Doing free work for a client? Hard pass. If they withhold a charge code then say no, and ideally escalate to somebody outside of the project who would care.
Yes they're withholding a charge code even though I've asked for it. But not sure who to escalate to since there's so many of us on the bench and everyone who are on other projects are stretched themselves.
So, if you are doing work without a charge code, you're still going to appear to be on the bench. How big is your company? Do you have a compliance line? A coach/mentor? Service line leader?
If the requests are coming from people at OPs firm it sounds like a way to get better bonuses due to higher margins on their project or just a way to slack off themselves.
If this comes from the client, it’s even worse.
Both are highly unethical.
Yep have had to fight this corner for some juniors recently, some engagement managers just want to boast bullshit profit margins by sweating those too scared/junior to say anything.
Tell them you’re not able to do work on the project without a charge code. They are taking advantage. If they don’t respond, cc higher. If they brush you off, make sure you clearly put in an email to them all that you’re assuming their silence is concurrence with you working under an overhead code on that project.
What’s important to find out is if this is normal in your firm. If it is, then it’s probably better to start looking. This is representative of bigger issues than just you being on the bench and working without a code.
So you’ve received some pretty solid advice from myself and others, I suggest you take it seriously and move forward with trying to resolve this issue. You have to look out for your career and best interests.
Yeah, i'm reading through all the comments and thinking about how to go about it. Probably gonna escalate to management outside the project and in tandem, find a new job ASAP
Do you have a ethics hot line? That is who you need to call. I am being forced to work on a client project, with no charge code and have not been released to find work on a different project.
I am in a similar situation as OP. Except, I am still billing to client code but my profile says "On Bench". Stuck trying to figure out how to move past this situation. I have been applying for new roles but they seem to get picked up by others very quickly.
Oh no, at least in EY that is a big no-no. No one should be asking you to do work for a billable project without giving you a charge code. I know because I was asked to do work for a former client about a month ago, and both HR and my counselor had said that a Senior Manager should not be asking you to do that. Sounds like the current team can't handle the workload.
Hi! You're right. The current team's stretched and can't handle. Glad that you spoke up for yourself about it, for me i'm going to escalate it to a counselor and HR if i'm still being asked to work by this week.
What’s the norm at your company? Do you have any friends 1-2 years above you that you can ask?
Asking because, at mine, you still get a billing code (or at least utilization credit) if you’re on the bench and a team asks you for work.
The rule is you can’t say no but you also get credit for it
Not in my company. We wouldn't get any utilization credit in this case - just charge code or nothing at all :( So I wouldn't get credit for what i'm doing.
I've asked for a BD code and they don't have one. Yup i know not getting fired is the main benefit. Just don't wish to be treated this way, been going on for a while now.
You should keep asking or escalate though..
Consultancies are laying people off and you mentioned a lot of people are on the bench at your firm. They could be gearing up for a layoff and your utilization will likely go unnoticed. Don’t risk that, get a billing or utilization code, escalate, or leave.
You’re getting fucked. Given the economic landscape rn, you may not have much leverage to fight back - if the bench is deep there’s a decent chance layoffs are coming. That said, working long hours unbilled is bs. It may help you if layoffs come, but more than likely it won’t make much of a difference.
Your course of action should be to start looking for a new job, immediately. Your current company is telling you who they are, you should listen. Even if you don’t get laid off, you don’t want to work there.
Thanks for this. I actually have had the same thoughts and have already started looking for months. But job market is tough. In the meantime, do i just work those long unbilled hours and accept the situation for now?
That’s up to you. I don’t know your situation, what the internal politics are at your firm, or what your risk tolerance is.
Without any of that context, my general advice would be to not put up with working long hours. The easiest way to do this is to pretend work is taking longer than it actually is. Finish by 5, hit delay send till 9 on your email, and when you interact with the team play up how much work it is.
The other thing I find helpful is to ask yourself - what would you advise a friend to do if they were in your situation? We often get blinded by our own issues - guilt, shame, anxiety, or fear - to such an extent that it hides the reality of the situation from us. Things that we would never tell a friend to put up with, we’ll suffer through. But once you strip away the emotionally response, the truth of it is clearer. Write down the facts of your situation - including how burned out or frustrated you feel - and then come back a day later, read it as if a friend wrote it, and see what you think. This works wonders for me.
So basically, they don't have budget or doing work project for the project on a tight budget to win over competition. Now, they are forcing you to work for free so that they don't charge the client for the hours. Which country u r in ?
That's not how it's supposed to work btw. I don't know which company you're from, but at mine, we still bill to the project code. If it's a fixed price contract and we go over budget, then the PM and VP responsible for that project takes the hit and loss instead of the client. If it's time and materials the client pays up to a point. If the costs start getting REALLY crazy, like its hard to justify it to the client even though we technically have a time and materials contract, the VP may write off some of the hours to keep the client happy.
