Many organisations expect their operational teams to do two things at once: keep the business running and deliver transformation initiatives. On the surface, this feels efficient. The people closest to the work are given responsibility for improving it, reducing the need for additional resources or external support. It appears practical and cost effective.
In practice, it creates competing priorities that impact both.
When individuals switch between operational responsibilities and project work, productivity can drop by up to 40%. Attention is divided, context is lost, and progress slows. What should be focused delivery becomes fragmented effort.
This is reflected in broader delivery outcomes. More than 50% of projects fail due to resource and capacity constraints. Not because teams lack capability, but because they are already operating at or near full capacity. Transformation work does not replace operational responsibilities. It sits alongside them. As a result, work is constantly reprioritised, timelines extend, and delivery becomes reactive rather than structured.
Even when organisations attempt to address this by reallocating staff into transformation roles, the pressure does not disappear. Operational workload is redistributed across the remaining team, creating new bottlenecks and reducing overall efficiency.
There is also a transition cost. Individuals stepping into transformation delivery are often doing so without the benefit of repeated experience in this type of work. Planning assumptions are underestimated, dependencies are not fully understood, and delivery approaches are refined in real time. This contributes to delays and inconsistent outcomes.
These conditions are a common driver of projects running over time and budget. As delivery becomes extended and fragmented, costs increase and momentum is lost.
This is not a capability issue. Operational teams are highly skilled at running and supporting the business. However, transformation requires a different type of focus, structure, and experience built through repetition. Expecting the same team to do both creates friction in delivery.
Organisations that consistently deliver outcomes recognise this distinction. They separate operational responsibilities from transformation delivery, ensuring each has the focus and structure required to be effective.
If an initiative has been "in progress" for an extended period, it is worth assessing whether the issue is complexity, or whether the delivery model itself is creating the constraint.
40%
of your team's capacity is already gone
Splitting focus between BAU and project work doesn't halve the output, it compounds the problem across both.
56%
of expected value never delivered
The average shortfall between what was promised and what was actually realised.
45%
over budget on average, not worst case
When delivery is fragmented and stretched, costs compound every time.
30-40%
faster with dedicated delivery focus
Focused resources, clear ownership and no competing priorities make the difference.
Sources: APA, McKinsey / University of Oxford, Deloitte, PMI