UK Professional Services Project Managers Lose Almost One Working Day a Week to Inefficiency and Unplanned Work

Fragmented data and slow AI adoption hold back growth as the gap between connected and disconnected organisations becomes increasingly visible

London UK, 24th September, 2026 – Unit4, a leader in enterprise cloud applications for people-centric organisations, today launched findings from research conducted by Vanson Bourne, revealing that project delivery and operational managers in UK professional services firms are losing almost one working day every week to inefficiencies and unplanned work. Across a typical project, around 30% of allocated time is unplanned and 8% of project revenue is lost to inefficiency. Firms with more connected systems also show a clear advantage in managing performance.

Rising Unplanned Work Puts Further Pressure on Teams

Unplanned work is adding pressure to already stretched project teams, with 69% of UK firms reporting that the amount of unplanned work has increased over the past 12 months. On average, 30% of a typical project’s time is attributed to unplanned work, with almost one working day in the week of an operational or delivery mid-manager being lost to inefficiencies or unexpected demands. The leading causes include managing scope changes or unclear requirements (53%), rework, issue resolution or correcting errors (49%), chasing updates, feedback or approvals from colleagues (41%), and attending internal meetings that add limited value (41%), highlighting how changing demands and operational friction are consuming valuable capacity that could otherwise be focused on delivery and growth.

Inefficiency Drains Capacity and Margins

The scale of the inefficiency problem is clear: 56% of respondents say a significant proportion of their working time is wasted on low-value activities, while 79% agree that operational inefficiency negatively impacts their organisation’s financial performance. The knock-on effects are felt across project delivery and growth, with 54% reporting a moderate or significant impact on their ability to take on new work, 58% on project profitability and margins, and 52% on project timelines and delivery speed. Together, the findings highlight how inefficiency is not simply a productivity challenge, it is directly limiting firms’ financial performance, delivery capacity and ability to grow.

The research reveals a widespread productivity and performance challenge: 85% of UK firms lack a unified, real-time view of project data, while 70% rely on manual workarounds to get work done. 54% of firms rely on multiple ‘disconnected’ systems, compared with 46% who operate with largely integrated or unified ‘connected’ systems. These ‘connected’ firms are more than twice as likely to manage performance proactively or predictively (76% vs. 31%), while 79% of disconnected organisations regularly reverse or revisit decisions made with incomplete data (compared with 43% of connected firms). 94% also believe AI-enabled tools could improve project decisions, but just 26% are using AI widely across multiple areas. The findings suggest that fragmented systems and lagging AI adoption are preventing firms from acting early enough to protect capacity, margins and growth.

“The difference between connected and disconnected organisations is increasingly visible in how quickly and confidently professional services firms can make decisions and keep projects on track,” said Donna Dobson, Global Director Professional Services, Unit4. “In UK, over half of firms still lack an integrated view of project, resource and financial data, whereas firms with connected systems are reducing the drag of unplanned work and low-value activity to give teams greater visibility and control over performance. The message is clear: integration is no longer simply an IT priority, it is becoming a competitive advantage for firms looking to protect margins, improve delivery and create capacity for growth.”

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Vanson Bourne methodology

During June 2026, Vanson Bourne surveyed decision makers working within operation and delivery mid-management or senior roles, or within senior finance positions in midmarket and enterprise sized organizations. This release reports findings from 125 respondents in UK. Respondents worked in organisations with between 250 and 10,000 employees, across a variety of business and professional service sectors including management consulting, IT and technology, architecture and engineering, and media and publishing.

About Unit4

Unit4's next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions power many of the world's mid-market organisations, bringing together the capabilities of Financials, Procurement, Project Management, HR, and FP&A to share real-time information, and deliver greater insights to help organisations become more effective. By combining our mid-market expertise with a relentless focus on people, we've built flexible solutions to meet customers’ unique and changing needs. Unit4 serves more than 4,700 customers globally across a number of sectors including professional services, nonprofit and public sector, with customers including Southampton City Council, Metro Vancouver, Buro Happold, Devoteam, Norwegian Refugee Council, Global Green Growth Institute and Oxfam America. For further information visit www.unit4.com.

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