Author: Rick Bell

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Defining workforce management: Leading teams for success

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In 1922, James R. Angell, president of Yale University and the Carnegie Corp., led a joint initiative between the Engineering Foundation and the National Research Council. The goal was to take workforce science to new heights through unifying modern engineering, labor, management, and educational bodies. It has given birth to what we know today as Workforce.com and workforce management.

Since then, the team behind Workforce have delved deep into the science behind workforce management — from productivity, labor regulations, workforce challenges to the evolution of work. All of these insights have been put into practice with a full-featured workforce management platform that is being used by companies across the world.

The anatomy of effective workforce management 

So what is workforce management? Based on almost a century’s worth of research and study, we identified three main components that are crucial at effectively leading teams. Each of them requires a unique approach, but as a whole these areas should function seamlessly. Let’s look at each of them. 

Operations. When talking about workforce management, the first thing that comes to mind is operations management. It is all about making sure that quality output is created, within the given timeframe and resources in an organization. This involves planning and organizing. Some of the processes are creating employee schedules, timekeeping, output management and budget forecasting. 

Labor compliance. Labor regulations govern workforces around the world. These laws are set to protect workers and regulate certain business practices concerning the welfare of employees such as wages, work conditions and employment relationships. 

Labor regulations can differ by country or region, and these are taken into account in company employment rules and policies. While increasingly difficult to remain compliant, failure to do so can mean costly penalties that can greatly damage not just an organization’s bottom line but also its reputation. 

Employee engagement. Employee engagement is an area of workforce management that focuses on enabling employees to perform their best in alignment with their individual purpose and the objectives of the organization as whole. 

Employee engagement is typically correlated with happiness with work. But it’s important to note that they are not one in the same. Happiness at work is just one of the byproducts of good employee engagement.  To achieve good employee engagement, there has to be a clear communication in the workforce — from onboarding to getting the job done. 

Also read: How to make your onboarding process engaging and easy

Debunking common workforce management myths

Workforce management can spell success or failure for an organization. Let’s look at some of the common beliefs that can hinder success for an organization. 

It’s just scheduling. While creating schedules is an important part of workforce management, it’s not just all there is. It has a lot of moving parts that are tightly integrated with each other. This includes timekeeping, budget forecasting and engaging employees. 

Also read: Leave management should be as simple as submit, approve and hit the beach

It can be done manually or using spreadsheets. This can be done manually, but such an option can be prone to mistakes. One wrong value input can mess up the entire sheet and end up being counterproductive. It can result in wasted time to find the problem. 

It is easier for smaller organizations. There are many factors at play in workforce management, and one of them is company size. But that doesn’t mean that a smaller organization has it easier than a big corporation. Each organization, regardless of size, has its own unique sets of goals, objectives and needs. And all of these come into play when managing the workforce. What makes it easier or harder is not just how many employees they have but also the alignment of roles, resources and objectives.

Upskilling or training can lead to more skills and less staff. Nurturing the potential of staff is vital in workforce management, but developing their skills and training them to gain new ones doesn’t necessarily mean a lesser need for staff. 

There needs to be a balance in mentoring staff to be able to do more and making sure that they still have the space to master their newly acquired skills. Leaders need to be careful not to unnecessarily push staff from task to task or they can risk driving them to burnout. 

Culture doesn’t have an impact on business performance or bottom line. Culture is one of the vital components that sets the tone for employee engagement. A company may have a strong set of policies but it will all be for nothing when the culture doesn’t sit well with the employees. It can lead to high turnover rates, lower productivity and overall low workforce morale, which can all impact the bottom line.

Also read: Give managers the time they need to sharpen up their all-around skills

It’s a one-time deal. Establishing processes for operations, labor compliance and employee engagement is a good start. But workforce management continuously evolves. There are always changes that will influence the needs of an organization and leaders need to be quick to adapt to those changes. Optimizing is constant in workforce management, and it’s something that leaders need to pay more attention to. 