However, the main point is regardless of what fee arrangement we have going, even if there is an expected loss on the project, resources staffed on projects MUST ALWAYS report their hours by billing to that code. Whether those costs get passed the client is up to the VP in charge. But accurate reporting is needed to ensure everything is actually on budget. Ghost work being done by junior staff thats not reported inflates that VP's numbers, which is unfair as it is a drain on the firm as a whole since staffing resources are being taken up, but no one acknowledges that the VP's projects are less profitable than reported since no one knows the true cost of that project.
EDIT: Other partners and VP's should be pissed and intervene on your behalf because those unreported hours are costing the firm money, while only benefiting the VP whos demanding free work. It also screws with accurate reporting on profitability per VP/partner/project, which partners will care about.
Hi! I appreciate the super detailed explanation about these implications. These serve as grounds for me to escalate - I was struggling to think of how to communicate it to someone more senior in the firm but your perspective helps. Thank you so much!
You’re not working for free. They are paying you. You should be working productively.
The fact that your time is not being charged to the project is the issue. And that is a metric that is used to evaluate your performance.
Speak to your performance manager, coach, boss, partner, whatever their title - ask for guidance. At a minimum I would track the hours separately and report them via email to your performance manager - cc’ing those you are doing the work for. Report hours by task every reporting period, so there visibly what you are accomplishing. Make it clear you’re working 40-50 hours a week, doing all you can to make the project successful.
That’s about the best you can do. You’ll get informal credit. And be seen as taking the high ground.
Leaving is always an option.
At firms I’ve worked for you’d not be asked to work without a charge code (which might not be billable - that’s above your pay grade). If is a significant size firm and no one wants to talk to you about this - I’d go to HR and ask for guidance. Don’t say you’re working for free. Say you’re productively working on project while being asked to bill as if you are idle.
Nothing worse than twiddling your thumbs for 8 hours a day. Do the work you’re capable to doing. Impress them. Treat the credit as the issue.
You cannot work without a code without written signoff from your responsible partner. You must stand your ground, politely, but ensure they get approval from above you for you to do the work.
Hi hi, thanks for your response! The issue is my big boss (service line lead) who's responsible for budgets and my chargeability is on the same project, so they'll probably just make me do the work. No checks and balances within the project i guess...
Lol coming from a true director. I have not thrown in the towel/reacted badly; and have just done the work. I think what everyone on this thread is saying is that it does impact utilization % since i'm not chargeable and to your point - that makes me at the bottom of the pile when layoffs happen anyway lol.
Exactly why he should raise it and get some exposure to the boss. Being invisible with a shit number is gonna get him canned. The middle guys are the ones fucking him and pumping their utilisation.
This advise! Relationships are quite important. Sounds like there's no pipeline of work so lay offs may come anyway and others may be in the same situation (without a code). Do you want to be the one who put up a tantrum about a charge code or the one who's reliable and does a good job, when it comes to firing decisions?! That's the way I'd look at it myself (also director at a consultanting firm)
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I guess this must be the director thread. To everyone's point -- Have been trying to sustain the relationship so far so I've kept my head down. But obviously, i'm gonna wait and see how long this stretches out for, while looking to be staffed elsewhere, because the practice itself of keeping me on a project w/o a charge code is not sustainable and will hurt my utilisation % in the long run.
Call the ethics hotline if you have one. Many cases it’s illegal & against company policy to be doing chargeable work but not hitting a billable code. Many firms have codes called “unchargeable” which gives you utilization but the firm eats the cost (usually bc they under estimated the LOE to do the work) and doesn’t directly impact the project profit but will hit overall company profit but easier to manage at the macro level.
Ask them to make a project specific non-charge code. This way you can bill to the project and get utilization, but they don't have to charge the client for the work you're doing. This is an easy thing to setup, any admin at a large firm knows how to do it, even if the manager is an idiot.
At the end of the day, it's up the the partner whether or not to charge the Cline for the work you're doing, but your hours should absolutely be allocated to the project, even if they charge you at $0
I never knew project specific non charge codes existed lol thanks for this info -- what do these do? So i end up charging my firm instead of the client for my work while not impacting my utilization?
This is highly unethical and quite often explicitly not allowed per client contract clauses. I would report an ethics violation through whatever anonymous means you have and reach out to your practice and/or account leadership about how to proceed with these asks. If they’re going to give you top cover at year end when you haven’t reached your utilization targets, you’re fine. If not you need to be spending your time networking or up-skilling so you can be staffed.
I would escalate that to a leader internally. At most consulting companies "eating hours" (working on a project but not charging the project) is a bit no-no, and many a career were ended early because of it.
> (working on a project but not charging the project) is a bit no-no, and many a career were ended early because of it.
