Pitfalls of neglecting workforce management
Managing people can be gruelling at times. That’s why it’s a wise idea to invest in workforce management solutions. These solutions just make things a whole lot easier. If you’re still sceptical, let’s look at a few practical examples and see what happens when you fail to implement workforce management.
Compliance Failure
Workforce management can actually help you achieve compliance. Without it, you’re looking at the exact opposite.
Let’s take the example of employee A. This employee is now face-to-face with colleagues from HR and Legal. They’re telling him that a few complaints have come in regarding salary payments. Apparently, someone hasn’t been paid properly and now, they’re considering taking the matter to the court.
Now, the company needs all the payroll data possible to make sure they have a rock-solid defense. Employee A takes a look at the spreadsheet and says he has some of the data, but not all of it. The defense isn’t looking too good now.
You see, that’s what happens when businesses rely on manual processes. Analog records can get lost or misplaced due to human error. On the other hand, workforce management solutions automate these processes and keep a log of everything.
Unnecessary Cost
Employee X is hunting for a time-off spreadsheet. Someone just requested 5 days off. X finds the sheet and goes about updating next week’s schedule. Now, Employee A will have to put in an extra 16 hours while Employee B will have to put in an extra 8 hours.
But, here’s the thing, Employee X doesn’t know that this schedule is a fiscal nightmare. She/he hasn’t bothered to find out that the employee who requested 5-days is only entitled to about 3.
Once again, human error leads to an expensive problem. Managers often approve leaves that shouldn’t be approved, classify employees wrongly, and create impractical schedules. All of these mistakes are expensive.
Workforce management solutions overcome this by keeping a tab on each employee’s clocked-in hours and due leaves.
Inefficiency
Employee Y is working hard and fast to create the coming week’s work schedule. She’s working fast because she needs to catch a flight.
The business divides its employees into 3 categories. Now, according to Y’s schedule, Category 1 has to receive a major order. The goods need to be unpacked and ready for use. Y calculates the time needed to do the work based on an assessment of the skill matrix. Then, he/she decides to allocate 4 people to the task. These people will have to work 8 hours that day.
It’s all done and Employee Y is ready to catch the flight. On the flight, she takes a look at the reminders on her phone. 2 of those people are actually on leave the next week. The entire schedule has been ruined and Y can’t do much to prevent the chaos that is likely to ensue.
Once again, manual processes interfere with what could have been a productive day. Workforce solutions keep a log of all the data and make it easier to construct schedules. No more forgetting important stuff.