The Beach or The Bench

In a typical role, you have the same job for as long as you’re employed at a company.

At a consulting firm, you tend to move from project to project, which means there can be days, weeks, or even months between one project ending and another beginning.

This in-between time is called the beach or the bench. So what do consultants actually do during this period?

Table of Contents

• External Facing Things

• Internal Projects

• Vacations

• Conclusion

External Facing Things

The first thing consultants do when they’re on the bench is external-facing work, primarily sales.

This includes working on new proposals or supporting sales efforts to land a new project.

It’s an opportunity to contribute to business development and potentially secure your next engagement.

Internal Projects

The second focus area is internal projects. This includes learning, education, and building materials for future sales efforts.

Consultants use bench time to upskill, develop new capabilities, create thought leadership content, or build tools and frameworks that can be used in future client work.

Vacations

The third way consultants spend bench time is by taking vacations. It’s usually easier to take time off when you’re not staffed on a client project than when you are.

This makes the bench an ideal time to recharge before jumping into the next engagement.

Conclusion

The beach or the bench is how consultants spend their time between projects, typically focusing on internal work, external-facing activities, or vacation.

While it may sound like downtime, it’s actually a productive period centered around three key areas: contributing to sales efforts, investing in professional development and firm resources, and taking well-deserved breaks.

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