Workforce Management is a set of processes designed to measure and improve key aspects of
a business’s employees including time reporting, engagement, and productivity,
ultimately increasing the performance levels of the team.
In this day and age, there are so many workplace distractions, and not just inside the
office. With telecommuting on the rise, mobile workforce management and remote workforce
management are now essential parts of the larger workforce management strategy.
Companies are always trying to find new ways to increase productivity without sacrificing
the quality of work. So, can you have your cake and eat it, too?
With a well thought out and executed workforce management plan, you can! Companies use
workforce management systems for everything from scheduling employees to hiring and
payroll. Essentially, tools that makeup workforce management systems are designed to
help managers cultivate an ideal work environment for everyone, resulting in a more
successful company.
A company’s most valuable asset is its workforce. Such an important part of a business
needs to be managed efficiently and effectively. Without a robust workforce management
system, a company is far less likely to reach its true potential.
Using workforce management systems can help achieve an ideal workplace by implementing
or improving the following:
Scheduling
While manually creating a schedule can be time-consuming, workforce management
solutions provide data that better informs the scheduling process. It’s easier
to schedule based on each employee and his or her needs, including availability,
breaks, and holidays.
Forecasting
Predicting schedules and productivity levels for a certain day.
Budgeting
Workforce management systems help with budget forecasting and can point to areas
where a reallocation of company resources may be needed.
Absence/leave
Workforce management systems can be used to manage and track leaves, so HR
employees can focus on better meeting individual needs.
Time clocks
Clocking in and out can be a hassle, and let’s face it: a pen and paper system
just doesn’t cut it anymore. Workforce management systems keep track of your
employees’ attendance and time worked so you don’t have to! They also help cut
down on time reporting inconsistencies.
Payroll
Gone are the days of the file cabinet! Employers can have a central place where
employees’ work information is stored. That confidential information, like bank
direct deposit details and insurance policies, stays under wraps.
Employee performance management
The end goal is to encourage those who perform well to keep up the hard work and
motivate those who have the potential but need a little help.
How Workforce Management Systems
Help Businesses
When a workforce management system is implemented correctly, that ideal work environment
becomes more and more within reach. Your idea of an ideal work environment is unique,
but most will agree that the following benefits are highly sought after:
Increase in productivity
To get better at something, you have to first measure. Activity tracking features
measure the productivity levels of each person. Those can be analyzed, and the
manager and employee can collaborate on a better way to get work done.
Improving employee morale
What many businesses lack is a way to truly measure employee performance. The
right system can get an accurate picture of what each employee accomplishes
every day. With features such as performance tracking, leaderboard, and
gamification, employees become a part of the improvement process. As a result,
transparency and communication between employees and managers become better, and
employee morale improves.
Declining Error rates
Payroll and HR are benefited through workforce management automation as error
rates are reduced and unnecessary expenses are eliminated. Workforce management
automation also helps develop lines of communication to lower error rates
generated by manual payroll calculation.
Key Benefits of Workforce Management Software
The benefits of workforce management softwares are many, as are the types of companies
that use them. From restaurants to car services, hospitals, and large corporations, all
different kinds of companies are realizing positive changes in many different areas of
their businesses thanks to implementing WFM software. Here are just some of those
benefits:
Business Process Analyzation
Employers can track which computer applications are being used and which aren’t.
This data is used at times to determine which computer programs can be
eliminated without interfering with an employee’s job. Paying for fewer computer
program subscriptions can ultimately save the company money in the long run.
Security
Data breaches can be downright embarrassing, not to mention they can cost the
victim company a lot of money. SecurityIntelligence statistics suggest the cost
of a data breach is on the rise, reaching nearly $4 million in average total
cost. Workforce management software can track employee behaviors, and that data
can be useful in determining when and where a data breach may have occurred.
Increased Employee Productivity
WFM softwares can help management better understand employee workflow and make
changes to improve it. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ship Sticks, a
business designed to securely and dependably ship golf clubs, realized at least
a 25% increase in baseline productivity levels after implementing a workforce
management software.
Using WFM Software for Remote
Employees
A remote workforce is a team of employees that work from a location other than a
centralized office. Remote workers can also make up an Offshore Workforce or Distributed
Workforce. You can learn more about the different types of remote teams, and understand
which is right for your organization in this post.
While remote and distributed workforces are essentially the same thing, an offshore
workforce typically consists of contractors and freelancers living abroad.
When employees are out of sight, it’s common for managers to be concerned about how time
is spent. By using cloud-based workforce management software, managers can help with
performance management, track productivity, and maintain accountability regardless of an
employee’s location.
For companies who employ remote workers, a remote work policy is critical. Shockingly,
Upwork’s 2018
Future Workplace Report revealed that 57% of companies who have some form of
distributed workforce lack remote work policies. Other benefits of using remote
workforce management tools are the ability to establish remote policies, measure their
effectiveness, and make the changes necessary for on-going improvement of your remote
workforce. Digital HR Tech shared some tips to
implement a policy for a remote or offshore workforce, including the importance
of adjusting and accounting for time zone differences when scheduling meetings.
Remote employees tend to stay longer. At least, that’s the conclusion Hubstaff CEO came
to. Employees who work remotely enjoy a lot of benefits, but a study conducted by
Buffer.com found that 43% of distributed
workers say the biggest benefit of working remotely is a flexible schedule. To
continue supporting flexibility, managers need some assurance that work is getting done,
even if it’s not between the hours of nine and five. Since remote workforce management
software logs activity data and screenshots, managers can have a better picture of how
remote or offshore workers get work done.
As shown above, remote employee
monitoring has many positives. To avoid potential issues like privacy concerns,
companies should be transparent about their use of monitoring software. Convey that an
analytical activity tracking tool improves remote employee management in ways that are
helpful for both employees and managers. Recognition for hard work, gamification, fair
performance measurement, and the ability to measure wordloads and distribute them evenly
are just some of the benefits of remote
employee monitoring.
How to Decide on a
Workforce Management Software Solution
Ease of use is certainly something to consider in selecting a workforce management tool.
You want to make sure that the tool you want to implement is easy to comprehend. If it
ends up being too difficult, odds are it will not become a part of your daily routine,
nor will it provide the intended benefits. It’s important to remember that no workforce
management tool can reconstruct your company in a day, but the more you use it, the more
you will get out of it in the end.
Workforce Productivity and Analytics Software for Teams
ActivTrak collects and normalizes user activity data providing visibility, analytics and
context. Get the real story behind HOW your employees work and what hinders their
productivity so you can streamline and optimize business tools, processes and teams.
Uncover poor operational processes and workflow bottlenecks
Analyze productivity activities and behavior patterns
Get visibility into cloud application proliferation and usage trends
Gain insights into remote employee work patterns and time management
Identify insider threats to reduce security vulnerabilities
Get alerted to employee activities that introduce compliance risk
Easily generate detailed reports for audit trail requirements