Setting up the workforce for success

Workforce management involves many processes that can be daunting and time-consuming for managers or team leaders. Here are some best practices that can make workforce management more efficient.

Use a workforce management platform. Leverage technology for the admin tasks involved in workforce management. Use a workforce management platform to accurately keep track of attendance, automate timesheet to payroll processing, scheduling, time-off management, and to make sure that labor laws are accounted for in computing for pay.

An effective workforce management platform goes beyond borders and allows for teams to work together no matter where they are. Go for a solution that can be accessible anytime, anywhere and on any device. 

Before going for a workforce management solution, it’s imperative to look at your needs as an organization. According to the Workforce Management Trends for Hourly Workers, 46 percent of respondents say that poor integration with other systems is a shortcoming of their current workforce management platform. Avoid this type of challenge by understanding your requirements and considering ease of use for staff. 

Monitor and optimize. Workforce management is all about maintaining efficiency and employee well-being. One advantage of automation is having data and analytics that can be a source of insights as to how you can optimize your operations and what areas you can improve on. Analyze your data and make informed decisions about how you can improve productivity and employee engagement in your organization. 

Listen to your employees. Communication is key to a successful workforce. Always keep channels open to your employees. Since staff are always on the front lines, it pays to listen to them to gain better insight on customer service, identify operational gaps, and improve working conditions for staff. 

Effective workforce management is all about employing smart solutions to spend less time on repetitive tasks and paperwork and more time on improving the business and empowering staff for success. It’s all about creating value for customers and employees alike. 

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How to communicate when an employee tests positive for COVID-19

essential workers; workers' compensation, mask

Positive COVID-19 tests are sadly the reality of 2020 and likely at least part of 2021.

Nationally, 2.23 million of us have tested positive for coronavirus. If your employees have been fortunate enough so far to avoid the virus, the odds are good that before this pandemic is over one or more of your employees will test positive.

Before we discuss the right way to communicate a potential workplace exposure to your employees, let’s explore the wrong way, via one of my favorite punching bags, the WWE.

Via Deadspin:

As “Monday Night Raw” was wrapping up last night, reports started to leak out that a member of WWE’’s developmental program had tested positive for COVID-19.… It’s hard to pinpoint which is the more galling aspect: that the talent and crew of WWE found out about the positive test the same way the rest of us did, through social media and the internet last night, or that everyone showed up to work thinking they were safe, or however close to that word they felt by working for WWE, when in fact they weren’t.

If one of your employees tests positive for COVID-19, your other employees deserve to hear the news from you, not from a Facebook post, a tweet, a local news reporter or otherwise. You just have to make sure you are communicating the news legally.
The ADA’s confidentiality rules still apply to these communications, and an employee’s positive coronavirus test is still a confidential medical record. This means that you cannot divulge to anyone else the identity of the employee(s) who tested positive. It does not mean, however, that you can’t (and shouldn’t) communicate to employees that they might have been in contact with someone who has tested positive (or is displaying symptoms consistent with COVID-19) and that they should be diligent about monitoring their own health for potential symptoms.
Your only limit is disclosing the identity of the corona-positive employee. Otherwise, you are free to make any communication you want.
And you should. Your employees will resent you if they learn of the diagnosis of their potential exposure from anyone but you. Moreover, you can flip the story around into one focused on everything you are doing to protect the health and safety of your employees.
Dear Employees:
It saddens us to inform you that one of your co-workers has tested positive for COVID-19. The law prevents us from telling you the identity of that co-worker, but we want to assure you that we will continue to support this employee as your co-worker heals from this virus, and we will welcome them back to join you at work once it is safe to do so.
We are doing everything within our ability and resources to keep you as safe and healthy as possible at work. Still, with many cases of COVID-19 transmitted before anyone knows they have been exposed, and with you only being at work for a fraction of you day, we cannot 100 percent guarantee the virus won’t enter our workplace.
We continue to require that you self-assess daily for your own potential COVID-19 symptoms (fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea). If you have any of these symptoms, please let us know, and do not return to work until you have received a negative COVID-19 test, or you are symptom-free for at least 72 hours and at least seven days have passed since your first symptoms.
We are also continuing to take the following steps to help ensure, as best as possible, your health and safety here at work:
  • Employees are required to wear masks or other facial coverings at all times while at work, unless you granted a specific exception (such as for safety, a medical reason, or because you are working alone in a closed office).
  • employees are required to maintain six feet of social distance from others at all times.
  • Employees must diligently wash their hands and otherwise use hand sanitizer (which we are providing in intervals around the workplace).
  • Employee must self-assess their own health before reporting to work, and no employee is permitted to come to work if they have any of the known symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Lunch room and other common areas are closed until further notice.
  • Each employee is responsible for cleaning their own work station at the end of each shift.
  • We are deep cleaning the entire workplace on a weekly basis.
Additionally, because of the unfortunate positive test, we had the facility deep cleaned and sanitized prior to anyone being allowed to reenter after we learned of the positive test.
Our commitment to your health and safety is our top priority. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact ______________. Our door is always open.
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Leave management should be as simple as submit, approve and hit the beach

