What Is Workforce Management? A Complete Guide

Workforce management, sometimes abbreviated to WFM, is a tool for employee productivity. Originally, the tool was used for customer service call centers, but has since expanded to other industries. If you are looking for a way to increase organizational performance in your company, keep reading.

Here’s What We’ll Cover:

What Is Workforce Management?

How Workforce Management Software Is Used

Using Workforce Management to Write Processes

Do I Need an Analyst?

The Next Steps in Workforce Management

Key Takeaways

What Is Workforce Management?

At first, workforce management started out as a way to manage employee scheduling. The idea was simple; schedule employees effectively to allow for the completion of work-related tasks. Since its original introduction, workforce management has expanded. Here are just some of the areas workforce management is utilized:

• Human resource management
• Performance management
• Training management
• Staff scheduling
• Data collection
• Analytics
• Administrative tasks

With all of these benefits, it’s no wonder that workforce management has become a topic of discussion in most workplaces. There have been many versions of workforce management software developed and released.

How Workforce Management Software Is Used

Workforce management software is used in many different ways in the workplace. Most softwares come with an array of workforce management tools. These workforce management tools help with a number of tasks.

Improves Time Management

Of course the original intent of workforce management is one of its strongest benefits. Good workforce management software allows users to review the way time is used. By being able to review this, managers can implement changes to the workflow that benefit the business. Some of these functions are as follows:

• Time tracking
• Review of idle time
• Scheduling process
• Attendance tracking

All of these tools allow for better oversight of a business’s processes.

Allows for Reduction in Costs

Workforce management software solutions help businesses reduce their labor costs. Because of their capabilities to track all processes in a business, they can assist in streamlining them. The ability to collect data and use it in conjunction with time tracking is key in reducing costs across the board. Management costs can then be reduced because the data collection process is automated. Overall, all operational costs can benefit from workforce management solutions.

• Overall labor costs
• Management costs
• Operational costs

Improves Employee Performance

Most workforce management solutions allow managers to monitor all internal processes. Because all of the processes can be monitored, so can employee productivity. This allows for streamlining, and increased employee engagement. This improvement in employee performance is crucial in customer service departments. When you improve the processes associated with customer service, you improve customer satisfaction. The last thing any business needs is poor customer service. Happy customers means a happy business owner!

Using Workforce Management to Write Processes

Workforce management allows businesses to write and implement better processes. After the current processes have been observed, they can be streamlined. Planning processes can help increase productivity. It can also help remove manual processes from the workflow, reducing costs even further. Artificial intelligence comes with most workforce management softwares. Workforce management is a valuable tool for businesses of all sizes.

Do I Need an Analyst?

Most of the time, workforce management analysts are needed alongside the software. The main function of the analyst is to oversee the workforce management process. They take the data and boil it down, making it manageable. Through the collection of this data they can determine trends. Once these trends have been determined, any number of criteria can be modified to improve the workflow. Workforce management analysts create plans and goals that reduce labor and operational costs.

The analyst role is required in call center environments, and highly suggested in others. They need a mix of human resource skills and data skills to work effectively. As such, they do a great job getting rid of redundant processes, as well as fixing broken processes.

The Next Steps in Workforce Management

In recent years, workforce management has begun to evolve again. Many workforce management solutions are beginning to take a mobile approach. This mobile approach oversees the scheduling, training, and performance of off-premises employees. Because much of the workforce has gone remote more recently, this is a necessary change.

Key Takeaways

If you’re looking for a way to improve productivity and performance in the workplace, look into workforce management. It allows for complete oversight of all processes in a business, and lets you streamline them. Workforce management software solutions are useful for all businesses. Many of the software packages can be scaled to the size of the business. Look into workforce management to help organize your company today!

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