Stop positioning this as a people-first company when everything clearly revolves around billable hours. If you want better work, stronger client relationships, and any kind of retention, you have to move beyond utilization being the only thing that matters. Right now, it drives every decision, and it shows.
Give managers real authority. It makes no sense that decisions about people’s performance or employment are being made by leadership who are not involved in their day-to-day work. Either trust your managers to lead their teams or stop putting them in positions where they have no actual say.
The constant push to “just bill a little more” or "bill an extra 15 min a day" completely misses the point. The issue is not that employees are not working hard enough. The issue is that the system is built in a way that prioritizes hours over impact. Suggesting that the solution is simply to work more is exactly why burnout continues to be a problem.
If growth and development actually matter, then stop making them work against employees. Right now, any time spent on training or improving skills hurts utilization, which sends a very clear message that development is not truly valued.
And most importantly, stop dismissing feedback. Labeling concerns as a generational issue or implying people should just be grateful to be here shuts down any chance of real improvement. These are not new complaints. The same themes have come up for years, and they continue to be ignored.
At some point, there needs to be a decision to either acknowledge the reality and make meaningful changes, or continue with the same approach and accept the ongoing turnover and low morale. Right now, it feels like the latter.
