The resource management market is undergoing major shifts, with the function emerging as a critical and strategic investment area across professional services and beyond. As competition intensifies and private equity investment increases, firms face growing pressure for deeper insights into resource utilization and business forecasting. This has sharpened the focus on people efficiency, operational performance, and profitability, prompting business leaders to increase their strategic focus on resource management.
Despite growing recognition of its importance, many organizations still struggle to connect resource management practices with tangible financial outcomes. Without this crucial link, professional services organizations risk:
A recent study by Dayshape, in collaboration with the Resource Management Institute (RMI), explored whether firms can establish a clear link between resource management, project success, and financial performance—and, importantly, what’s preventing them from making this connection.
The research suggests a growing intent to connect resource management with profitability, though this link remains more aspirational than operational. Persistent barriers—such as process inefficiencies, perception gaps, limited education, technology constraints, and the underutilization of resource management as a strategic lever—continue to hinder progress. While these challenges highlight the work still to be done, they also present a significant opportunity for firms to explore.
In this blog, we dive into the need for stronger alignment between resource management practices and financial outcomes and the opportunities this presents for professional services firms. We also share insights from two leading resource management experts—Christine Robinson, Strategic Advisor to Dayshape, and Ryan Childers, Managing Director of the Resource Management Institute (RMI)—who offer perspectives on the research findings, the key challenges, and practical advice for firms looking to strengthen the link between resource management and profitability.
The data suggests a gap between resource management and financial outcomes. While resource management teams are generally aligned with broader strategic objectives, fewer than half of respondents said their practices align with their organization’s revenue goals. Only 26% reported that their resource management function includes financial planning and reporting, indicating a disconnect from broader financial objectives.
Ryan Childers highlights this challenge:
"In our collaborative research study with the RMI and Dayshape, we uncovered valuable insights into the connection between resource management and project profitability. While there’s a clear intent to link the two, it remains more of an aspiration than a widespread reality. The recognition is growing, but as resource management professionals, we must dig deeper to make this connection more tangible."
At times, resource management lacks a seat at the table, leading to its impact on financial outcomes being underrecognized.
Christine Robinson emphasizes the gap between intention and execution:
"The resource management community is eager to make this connection, but I question whether they know how to do it. After reviewing the report, it’s clear that something isn’t quite aligning between resource management and revenue goals.
Resource management leaders would benefit from gaining a true understanding of their firm’s financial and growth strategy and creating a clear linkage between the way the resource management process will bring those goals to life. Rather than aspiring to do this, they should make it real by setting clear expectations for resource managers, gaining support from leadership, and putting in place measurable goals throughout the year."
Without stronger integration into financial planning and decision-making, resource management risks remaining underutilized as a strategic function for driving profitability and revenue growth.
The research suggests that limited visibility into the financial impact of resourcing decisions remains a major barrier. Only 14% of firms reported having full visibility into how resource plan changes affect financial outcomes, while 42% indicated low to no visibility into how adjustments influence project profitability. This lack of insight may prevent firms from making timely, data-driven decisions that could improve profitability and revenue.
Ryan Childers underscores the need for better systems and processes to close this visibility gap:
"The research highlighted areas where we need to sharpen our focus. At the core of it, it comes down to being strategic. I can’t tell you how often I hear organizations say they want resource management to be more strategic, to earn that seat at the table—and value is the key to helping us get there.But we need to put in the work. It starts with increasing our focus on project profitability, which requires moving beyond siloed and disparate systems. We need to consolidate and gain visibility into data, because without that, we won’t have a real shot at success."
Improving visibility into the financial impact of resourcing decisions is essential for proactive, data-driven decision-making. Strengthening this connection could help elevate resource management’s role as a critical and strategic investment area.
The research suggests that many firms still rely on reactive profitability monitoring, limiting their ability to address revenue risks in real time. While 37% of firms proactively track project profitability, a considerable number wait until the later stages of a project—or even after its completion—to assess financial performance. This delay can lead to missed opportunities to adjust resources, prioritize high-margin projects, or resolve issues before they impact the bottom line.
Ryan Childers stresses the importance of shifting to a more proactive approach:
"Another key focus is proactivity. We stress this with the organizations we work with—moving from a reactive to a proactive approach in all resource management practices. It starts with having reliable data and streamlined processes, not manual ones, which are enabled by automated technology within a cohesive ecosystem."
The research suggests that systems and process challenges significantly hinder resource management from reaching its full strategic potential. Both internal and external-facing resource management teams reported similar obstacles, including reliance on multiple or siloed systems, inefficient manual processes, and limited visibility into demand and capacity.
These issues restrict the ability to proactively identify capacity gaps, budget overruns, skills shortages, resource conflicts, revenue opportunities, and resource sharing possibilities. Fewer than half of respondents said they could perform these tasks without significant manual effort, highlighting a clear opportunity for improvement.
Ryan Childers emphasizes the complexity of overcoming these challenges:
"I’ll acknowledge that getting there is challenging. It involves managing the data, the necessary processes, the right people, and consolidating everything into one system to measure project profitability and link it to resource management. But with the right discipline, consistency, and accountability, these challenges can be addressed."
Addressing these systems and process barriers is crucial to enabling resource management teams to operate more strategically. Improved integration and visibility can empower resource management to better support business goals and optimize profitability.
The research also points to the importance of education and high-quality data in unlocking the full potential of resource management. Strong foundations built on accurate data and streamlined processes are essential for aligning resource management with financial goals. Inconsistent data and poor practices can undermine efforts, making it difficult to leverage resource management as a strategic tool.
Ryan Childers highlights the value of getting data and processes right:
"The advice I would offer is that it all starts with education—it’s the foundational building block. If we focus on getting our processes and data right today, we’ll be better positioned for the future. AI, much like any technology solution, is only as effective as the data and processes you feed it—garbage in, garbage out."
Investing in education and data integrity now will better position organizations to transform resource management into a strategic function that drives profitability.