Short definition: When people ask what workforce management is, they’re referring to the entire process of managing employees so the right people with the right skills are in the right place at the right time to meet customer demand and business goals. In practice, workforce management (WFM) combines forecasting, workforce planning, employee scheduling, time tracking, attendance tracking, and performance coaching to deliver both operational efficiency and great service quality.
Why Is Workforce Management Important?
Effective WFM helps organizations control labor costs, reduce labor costs, and minimize costs without hurting quality. It improves employee engagement, employee satisfaction, and work-life balance through flexible scheduling and self-service shift swaps. When done well, it also lifts customer satisfaction by protecting service levels in busy periods. Beyond the day-to-day benefits, mature programs have a clear positive financial impact by aligning staffing to business objectives and cutting waste.
Key Components of WFM
The key components and processes involved typically include:
- Forecasting labor & demand: Use historical data, real-time data, and seasonality to predict volume (e.g., calls, chats, orders) and translate it into how many employees you need by interval. This step informs future staffing needs and long-range plans.
- Workforce planning & labor management: Turn forecasts into headcount plans, factoring in shrinkage, training, and union agreements. Strong workforce strategies align staffing with business needs and compliance boundaries.
- Creating schedules (employee scheduling): Build shifts for on-site employees and remote teams, using automated scheduling rules to respect preferences, skills, labor laws, and business rules, all while maintaining coverage for peaks.
- Time management: Capture attendance data, leaves, and exceptions accurately to prevent payroll errors and manage accruals.
- Performance & quality: Track employee performance, efficiency, and employee productivity to drive an increasingly productive workforce and improved workforce productivity.
- Compliance: WFM ensures compliance with scheduling rules, breaks, overtime, and local labor laws, reducing compliance risk.
Workforce Management Software & Tools
Modern workforce management software (often called WFM software) brings these steps together in one software solution. Core capabilities include:
- Workforce management systems/solutions/tools for forecasting, scheduling, adherence, and intraday management.
- Mobile workforce management with mobile apps so employees can check schedules, request PTO, swap shifts, and view metrics anywhere.
- Analytics that turn workforce management data into informed decisions about hiring, training, and resource allocation.
- Integrations with payroll and HRIS to shrink manual processes; an area where many organizations struggle.
Some platforms also use artificial intelligence to improve forecasts, detect anomalies, recommend schedules, and flag under- or over-staffing in near real time.
Where WFM Is Used
You’ll find WFM in contact centers (matching staffing to interval-level call or message volume), retail, healthcare, field service, hospitality, and any operation with variable demand. In a contact center, for example, WFM ensures service levels hold during spikes, which protects customer satisfaction and revenue.
Benefits of Workforce Management
- Operational efficiency: Align people to demand to maximize productivity and reduce idle time.
- Cost control: Right-sized coverage and fewer overtime surprises drive down operational efficiency losses and operating/labor costs.
- People outcomes: Better work life balance increases retention and employee efficiency.
- Customer outcomes: Adequate coverage and accurate routing elevate service quality and customer satisfaction.
How Workforce Management Works (Step by Step)
- Collect data: Pull historical data (transactions, AHT, volumes) and workforce management data (availability, skills).
- Forecast: Use statistical models and AI for forecasting labor by interval.
- Plan: Convert volume to staffing needs while honoring union agreements and labor laws.
- Schedule: Generate shifts with flexible scheduling, skill rules, and preferences; publish via mobile apps/self-service.
- Operate: Monitor adherence with real-time data; adjust intraday as patterns shift.
- Measure: Review employee performance, absenteeism, and KPI attainment; refine the plan for the next cycle.
FAQs
What is workforce management work day to day?
It’s the cadence of forecasting, building rosters, approving time, managing exceptions, and keeping coverage aligned to demand while staying compliant.
How does WFM help HR professionals?
It reduces manual processes, trims unexpected business expenses from scheduling errors, and lowers payroll errors, while giving HR and operations leaders visibility to enable managers to make informed decisions.
What’s the difference between tools and systems?
Workforce management tools are features (e.g., scheduling or adherence). Workforce management systems bundle all capabilities, while workforce management solutions include services and change management.
Bottom line: Workforce management brings structure and intelligence to staffing. With the right workforce management software and habits, organizations can control labor costs, meet business objectives, protect compliance, and boost both workforce productivity and customer satisfaction, all while giving employees more flexibility and clarity.
Ready to get started?
Let’s build your roadmap together. Schedule a Consultation with The Office Gurus to explore how workforce management and our tech-driven ecosystem can reduce costs without affecting quality.
