Why are UK IT consultancies losing £3.06 billion annually?

The answer lies in bench time. Recent industry analysis reveals that the average UK IT consultant spends 15-20% of their time on the bench—skilled professionals on payroll but unable to generate revenue.

For a mid-sized consultancy with 500 consultants, this equates to £15.3 million in annual lost revenue due to inefficient IT consultant utilisation. Scale that across the UK’s IT consulting sector, and the impact reaches a staggering £3.06 billion in non-billable hours each year.

Even more concerning? Only 39% of consultancies have real-time visibility into their bench resources, leaving a massive gap in resource planning and efficiency.

The hidden costs beyond revenue loss

Ineffective bench time management doesn’t just hurt the bottom line—it impacts every aspect of a consultancy’s operations, from team morale to project delivery quality:

• Expertise stagnates when skilled consultants remain idle.
• Knowledge transfer slows, weakening team collaboration.
• Project ramp-up times increase, delaying execution.
• Limited agility reduces your ability to seize new opportunities.

The problem with traditional approaches

Many UK consultancies attempt to manage bench time using outdated methods that fail to address the root problem:

1. Internal projects

Keeping consultants busy with internal work may seem logical, but it often masks the real issue. These projects rarely contribute to revenue or develop in-demand skills.

2. Cross-training programmes

Professional development is critical, but using bench time purely for training creates a false choice between billable work and skill enhancement. Leading consultancies combine both strategically.

3. Manual resource planning

Relying on spreadsheets and basic tracking tools might work for small teams, but they quickly become ineffective at scale. Without real-time visibility, opportunities slip through the cracks and resources remain underutilised.

The human cost of poor bench time management

Beyond financial implications, poor bench time management creates a ripple effect of challenges:

• Decreased engagement as consultants feel underutilised.
• Weakened knowledge sharing, leading to fragmented teams.
• Lost mentoring opportunities, stalling professional growth.
• Higher staff turnover as consultants seek more stable engagement.

How leading consultancies are breaking the cycle

UK consultancies can now take control of their IT resource management by implementing smarter strategies:

1. Real-time resource visibility

Consultancies need clear insights into who is available, their skill sets, and when they can start. Real-time data enables consultancies to match the right consultants to the right projects at the right time.

2. Strategic resource planning

Instead of treating bench time as an unavoidable loss, successful consultancies proactively manage their pipeline by aligning available skills with upcoming projects and identifying gaps before they become a crisis.

3. Community-based solutions

Leading consultancies are shifting from isolated internal solutions to collaborative resource-sharing networks, ensuring consultants remain engaged and productive while maintaining high service quality.

Taking control of your resource strategy

To tackle the bench time crisis, consultancies must take a proactive approach to resource allocation:

1. Gain real-time visibility

• Implement advanced tracking systems to monitor availability.
• Analyse true IT consultant utilisation to identify inefficiencies.
• Detect patterns in bench time to improve forecasting.

2. Optimise IT consultant utilisation

• Rapidly match skills to new opportunities.
• Maintain flexible resource pools to adapt to demand.
• Enable quick deployment to maximise billable hours.

3. Build a Collaborative Network

• Establish resource-sharing partnerships to reduce idle time.
• Implement skill exchange programmes for continuous growth.
• Develop collaborative project staffing models for dynamic scalability.

Turning bench time from a loss into an opportunity

The £3.06 billion lost annually to bench time presents both a challenge and an opportunity. While some idle time is inevitable, consultancies can redefine how they manage these gaps.

With the right approach to IT consultant utilisation, bench time shifts from a costly burden to a strategic advantage—driving agility, growth, and innovation.

Ready to transform your IT resource management?

Don’t let inefficiencies hold your consultancy back. Discover how BenchBee can help optimise IT consultant utilisation and reduce revenue loss.

Book a Demo Today