We deployed an AI tool to speed up our estimating process, but our estimators are just using the saved time to take longer breaks. How do we measure and capture that reclaimed capacity on our weekly Scorecard?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When you introduce AI to drive efficiency, the saved time does not automatically drop to the bottom line. If you do not actively manage and reallocate that reclaimed capacity, your team will simply expand their remaining work to fill the day.

You need to change what you track on your weekly Scorecard. If your estimators used to spend twenty hours a week drafting proposals and can now do it in five, you have fifteen hours of open capacity per estimator. You must immediately adjust their weekly measurable targets to reflect this new reality.

Instead of just tracking the number of bids completed, add a metric for bid turnaround time or the total dollar volume of bids processed per estimator. If an estimator previously completed four bids a week, their new target should be eight or ten bids. This forces the efficiency gain into actual output.

Alternatively, if market demand does not support more bids, you must explicitly reallocate those fifteen hours to other revenue generating activities, such as proactive follow ups or client consultations. Update their seat description on the Accountability Chart to reflect these new expectations.

Do not let saved time vanish into thin air. Use your weekly Scorecard to hold the team accountable to higher output standards now that the machine is carrying the heavy administrative load.