This is an illustrative example, not a client. Real reports stay confidential, so we invented this firm and every figure. The structure, the four columns and the reasoning layout are exactly what you get.
Day 7 report
A 14-person recruitment agency
Twelve consultants and two in operations. They asked whether AI could take work off the desk without exposing candidate data.
Where the time goes
Hours a week across the whole firm, not an estimate. We count them from calendars, system logs and four sittings with your team.
| Recurring work | Hours / week | Allocated |
|---|---|---|
| Formatting CVs to the client template | 41 | Machine work |
| Screening inbound applications | 33 | Hybrid |
| Chasing candidates for missing detail | 28 | Hybrid |
| Writing and posting job adverts | 19 | Hybrid |
| Client calls and briefing takes | 24 | Human work |
| Interview prep and debriefs | 22 | Human work |
| Invoicing and credit control | 9 | Machine work |
| Compliance checks and right-to-work | 11 | Leave alone |
187 hours a week of recurring work, across 14 people.
The allocation map
Every line above lands in one of four columns. The reasoning sits next to it, so you can disagree and see why.
Machine work
Rules are clear, volume is high, a wrong answer is cheap to catch.
Hybrid
A machine drafts, a person signs it off. Most work lands here.
Human work
Judgement, relationships, or a wrong answer that costs you a client.
Leave alone
It works, it is rare, or fixing it costs more than the problem.
The top three
Costed honestly enough to plan against. Two of these three are not a build.
CV formatting to the client house style
- Time back
- Around 30 of the 41 hours a week
- What it costs
- £6k–£9k to build, roughly a week of your time to specify
One template, one output, an obvious right answer. The work is high volume and a mistake is visible immediately.
First-pass application screening
- Time back
- Around 20 of the 33 hours a week
- What it costs
- Off-the-shelf. £200–£400 a month, no build
Your ATS already does this. Nobody has turned it on or tuned the criteria.
Chasing candidates for missing detail
- Time back
- Around 18 of the 28 hours a week
- What it costs
- £2k–£4k, or free if you change the intake form instead
Most of the chasing exists because the form does not ask. Fix the form first and measure again before building anything.
Quick wins you can do yourself
This month, without me. If the report only contained this section it would still be worth the fee.
- Turn on your ATS's duplicate detection. It is already paid for.
- Add the three fields you chase most to the application form.
- Template the four emails you retype every week.
- Stop running the Friday report nobody has opened since March.
Data and governance note
What your staff already do with AI and what that means for your obligations. This section is usually the surprise.
- Candidate CVs are personal data. A tool that reads them is a processor and needs a contract.
- Two of your team already paste candidate detail into a free AI tool. That is a disclosure nobody approved.
- Your client contracts do not mention AI. Three of them will ask within a year.
We invented every figure above. This firm never existed and client reports stay confidential. Yours would be about this long, built from your calendars and your systems.
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£2,500 fixed for one week and three hours of your time. The report lands on day 7 and you own it.