Workforce Management: Everything You Need to Know
A happy workforce is a productive workforce. However, management of human resources can prove to be a formidable task, be it for managing a small business or an international corporation. This guide takes you through everything from the very basics to advanced in workforce management (WFM) and further expounds on how to make a software choice for an easier time on the job.
What is workforce management?
Simply put, workforce management ensures that you have the right number of people with the right skills at the right times. It includes aspects like scheduling, checking in and checking out, and performance management. When it is used properly, WFM will help to streamline business operations and make the employees happy and productive. One can save on time and errors when they use workforce management software since most of the activities listed above get automated, and it’s efficient.
Why is workforce management critical?
Workforce management is critical for every business because:
Higher productivity
Employee productivity & customer satisfaction is increased when the appropriate number of employees are both scheduled and present for their shift
Cost savings
Proper scheduling will reduce overtime and prevent overstaffing, while also keeping your staff engaged during their shift
Employee satisfaction
Balanced schedules and expectations lead to an improved quality of life for employees
Compliance
Current labor laws and regulations assist in avoiding fines and legal complications
Key elements of workforce management
Workforce management involves several critical areas consisting of:
Forecasting
Estimating the right staffing levels in the future based on past information and trends
Scheduling
Create work schedules that work for business requirements and the availability of employees
Time and attendance
Tracking and maintaining records of working hours and break times of employees
Leave management
Submission and managing time-off requests; find replacements when necessary
Performance management
Monitoring and enhancing employee performance
Compliance management
Maintaining compliance with the labor laws and organizational policies
Speed is the difference between winning and losing in your business operations.
Speed creates quality
Companies that have the fastest processes have the best pick of talent and are more likely to retain their workers.
A great worker experience is also a great customer experience.
Speed reduces cost
Daily operations are expensive: Recruitment spend, third-party staffing, overtime, and turnover add up.
Open roles also lead to lost revenue.
Speed improves predictability
Greater confidence in workforce management improves forecasting and spend efficiency.
Reducing manual steps creates more measurable processes.
Frontline workforce management solutions
Every organization faces unique challenges when dealing with frontline workers. Fountain is a full-suite solution for frontline workforce management built for the future.
Fountain Assist
More. Qualified. People.
Tell us what you need—we deliver.
Expert frontline hiring services powered by Fountain’s best-in-class workforce management solutions.
Fountain Reach
Find talent beyond the job boards.
Your AI-driven solution for the next era of sourcing, HR tech, and marketing.
Uncover top-tier talent across the digital landscape, from Google to Facebook and Instagram, giving you access to candidates traditional job boards miss.
Fountain Referrals
Great people know great people.
Tap into top frontline talent through your existing workforce with the only Referrals product purpose-built to optimize for both sides of the referrals equation: frontline workers and frontline applicants.
Fountain Hire
Hire at the speed of work.
Powered by AI and automated workflows that are specific to your organization’s hiring needs, Fountain Hire creates a seamless applicant experience that helps save hiring and operations teams time and resources.
Fountain Hire Go
Empower your frontline hiring managers.
The mobile-friendly web app that simplifies hiring, speeds up time-to-hire, and frees your team to focus on what really matters. With AI and automation at its core, Hire Go transforms how your managers hire, making the process fast, efficient, and effective.
Fountain Onboard
Get more hires to their first day, and beyond.
With a branded end-to-end experience, our platform empowers new employees to complete pre-boarding and onboarding tasks through a unified portal. All of your required tasks can be assigned and tracked in one place.
Fountain I-9 Center
A best-in-class, easy-to-use, and innovative I-9 experience for your workforce.
Elevate Form I-9 compliance with I-9 Center, Fountain’s all-in-one solution to ensure compliance with every method through streamlined scheduling, population segmentation, and a groundbreaking remote verification solution. We provide necessary form access documentation, compliance insights, notifications, and reminders, making us your trusted partner for the most up-to-date I-9 compliance.
Fountain Compliance
Put your workforce compliance on autopilot.
Leverage AI verification and OCR technology to track, maintain, and correct your workforce compliance.
Create rules to determine what documents and data are required for your workers, and let Fountain Compliance handle the rest.
Fountain Communicate
Reach the right worker at the right time.
Engage and inform your frontline workers wherever they are with targeted, highly personalized, and multichannel communication campaigns.
Fountain Pulse
Your workforce Pulse, amplified.
Revolutionize your workforce engagement with advanced sentiment analysis, automated survey management, and personalized pulse checks, delivering meaningful improvements in employee satisfaction and organizational effectiveness.
Explore integration partners
Our partnerships with other Human Resource Information Systems and integrations with platforms like Indeed are just a few of the proof points that make Fountain the trusted source for frontline workforce management.
Features to consider while selecting workforce management software
Confirm these features are available before selecting your WFM system
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User-Friendly -
Integration Abilities
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Real-time Data
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Custom Reporting
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Mobile Access
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Scalability
Benefits of workforce management solutions
There are numerous benefits to using workforce management solutions:
Efficiency increased
Scheduling and tracking can be automated, which can save time and reduce errors.
Improved decision-making
Use real-time data and analytics to make better decisions.
Cost control
Labor cost management that reduces overtime and eliminates overstaffing.
Enhanced employee engagement
Clear and fair scheduling gives a boost to employee morale.
Compliance
Company policies and labor laws can easily be tracked through automated processes.
How to implement workforce management solutions
Here’s a step-by-step plan to implement workforce management solutions:
- Assess Your Needs: Understand your specific challenges and requirements.
- Pick the Right Software: Choose the solution that you can work with, and one within your budget
- Plan out the Implementation: Draft a plan on how you will go about the implementation with timelines and responsibilities.
- Training of Your Team: Ensure that Managers and Employees are familiar with working on the new software
- Monitor and Adjust: Observe how the system is working and adjust accordingly
Conclusion
Workforce management is the key to running a productive and efficient business. By knowing the basics, possessing the right tools, and helpful strategies, operations can increase by folds. On your frontline team: Fountain’s suite of solutions let you reduce cycle times and increase productivity across your frontline business.
The information that has been presented to you in this guide will go a long way to understanding and making progress in improving your workforce management practices. Remember: You can increase productivity, cut costs, and make employees happy with the right strategies and tools. And if you’re focused on frontline workforce management, Fountain’s suite of products provides a complete solution.
Trusted by global brands
Your candidates are one click away from another job.
86%
of candidates are applying on a mobile device. (Source: BCG, 2022)
60%
abandon online job applications due to their length or complexity. (Source: SHRM, 2022)
15-20
Average number of jobs applicants apply to at the same time. (Source: BCG, 2022)
81%
of candidates say employers not communicating status updates is the main thing that hurts their experience. (Source: CareerBuilder, 2022)
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