Submitting a request for time off should be a simple, positive experience.

In most cases an employee seeking leave is looking forward to time away from the workplace. Their request to take time to relax and unwind shouldn’t get bogged down in a bureaucratic morass of an overly complicated process, further slowed by multiple approvals and unnecessary paperwork.

Let employees know their vacation is approved before they even book their travel plans through an intuitive online time management solution. Managers and supervisors also will appreciate the solution’s ease of use and rapid response so they can plan for that employee’s absence weeks or even months in advance.

Clear the confusion

Too often employees don’t know how much time off they have accrued or the amount they have left. Worse, managers are often in the dark about such employee basics as paid time off.

The employee approaches the manager to ask, “How much time off do I have left?” only to discover that the boss has no idea, either.

Frustrated, both begin to search for an answer. Naturally, it is either on a paper form tucked deep inside a hulking gray filing cabinet, or it is squirreled away among a previous manager’s archived spreadsheets, which of course is in a folder on an inaccessible server.

A mobile leave management solution makes such confusion and aggravation a thing of the past. Employers and employees enjoy ease of use and spend their time on tasks much more important than digging through a bank of filing cabinets.

Time off at their fingertips

A fully integrated leave management system literally fits in their pockets. Managers will always know who is available to work any shift with a quick glance at their mobile phone.

Innovative leave management software supports both mobile and desktop applications and implements approved requests directly into an employee shift schedule.

Online leave management benefits

Employers can customize leave management for multiple industries and global locations. Through quick implementation to the cloud, supervisors and employees also have a fair, transparent leave approval solution. Employers also increase their efficiency by shedding burdensome paperwork and save time and money by avoiding costly compliance complications.

Fair, transparent leave approval

Whether your organization uses paid time off or traditional vacation/sick leave, employees submit leave requests using their mobile devices. Managers can then review, approve or modify the requests. With ongoing, updated tracking, employee and supervisor both have access to records, balances and proof of compliance. Tracking time off helps optimize labor management for all employees.

Ease scheduling hassles

Every employee deserves time away from work, whether it is a weeklong vacation or a half-day doctor’s appointment. But when that worker’s time-off request is mismanaged it causes problems for the business, managers and fellow employees.

A simple, user-friendly mobile leave management solution is accurate, immediate and rebuilds the trust between employees and their managers that may have been damaged by a sloppy paper-based system. 

Managers can see pending leave requests and check on employee availability, then make informed decisions on whether to grant or deny the time off.

Remain in compliance

Lax adherence to tracking employee leave and ignoring federal and state Family and Medical Leave Act compliance is the fast track to a lawsuit. A user-friendly, effective leave management system helps clarify FMLA and other regulations with intermittent or continuous employee-leave tracking to avoid litigation and costly fines that typically come with noncompliance.