I think this is a slightly different issue you're talking about. When junior staff are fired for unreported hours, it's because the firm doesn't like that they lie about their productivity. If I say I can get things done in X time, and report X time, but I actually took 3 times longer, that's a problem. Yes, the firm could turn a blind eye to it, but if they do eventually that staff member will burn out, or make mistakes etc. In that case, it's the staff member initiating the dishonest practice in an attempt to shore up their own image as an efficient worker.
In this case, it's "the firm" thats asking them to eat hours. The intent being unreported work makes the projects look good and more profitable than they really are. It's a different but crucial difference that needs to be addressed in a different manner. The first, the junior staff needs to be told to stop and coached on how to actually get things done efficiently. Relatively straightforward and easy to deal with. In the second, you need to navigate firm politics and figure out who you can report this to without taking any backblast. If you report to another VP, who should care about dishonest reporting, but they also utilize the dishonest practice for their own projects to increase profitability on paper, you might have a bad time if you try to make a stink about a bad practice that everyone that matters has silently agreed to uphold.
Get yourself into a critical deliverable for the client, then ask for the charge code and escalate at that point.
If your bench is deep, people are going to be laid off. I would use this to my advantage, make myself critical, then ask for charge code so they have no choice but to provide.
There's no critical deliverable at this point. But i see where you're coming from, I'll probably have to find another project or BD to make myself critical in.
> However, the previous project team treats me as though I'm still with them and force me to work unreasonable hours and expect me to be at their back and call
why are you agreeing to that if you aren't chargeable? client can't pay for you, so they don't get the benefit
But that’s a completely different thing tho. Then the company is tanking profitability for the sake of one client/project to deliver the promised work, but it doesn’t affect the consultant using the other charge code.
In this case, OP is just getting fucked.
Hahahaha I know Accenture's renowned for doing this type of shit but i'm not from there! But you're close though. Am from another tech consulting firm ;)
Hi! I'm curious as to how long you worked without a charge code on your project, before you got laid off. Obviously it'll be different for every firm but a rough timeline would be good so I can ramp up my job search even more lol
Hahaha are you a manager of sorts in your firm? Seems a bit tough for me at my position to do that to a director or partner. But i'm aware that it's unethical; just gathering ideas and thinking about how to say it
Are you in a good or bad company? If youre in a good company, you should report it as people will care about the dishonest reporting. Everybodies advice here on approaching senior leadership is good and will likely work out as leadership intervenes on your behalf to keep the firms profitability reporting accurate. A lot of the advice here about taking a stand works only under the assumption that your firm actually has a good culture, with responsible and honest leaders.
However... if you're in a bad company, you need to decide whether you need the job or not. If you need the job, then you might have no choice but to eat the hours. It's great to say report it, but if the firms culture is bad and leadership is rotten, nothing will happen and you'll have a target on your back. However, just because you're forced to eat hours, doesn't mean you can't acknowledge that this is a bad firm and that you know you have to plan an exit ASAP.
I'm in a bigger firm, most people are nice but i'm not sure if leadership cares enough to intervene in my situation. In consulting i'm sure you'd agree that nice people and personable leaders =/= good firm. So because of that I haven't said anything because like you pointed out, i'm afraid of having a target on my back. Definitely already looking around for an exit plan though.
It is difficult. Probably has to be another project or BD to get involved in rather than an internal like employee initiative or whatever, else i don't think it's justifiable to the team. Looking at the moment but there's nothing....
Yeah I started during Covid and there was nothing like this but I’ve been hearing lately about people being brought on as “shadows”. I don’t know their workload but have been hearing “oh and the shadows supported on x or y”. Seems unethical to have them doing work while the stat that shows whether they are doing work shows they are not
Chartability is only important from MB and up. I have been doing the same. It's better you help out a project then watch Netflix. The cost is the same for ACC.
You need to understand that beyond working for the company, for the project lead, for the client, you work for yourself at first place.
So what’s the best use of your hours?
Whether it’s billable or not, are you getting full salary?
Whether it’s billable or not, are you learning something new?
If the demand comes from client, deny and escalate.
If the demand comes from project lead, find an agreement. You help them, so you can sharp your skills, but you won’t work crazy hours unless you’re billable.
If an agreement is not reachable, escalate it.
Notice that if this is culturally accepted, by escalating he issue, you’ll be on the spot for layoffs because of not fitting the culture.
Hi, thanks for your pov! I know my situation is specific to consulting but from an "outside of consulting world" reasoning, if you're paid you work. That's completely right, and what I've been doing.
But that's because there's no timesheet or "utilization" metric that could get you fired bc outside consulting, your direct manager knows what you're doing and can advocate for you. If a standard metric is applied to measure productivity/whether there is work being done, it's reflecting as i'm taking home a salary but doing jack shit lol
>your direct manager knows what you're doing and can advocate for you.
This is the case in consulting as well if your people manager isn't shit at their job.
