Workforce Management Blog

What is a workforce management system?

A workforce management system is a comprehensive tool which seeks to automate, regulate and centralize the process of workforce management. Scheduling, time and attendance, managing employee requests and absence management all represent different aspects of workforce management.  Clearly managing a workforce without an actual workforce management system would be a highly involved task that would eat up a lot of resources.

Why invest in a workforce management system?

-          Saves Money

• A workforce management system has been proven to save organizations of all different sizes money in a variety of ways. For example a WFM system automatically calculates the exact amount to be paid to employees based on the number of hours worked. The alternative to a WFM system is manual payroll calculation which is prone to human calculation errors.

-          Improves morale in the company

• Occasionally employees will have their friends punch them in for work if they are running late or punch them out on time if they leave early. This process is known as “buddy punching”.  Buddy punching hurts the morale of the employees who work their entire scheduled shift because they are being paid the exact same amount as those employees who are showing up late or leaving early. As a result more and more employees will begin to engage in this behavior creating a toxic environment.

-          Improves productivity

• Managers often spend a great amount of time dealing with administrative tasks such as approving employee absence request, creating schedules, generating workforce reports, etc. However workforce management solutions automate all of these processes resulting in more available time for managers to focus on other tasks.

-          Optimizes your workforce

• Workforce management systems have built in tools which allow managers to develop schedules based on reoccurring patterns to meet the needs of their clients while also taking into account labor laws, union rules, vacation days and sick days of employees.

To get more information on workforce management and to see how a workforce management system could benefit your company please visit our website.

No matter what industry you are in, companies know that every dollar counts. So why wouldn’t you want a solution that can help save your organization money while improving operational efficiency?

By implementing an automated time and attendance system, you can save your company 2-5% of your annual payroll expenses. This could amount to thousands or even millions of dollars a year. With time and attendance systems, companies of all sizes are able to realize a significant return on investment.

How does automating your time and attendance save you money?

-Decrease in payroll errors

-Decreasing total payroll processing time

-Decreasing unauthorized leave time

-Improving labor reporting

-Eliminating costs associated with paper timecards

-Eliminating the risks of employee buddy punching or time fraud

-And much more…

What should you consider when choosing a time and attendance system vendor?

-Have a few companies present their solution so you can get a complete picture of what a time and attendance              solution can do for your organization

-Consider the level of support you will be receiving from the vendor if any issues arise with the system

-Speak to the company’s current customers to see if they are happy with the solution, the support, etc

-Do not focus too much on the price tag as a low cost solution may not have the capabilities that your organization will require to get a significant return on investment

For more information on Time and Attendance along with Workforce Management visit our website

To anyone who does not have experience in the workforce management industry, the components of WFM and why it is so important to any company is a mystery. We’ve put together a WFM Wheel, to help explain Workforce Management in a simple and clear manner:

The centre of the wheel is the key to any workforce management system. Accurate payroll records and employee profiles are essential to effectively managing any workforce.

In order to maintain a strong record of this information, data collection and self-service capabilities are utilized. There are a number of data collection alternatives available to companies. For example, when focusing specifically on employee time and attendance, organizations can use badge readers, swipe cards, fingerprint scanners or hand geometry units to track working hours. Employee and manager self-service capabilities are commonly seen through the web. These individuals can log in to an online portal to access and update data, view time cards, and request or approve time off.

Time & Attendance Management, Labour Allocation & Costing, Absence Management and Scheduling are essentially the four major components of workforce management solutions. Capturing and tracking employee time and attendance is the core of any WFM system, and involves monitoring employee hours through punch in/punch out machines. Labour allocation and costing allows companies to capture time against work orders or jobs, and track specific costs back to employees or jobs. An effective workforce management solution will leverage technology to decrease and manage employee absences. Finally, smart and dynamic modules can allow for optimized scheduling processes.

The outer ring of the wheel represents the end results or ultimate benefits of successfully implementing a workforce management system. Companies will witness an increased efficiency in the organizational processes, and total compliance with labour laws and regulations, as well as employee or union contracts. Furthermore, the return on their investment will be evident soon after installation. Organizations will see a drop in labour costs, payroll expenses, and increased control of the workforce through a centralized database of information. Finally, business intelligence capabilities will allow companies to analyze their workforce, monitor trends, and take corrective action where necessary.

This wheel outlines the basics of workforce management, and is a great tool for understanding the components of WFM!

Visit our website for more information on workforce management systems for your company.

