Struggling in a tough climate? Check your systems

Professional services firms are used to operating in uncertain markets. Economic cycles shift, client demand rises and falls, and regulatory landscapes change all the time. Yet from talking with 400 senior leaders across mid to large firms in the UK and US, as well as our own experiences dealing with some of the biggest consultancies in the world, it’s clear – the. biggest barriers to growth are not necessarily external. According to new research from Dayshape, 41% cite market uncertainty as a constraint on growth. So it’s not unrelated. But once you move past that headline concern, the pattern shifts quickly towards internal challenges.

Talent shortages are cited by 28% of leaders. Inefficient operational planning by 27%. Lack of necessary skills by 26%. A further 22% say they do not have access to the real-time data needed to run their firms effectively. Taken together, this starts to look less like a traditional market slowdown and more like a systems problem. Many of the external circumstances simple magnify where internal processes aren’t structurally and systematically set up correctly and working as effectively as they could.

Professional services firms are ambitious organisations. Growth targets remain high and leadership teams are actively investing in areas such as artificial intelligence, new service lines and international expansion. Yet the operational foundations that support that growth have not always kept pace. This isn’t about blaming; it’s about taking an analytical approach to the structures and systems that keep the business running – or not – and taking an honest assessment as to whether they are still working for you now.

The same research shows that 42% of firms missed their revenue targets last year. That’s huge. Internal planning gaps, forecasting weaknesses and resourcing constraints are a major part of the story. In practice, many firms are attempting to grow on top of operational noise. Ambitious targets are set but internal issues are not addressed.

That operational friction can be difficult to spot from the outside. Firms may have strong pipelines, healthy client relationships and talented teams. But internally, the picture is often more complicated.

Partners and leaders may not have a clear, real-time view of capacity across teams. Forecasting relies on fragmented spreadsheets rather than integrated data. Project staffing decisions are made locally and reactively rather than strategically. By the time issues surface, the opportunity to adjust course has already passed.

This operational fog creates a chain reaction. It means that hiring feels harder than it should because firms cannot clearly see where capacity actually sits. Teams become overstretched in same areas while others remain underutilised and no one can quite see why. New technology investments, including AI initiatives, struggle to prove value because the underlying data infrastructure is inconsistent or incomplete.

Meanwhile, leaders are asked to make strategic decisions without full visibility into the operational realities of the firm. It’s like trying to complete a puzzle with half the pieces missing. You’ll get a vague idea, but the full picture won’t be there. One of the most persistent misconceptions in professional services is around utilisation. It is often treated as a simple metric, a percentage that tells leaders whether teams are busy enough. But utilisation without context can be misleading.

A team that appears fully utilised may in fact be inefficiently staffed, working on low-margin engagements or carrying hidden administrative burdens. Conversely, a team with apparent spare capacity may represent an opportunity to pursue new work or rebalance delivery across the firm. And in a business context where billable hours remain very important, the use of AI and technology leads to growing scrutiny of where time is being spent.

Without accurate, real-time insight into how people, projects and profitability intersect, utilisation figures risk becoming little more than retrospective reporting.

And the consequences extend beyond missed revenue targets. Burnout is rising across the professional services sector. When operational planning lacks precision, the burden often falls on individuals to absorb the pressure. Late nights, last-minute project changes and reactive staffing decisions become the norm rather than the exception. Across UK professional services firms, 31% of leaders cite burnout or stress as one of their biggest challenges in keeping top performers. Burnout intensifies as firms scale. In large UK firms, 42% of leaders identify burnout as the single biggest retention challenge. Fairness is a central part of this picture, with 26% of leaders in large firms pointing directly to unfair workload distribution as a driver of attrition.

At the same time, leadership teams find themselves questioning why growth strategies are not translating into the financial outcomes they expected.

This is where the conversation around AI in professional services becomes particularly interesting.

Artificial intelligence has enormous potential to transform the way firms operate. Dayshape’s entire business is built on it. From automating administrative tasks to providing deeper insights into project performance, the possibilities are significant. Yet AI cannot solve operational challenges on its own. It needs context and quality data. If the underlying data is fragmented or outdated, AI systems will simply replicate those limitations at greater speed.

Before firms double down on AI investment or aggressive hiring plans, there is a strong argument for focusing on the fundamentals. Clean, reliable data. Integrated systems that connect planning, forecasting and delivery. Real-time visibility into how work flows through the organisation. What goes in influences what comes out. These foundations may not be as headline-grabbing as the latest AI innovation, but they are what allow firms to scale effectively.

Encouragingly, there are signs that leadership teams are beginning to recognise this shift. Resource Management, which has too long been thought of as basic staff scheduling, but which when done right means strategic operational planning, is increasingly moving into the boardroom. Leaders are asking deeper questions about how work is allocated, how profitability is measured and how future demand is forecast.

This reflects a broader realisation that growth in professional services is no longer simply about winning more work or putting the fees up. It is about ensuring the firm has the operational clarity to deliver that work effectively and sustainably.

For firms that address these challenges, the upside is significant. Better planning enables more accurate forecasting, improved utilisation and stronger margins. Teams experience more predictable workloads and greater transparency around how their work contributes to the firm’s success.

Perhaps most importantly, leadership teams regain the ability to make strategic decisions with confidence. In a sector built on expertise and trust, operational clarity is becoming a competitive advantage.

Market volatility will always exist. Client expectations will continue to evolve. But firms that invest in the systems and visibility needed to support growth will be better placed to navigate whatever comes next.

Because in many cases, the biggest barrier to growth is not outside the firm but the operational noise within it.