Workforce Management Software Top Features to Have

Workforce Management Software January 11, 2023

Priyanka Bhadani

Writer

How to Find the Right Workforce Management Software

Many industries struggle with unpredictable employee scheduling. Retailers, field service companies, and anyone in the food service business have to manage fluctuating schedules. The office environment also handles hourly workers, remote teams, and temporary employees who don't work a normal 9-5 schedule.

Business owners must optimize workforce management to handle all of these varying circumstances. To ensure an organization employs a top workforce in today's competitive environment, it must invest in a set of management tools.

Workforce management software assists with all labor-related tasks. Its purpose is to ensure the company has the human capital to streamline operations and provide good customer service. Good workforce software collects real-time employee time attendance data and automates scheduling to assign the right people to the right jobs at the right time.

As a result, companies will have the best workforce possible to meet consumer demands. Tracking software minimizes tasks for Human Resources so they can focus on more important requirements. This will optimize performance management, ensure accurate time tracking, increase the bottom line, and streamline operations. Here are the top features to have in management software.

1. Workforce Management Software Must Optimize Scheduling

Management must utilize scheduling software to create a schedule that meets company and employee needs. Good workforce management tools enable managers to gain insight into business processes to forecast future scheduling needs. This allows management to do schedules far in advance, which improves employee engagement and morale.

There is no more guesswork or last-minute changes that impact the quality of employee work life. Workforce management solutions provide tools that calculate the exact number of workers required per job. This will improve task management and ensure that the organization delivers the value it promises to customers.

2. Workforce Management Software Should Forecast Trends

WFM software forecasts future trends with the aid of historical data. It conducts applicant tracking, employee performance monitoring, and labor costs per task. This improves future decision-making, scheduling, and new procedures.

For example, supervisors can utilize HR software to schedule workers for a certain task or during a particularly busy season. This is all possible through the collection of previous historical performance data.

3. Workforce Management Software Must Manage Performance

A self-service management system ensures management can track both company and employee performance. The functionality offers analysis into historical policies and forecasts future trends.

It can also observe worker behavior during particular projects, work hours, or locations. Management can harness this information to optimize future scheduling. As a result, an organization can improve task management and employee management with a few simple clicks.

4. Workforce Management Software Should Provide Reporting Options

Good management solutions always allow management to view reports of different data sets. Users compile data into a report and make it easy to read and share.

Reports include powerful visualizations and graphs that explain complex data which may otherwise not make sense. Business owners can then use these insights to improve workforce planning, optimize talent management, and decrease labor costs.

5. Workforce Management Software Should Perform HR Tasks

As remote work grows in popularity, more organizations require new ways to manage employees. While workers may not be on-site, the Human Resource department still has to manage payroll benefits, benefits administration, and time tracking.

An effective workforce management system enables employees to manage their time from a mobile app or laptop. They can use an automated time clock to punch in data through a mobile phone, request time off, or view schedules. For a small business with limited HR and accounting staffers, this is a big advantage.

Payroll software can also integrate with time tracking solutions to improve the accuracy of payroll and minimize waste. The best workforce management software even allows workers to use biometrics to clock in or out. This increases the security and accuracy of time tracking, and minimizes buddy punching or fraud.

An organization can also employ workers from across the country as geography no longer restricts them. It also ensures that both the employee and company know the schedule at all times, which improves workplace accountability.

6. Workforce Management Software Enables Administrative Control

Top workforce management tools offer features that allow managers to create pay and attendance rules. The solution automatically calculates any factors that align with organizational needs and compliance requirements.

For example, the system automatically calculates overtime pay, sends an alert once someone approaches overtime, or notifies management if someone didn't clock out. This will ensure that all data is accurate and reliable when it comes time for payroll or an audit.

7. Workforce Management Software Should Be Secure

An effective management solution ensures that only authorized individuals can access certain parts of the system. For example, an employee can only access his/her punch in data, and a supervisor is the only person who can approve time-off requests.

This protects all employee data and maintains an audit trail for several years. Businesses can easily access workforce data records and give them to required stakeholders to maintain compliance. If there is a pattern of errors in the system, users can look over the audit trail to find the source of the problem.

Key Takeaways of Workforce Management Software

In conclusion, here is what to know about workforce management software -

Workforce management software should improve scheduling and forecast trends with the aid of historical data. This improves employee morale, minimizes absenteeism, and optimizes future decision-making.
Workforce management software manages employee performance and assigns tasks to the correct people at the correct time. It also streamlines HR tasks and minimizes their workload so they can focus on more important requirements.
Workforce management tools enable administrative control according to management time attendance and pay rules. It uses calculations that align with company requirements and employee needs.
Workforce management software should be secure. It should only offer access to data to specific individuals. This protects company information and employee information. It also provides an audit trail for management to reference or give to stakeholders.