In consulting, utilisation rate means the share of a consultant’s available time charged to clients, the firm’s core profitability metric. Not to be confused with space utilisation, which measures how buildings are used; consulting firms watch both, and the two interact.
High-utilisation consultants are mostly at client sites, so consulting offices run the most aggressive desk sharing ratios of any industry. The office becomes a touchdown and team-day venue, and sizing it needs attendance data rather than headcount.