 Efficient records of absentee, sick leave, annual leave and timekeeping translates into accurate compensation and an engaged workforce secure in the knowledge that their leave requests will not fall through the cracks. A mobile leave management solution benefits the employer as well as the employee.

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A midterm outlook on the future of the workplace

future workplace, remote work

The COVID-19 pandemic is the first of its kind for virtually everyone living on this planet.  We’ve survived SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in 2003, MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) in 2012, Ebola around 2014, and even AIDS. 

We’re still here, and yet this feels different.  As of this writing, we still don’t know what we don’t know about this virus’s trajectory, its reinfection rate, or the longer-term ramifications to the health of those infected. 

It’s difficult to speculate how and in what ways this health crisis will affect the workplace globally, but in the nearer term, it’s reasonable to predict certain outcomes with a fairly high degree of certainty. The phases of COVID-19 will likely follow a pattern of illness, mitigation, and control (where we are now), economic impact in terms of stock markets and unemployment, and anticipated litigation, especially in the areas of employment, wage and hour, and disability discrimination. Finally, a “new normal” of sorts will establish itself, but things many never be quite the same.  We’ve lost a certain innocence about many of the things we take for granted. 

For example, there will certainly be a gradual, staged reintegration of workers back into the workplace. Some nations, states and companies may lurch right back in, while others will be more cautious, prudent, and mindful about the upcoming reintegration. What’s for sure, though, is that we’ll gradually move back into a fully operational and integrated workplace.

Working remotely

Two changes, however, are likely: a smaller workforce at each company and a remote approach to working. To that latter point, Gen Z’s desire for more flexibility and greater work-life balance may dovetail nicely into this paradigm of remote telework. Technology creates new opportunities for face-to-face, real-time meetings, even if they aren’t in person. Likewise, a smaller, leaner workforce will likely be the new norm as organizations pare down corporate infrastructure and spans of control and retain only the strongest performers.  

A practical impact of more remote work from smaller teams, however, may be the threat to managers’ exemption status. For example, in California, “concurrent duties” are permissible during emergencies. An exempt employee may perform both exempt and nonexempt duties, all the time qualifying as exempt.

However, outside of an emergency, exempt managers must spend 50 percent or more of their time engaging in “exempt” level duties, meaning responsibilities with a high degree of independent judgment, discretion, and decision-making. If remote managers in smaller organizations start doing more of the work their subordinates have typically done, their exemption status could be threatened.  And if your managers’ exempt classification is in jeopardy, class action wage and hour lawsuits may result. 

HR steps up

How can HR leaders step up? By predicting the natural reintegration curve that’s coming our way. Some workers may truly suffer from anxiety and depression as they return to work. Expect new medical diagnoses of “adjustment disorder with anxiety” and PTSD—pre-traumatic stress disorder—as workers experience a new paranoia about coming to work, their surroundings, and everything they touch and come into contact with.

Think about it: simply using public transportation to get to work may cause some to seek medical treatment for an invisible enemy that surrounds them. Employees may ask about “proximity alarms” and warning devises that trigger when coming within six feet of coworkers and customers. Partitions and barriers like the plexiglass windows seen at the grocery store may be at the top of certain employees’ wish lists, as may be requests for staggering arrival times to avoid overcrowding.  

Likewise, as an employer, you may want to implement new rules on PPE (personal protective equipment), hand-washing and other sanitation standards.  You may likewise look to introduce attestation language to your electronic timekeeping system when nonexempt workers clock out at the end of the day verifying that they have no COVID-19 symptoms.

Challenges ahead

Whatever this looks like in your particular organization, rest assured that change is coming in the form of predictable and unforeseeable challenges.  

Be the wisdom. Lead and welcome the change. When in doubt, err on the side of compassion and leave judgment behind when supporting your workers through this.

There will likely be no greater opportunity for you to exercise selfless leadership than you’re getting right now at this very moment in your career. We’re at a point of pure creation, with few policies, precedents, or practices to fall back on or guide us.  See this as an opportunity to excel, shine, and lead.

