What is workforce management?
Workforce management (WFM) is a set of processes and technologies a business can use to manage employees and resources, optimise productivity and ensure the organisation complies with laws and regulations. The overarching goal of WFM is to create as much efficiency as possible.
Many people can attest to cooking a nostalgic family recipe only to discover it isn’t quite how grandma used to make it, realising later that it’s missing the secret ingredient – whether it’s a pinch of nutmeg, some lemon zest or that extra tin of cream of mushroom soup – which makes the dish so special.
For a business, workforce management can be the secret ingredient that transforms operations from satisfactory to spectacular.
WFM focuses on tasks like employee scheduling, payroll management, and short- and long-term goal development and impacts the overall employee experience. Read on to learn how you can add workforce management to your organisation’s recipe for success.
- Why is workforce management important?
- Benefits of workforce management
- Components of workforce management
- Challenges of workforce management
- Example of workforce management
- Frequently asked questions
- Improve your WFM with Zendesk and Tymeshift
Why is workforce management important?
Workforce management is important because it can help expedite employee scheduling, future initiatives and budgeting, acting as the key ingredient that drives organisations to be as efficient as possible.
With a successful WFM strategy, businesses can take actions in the short term that increase productivity immediately, like schedule adherence, automatic scheduling and AI-powered workload forecasting – things that make a manager’s job easier and keep employees on track. Additionally, WFM can contribute to long-term goal setting and improvements with strategies that give historical data on your teams’ performance.
Benefits of CRM for management
Workforce management can aid organisations in several ways. Below are some of the top benefits for businesses implementing WFM processes.
Cost reduction
Payroll is a large expense for most businesses. When businesses put every dollar to good use, they can reduce unnecessary costs. Through precise employee scheduling and accurate workforce forecasting, organisations can limit overstaffing and excessive overtime whilst ensuring each employee operates as efficiently as possible.
Strategic planning
A good workforce management system provides insight into business trends and performance analytics, providing a springboard for optimising strategies. With WFM, businesses can make sure they have the right number of employees working at the right time, analyse company trends related to performance (like revenue per employee) and build off other data to create long-term improvements. Furthermore, businesses can leverage WFM principles to plan for retirements and resignations so they always have a stream of top talent.
Improved productivity
WFM principles like workforce allocation and performance monitoring can optimise productivity and ensure employees are operating in the right role for their skill set. And, if an employee isn’t working efficiently, managers can easily identify training opportunities or other roles that may be a better fit for the employee. Additionally, employers can compare team-wide performance metrics against those of similar companies to determine whether they need to adjust their processes.
Enhanced employee satisfaction
Workforce management promotes balanced workloads and consistent schedules through processes like staffing forecasts, which ensure that team members have ample notice of their future work schedule and that there are always enough workers on a given shift. This brings predictability to employees’ lives, allowing them to achieve a better work-life balance while potentially reducing burnout.
Same award-winning Zendesk CX, new WFM capabilities
After years of being a trusted CX partner, we’ve expanded our offerings with our acquisition of Tymeshift – a product built just for Zendesk users that delivers AI-powered workforce management capabilities.
Components of workforce management
Every business is unique and no two workforce management processes are identical. However, there are some core components that WFM solutions should include.
Staff forecasting and scheduling
Businesses need to accurately predict future workforce needs – too many employees at one time results in wasted staffing budgets, whilst too few can impact efficiency and customer service levels. This is a universal requirement for successful operations, regardless of whether companies implement general WFM, call centre workforce management or a different industry-specific approach.
Finding that scheduling sweet spot can be difficult, however, as organisational trends, employee skill levels and changing consumer preferences are all common factors that can impact staffing requirements. With workforce management, businesses can create accurate schedules time after time and find the perfect balance between efficiency and staffing cost optimisation.
