in when those hours are completed. For more details, visit this link.
Scheduled Time formula
Best suited for organizations that schedule employee shifts with fixed start and end times, expecting work to be completed within those hours. For more details, visit this link.
Work Time formula
Designed for organizations that assess utilization without requiring employees to meet a specific number of work hours. For more details, visit this link.
Active Time formula
Suitable for organizations that measure only active computer time, excluding breaks and idle periods. For more details, visit this link.
Selecting a different utilization formula will not affect the utilization score displayed for Projects. On the Employee Projects tab, utilization is calculated based on the clocked time spent on that project. And on the Projects page, utilization is calculated against active computer time.
The default utilization formula is the Fixed Hours formula. If no changes are made to the configuration, the Utilization score will be displayed based on this formula.
How to switch between formulas?
It’s quite simple, to change the utilization formula, admin should go to Settings → Utilization card and click on the Change button.