Implementing a workforce management process can take a lot of work. If you do workforce management (also called WFM) right, it could have a big effect on your company's bottom line and service levels.
WFM can help organizations save money by cutting labor costs and business expenses (like office space) while increasing employee engagement and productivity.
The following tips will make it easier to put WFM into place.
Find out how much work is required
It's challenging to manage the unknown.
Review the current workload of the business to identify staffing needs. A workforce management solution could be helpful here, by providing real-time analytics and reports.
An audit will help identify problems with current processes, like when a department is spending too much through overstaffing or because it has too few team members.
Determine staffing needs
Using full-time equivalent (or FTE) calculations, an organization can accurately predict how many people it will need to hire.
FTE will help you understand how many hours of work an organization requires to complete all its tasks. Then, managers divide that number by the number of hours in a full-time work week to figure out how many full-time team members are needed.
New projects that start on a smaller scale can use the same process. Knowing how many people you need for a project helps calculate the labor costs budget accurately for future projects.
Build strategic staff schedules
A well-thought-out staff schedule ensures that the organization meets goals and that the right people are retained for projects.
Workloads, staffing, and resources can frequently change, making staff scheduling difficult. Employees get sick and emergencies can happen, but it's easier to deal with the unexpected if you have an excellent staff schedule.
Consider a WFM solution that uses automation to simplify your staff scheduling. Automatic shift and schedule reminders, idle time monitoring, and built-in invoicing will allow you to work on your bottom line instead of repetitive administrative tasks.
Give out jobs carefully
Managers should pay attention to and learn about their employee's combined skill sets to build productive teams that enjoy working together. For a workforce management process to work well, you need always be learning about your staff.
After making a strategic staff schedule, ensure that the team members' skills match the job's needs. Provide complete instructions and information so projects finish on time.
Common scheduling mistakes include giving employees too much to do in a single shift or giving team members jobs they haven't trained for, leading to confusion and frustration.
Optimize your process
It will help if you start by figuring out which tasks have the most significant effect on productivity.
Changing workflows, automating tasks, or holding time management workshops are all ways you can begin to optimize your process.
The process will improve if the right team members are empowered to foster change. Make sure team members have a voice and open feedback opportunities.
Monitor employee performance
When monitoring employee productivity with proof of work software, choosing metrics and a workforce management solution to support you is essential.
To monitor employee performance, start by tracking:
Over time, WFM's set of processes will use historical data to measure success, highlight trends, and anticipate problems.
A properly executed workforce management process allows your organization to hit critical milestones and identify opportunities for improvement.
Monitoring these accomplishments is a crucial part of improving the process of workforce management.
Hubstaff workforce management solutions include scheduling employees, keeping track of payroll, keeping track of invoices, and managing tasks. Check out Hubstaff today. 14 days for free.