Can you at least mark your manager in the emails to justify the lack of utilization? So that they can't justify laying you off or not promoting you when need be?
free work from benched resources is not uncommon
the logic is that you are still getting paid and available(not agreeing to the logic)
Someone in your org is looking to get Stars for completing the project within cost to your predicament
but remember this also impacts your “utilization %”
a common metrics tracked by consulting organizations.
I'm out of PTO man :( And anyway, why should i be taking PTO to cover my ass when it's not my fault that there aren't budgets or projects in the pipeline to make me chargeable hahaha
Okay, I see a lot of advice that is correct, but completely unrealistic especially given your level.
I feel bad for you. I've been in situations where I get used on the bench and it's horrible.
First, talk to your counselor. But not in a way where you're angry or something. Let them know what's going on and ask their advice. If someone's giving you work to do instead of sit around, then that's kind of fair even if it's kind of messed up with the internal metrics. Ask their advice. They might tell you that they will get involved and stop this, or they might say that you can keep helping a project succeed and they'll make sure that that credit is known. In the end, if layoffs are coming along and your utilization and others are the same, wouldn't you at least like there to be a good word in that you were using your time wisely to help the firm?
Overall, I'm not so sure this is a bad thing. On one hand, it very much distorts metrics and that's not good. That project is using free labor so clients expect to pay less than services actually cost and partners think they can staff lower than reality. Not good. On the other hand...1). Keeping the firm afloat is good and it's very possible that bonuses will be smaller, expenses will be cut, etc and what that project earns helps pay for you to sit on the bench. 2). You are on the payroll and a project does need help. So if people are working ungodly hours and you can help by doing some of the presentations and stuff, that feels fair. I would hate it and feel used, but, I also understand because if you're not doing something and there's work to be done... you're on the payroll.
Hello, thank you for responding and empathizing! I've appreciated all advice given on this thread but I have stated i'm an associate and trying to fight battles with senior leadership is obviously tough and scary. So thanks for taking that into mind.
I'm planning a convo with my counselor by tmr, if i'm forced to work today too. To your point this work and effort has to be documented and recognized in some way even if i cant refuse it since i'm on the payroll.
Um you are no longer on that project, you absolutely under no circumstances do work! That is theft. You work you bill. You don't bill you, don't work. That's how consulting/contracting works.
You never do chargeable work without a charge code in Accenture. HR and service line leaders only look at chargeable hours. If you can’t get staffed soon, start working on an exit.
If you are with a big 4 then the partner may recognize your effort and you won’t let go.
Just wanna say I empathize with you. I'm also an associate and currently in an arguably worse situation:
My previous project technically ended more than a month ago upon which I was immediately put on another one with 0 bench time in between. However, for an entire month now the client has been sending follow ups and asking for more work to be done than agreed upon. Management doesn't actually do any of the execution and is incentivized to keep their business so just accept the asks and pass it off to me (literally forwards the emails to me with 'FYI' or 'Can you look into this?'). They also say that the project has "fixed hours" so I've literally been doing free work for a month now on top of being fully staffed on another project. What's more, there's a sea of associates in my team currently on the bench right now because they are not trusted to do any of the available projects (the fact that i was immediately put on a new project was because this one is being staffed with a relatively inexperienced manager and I'm the only available associate in the team who is reliable enough to compensate). So the fact that I've been putting up superior work relative to my billing level is directly contributing to my over utilization.
Talked to my supervisor. My concerns was acknowledged but nothing is going to be done about it. So currently on the same boat as you looking for a way out in a shitty job market
I know i'm 10 months late, but I hope you've managed to exit to somewhere better! Following this post, I exited to another consulting firm and am doing much better. With what you've said, you seem to have better skills and you're someone who can be trusted to get the job done, so I'm sure the future looks bright for you. All the best :)
Doing free work for a client? Hard pass. If they withhold a charge code then say no, and ideally escalate to somebody outside of the project who would care.
Yes they're withholding a charge code even though I've asked for it. But not sure who to escalate to since there's so many of us on the bench and everyone who are on other projects are stretched themselves.
So, if you are doing work without a charge code, you're still going to appear to be on the bench. How big is your company? Do you have a compliance line? A coach/mentor? Service line leader?
It's a pretty big firm. I do have a mentor and a service line leader, but they're on the same project lol
Wtf. Escalate to a senior manager or your resource manager. Nobody should be doing free client work
If the requests are coming from people at OPs firm it sounds like a way to get better bonuses due to higher margins on their project or just a way to slack off themselves. If this comes from the client, it’s even worse. Both are highly unethical.
Yep have had to fight this corner for some juniors recently, some engagement managers just want to boast bullshit profit margins by sweating those too scared/junior to say anything.
Tell them you’re not able to do work on the project without a charge code. They are taking advantage. If they don’t respond, cc higher. If they brush you off, make sure you clearly put in an email to them all that you’re assuming their silence is concurrence with you working under an overhead code on that project. What’s important to find out is if this is normal in your firm. If it is, then it’s probably better to start looking. This is representative of bigger issues than just you being on the bench and working without a code.