Teach what you choose to learn. Help your team members and employees know that you’re there for them and you’ve got their backs, no matter what challenges come your way next. This crisis is the making of inspirational leadership that will define you for the rest of your career.

Now, more than ever, you have an opportunity to demonstrate role model leadership and touch and inspire those around you. Never let a crisis go to waste. 

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Solving the concern over clean time clocks with a mobile solution

time clock, workforce management, scheduling, time and attendance

There was a time in the very recent past when the biggest worry about a workplace time clock was whether the employee arrived on time to punch in and remembered to clock out when their shift was over.

That has changed in recent months. It is understandable that employees’ anxiety levels are high, and the thought of having to touch an unsanitary time clock adds some unnecessary concern. While the specter of returning to work among customers as well as co-workers frays the nerves of some employees, about the last thing they need on their minds is whether the time clock on the wall was sanitized after the previous employee punched in for their shift.

Ease their fears

There are obvious sanitary solutions for cleaning workstations and countertops. A mobile time clock app is a software solution that allows employees to bypass touching the grimy surface of a physical time clock.

Cleanliness should always be a concern in any workplace. Employers wouldn’t set out boxes of dirty tissues. So why should a time clock that’s constantly being touched be the lone option for employees to start and end their shift?

And don’t be fooled into thinking that a biometric time clock is a cleaner option. That fingerprint left by the previous employee? Do you know where that person’s digit was before tapping the pad? 

It just makes sense to offer employees a mobile solution to cleanly and effortlessly clock in, safe in the knowledge that their employer is vigilant in maintaining a healthy workforce and concerned about accurate time management.

Safe, sanitary and simple

Automating how a staff clocks in and out is not only the sanitary option, it also is the simple solution to cutting back hours of burdensome administrative work each week. With such a keen focus on predictive scheduling laws and regulations, an automated time clock system featuring a mobile app can communicate schedules that help companies remain in compliance. Employers can communicate scheduling in advance and explain the flexibility needs of the business at the same time, creating an open line of communication between employer and employee.

Employer advantages

Buddy punching has existed practically since the invention of time clocks. A time-clock mobile app assures that the correct person clocks in for the right shift through electronic photo verification and unique passcodes.

Automation eliminates repetitive processes that can lead to miscalculating payroll, which is among the fastest and easiest ways to get burned by a wage-and-hour lawsuit. According to Internal Revenue Service statistics, about one-third of employers make payroll errors. The American Payroll Association separately reported that such errors range between is up to 8 percent of total payroll.

A mobile clock-in solution also helps assure that staff is paid correctly according to time worked and is in compliance with local, state and federal laws.

Here are some advantages employers will find by using mobile clock-in software: 

  • React immediately to curb or cut overtime.
  • Automation saves time and effort.
  • Save money as buddy punching is regulated.
  • Avoid costly lawsuits by complying with all regulations.

Employee advantages

Eliminating a physical time clock eases in-office cleanliness concerns. Companies with staff located in multiple locations who are working remotely allows them to clock in via a mobile app whenever and wherever they are. A time clock app is GPS-enabled and works everywhere in the world. Employees can: 

  • Easily and simply clock in and out with one swipe on their phone and not  touch a time clock. 
  • Request time off remotely.
  • View current and past timesheets.
  • Communicate while on the go.

Ask yourself: Do you really want your employees touching the same time clock? It’s a cesspool of germs waiting to pollute your workforce with every touch. Clean up your physical workplace and tidy your workforce management processes by integrating the Workforce.com Time Clock App.

