You’re reviewing your sales pipeline for the next quarter and spot a critical skills gap. If the forecast deals close, you’ll need to hire quickly. Hiring and onboarding take time. But, as you know from experience, forecasts can be unreliable. You’ve been burned by inaccurate close dates in the sales pipeline one time too many, and you’re hesitant to pull the trigger too soon. You know that waiting until contracts are signed means risking being understaffed and unable to deliver. But if you hire too soon, you may be left with underutilized employees. What do you do?
Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Reactive resourcing is a major challenge for professional services firms. Resource managers want to be proactive, but they often lack access to reliable data or don’t trust the data they have. I hear comments similar to this one from many resource managers in the industry: “I don’t trust the information I’m seeing across the pipeline and ongoing projects enough to make proactive staffing or hiring decisions…”
This mentality is completely understandable, but it results in delayed decisions that carry significant costs.
Without proactive planning, skilled employees are often unavailable when projects begin. Clients receive underqualified staff, leading to delays, increased costs, and dissatisfaction. Success in resource management isn’t just about filling gaps—it’s about placing the right people on the right projects at the right time, ensuring both efficiency and client satisfaction.
From Checkers to Chess to 3D Chess: Evolving Your Resource Strategy
Let’s actually dig into that old chestnut about getting “the right people on the right projects” a bit. That phrase gets thrown around a lot, but I find that it’s actually quite a nuanced idea that has hidden layers that often go unexplored.
One of Kantata’s founders, Mark Robinson, once told me something about resource management in professional services that has stuck with me through the years. He would imagine a resource manager coming back from a long day at the office (which maybe gives an idea of how many years ago this was) who tells their partner that they had a good day because they managed to find a resource for every project. “Was that a good day?” Mark would say. “Sure… But it wasn’t a great day!”
According to Mark, a good day in resource management is when you find a resource for every project. But a great day is when you find a project for every resource, ensuring no one is left sitting on the bench. And a fantastic day? That’s when you match every resource to the optimal project—one that aligns with their skills, experience, and career aspirations while also driving the best business outcomes.
I like to think of this in terms of going from playing checkers to playing chess. They look like similar games, but chess requires a strategic, forward-thinking approach. A strong chess player doesn’t just think about the next move—they anticipate multiple moves ahead, understanding the chain reaction that each decision creates. That’s the mindset that resource managers need to adopt.
The honest truth is most resource managers are struggling to play checkers effectively, finding an adequate resource for every project in a timely manner. Few have the tools and data they need to strategically play chess, let alone the 3-D chess that comes with evolving skills, shifting goals, and changing client needs.
Moving from checkers to chess to 3D chess in resource management means going beyond simply filling gaps. It’s about orchestrating a dynamic system where every move—every staffing decision—creates value, not just for today but for the future of the business. Firms that embrace this approach don’t just improve efficiency; they unlock new levels of growth, profitability, and client satisfaction.
The True Costs of Reactive Resourcing
The reality is that reactive resourcing is a costly game of Whack-a-Mole—plugging holes with available people rather than strategically orchestrating talent across your organization. When resources are assigned based purely on project needs rather than a long-term strategy, it leads to burnout, disengagement, and inefficiencies that ripple throughout the business. The difference between short-term firefighting and long-term optimization is profound, both in cost savings and operational performance.
1. Decreased Utilization and Increased Bench Time
Every hour that a skilled resource is sitting idle or misallocated represents lost revenue. Yet, 58.5% of professional services firms struggle with visibility issues that prevent them from optimizing their capacity.
Here’s what reactive resourcing might be costing a business with 250 resources and a $200 blended rate every year in billable hours alone, according to SPI industry benchmark data:
| From: | To: | Result | |
| Bench Time (per resource per year) | 110 hrs SPI Level 2: PILOTED | 93 hrs SPI Level 3: DEPLOYED | +$850,000 |
| Non-Billable Project Time (per resource per year) | 144 hrs SPI Level 2: PILOTED | 99 hrs SPI Level 3: DEPLOYED | +$2,250,000 |
| +$3,100,000 | |||
2. Higher Costs and More Expensive Workarounds
When businesses lack real-time visibility into resource availability, they often turn to costly alternatives:
- Hiring external contractors instead of utilizing in-house talent
- Overloading existing employees, leading to burnout and turnover
- Delaying or rejecting new projects because they can’t confidently forecast capacity
The problem isn’t just inefficiency—it’s about a lack of agility. If an organization cannot confidently predict when projects will need additional resources or when current engagements will conclude, it misses revenue opportunities and creates higher overhead costs.
