What is the goal of workforce management?

Workforce Management | Definition, Objectives & Future Trends

What is the goal of workforce management

Guide To Call Center Workforce ManagementGoals for Effective Workforce Management

In the current rapidly changing business environment, workforce management is now a crucial role for companies looking to maximize their human resources and ensure the success of their business. What is the goal of workforce management? The article below we’ll examine the definition, significance and the evolution of the field of management for workers. We will examine the main goals and advantages of managing the workforce, and highlight its significance in aligning employees’ capabilities with the goals of the organization.

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What is the goal of workforce management?

What is the goal of workforce management? The principal goal of work management is to develop an efficient workforce. In the end, it is to achieve your company’s goals. 

However, workforce management can help to:
  • Provide better customer service, by helping everyone be productive

  • You can ensure accuracy of your payroll by using accurate time-tracking systems

  • Help reduce stress for employees by providing sufficient coverage
  • Respect national, local and union regulations and laws.
  • Enhance employee engagement throughout your company

Definition of Workforce Management

Workforce Management, commonly abbreviated as WFM refers to an elaborate system that is designed to increase the productivity of employees while managing labor costs as well as scheduling requirements.

An effective WFM strategy seeks to match the requirements and objectives of an organization with its workforce in order to ensure that the business is able to meet its goals. It is typically aided with Workforce Management software that can simplify a lot of these tasks, and provide valuable information insight.

What Are the 4 Key Pieces of WFM?

Workforce Management (WFM) is crucial to ensure an agile and efficient workforce. There are four main elements to be considered to create a successful WFM system:

  1. Workforce Forecasting and Scheduling: Companies must anticipate the needs of their workforce in order to meet the operational demands. Forecasting is the process of using data from the past to predict future workloads and to determine the amount of employees needed. Scheduling can then be utilized to assign shifts, and manage the cost of labor effectively.

  2. Time and Attendance Tracking: A precise monitoring of employees’ working hours is vital. Time management systems track employees’ hours, track the paid time off program, and make sure that the company is in compliance with labor laws.

  3. Compliance Management: Compliance with regulations is an essential element of WFM. WFM solutions should help organizations comply with labor laws and regulations. WFM solution will help companies comply with rules and laws pertaining to labor in order to avoid legal concerns and fines.

  4. Performance Management and Analytics: WFM systems are required to be able to monitor and analyze the performance of employees. This assists by identifying patterns, forming programs for training, and improving the overall efficiency.

Benefits of Workforce Management

  • Enhanced Efficiency: Employing the use of workforce administration (WFM) solutions allows businesses to streamline procedures and processes. This efficiency can lead to significant increases in productivity for teams because it allows employees to concentrate on their main tasks without having to worry about administrative tasks.

  • Improved Employee Engagement: Through the use of WFM systems companies can provide more flexibility in work-life balance by offering flexible schedules and automated requests for time off. This can lead to higher employee morale as well as engagement because employees feel that their time and wellbeing are appreciated.
Benefits of Workforce Management
  • Compliance With Labor Laws: Workforce management software helps in monitoring and ensuring compliance with local and federal labor laws. Monitoring compliance with these laws can help protect your company from legal problems and promote a fair work environment.

 

  • Lower Operational Costs: Reducing the time spent on workflows, and improving scheduling could lead to an improvement in the cost of labor. Through optimizing the distribution of resources, companies can cut down on wasted time and cut down on overstaffing. This can result in less controlled operating expenses.

 

  • Performance Monitoring: WFM provides consistent and precise performance monitoring that allows managers to review and monitor employees’ performance. This continuous review process will help identify areas that require additional training and improvements which can help develop an improved workforce.

 

  • Scalability: As an organization grows workforce management systems are able to easily adapt to new demands. This allows businesses to manage their teams’ growth effectively without the need for ongoing investment into new processes or systems.

Tips for Setting WFM Goals

Here are five suggestions to help you achieve WFM set-up goals. 

