Standard hours
Standard hours are the baseline number of hours a role is expected to work over a period, most often expressed per week. They provide the reference every other figure is compared against. Shortfall, excess hours and any part-time proportion all measure from this baseline.
Without a baseline the other measures mean nothing. 'Six hours short' only becomes a statement once something has named the target.
The baseline belongs to the role, not the person. Two people in one team on different contracts can hold different standard hours. Reporting that ignores this makes one of them look like a permanent underachiever.
The figure also does the part-time arithmetic. Somebody at three fifths of the standard is compared against three fifths, not the full number.
A second baseline hides in most policies and is easy to miss. Hours per week and days per week are separate settings. A role at four longer days can meet the weekly baseline while failing a daily one. Decide which one your reports enforce.
Write the figure down where people can see it. Plenty of teams run for years on a number nobody has checked. Then a report shows a shortfall, somebody digs, and it turns out two systems held different baselines all along.
Where this shows up in PeopleMuster
PeopleMuster compares logged time against an expected figure for the week and shows completion against it. The shortfall is stated rather than left for somebody to work out.
Questions people ask
Is a standard week always 40 hours?
No. Different countries, industries and contracts use different figures, and several common ones sit below 40. Treat the number as configuration, never a constant.
How do standard hours work for part-time staff?
As a proportion. Somebody working half the standard is measured against half, so their completion percentage compares fairly with a full-time colleague's.
Do standard hours include breaks?
Usually they describe worked time, with unpaid breaks outside the figure. Confirm against your own policy, since the convention is not universal.