For too long, resource management has been treated as a back-office function—necessary but administrative, often viewed as a cost center. But this outdated perception ignores a critical reality: resource management has a direct and measurable impact on profitability.
Despite this, many firms struggle to demonstrate its financial value in clear, quantifiable terms. This isn’t just an operational challenge—it’s a missed revenue opportunity.
In a previous blog, we explored why firms must link resource management to profitability. Now, we’re focusing on how to take action—turning resource management into a function that drives revenue growth and long-term business impact.
We spoke with industry experts at the forefront of resource management transformation. Their insights reveal how firms can reposition resource management as a revenue engine, demonstrate its financial impact, and establish a framework for long-term profitability. Here’s their advice:
1. Shift mindsets: Position resource management as a strategic revenue engine
✔ Break away from the back-office perception
One of the biggest obstacles to unlocking resource management’s full value is perception. Too often, it’s seen as an administrative function rather than a strategic business driver. The thought leaders driving change in this space agree—shifting this mindset is essential for firms to optimize their workforce and maximize profitability.
Jennifer Huntington, COO at Kroll, advises resource managers to recognize their strategic impact:
"Resource management is undergoing a major shift—from an administrative function to a revenue-generating function. To drive this shift, resource managers need to see themselves as contributors to business growth, not just schedulers. Shifting perceptions within the business starts with deepening business knowledge and demonstrating a business leader mindset."
Our resource management experts observe that firms often underestimate the direct impact resource management has on profitability and customer satisfaction. When it is viewed merely as administrative, its strategic potential is limited. In contrast, a well-run resource function significantly improves day-to-day efficiency and directly enhances revenue performance and client experience.
✔ Reposition resource management as a business driver
A well-positioned resource management function drives value in three key areas:
- Customer experience: By aligning the right people with the right projects, firms can improve client satisfaction and retention.
- Profitability: Optimized utilization and smarter workforce planning lead directly to improved margins and revenue generation.
- Employee experience: Engaging employees in meaningful work reduces attrition and contributes to overall business performance.
Jennifer Huntington encourages resource managers to frame their impact through these value drivers:
"When we talk about elevating resource management, I want the resource management community to start thinking about the value they bring across three key dimensions: 1. Delivering a differentiated customer experience, 2. Driving improved profitability, and 3. Enhancing employee experience—and recognizing that each of these directly impact the bottom line.
Firms making this transition are strengthening their resource management capabilities by shifting the conversation to financial impact—focusing on how resource decisions drive revenue and profitability."
2. Engage leadership: Make the financial impact of poor resource planning impossible to ignore
✔ Reframe resource discussions around revenue at risk
To engage leadership in the transformation, resource management must be repositioned as a financial and strategic priority, not just an operational function. Experts recommend shifting the conversation from scheduling challenges to measurable business impact—specifically, revenue at risk.
Christine Robinson, Strategic Advisor at Dayshape and former resource management leader at Baker Tilly US and EY, explains why this shift in messaging is essential:
"Good resource management isn’t just about assigning people to projects—it’s about the value it brings to the firm. If you want leadership to pay attention, articulate the value proposition in their language—profitability and revenue."
Jennifer Huntington expands on why this approach resonates:
"Shift the conversation from resource requests to revenue impact. Instead of saying you have 200 unfilled requests, quantify the financial risk—highlight the $20 million in potential revenue at stake. This subtle shift reframes resource management from an administrative challenge to a financial imperative."
Sam Cornish, Partner at BDO, has seen firsthand how reframing the conversation can capture leadership’s attention:
"Resource managers can struggle to get traction when discussing unassigned hours with partners. But when they multiply those hours by the charge-out rate to show revenue at risk, it’s like flipping a switch. Suddenly, what seemed like a scheduling issue becomes a financial one, and partners become very interested in minimizing that lost revenue number."
✔ Highlight the cost of inaction
Industry experts suggest another effective approach: ask leaders, What’s the cost of doing nothing? Making the risks of inaction as clear as the benefits of change can be a powerful motivator.
Matt Cockett, CEO at Dayshape, shares why this approach makes an impact:
“One of the most powerful tactics for positioning resource management as a must-have function or critical investment area is highlighting revenue at risk. Instead of justifying investment, it’s about showing what’s being left on the table and how firms risk falling behind by not prioritizing resource management. That perspective is incredibly powerful.”
3. Leverage AI: Invest in technology to unlock data visibility and long-term profitability
The industry experts we spoke to note a shift underway, with private equity investment influencing—and in some cases enabling—firms to take a longer-term perspective. As a result, professional services firms are increasingly planning resource management investments with a long-term lens, recognizing that strategic technology investments made today are critical to outpacing competitors, sustaining growth, and capitalizing on industry trends over the next 5–10 years.
