To the Executive Putting Off Workforce Management for “One More Year”

This article was originally published on The WorkForce Blog.

You can expect more of the same.

More of the same:

1. Unnecessary overtime.

Because without real-time visibility into workers’ hours, managers can’t anticipate their overtime costs.

2. Disgruntled employees.

Because when an employee struggles to manage life around work, he or she can become demoralized and disengaged, even spiteful.

3. Slow, redundant processes.

Because when managers and employees must manually record and communicate information, the human element can stall processes to a crawl.

4. Staggering fines.

Because local, state, and national wage and leave laws as well as industry-specific regulations and union rules are dynamic, ever-changing — and the onus falls on employers to keep up with those changes.

And here’s what happens when employers violate labor laws.

Now, let’s shift our attention …

To the Executive Saying “Yes” to Workforce Management …

You can expect true change, a transformation of people and processes and profits.

You can expect to:

1. Stop unnecessary overtime in its tracks.

Real-time visibility into employee schedules will help managers make strategic, cost-saving decisions at a moment’s notice.

Calvin’s phone was ringing. He picked it up.

“Hey, Cal,” said Peter, his manager.

“Hey, Pete.”

“Listen,” said Peter, “I need to take you off the schedule tomorrow because you’re about to incur overtime. The system just shot me an email. Sorry about that.”

“Got it,” said Calvin. “See anyone I can swap with for next week? I’m driving, otherwise, I’d look myself.”

“Let me check,” said Peter. “I’m at my desk.” He logged into the online time and attendance portal and pulled up the employee calendar. “Try Karen,” he said.

2. Make employees happy, engaged.

Enable optional scheduling features, like shift-swapping, to help employees achieve a healthy work-life balance.

Karen was at home, on her couch, eating an apple and scrolling through Instagram when a work notification popped up on her iPhone. She pressed it and was taken to her employee self-service portal.

She had a shift-swap request from Calvin. Karen smiled. She could use a break.

She pressed the “ACCEPT” button.

3. Eliminate redundancies.

Intuitive self-service tools minimize operational overlap, streamlining productivity between employees and managers.

Peter was still in his office, at his computer, when Karen’s shift-swap acceptance hit his inbox. As the manager, the system required that he green-light the action.

He approved the swap with one click, then refocused his attention on a different action: a pending FMLA leave request from another employee, Victoria.

4. Drive compliance.

Demonstrate compliance with every law, regulation, rule, and policy that pertains to your workforce.

Victoria is pregnant. A day earlier, she used the system to fill out a simple questionnaire about the FMLA leave she plans to take after having her baby. It was easy. She completed the process, submitting the request without incident, in less than an hour.

Her request is now with Peter, her manager and leave administrator, who is far from expert in FMLA — and that’s fine. The system makes a normally complicated, intricate process easy, almost foolproof.

It guides him through the case via an intuitive workflow based on Victoria’s chosen leave type. He’s able to validate her eligibility, approve the case, and automate the distribution of state and federal forms throughout the lifecycle of the leave.

A year from now, you’ll wish you started today.

Even by conservative estimates, a successful workforce management project can save large organizations millions in annual recurring expenses.

That said, if you know it’ll help, why put it off? Why wait?

After all, when people account for about 70% of an organization’s total operating costs, can workforce management ever really wait?

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