  • Assess where you stand today: Take some time to evaluate the current situation in the field of management of your workforce. What are the most significant problems that your company is facing in relation to talent? Are you able to hire enough employees in place to cover shifts? Do you feel you’re always under-resourced and must rely on the agency staff to fill the gaps? What’s the gap between part-time, full-time and casual/agency employees? Do employees have to put in a lot of overtime? Equally important, how do you manage all this being managed? By using paper-based spreadsheets and manual spreadsheets? timesheets? A technology and talent audit will assist you in mapping your future requirements.

 

  • Clarify why your business needs new technology: From budgets to priorities for the organization up to the degree of technological maturity, each company is unique. But, there are general themes that help you decide whether to invest in WFM technology. It could simply be that the software you’re using is out of date and does not have the features your company requires. It might be that it’s not cloud-based which can make changes costly and time-consuming. It could be that the developers behind it are no longer providing support to customers. It could also be because it is not providing a good user experience, dissuading users to use it.

 

  • Align with the business strategy: Every HR or technology plan must be in sync with the overall business plan. Growth of business is often the first to suffer when it doesn’t happen. What happens if an aged care company planned to build two new regional facilities for residential aged care over the next twelve months? With the current shortage of skilled workers in this field, what would be the best place for employees to be located? What technology can help you maximize the utilization of your current human resources? Will the need for additional personnel be recruited?

 

  • Embed goals into any change management plan: Achieving landmarks through every WFM plan, initiative or project can make sure that the project is on course and meeting the expectations. For instance, many WFM rollouts of technology will follow an approach in phases, beginning with a pilot group that is located in one area or department. A pilot team will give feedback and provide suggestions before the rollout is broader. A phased approach also implies that all participants have to complete the previous stage prior to moving on into the subsequent phase. This method is structured to ensure that everyone is in the same boat and progresses with ease, even though some individuals require additional support or additional training. Incorporating goals and milestones allows managers to recognize the smaller victories along the way which can provide an extra boost to the project and the people involved.
  • Treat change as a journey, not a destination: WFM strategy cannot be set to forget’. It requires continuous monitoring and adjustment to ensure that it is able to meet the demands of business. In an ever-changing world it is possible to review the WFM strategy at least every three months. The implementation of technology is not fixed and never is never forgotten. There will be mistakes and delays may happen. Use these mistakes as learning opportunities for the future. Continuous improvement is the best option since there are always new users to be enrolled and refresher courses to take as well as new features to know about and put into place, and so on.

How to Create a Successful Workforce Management Strategy for Your Business

  1. Long-term Organizational Goals: Start by establishing specific, long-term goals for the company. Understanding what the company aims to achieve in the coming years will help align the employees in line with the business’s goals.

  2. Analysis of Current Workforce: A thorough analysis of the current work force’s weaknesses and strengths is crucial. This involves evaluating the level of productivity, skills and demographics of the workforce.

  3. Identifying Future Skill Gaps: They forecast future demands and reveal potential gaps in skill. Being prepared for new industry trends is essential to stay in the game.

  4. Scenario Planning: Effective strategies look at a range of scenarios for the future in order to adapt to market changes. This allows the company to prepare for unpredictable events, while ensuring flexibility and resiliency.

  5. Seeking External Advice: Being open to outside perspectives can provide new perspectives on the planning of a workforce. They can consult with experts from industry or consultants whenever needed.

  6. Preserving Company Culture: The cultivation of a company culture and integrating the company’s culture into the strategy for workforce management creates a positive working environment and boosts the engagement of employees.

  7. Ongoing Monitoring and Adaptation: They constantly monitor the effectiveness of the employee management strategy against benchmarks set, and are ready to adjust the approach as the company grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Workforce management is beneficial because it improves the scheduling of employees and productivity, increases efficiency, enhances customer service, reduces expenses, and assures that employees with the appropriate number are on hand at the right timings to meet the demands of business.

Tools for managing workforces are programs designed to assist in scheduling, planning and monitoring the workforce of a company. They can help simplify tasks such as employee scheduling, time and attendance tracking, as well as labor forecasting.

Workforce management analyzes information on the availability of employees, their abilities, workload, and business requirements to develop efficient schedules, control working hours, and coordinate workforce resources in order to fulfill operational demands. The tools assist with this by automating and optimizing the workforce-related tasks.

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