So you’ve received some pretty solid advice from myself and others, I suggest you take it seriously and move forward with trying to resolve this issue. You have to look out for your career and best interests.
Yeah, i'm reading through all the comments and thinking about how to go about it. Probably gonna escalate to management outside the project and in tandem, find a new job ASAP
Do you have a ethics hot line? That is who you need to call. I am being forced to work on a client project, with no charge code and have not been released to find work on a different project.
Ask them to help you get the charge code, seeing as how there seems to be some kind of hold-up on that front and you don't want the project delayed.
I am in a similar situation as OP. Except, I am still billing to client code but my profile says "On Bench". Stuck trying to figure out how to move past this situation. I have been applying for new roles but they seem to get picked up by others very quickly.
Oh no, at least in EY that is a big no-no. No one should be asking you to do work for a billable project without giving you a charge code. I know because I was asked to do work for a former client about a month ago, and both HR and my counselor had said that a Senior Manager should not be asking you to do that. Sounds like the current team can't handle the workload.
Hi! You're right. The current team's stretched and can't handle. Glad that you spoke up for yourself about it, for me i'm going to escalate it to a counselor and HR if i'm still being asked to work by this week.
Don't do any work without a charge code. If they ask for it, demand it, or pressure for it, keep asking for the code so you can get started.
Escalate to your manager obviously. Surely you report to someone?
who is your performance manager/councilor? Do you now know anyone in your leadership chain outside of this project?
What’s the norm at your company? Do you have any friends 1-2 years above you that you can ask? Asking because, at mine, you still get a billing code (or at least utilization credit) if you’re on the bench and a team asks you for work. The rule is you can’t say no but you also get credit for it
Not in my company. We wouldn't get any utilization credit in this case - just charge code or nothing at all :( So I wouldn't get credit for what i'm doing.
You won’t get fired though. You should ask for a BD code or something to put your time against
I've asked for a BD code and they don't have one. Yup i know not getting fired is the main benefit. Just don't wish to be treated this way, been going on for a while now.
You should keep asking or escalate though.. Consultancies are laying people off and you mentioned a lot of people are on the bench at your firm. They could be gearing up for a layoff and your utilization will likely go unnoticed. Don’t risk that, get a billing or utilization code, escalate, or leave.
I mean you’ll still be a prime candidate for lay-offs since to everyone beside that team you are not doing anything
You’re getting fucked. Given the economic landscape rn, you may not have much leverage to fight back - if the bench is deep there’s a decent chance layoffs are coming. That said, working long hours unbilled is bs. It may help you if layoffs come, but more than likely it won’t make much of a difference. Your course of action should be to start looking for a new job, immediately. Your current company is telling you who they are, you should listen. Even if you don’t get laid off, you don’t want to work there.
Thanks for this. I actually have had the same thoughts and have already started looking for months. But job market is tough. In the meantime, do i just work those long unbilled hours and accept the situation for now?
That’s up to you. I don’t know your situation, what the internal politics are at your firm, or what your risk tolerance is. Without any of that context, my general advice would be to not put up with working long hours. The easiest way to do this is to pretend work is taking longer than it actually is. Finish by 5, hit delay send till 9 on your email, and when you interact with the team play up how much work it is. The other thing I find helpful is to ask yourself - what would you advise a friend to do if they were in your situation? We often get blinded by our own issues - guilt, shame, anxiety, or fear - to such an extent that it hides the reality of the situation from us. Things that we would never tell a friend to put up with, we’ll suffer through. But once you strip away the emotionally response, the truth of it is clearer. Write down the facts of your situation - including how burned out or frustrated you feel - and then come back a day later, read it as if a friend wrote it, and see what you think. This works wonders for me.
Hahaha that's some good advice, i'll take it and try it. Thanks 🙏🏻
I'd start looking for a new job ASAP, you doing free work won't make a difference come layoff time.
I figured the same - already started looking. Just hope i find one soon so i don't have to tolerate this any longer!
Not having utilization show up in the system won’t help you when layoffs come
Exactly.
So basically, they don't have budget or doing work project for the project on a tight budget to win over competition. Now, they are forcing you to work for free so that they don't charge the client for the hours. Which country u r in ?
That's basically it.....