Special thanks to Paolo Gilfillan (Director of Sales & Marketing, Synerion), for the breakdown of the WFM Wheel!

http://www.manufacturing.net/Articles-The-Benefits-Of-Automating-Workforce-Management.aspx

As the global market continues to become more fast-paced and competitive, companies across all industries are trying to control costs and meet their budget requirements without it affecting their ability to deliver quality products and services to their customers.

In the manufacturing industry, companies struggle to improve the management of their workforce through optimized scheduling and eliminating unnecessary costs in order to improve productivity, and ultimately improve their bottom line.

Reducing Costs

Recent studies show that human error associated with manually processing employee timecards can account for 1.5-8% of the company’s annual payroll costs. On top of that, another 2-5% of annual payroll costs can be contributed from buddy punching – the practice of an employee punching in the timecard on behalf of another employee who is arriving late, leaving early, or absent from work that day.

On average, it takes payroll administrators 5 minutes to manually process employee timecards. Now in a manufacturing company with 100 employees, that can translate up to 8 hours spent on processing payroll.

By automating your time and attendance system and implementing biometric terminals, unnecessary costs associated with human error and time theft can be eliminated, and the administrative workload can be reduced – saving organizations thousands, or even millions of dollars every year.

Controlling Costs

With a comprehensive workforce management solution, managers are provided with a better overview and stronger control of their workforce.

Time and attendance systems allow companies to accurately track employee work hours, eliminating increases in payment associated with rounding. Coupled with the ability to apply the appropriate rates and agreements to each employee’s shift, both managers and employees can be with confident in the accuracy of their wage payments.

Workforce management solutions assign work in a more cost-effective manner. By creating optimized schedules based on available attendance, absence balances, and monthly limits, workforce management systems have the ability to reduce overtime and outsourcing costs. Rules-based solutions governing legislative, union and contractual agreements assure that payments will be made according to employee schedules, preventing unnecessary payments of overtime due to unauthorized early arrivals and late departures.

Improved Productivity

Combined with the appropriate scheduling and absence management software, WFM solutions can further improve the way you do business by building optimized schedules to maximize employee productivity. WFM solutions help manufacturing organizations ensure they have the right people, with the right skills and certifications, doing the right jobs, for each shift. Managers are also given a complete picture of employee absences so they can plan scheduling employees accordingly, based on operational needs to prevent understaffing.

The ability to track labour costs to identify if a task is profitable is essential. Time Costing systems help manufacturing companies collect, analyze, and calculate work hours by task/project for costing purposes to determine whether a product is profitable. Workforce management solutions help Manufacturers easily identify if the cost of the product is consistent with the investment in it, and if there are any suspicions of a loss, companies can take immediate corrective action.

Making the Change

Every organization is different. Manufacturing companies looking to automate their workforce management solutions need to find the right solution to meet the specific needs of their organizations. The ultimate goal of implementing a workforce management solution is to enable your company to cost effectively allocate employee time by optimizing scheduling and time and attendance management. With the right workforce management solution, organizations can control labor costs, minimize compliance risks, and mostly importantly, improve workforce productivity.

For more information on WFM systems please visit our website

Excessive absenteeism has always been a problem in the business world. It is consistently ranked as one of the reasons for decreased productivity and therefore profitability. Absenteeism leads to employees having to work longer hours, resulting in a dissatisfied workforce, as well as unhappy customers. There are a number of solutions to control absence rates within organizations:

1.       Allow for a work-life balance

Build “personal days” into employee packages. Often individuals resort to calling in sick because they’re worried that their bosses won’t be sympathetic about problems at home. Making sure that employees are comfortable enough to be honest is extremely important for a manager. Implementing flextime rules is another effective way to encourage a work-life balance.

2.       Post-absence interviews

When employees take time off unexpectedly, it could be beneficial to follow-up with them upon their return. Discuss the reason for absence, and how it could have been prevented. Also, if the employee in question has frequent absences, it could help to reinforce how absenteeism can affect the company and their fellow co-workers.

3.       Offer incentives

Offering rewards for positive behavior is a proven motivational method. To decrease absenteeism, managers can provide monetary incentives, awards such as “Employee of the Month”, or even simple praise can be effective.

4.       Punishment

Simply punishing employees for unauthorized absences or unexpectedly calling in sick is a common practice. However, it is not the most effective – managers should work instead to reward individuals who attend work, to encourage attendance.

5.       Implement a Time & Attendance System

This final option reduces administrative work, by automatically tracking employee hours and absences, allowing employees to request time off easily, and calculating who is eligible to work overtime. Reports can be created and data can be analyzed, to determine who is commonly absent, and on what days/times. Having these features and this kind of information allows managers to schedule accordingly, and monitor any trends in absenteeism to ultimately combat the issue.

For more information on dealing with Absenteeism and Workforce Management please visit our website