While these investments may require time, cost, and disruption upfront, industry leaders emphasize that the efficiencies and profitability gained over time will far outweigh these initial challenges, ultimately resulting in a stronger, more resilient business.
Thought leaders emphasize that firms cannot connect resource management to revenue impact without the right technology. Without AI-powered solutions, resource management remains reactive—focused on filling schedules rather than driving profitability.
Jennifer Huntington underscores why investment in technology is essential:
"You need to tie the business case for resource management to the investment it requires—because without the right technology, resource management cannot be truly effective.
Many companies fail to invest in the necessary tools, which limits their ability to maximize impact. When presenting your case to the C-suite, don’t just highlight the value of resource management across customer experience, profitability, and employee engagement—also emphasize the need for technology investment to digitize and optimize the end-to-end talent supply chain."
✔ Move from reactive to predictive resource management
Andrew Bone, VP Product and Cofounder at Dayshape, highlights the shift firms must make:
“There’s a real opportunity to redefine how people view resource management in professional services firms. Over the next 5-10 years, there’s a chance to position resource management as the function that truly tunes the engine of the firm—if done well.
On one end of the maturity scale, some firms still see resource management purely as an admin and scheduling function. On the other end, there are firms fully leveraging resource management data from Dayshape to understand how the business is performing now and predict how it will perform next quarter or year.
For these firms, the insights they gain are game-changing—turning resource management into a strategic function with clear financial impact, which is what ultimately gets it noticed.”
To move from reactive to strategic workforce planning, firms must invest in advanced resource management software that enables:
- Data visibility – Real-time insights into workforce capacity, demand, and financial impact.
- Predictive planning – The ability to forecast utilization, revenue risk, and project profitability.
- Quantifiable decision-making – A clear link between resourcing strategies and financial performance.
✔ Paint the picture of what's possible with data-driven insights
However, to secure investment in this technology, resource leaders must make a compelling case by demonstrating what’s possible when resource management is powered by data-driven insights.
Andrew Bone shares how resource leaders should position the value of technology:
“To sell the value of resource management and secure investment, you need to focus on the end results—how does it impact revenue, attrition, or other key metrics? It’s about hard stats and the specific needles you’re trying to move.
If you can pull a report that forecasts write-offs based on current plans and timesheets, you can highlight potential overruns and lost revenue. But the real power lies in catching it early—predicting these issues in advance gives you time to adjust project scope or have proactive client conversations to keep things on budget.
That’s tangible, measurable value—the kind that proves the true impact of strategic resource management. And this is exactly what AI-powered resource management software makes possible.”
The message: Firms that fail to invest in resource management technology aren’t just limiting efficiency—they’re leaving revenue on the table.
Matt Cockett, CEO at Dayshape, explains how resource leaders can spark the right conversations to build the case for technology investment:
"Starting conversations often comes down to asking the right questions. For example, 'How impactful would it be if you could look two years into the future and see your projected revenue based on today's resource?'
If the answer is 'yes, that would be valuable,' the next question is, 'Can you do that today?' If not, you've opened the door to paint a picture of what's possible—a powerful way to spark meaningful discussions.”
4. Build a financial framework: Embed resource strategy into measurable business success
✔ Make resource strategy an essential pillar of financial planning
A critical insight among industry leaders is that resource management must evolve from a siloed administrative task to an integrated part of financial and operational strategy. To drive real business impact, firms need to embed resource strategy into budgeting, forecasting, and invoicing—ensuring resourcing decisions directly influence financial planning and profitability. Without this connection, firms miss the opportunity to leverage resource data for better financial decision-making and long-term profitability planning.
Sam Cornish explains why resource management and finance must be fully aligned:
“In professional services, the only thing we have to sell is the skills and time of our people, which directly impacts our revenue forecast. The size and seniority of our workforce determine what we can charge for their time, and if we have a limited number of people in key roles, there’s a natural cap on the revenue we can generate. That’s why integrating operations, resource management, and finance is essential. When these functions are connected, we gain clearer visibility into workforce changes and can more accurately forecast our revenue pipeline.”
By systematically analyzing resource allocation against project profitability, firms can accurately assess performance and improve future resource planning—an essential capability for firms aiming for growth and sustained profitability.
✔ Tie resource management to business growth and profitability
To make resource management a business-critical function, resource leaders must frame their impact in financial terms and align with leadership’s broader strategic objectives.
Christine Robinson advises resource managers to adapt their messaging to resonate with leadership:
"Understand where your firm is headed, speak leadership’s language, and take the time to truly understand their priorities—then show how effective resource management supports those goals by tying its strategy to business growth and profitability."
By embedding resource strategy into financial decision-making, firms can ensure resource management isn’t just an operational function—it becomes a key driver of business performance, profitability, and long-term growth.
Bringing it all together: Matching resource management with profitability
.png?width=654&height=300&name=Ryann%20Edwards%20(1).png)