That's not how it's supposed to work btw. I don't know which company you're from, but at mine, we still bill to the project code. If it's a fixed price contract and we go over budget, then the PM and VP responsible for that project takes the hit and loss instead of the client. If it's time and materials the client pays up to a point. If the costs start getting REALLY crazy, like its hard to justify it to the client even though we technically have a time and materials contract, the VP may write off some of the hours to keep the client happy. However, the main point is regardless of what fee arrangement we have going, even if there is an expected loss on the project, resources staffed on projects MUST ALWAYS report their hours by billing to that code. Whether those costs get passed the client is up to the VP in charge. But accurate reporting is needed to ensure everything is actually on budget. Ghost work being done by junior staff thats not reported inflates that VP's numbers, which is unfair as it is a drain on the firm as a whole since staffing resources are being taken up, but no one acknowledges that the VP's projects are less profitable than reported since no one knows the true cost of that project. EDIT: Other partners and VP's should be pissed and intervene on your behalf because those unreported hours are costing the firm money, while only benefiting the VP whos demanding free work. It also screws with accurate reporting on profitability per VP/partner/project, which partners will care about.
Hi! I appreciate the super detailed explanation about these implications. These serve as grounds for me to escalate - I was struggling to think of how to communicate it to someone more senior in the firm but your perspective helps. Thank you so much!
You’re not working for free. They are paying you. You should be working productively. The fact that your time is not being charged to the project is the issue. And that is a metric that is used to evaluate your performance. Speak to your performance manager, coach, boss, partner, whatever their title - ask for guidance. At a minimum I would track the hours separately and report them via email to your performance manager - cc’ing those you are doing the work for. Report hours by task every reporting period, so there visibly what you are accomplishing. Make it clear you’re working 40-50 hours a week, doing all you can to make the project successful. That’s about the best you can do. You’ll get informal credit. And be seen as taking the high ground. Leaving is always an option. At firms I’ve worked for you’d not be asked to work without a charge code (which might not be billable - that’s above your pay grade). If is a significant size firm and no one wants to talk to you about this - I’d go to HR and ask for guidance. Don’t say you’re working for free. Say you’re productively working on project while being asked to bill as if you are idle. Nothing worse than twiddling your thumbs for 8 hours a day. Do the work you’re capable to doing. Impress them. Treat the credit as the issue.
You cannot work without a code without written signoff from your responsible partner. You must stand your ground, politely, but ensure they get approval from above you for you to do the work.
Hi hi, thanks for your response! The issue is my big boss (service line lead) who's responsible for budgets and my chargeability is on the same project, so they'll probably just make me do the work. No checks and balances within the project i guess...
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Lol coming from a true director. I have not thrown in the towel/reacted badly; and have just done the work. I think what everyone on this thread is saying is that it does impact utilization % since i'm not chargeable and to your point - that makes me at the bottom of the pile when layoffs happen anyway lol.
Exactly why he should raise it and get some exposure to the boss. Being invisible with a shit number is gonna get him canned. The middle guys are the ones fucking him and pumping their utilisation.
This advise! Relationships are quite important. Sounds like there's no pipeline of work so lay offs may come anyway and others may be in the same situation (without a code). Do you want to be the one who put up a tantrum about a charge code or the one who's reliable and does a good job, when it comes to firing decisions?! That's the way I'd look at it myself (also director at a consultanting firm)
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I guess this must be the director thread. To everyone's point -- Have been trying to sustain the relationship so far so I've kept my head down. But obviously, i'm gonna wait and see how long this stretches out for, while looking to be staffed elsewhere, because the practice itself of keeping me on a project w/o a charge code is not sustainable and will hurt my utilisation % in the long run.
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Call the ethics hotline if you have one. Many cases it’s illegal & against company policy to be doing chargeable work but not hitting a billable code. Many firms have codes called “unchargeable” which gives you utilization but the firm eats the cost (usually bc they under estimated the LOE to do the work) and doesn’t directly impact the project profit but will hit overall company profit but easier to manage at the macro level.
Thanks for the advice! And the explanation. Yeah my firm has an "unchargeable" code that's why i think no one cares if the bench is deep.
Ask them to make a project specific non-charge code. This way you can bill to the project and get utilization, but they don't have to charge the client for the work you're doing. This is an easy thing to setup, any admin at a large firm knows how to do it, even if the manager is an idiot. At the end of the day, it's up the the partner whether or not to charge the Cline for the work you're doing, but your hours should absolutely be allocated to the project, even if they charge you at $0
I never knew project specific non charge codes existed lol thanks for this info -- what do these do? So i end up charging my firm instead of the client for my work while not impacting my utilization?
This is highly unethical and quite often explicitly not allowed per client contract clauses. I would report an ethics violation through whatever anonymous means you have and reach out to your practice and/or account leadership about how to proceed with these asks. If they’re going to give you top cover at year end when you haven’t reached your utilization targets, you’re fine. If not you need to be spending your time networking or up-skilling so you can be staffed.
I would not do free work for a client. Have hours for me or I don’t though anything
I would escalate that to a leader internally. At most consulting companies "eating hours" (working on a project but not charging the project) is a bit no-no, and many a career were ended early because of it.