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Does Title VII protect employees whose spouses are pregnant?

maternity, paternity, pregnant, baby
A male Disney employee has filed suit against his former employer, claiming that Disney unlawfully discriminated against him because of his wife’s pregnancy.
According to Steven Van Soeren’s complaint, Disney fired him after he took two weeks of paternity leave following the birth of his child, and after supervisors advised him during his wife’s pregnancy on the wisdom of having a child. (As an aside, Van Soeren claims that his supervisors learned of the pregnancy by hacking his computer.)
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (enacted in 1978) amended Title VII’s definition of “sex” to make clear that it also includes “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” Disney is now arguing that Van Soeren’s lawsuit should be dismissed because Title VII doesn’t protect a male employee because of his wife’s pregnancy. Yet, the statute does not say “a woman’s pregnancy”; the definition is gender-neutral. Thus, Disney has an uphill battle to establish that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act doesn’t equally cover dads as moms.
Further, consider the following passage from Justice Neil Gorsuch’s majority opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County—

It doesn’t matter if other factors besides the plaintiff’s sex contributed to the decision. And it doesn’t matter if the employer treated women as a group the same when compared to men as a group. If the employer intentionally relies in part on an individual employee’s sex when deciding to discharge the employee — put differently, if changing the employee’s sex would have yielded a different choice by the employer — a statutory violation has occurred.

Bostock says very clearly that an employer discriminates on the basis of sex if “changing the employee’s sex would have yielded a different choice by the employer.” Would Disney have made the same decision relating to a woman’s choice to have a child, or did it rely on outdated and illegal stereotypes about a man’s role as a provider instead of a caregiver? It’s doubtful, based on the comments Van Soeren claims his supervisors made after they learned of his wife’s pregnancy.
Bostock leaves open a lot of questions: Can religious employers claim an exemption from Title VII’s prohibition against LGBTQ discrimination, and if so, how broadly?
Does Title VII’s prohibition against LGBTQ discrimination moot the Trump Administration’s plan to roll back protections for transgender people from discrimination in health care and insurance coverage? Add to this list the question of just how broadly Bostock’s causation standard will apply, and if it applies to other forms of sex discrimination such as pregnancy discrimination?
I believe it does, and I believe Disney will lose its effort to have Van Soeren’s lawsuit dismissed.
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Everything you need to know about the LGBTQ discrimination decision in 5 quotes

lgbtq, legal, discrimination, diversity and inclusion

June is Pride Month. If you thought the month’s biggest LGBTQ news was Nickelodeon tweeting that SpongeBob was part of the LGBTQ+ community, you have another thing coming.

On June 15, in Bostock v. Clayton County, the United States Supreme Court clearly, decisively and unequivocally held:

An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII.

The Bostock majority opinion is 33 pages long. I’ll break it down for you in five key quotes.

1. “Few facts are needed to appreciate the legal question we face. Each of the three cases before us started the same way: An employer fired a long­time employee shortly after the employee revealed that he or she is homosexual or transgender—and allegedly for no reason other than the employee’s homosexuality or transgender status.”

2. “Today, we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. The answer is clear. An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”

3. “It is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex.”

4. “There is simply no escaping the role intent plays here: Just as sex is necessarily a but­-for cause when an employer discriminates against homosexual or transgender employees, an employer who discriminates on these grounds inescapably intends to rely on sex in its decisionmaking.”

5. “We agree that homosexuality and transgender status are distinct concepts from sex. But, as we’ve seen, discrimination based on homosexuality or transgender status necessarily entails discrimination based on sex; the first cannot happen without the second. Nor is there any such thing as a ‘canon of donut holes,’ in which Congress’s failure to speak directly to a specific case that falls within a more general statutory rule creates a tacit exception.… ‘Sexual harassment’ is conceptually distinct from sex discrimination, but it can fall within Title VII’s sweep. Same with ‘motherhood discrimination.’ Would the employers have us reverse those cases on the theory that Congress could have spoken to those problems more specifically? Of course not. As enacted, Title VII prohibits all forms of discrimination because of sex, however they may manifest themselves or whatever other labels might attach to them.”