Time and attendance tracking
Time and attendance tracking – monitoring and recording employees’ hours, time off and, in certain cases, their productivity – is crucial for both hourly and salaried teams. This data is essential for calculating payroll, optimising efficiency and complying with employment law and regulations. Additionally, teams can use WFM time tracking to enhance employee experience management and ensure timesheets are always accurate.
Real-time team management
Real-time team management allows businesses to monitor employee schedules and customer demand on an hourly basis. This enables teams to make on-the-fly adjustments to schedules and resources, so operations are running as efficiently as possible. This key WFM component can also highlight training opportunities and process improvements to keep businesses operating at peak levels consistently.
Reporting and analytics
Workforce management can help businesses make strategic, data-driven decisions through reporting and analytics features. With the help of WFM software, organisations can gather information on employee performance, attendance, turnover rates and other important metrics like revenue per employee and time to fill. Using this data, teams can identify areas of improvement, implement strategies and set long-term goals.
Challenges of workforce management
Managing a workforce effectively isn’t always easy. Here are a few challenges to be aware of when conducting WFM.
Efficient communication
Reliable communication can make or break an organisation. For businesses to be successful, all employees must align with WFM policies and company initiatives. This is easier said than done, and it can be difficult to achieve efficient company-wide communication without a concrete process, especially in the era of remote work.
Key tip: Effective WFM strategies and tools are crucial for creating collaboration, bridging interdepartmental gaps and ensuring all personnel are on the same page.
Staff and talent shortages
Business efficiency and profitability are dependent on the quality of its workforce. If an organisation experiences a dip in workforce quality – such as staff and talent shortages – it can disrupt operations, affect performance and create overworked and inefficient employees. This can happen when a business lacks a clear hiring plan, a healthy work-life balance or growth opportunities – things that top employees need to feel fulfilled.
Key tip: Companies need to develop WFM strategies to train, empower and retain top talent and have the right systems in place for smooth transitions if that talent leaves.
Emerging trends and technologies
Staying up to date with trends – like automation, AI chatbots, advanced analytics and employee experience software – is crucial for businesses to remain relevant in the marketplace. If companies aren’t constantly evolving and keeping up with new technologies and processes to optimise their operations, they can quickly get left behind by the competition.
Key tip: Quality WFM processes can ensure organisations are always aware of emerging trends and tech that positively impact efficiency.
Example of workforce management
See how one company uses WFM software Tymeshift as its secret ingredient to improve operations.
Peek
Peek, an online booking platform for tours and activities, uses Tymeshift to consolidate and streamline its WFM tasks.
Before using Tymeshift, Peek compiled data into spreadsheets, manually entering performance figures and employee trends – a task that took a tremendous amount of time. Due to its disorganised data collection, the company often had inaccurate staff scheduling processes.
After the switch to Tymeshift, WFM productivity skyrocketed. Erik Jansen, support team supervisor at Peek, says, “I used to do about 15 hours of WFM before Tymeshift. I think that I really got it down to, maybe, an hour a day”.
Frequently asked questions
Finally, here are some frequently asked questions about workforce management.
While these concepts have overlapping features, the difference between HR and WFM is that HR (human resources) primarily focuses on optimising the employee experience and creating a positive work environment. WFM also touches on employee satisfaction but mainly focuses on optimising operations through data collection and the proper allocation of employees.
A workforce manager’s main responsibility is to oversee a company’s productivity and make sure that employees, budgets and more are effectively utilised.
Workforce management software, sometimes known as WFM software, is a technology that assists an organisation in managing its employees, optimising operations, reducing staffing costs, facilitating workforce planning, improving the customer experience and more.
Improve your WFM with Zendesk and Tymeshift
Workforce management is a crucial business strategy that encompasses everything from employee scheduling to planning future initiatives. Organisations that know how to incorporate this secret ingredient into their organisation’s recipe for success can withstand any customer service peak-time rush and ensure long-term profitability.
At Zendesk, we are proud to announce our acquisition of Tymeshift – a modern workforce management software designed just for Zendesk users that drives a more efficient and profitable operation.
Start a free trial of Tymeshift today.