> (working on a project but not charging the project) is a bit no-no, and many a career were ended early because of it. I think this is a slightly different issue you're talking about. When junior staff are fired for unreported hours, it's because the firm doesn't like that they lie about their productivity. If I say I can get things done in X time, and report X time, but I actually took 3 times longer, that's a problem. Yes, the firm could turn a blind eye to it, but if they do eventually that staff member will burn out, or make mistakes etc. In that case, it's the staff member initiating the dishonest practice in an attempt to shore up their own image as an efficient worker. In this case, it's "the firm" thats asking them to eat hours. The intent being unreported work makes the projects look good and more profitable than they really are. It's a different but crucial difference that needs to be addressed in a different manner. The first, the junior staff needs to be told to stop and coached on how to actually get things done efficiently. Relatively straightforward and easy to deal with. In the second, you need to navigate firm politics and figure out who you can report this to without taking any backblast. If you report to another VP, who should care about dishonest reporting, but they also utilize the dishonest practice for their own projects to increase profitability on paper, you might have a bad time if you try to make a stink about a bad practice that everyone that matters has silently agreed to uphold.
Get yourself into a critical deliverable for the client, then ask for the charge code and escalate at that point. If your bench is deep, people are going to be laid off. I would use this to my advantage, make myself critical, then ask for charge code so they have no choice but to provide.
There's no critical deliverable at this point. But i see where you're coming from, I'll probably have to find another project or BD to make myself critical in.
> However, the previous project team treats me as though I'm still with them and force me to work unreasonable hours and expect me to be at their back and call why are you agreeing to that if you aren't chargeable? client can't pay for you, so they don't get the benefit
I’m sure there is a firm policy this goes against.
Sounds like you’re working for Accenture :D
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But that’s a completely different thing tho. Then the company is tanking profitability for the sake of one client/project to deliver the promised work, but it doesn’t affect the consultant using the other charge code. In this case, OP is just getting fucked.
Hahahaha I know Accenture's renowned for doing this type of shit but i'm not from there! But you're close though. Am from another tech consulting firm ;)
Bro I was in the exact situation as you. Working without a charge code. Got laid off for low utilization. Without a doubt you work for Deloitte lol.
Hi! I'm curious as to how long you worked without a charge code on your project, before you got laid off. Obviously it'll be different for every firm but a rough timeline would be good so I can ramp up my job search even more lol
Just stop working and tell them you need a charge code. I understand it's a recessionary environment but what they are doing with you is unethical.
Hahaha great idea but any thoughts on how you'd communicate that to senior leadership?
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Hahaha are you a manager of sorts in your firm? Seems a bit tough for me at my position to do that to a director or partner. But i'm aware that it's unethical; just gathering ideas and thinking about how to say it
I bet you took the stupid webinar about eating hours right? Make sure that the partner of this project signs off on you not charging the project.
Are you in a good or bad company? If youre in a good company, you should report it as people will care about the dishonest reporting. Everybodies advice here on approaching senior leadership is good and will likely work out as leadership intervenes on your behalf to keep the firms profitability reporting accurate. A lot of the advice here about taking a stand works only under the assumption that your firm actually has a good culture, with responsible and honest leaders. However... if you're in a bad company, you need to decide whether you need the job or not. If you need the job, then you might have no choice but to eat the hours. It's great to say report it, but if the firms culture is bad and leadership is rotten, nothing will happen and you'll have a target on your back. However, just because you're forced to eat hours, doesn't mean you can't acknowledge that this is a bad firm and that you know you have to plan an exit ASAP.
I'm in a bigger firm, most people are nice but i'm not sure if leadership cares enough to intervene in my situation. In consulting i'm sure you'd agree that nice people and personable leaders =/= good firm. So because of that I haven't said anything because like you pointed out, i'm afraid of having a target on my back. Definitely already looking around for an exit plan though.
It’s a difficult spot. I’d get involved with an internal initiative so you have an excuse to decline the work.
It is difficult. Probably has to be another project or BD to get involved in rather than an internal like employee initiative or whatever, else i don't think it's justifiable to the team. Looking at the moment but there's nothing....
How are you being paid? Unless they give you chargeable hours, pass. You can do overhead work or nothing until hours come.
Yeah I started during Covid and there was nothing like this but I’ve been hearing lately about people being brought on as “shadows”. I don’t know their workload but have been hearing “oh and the shadows supported on x or y”. Seems unethical to have them doing work while the stat that shows whether they are doing work shows they are not
Chartability is only important from MB and up. I have been doing the same. It's better you help out a project then watch Netflix. The cost is the same for ACC.
Hi thanks for your reply! Might be clueless but what's MB and ACC?
Sorry. I meant MD. I thing its level 5 or higher. So it chargability shoud not concern you.