Without a connected, strategic approach, resource managers are forced to rely on gut feelings rather than data-driven insights—leading to higher operating costs, lower margins, and lost revenue opportunities.
3. Employee Dissatisfaction and Attrition
Resource allocation isn’t just about numbers—it’s about people. When employees are repeatedly staffed on projects that don’t align with their skills or career goals, they disengage. High turnover follows, leading to massive recruitment and onboarding expenses.
A proactive approach to resourcing not only keeps employees engaged but also fosters professional growth. By aligning people with projects that excite them, companies can improve retention, build stronger teams, and deliver higher-quality work.
4. The Impact on Clients
The consequences of reactive resourcing don’t stop at internal inefficiencies—they extend directly to the client experience. When resources are assigned reactively, clients often get teams that are either underqualified, overburdened, or unfamiliar with their industry or project scope. This leads to misalignment between client expectations and project outcomes, eroding trust and damaging long-term relationships.
Clients expect seamless service delivery, but without a proactive approach, projects suffer from missed deadlines, budget overruns, and quality inconsistencies. A well-planned resource strategy ensures that clients receive highly engaged, properly skilled teams who can deliver value efficiently. Firms that align their resource management practices with client success see improved satisfaction scores, stronger partnerships, and increased repeat business.
How to Solve the Reactive Resourcing Problem
Technology, particularly professional services automation (PSA) software, is essential for addressing these challenges. PSA provides a single, reliable source of truth, eliminating reliance on spreadsheets and outdated homegrown systems. But technology alone isn’t enough—organizations must also refine their business processes to support proactive resourcing.
Improve Visibility into the Pipeline
Sales and resourcing teams should have access to a real-time, accurate view of which deals are likely to close and what skills will be needed. According to the Resource Management Institute’s 2024 survey on Resource Forecasting, the two biggest inhibitors to effective resource forecasting were a lack of accurate demand data (76%) and a lack of timely demand data (63%). Eliminating those data silos between sales and delivery ensures projects are staffed with the right people in advance.
Enforce Start Date Discipline
Sales teams should set clear expectations with clients about project start dates. Consistency in scheduling enables resourcing managers to plan ahead and assemble the best-fit teams, driving better project outcomes.
Trustworthy and Real-Time Resource Data
Outdated or inaccurate information leads to reactive decisions. Investing in a system that provides real-time resource availability, project statuses, and accurate pipeline forecasts allows businesses to plan with confidence.
Align Resources with Business Strategy
Instead of just filling project vacancies, think strategically about where each resource can deliver the greatest impact. Consider skills, interests, and professional growth paths when making allocation decisions.
Enhance Forecasting Capabilities
Leveraging predictive analytics allows firms to forecast capacity needs with confidence, rather than waiting until a crisis arises.
Final Thoughts
Reactive resourcing isn’t just inefficient—it’s costly, unsustainable, and a significant roadblock to growth. Professional services firms that move beyond “finding a resource for every project” and focus instead on “finding the best project for every resource” will increase profitability, improve employee satisfaction, and deliver better client outcomes.
The firms that embrace this shift won’t just survive—they’ll thrive. It’s time to stop playing checkers and start playing 3D chess with your most valuable asset: your people.
About the Author
Charles Gustine is Director, Customer & Market Insights at Kantata. He is a product marketing specialist with a learning and development background, applying his experience to help customers find value in the SaaS software they purchase. After a decade of developing training solutions at SumTotal and Kantata, he is applying an educator’s sensibility to product and brand marketing. Charles leverages Kantata’s understanding of the challenges of professional services organizations to create market-leading thought leadership content.