Are Workforce Management Tools Right for You?

 

Workforce management. What does that really mean to an organization? Scheduling your employees? Managing their time and attendance? Organizing their personnel files and information? Workforce management is all those things. Fundamentally, it’s a process that, when managed effectively, can maximize employee performance and improve the overall success of a business.

Core Functions

At the heart of workforce management solutions, there are five core functions: scheduling, job details, benefit and leave management, task and activity management, and time and attendance. The key to successful workforce management is full integration between all functions. So, when you change information in one area of the solution, that information automatically updates throughout the system. That integration can save valuable employee time and add money to your bottom line.

But, how do you know if a workforce management solution is something you need? Start by asking yourself these questions:

• Is my customer service at its best?
• Are my employees empowered to help themselves?
• Do I have the best and most current data to make informed business decisions?
• Are my employees working at optimal production levels?
• Is my business as successful as I want it to be?

If you answered “Yes,” you’re probably on the right track already. But, if you answered “Maybe,” “No” or “I don’t know” to these questions, then keep reading to learn how a workforce management solution could help.

Improve Customer Service

Customer service is about more than just finishing a job. It’s also about how well you provide those services and how quickly you respond to changing needs. With an integrated workforce management system, information can be automatically transmitted to your customers through a self-service option. When your your customers request additional work or coverage, your employees respond quickly and can keep them up-to-date on the status of those requests. Or when your employees complete an inspection, customers can see results automatically. Employees can then act on any inspection deficiencies and resolve them immediately. You can even provide your customers with employee rosters and compliance reports so they can see you have the right people working their job. With the self-service component of workforce management, you can increase transparency, reduce response time and prove your accountability by putting the information your customers want directly in their hands.

Employee Empowerment

Part of workforce management is empowering your employees to help themselves. Give your employees access to the information they need (and want) anytime, anywhere. By providing employee self-service features, you can give your employees access to schedules, important tax and benefit information, paychecks, contact information, and even helpful employee resources and notifications. Instead of manual, paper processes throughout multiple departments, use technology to provide on-the-go access.

Equinox HR Solutions gathered information on how employee self-service solutions, along with mobile accessibility, can provide cost savings from a human resource perspective. For example, by using a self-service solution, you could save 80 percent (or nearly $28 per employee) by using online employee benefits enrollment. You could even save 74 percent by allowing employees to update their own contact information. If you have 100 employees, online benefit enrollment could save you $2,800 (and that doesn’t even figure in the staff time saved). Could you use that money elsewhere? The answer is probably yes.

Real-time Data

As a business owner, manager or supervisor, you’re making important decisions every day. The last thing you want is to have outdated information. An integrated workforce management system gives you real-time (or near real-time) information. Think about what a difference it would make if you could spot potential overtime situations before they occur or if you could act immediately on customer requests as they happen. And, with mobile capabilities you wouldn’t have to be at your desk to know what’s going on across your job sites and departments.

Employee Productivity Levels

Do you have a backlog of projects that you hope to complete someday, when you have time? What if you could give your employees an extra 10 minutes, an hour or even five hours a week to work on the backlog? Would you? Of course you would! By using workforce management software and automated processes, you can give your employees that extra time. By eliminating redundant processing, manual data entry and tedious spreadsheet reporting, your staff will have more time to tackle those high-value projects in addition to serving your customers better.

Business Growth

When you started your business, you probably set a goal for organizational growth. While an integrated workforce management solution won’t automatically grow your business, the tools can provide you the resources necessary to increase your margins and, consequently, increase your revenue without lowering your business standards. That’s huge considering the potential growth opportunities in both the building service and security contractor industries.

According to Freedonia, an international business research company, and the U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• Contracted security is projected to expand 4.2 percent per year through 2019 to $66.9 billion and is estimated to experience a 5.1 percent growth in employees by 2024 (that’s nearly 56,000 new employees).
• The building service industry is estimated to grow by 3.2 percent annually to $65 billion in 2019 and is expected to experience a 5.8 percent growth in employees by 2024 (that’s nearly 137,000 new employees).

Wouldn’t you like to capitalize on those growth opportunities?

There you have it — five (out of many) reasons why implementing workforce management tools can improve your business. It can save you time and money, it can empower your workforce and your customers, and it can give you the data you need to make key business decisions. Will it take time, money and preparation to successfully implement a workforce management solution? Yes, but the results can outweigh the effort if you’re willing to put in the work. So, that leaves you one last question to ask yourself, “Is workforce management right for my business?”