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4 Min. Read

What Is Workforce Management & How Does It Work?

What Is Workforce Management & How Does It Work?

Any business comes with a workforce. The workforce is the people who are engaged in the workplace. Theyā€™re the employees, the leaders, and everyone associated with the company. Workforce management is the way that you handle the workforce. It started out as something small but has become so much more. Learn everything you need to know about workforce management and the way it works here!

Hereā€™s What Weā€™ll Cover:

What is Workforce Management?

Modern Workforce Management Applications

Some Considerations to Keep in Mind

Key Takeaways

What is Workforce Management?

Workforce management (WFM) is a hot topic being thrown around in business. Itā€™s been around for years, but it started with humble beginnings. Originally, WFM was a scheduling process. It reviewed and analyzed data regarding the workplace. This data was used to create accurate forecasts for employee coverage. This not only helped with coverage, it also helped with labor costs.

Workforce management was centred around contact centre workplaces to start. This ensured that enough people were available to man the phones when needed. It also lets businesses use fewer employees when times are slow. This helped to lead to a far more productive workforce.

Modern Workforce Management Applications

Workforce management has come a long way since its original inception. Now, itā€™s a method of managing the best practices for a companyā€™s workforce. Many different forms of workforce management software are available today, and they offer a range of options to go with them. Many workforce management solutions provide tools that make running a business a smooth process.

Artificial Intelligence Applications

Many software options come with artificial intelligence applications. The use of artificial intelligence allows for better decisions to be made in regard to the work environment. The analysis of key metrics allows the software to schedule employees during peak times. It can also help you keep labour costs down when business is slow.

Real-Time Analytics

WFM software lets you review analytics in real-time, not just over time. By reviewing these metrics, you can stay on top of everything that needs to be done at the moment for your business. Analytical insights allow for better decisions to be made in real-time. Analytics-fueled workflows tend to be more flexible, as well as more productive overall.

Workforce Management Tools

A whole range of tools come with workforce management software. The best part is that many of them donā€™t require intense training to pick up. Many have a built-in contact centre, allowing employees to use an all-in-one portal. There are employee scheduling assistants for building agent schedules. A large amount of them allows for time tracking, as well. In the workplace, time is money, and an accurate timekeeping tool is great. Some will even tell you the amount of idle time an agent has in real-time!

Human Resource Management

Human resources is a tough department in any business. Some workforce management software options allow for HR to work through the application. This includes training management and administrative tasks to be performed with ease. When it comes to employee training, scheduling can be an arduous task for HR to complete. WFM makes it easy.

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Some Considerations to Keep in Mind

When it comes to adopting a new form of WFM, there are some things to keep in mind.

Company Size Matters

When it comes to WFM programs, the size of your company matters. Not all applications are created equally. Some will be too large for a small business, and others wonā€™t provide the insight that an enterprise company needs. Be sure to choose the right application based on your business needs. The best programs available will scale with the size of your business.

You May Need Workforce Management Analysts

Some programs will need workforce management analysts to fully unlock their potential. These employees are trained in all things WFM, and are meant to take data and turn it into meaningful decisions. By reviewing the information that WFM provides, they can implement new processes. They may even change business operations in a beneficial way, resulting in lower costs and higher revenue.

Key Takeaways

Understanding the way your business is run is the key to success. One of the best ways to do this is by observing many processes and modifying them. Workforce management can help with that. When you utilize workforce management, you make your business run more efficiently. Efficiency means lower costs and higher revenue. Who doesnā€™t want that?


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