diff --git a/docs/gha-runner-scale-set-controller/samples/grafana-dashboard/README.md b/docs/gha-runner-scale-set-controller/samples/grafana-dashboard/README.md
index d9965aec..9ede03ec 100644
--- a/docs/gha-runner-scale-set-controller/samples/grafana-dashboard/README.md
+++ b/docs/gha-runner-scale-set-controller/samples/grafana-dashboard/README.md
@@ -15,7 +15,72 @@ This sample dashboard shows how to visualize the metrics with [Grafana](https://
 
 1. Make sure to have [Grafana](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/installation/) and [Prometheus](https://prometheus.io/docs/prometheus/latest/installation/) running in your cluster.
 2. Make sure that Prometheus is properly scraping the metrics endpoints of the controller-manager and listeners.
-3. Import the [dashboard](ARC-Autoscaling-Runner-Set-Monitoring.json) into Grafana.
+3. Make sure that your scrape configuration maps the pod labels onto the scraped metrics, as described in [Scale set labels come from Prometheus, not from ARC](#scale-set-labels-come-from-prometheus-not-from-arc).
+4. Import the [dashboard](ARC-Autoscaling-Runner-Set-Monitoring.json) into Grafana.
+
+## Scale set labels come from Prometheus, not from ARC
+
+The dashboard filters several panels on `actions_github_com_scale_set_name` and
+`actions_github_com_scale_set_namespace`. **ARC does not emit these labels.** They are
+produced by Prometheus from the labels that ARC sets on the listener pods:
+
+```
+Labels:
+  actions.github.com/scale-set-name=arc-runner-set
+  actions.github.com/scale-set-namespace=arc-runners
+  ...
+```
+
+During service discovery, Prometheus exposes those pod labels as metadata labels, with
+the characters that are invalid in a label name replaced by `_`:
+
+```
+__meta_kubernetes_pod_label_actions_github_com_scale_set_name=arc-runner-set
+__meta_kubernetes_pod_label_actions_github_com_scale_set_namespace=arc-runners
+```
+
+A common scrape configuration copies these onto the scraped metrics by stripping the
+`__meta_kubernetes_pod_label_` prefix. For example, scoped to the `arc-systems` namespace:
+
+```yaml
+scrape_configs:
+  - job_name: arc-metrics
+    honor_labels: true
+    kubernetes_sd_configs:
+      - role: pod
+        namespaces:
+          names:
+            - arc-systems
+    relabel_configs:
+      - action: labelmap
+        regex: __meta_kubernetes_pod_label_(.+)
+```
+
+If you use the Prometheus Operator, the equivalent is a `PodMonitor` (or `ServiceMonitor`)
+with a `labelmap` entry in its `relabelings`.
+
+> [!IMPORTANT]
+> Adding `actions_github_com_scale_set_name` or `actions_github_com_scale_set_namespace` to
+> `listenerMetrics` in the scale set `values.yaml` does **not** populate them. The listener
+> only knows about its own label set (`name`, `namespace`, `repository`, `organization`,
+> `enterprise`, and the job labels), so any unknown label is exported with an empty value,
+> for example `actions_github_com_scale_set_namespace=""`.
+
+### Troubleshooting empty panels
+
+If the `Startup Duration`, `Job Execution`, or `Running Jobs` panels are empty or report
+`Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'config')`, the scale set labels are most
+likely missing from the scraped metrics. Query one of the metrics directly (for example
+`gha_job_startup_duration_seconds_bucket`) in Prometheus and check the label values. If
+`actions_github_com_scale_set_namespace` is empty or absent, you can either:
+
+- Update your scrape configuration to relabel the scraped pod labels, as shown above; or
+- Replace `actions_github_com_scale_set_name` and `actions_github_com_scale_set_namespace`
+  in your copy of the dashboard with labels that your setup already produces, such as
+  `namespace`, or the raw
+  `__meta_kubernetes_pod_label_actions_github_com_scale_set_namespace` metadata label.
+
+Both options assume that your scrape configuration is already capturing the pod's labels.
 
 ## Required metrics
 
@@ -50,6 +115,11 @@ The following metrics are required to be scraped by Prometheus in order to popul
 | workqueue_depth | name, namespace | ARC Controller
 | workqueue_queue_duration_seconds_sum | namespace | ARC Controller
 
+> [!NOTE]
+> The `actions_github_com_scale_set_name` and `actions_github_com_scale_set_namespace` labels
+> are not emitted by ARC. They are added by Prometheus from the listener pod labels. See
+> [Scale set labels come from Prometheus, not from ARC](#scale-set-labels-come-from-prometheus-not-from-arc).
+
 ## Details
 
 This dashboard demonstrates some of the metrics provided by ARC and the underlying Kubernetes runtime. It provides a sample visualization of the behavior of the runner scale set, the ARC controllers, and the listeners. This should not be considered a comprehensive dashboard; it is a starting point that can be used with other metrics and logs to understand the health of the cluster. Review the [GitHub documentation detailing the Actions Runner Controller metrics and how to enable them](https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.10/actions/hosting-your-own-runners/managing-self-hosted-runners-with-actions-runner-controller/deploying-runner-scale-sets-with-actions-runner-controller#enabling-metrics).