Unfiltered and unmissable: Wayne Kaplan on the resource management conundrum

Season 3 of Resource Revolution kicks off with a bang.

In Unfiltered and unmissable: Wayne Kaplan on the resource management conundrum, former Grant Thornton Partner Wayne Kaplan joins host Christine Robinson for a candid conversation about what’s holding resource management back—and what needs to change.

From the roots of “scheduling” to today’s workforce challenges, Wayne brings blunt truths, sharp one-liners, and decades of hard-earned perspective.

In this blog, we round up the key insights, Wayne-isms, and must-know takeaways from the episode—but the complete conversation is unmissable.

"Let's not confuse availability with suitability."

One of Wayne’s most memorable phrases gets straight to the heart of the resource management conundrum.

“Let's not confuse availability with suitability. Resource management isn’t about understanding how much availability you have versus the demand the practice faces short, medium, and long term. It is much more about do we have the right people with the right skills, emphasis added, that are available at the right time to serve the right clients, emphasis added again, at the right price." - Wayne Kaplan

For Wayne, this oversimplification is at the root of the problem. When firms treat resource management as a headcount exercise, they miss its real potential—as a strategic lever for profitability, client service, and growth.

"There’s been a wild temptation among leadership to oversimplify resource management: we have a problem, so let’s tweak utilization, let’s tweak leverage—that’ll solve all ills. But that’s way, way, way too simplistic an approach to the resource management conundrum and the strategic imperative of getting it right.

The goal shouldn’t just be driving profitability for the next season. It should be about building a long-term, sustainable, profitable, growth-oriented practice." - Wayne Kaplan

"It's not about getting invited to the meeting, it's about getting invited again."

Christine and Wayne explore the notion of resource managers having a seat at the table—not just being invited once, but earning a regular spot. For Wayne, getting invited is only step one.

Wayne shares how he brought resource managers into conflict resolution meetings, performance evaluations, and even local partner discussions—not just to observe, but to understand the full picture: the people, the clients, and the strategy. The goal wasn’t simply inclusion—it was giving them the context they needed to make more strategic resourcing decisions.

“I wanted resource management to understand our client base—the great clients and the not-so-great clients. I wanted them to know who the A players were, who the flight risks were, who the future leaders were. And I wanted them to understand the firm’s strategy, down to the local office level.

Without visibility into client dynamics, team performance, and firm strategy, resource managers are flying blind. There’s no memo, no cheat sheet. You have to be in those meetings. You have to understand the full context to make effective decisions.” - Wayne Kaplan

Christine builds on this, highlighting the unique vantage point RM professionals have. By sitting across service lines, teams, and geographies, they gain insights others simply don’t, and sharing and using those insights is how they move from being invited to being indispensable.

"If you're invited to the meeting, do something to contribute to the meeting, use that as a learning opportunity and build a perspective so that the next time you can show your worth. Explain what you understand and how you can directly contribute. That’s how you get invited again." - Christine Robinson

"Common sense"

When asked what shaped his perspective on resource management, Wayne’s answer is refreshingly simple: being on the end of poor resourcing decisions.

“I think it was being on the other side of the desk, using resource management services, that shaped my perspective. I became increasingly frustrated receiving resources who didn’t have the right industry skills, experience, or communication skills for the client. So when I became a leader, I said: instead of complaining, let’s do something about it." - Wayne Kaplan

His advice to leaders: Stop accepting mismatches as inevitable. Start treating resourcing as a critical decision point—not a checkbox. Rather than accept recurring issues as ‘just how things are,’ Wayne challenges leaders to take ownership and drive change. For him, improving resource management is common sense.

While acknowledging there’s still work to do, Wayne notes that the role of resource management has made real progress.

"Over my career, the role of resource management has only grown in prominence and importance. Not just in reality, but also in how it's perceived and resourced. That's one hugely positive change I've seen." - Wayne Kaplan

"If busy season comes around every year, why aren’t we better prepared?"


Wayne doesn’t hold back when talking about planning failures. Busy season happens every year. Yet, as Wayne points out, firms often find themselves scrambling at the last minute to understand their workforce needs.

“You’ve got a thousand people in your audit practice. You’re three months out from busy season, and you don’t know your workforce needs? That’s somewhat astonishing to me.” - Wayne Kaplan

Christine poses the question many are thinking: “If busy season comes around every year, why aren’t we better prepared?

Wayne links this challenge to a short-term focus that persists in many firms.

"I think it’s the short-term focus of many firms—not all, but many. Some partners think, ‘I won’t be here in 5, 10, 15 years, so why invest in a resource management strategy that won’t benefit me?’ 

It comes down to that short-term focus and frankly, in our current environment, driving costs down to the lowest possible level, which by the way, and I say this with all the passion I can muster, that is not the optimal level. With respect to developing a well-rounded resource management strategy that is about far more than driving the cost of delivery down as close to zero as possible." - Wayne Kaplan

The takeaway: When firms focus solely on driving down delivery costs in the short term, they sacrifice the planning and workforce strategies needed for sustainable growth. Year after year, the same issues resurface—not because they’re unsolvable, but because there’s a lack of willingness to address them head-on.


"The next winning hand in professional services poker"

Wayne shared his belief that resource management has a far bigger role to play in developing future firm leaders than most realize.

"Here's where I think resource management holds the cards for the next winning hand of professional services poker. You have to attract smart people at the top of the funnel, and then from a resource management standpoint, be intentional about their experiences, development, and exposure to clients and leadership.

Those folks need to be recognized and intentionally given the right clients, the right experiences, and skills like practice development, executive presence, and leadership exposure. That’s how you build your next generation of leaders. And this comes back to resource management." - Wayne Kaplan

Wayne also warns that focusing on "how many people we can keep" rather than “which people” is a costly mistake.

"There’s nothing more disappointing to a leader—one with their head screwed on right—than watching a superstar walk out the door. A future partner, a future leader, a future rainmaker. To change that, you have to break out of the short-term mindset. Every time a superstar leaves, think about what that means for succession, client relationships, and the future of the firm." - Wayne Kaplan

Final thoughts

Wayne Kaplan’s take on resource management pulls no punches. Drawing on his experience “on the other side of the desk,” his message to leaders is clear: if you’re frustrated by poor resourcing, don’t accept it—own it, address it, and change it.

For more Wayne-isms and the full conversation, listen to the complete episode.