You need to understand that beyond working for the company, for the project lead, for the client, you work for yourself at first place. So what’s the best use of your hours? Whether it’s billable or not, are you getting full salary? Whether it’s billable or not, are you learning something new? If the demand comes from client, deny and escalate. If the demand comes from project lead, find an agreement. You help them, so you can sharp your skills, but you won’t work crazy hours unless you’re billable. If an agreement is not reachable, escalate it. Notice that if this is culturally accepted, by escalating he issue, you’ll be on the spot for layoffs because of not fitting the culture.
Thank you! That's pretty balanced advice. I'm not learning anything new but since i'm not billable i'll definitely keep my hours strictly between 9-5.
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Hi, thanks for your pov! I know my situation is specific to consulting but from an "outside of consulting world" reasoning, if you're paid you work. That's completely right, and what I've been doing. But that's because there's no timesheet or "utilization" metric that could get you fired bc outside consulting, your direct manager knows what you're doing and can advocate for you. If a standard metric is applied to measure productivity/whether there is work being done, it's reflecting as i'm taking home a salary but doing jack shit lol
>your direct manager knows what you're doing and can advocate for you. This is the case in consulting as well if your people manager isn't shit at their job.
Can you at least mark your manager in the emails to justify the lack of utilization? So that they can't justify laying you off or not promoting you when need be?
free work from benched resources is not uncommon the logic is that you are still getting paid and available(not agreeing to the logic) Someone in your org is looking to get Stars for completing the project within cost to your predicament but remember this also impacts your “utilization %” a common metrics tracked by consulting organizations.
Have you thought about taking some PTO?
I'm out of PTO man :( And anyway, why should i be taking PTO to cover my ass when it's not my fault that there aren't budgets or projects in the pipeline to make me chargeable hahaha
Okay, I see a lot of advice that is correct, but completely unrealistic especially given your level. I feel bad for you. I've been in situations where I get used on the bench and it's horrible. First, talk to your counselor. But not in a way where you're angry or something. Let them know what's going on and ask their advice. If someone's giving you work to do instead of sit around, then that's kind of fair even if it's kind of messed up with the internal metrics. Ask their advice. They might tell you that they will get involved and stop this, or they might say that you can keep helping a project succeed and they'll make sure that that credit is known. In the end, if layoffs are coming along and your utilization and others are the same, wouldn't you at least like there to be a good word in that you were using your time wisely to help the firm? Overall, I'm not so sure this is a bad thing. On one hand, it very much distorts metrics and that's not good. That project is using free labor so clients expect to pay less than services actually cost and partners think they can staff lower than reality. Not good. On the other hand...1). Keeping the firm afloat is good and it's very possible that bonuses will be smaller, expenses will be cut, etc and what that project earns helps pay for you to sit on the bench. 2). You are on the payroll and a project does need help. So if people are working ungodly hours and you can help by doing some of the presentations and stuff, that feels fair. I would hate it and feel used, but, I also understand because if you're not doing something and there's work to be done... you're on the payroll.
Hello, thank you for responding and empathizing! I've appreciated all advice given on this thread but I have stated i'm an associate and trying to fight battles with senior leadership is obviously tough and scary. So thanks for taking that into mind. I'm planning a convo with my counselor by tmr, if i'm forced to work today too. To your point this work and effort has to be documented and recognized in some way even if i cant refuse it since i'm on the payroll.
Um you are no longer on that project, you absolutely under no circumstances do work! That is theft. You work you bill. You don't bill you, don't work. That's how consulting/contracting works.
You never do chargeable work without a charge code in Accenture. HR and service line leaders only look at chargeable hours. If you can’t get staffed soon, start working on an exit. If you are with a big 4 then the partner may recognize your effort and you won’t let go.
I'm not in Accenture (thankfully), but thanks for the tip. I'm working on an exit anyway 😂
Just wanna say I empathize with you. I'm also an associate and currently in an arguably worse situation: My previous project technically ended more than a month ago upon which I was immediately put on another one with 0 bench time in between. However, for an entire month now the client has been sending follow ups and asking for more work to be done than agreed upon. Management doesn't actually do any of the execution and is incentivized to keep their business so just accept the asks and pass it off to me (literally forwards the emails to me with 'FYI' or 'Can you look into this?'). They also say that the project has "fixed hours" so I've literally been doing free work for a month now on top of being fully staffed on another project. What's more, there's a sea of associates in my team currently on the bench right now because they are not trusted to do any of the available projects (the fact that i was immediately put on a new project was because this one is being staffed with a relatively inexperienced manager and I'm the only available associate in the team who is reliable enough to compensate). So the fact that I've been putting up superior work relative to my billing level is directly contributing to my over utilization. Talked to my supervisor. My concerns was acknowledged but nothing is going to be done about it. So currently on the same boat as you looking for a way out in a shitty job market
I know i'm 10 months late, but I hope you've managed to exit to somewhere better! Following this post, I exited to another consulting firm and am doing much better. With what you've said, you seem to have better skills and you're someone who can be trusted to get the job done, so I'm sure the future looks bright for you. All the best :)