(Bonus wishy-washy quote, from Justice Kavanaugh’s dissent: “Notwithstanding my concern about the Court’s transgression of the Constitution’s separation of powers, it is appropriate to acknowledge the important victory achieved today by gay and lesbian Americans. Millions of gay and lesbian Americans have worked hard for many decades to achieve equal treatment in fact and in law. They have exhibited extraordinary vision, tenacity, and grit—battling often steep odds in the legislative and judicial arenas, not to mention in their daily lives. They have advanced powerful policy arguments and can take pride in today’s result. Under the Constitution’s separation of powers, however, I believe that it was Congress’s role, not this Court’s, to amend Title VII.”)

There has not been a more significant employment law decision in over 22 years. It might be that long or longer before we see another of this import. Bostock is worthy of celebration because it finally puts to rest any open issue that employers can insidiously and intentionally discriminate against their LGBTQ employees.

June 15 is a day worth celebrating because it will forever be the day that our LBGTQ brothers and sisters finally gained their civil rights at work. It was long overdue.

Employers, take heed. If you are still among the group of businesses that discriminate against LGBTQ employees, you are violating the law. This is no longer an open question. Case closed.

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How to recalibrate work dynamics and embrace digital transformation in a post-pandemic workplace

Tsedal Neeley, Harvard Business School professor, award-winning author, and global management and leadership expert, recently caught up with us to share her insights and advice as the workforce continues to go through rapid transformation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. From digital transformation, team relaunch, to leading in times of radical change, she gives a picture of the future of work and essential advice for employees and leaders alike. 

Workforce: What do you think are the most significant changes that were brought about by the pandemic to the workforce?

Neeley: The most significant changes that were brought about by COVID is the fact that between 88 percent to 90 percent of the workforces particularly knowledge workers, meaning people who work in offices, have migrated into remote work. A lot of people for the very first time in their professional lives have attempted to get work done virtually, collaborate virtually, be productive virtually, work with partners, customers, consumers, distributors, suppliers virtually in a context of a global pandemic. 

The other thing that we’re seeing is the digital transformation for many organizations. When you go to remote work or what I call the virtualization of work, you have to have more robust enabling technologies to support it – communication tools, the tools for cybersecurity, repositories, content management systems. So we’re seeing some virtual and digital advancements that just really have accelerated because of the COVID-19 global pandemic.Tsedal Neeley

Even now, if you think about the rush to get a vaccine for COVID-19. Some of the companies are using AI and machine learning. We’re seeing all of these things in action and I think that we are going to be forced to be much more intelligent. I also think that the companies that have had some form of digital capacity are going to do better during this economic times because they will have the predictive analysis to be able to understand how to use the right data, to have the right approaches, to make the right decisions, to come up with countering measures to support their strategic response.  

Read more: Permanent working from home works well if you have the right technology 

WF: A lot of the working dynamics have changed. What are the ways that leaders can support their team during this time?

Neeley: It’s very important for leaders to ensure that they do what’s called a team launch. If you haven’t done a team launch by now, you should do a re-launch. Which means that you set your team off on a course. 

A team launch is one of the success factors for any team. It breathes life to a team. It helps increase the performance of virtual teams by 30 percent. A team launch or relaunch is where you collectively determine the following:

  • Shared purpose – Be clear about what your shared goals, mission and vision are as a group.
  • Resources – Determine what your needs are, anywhere from budgets, information, and networks.
  • Members’ lived experience – Discuss individual strengths, constraints, and gaps. You need to understand task allocation and balance accordingly.

Today, many parents are homeschooling, and many  are working in shifts. Days can be longer for them and their hours are not necessarily coinciding with the rest of the group. 

Leaders need to understand who is in that situation and the constraints that go along with them. They must accommodate people who have those scenarios because the apparatus that people had built to support their children, to support them as families – the entire support structure has gone away in this global pandemic. You need to understand those constraints. 

  • New norms: Establish or re-establish norms. How do you communicate and how often? What tools are you going to use to communicate?

People have been raising concerns about video conferencing fatigue, and it’s important for you to pick the right media for the right needs. As a group, you need to agree  on what’s going to work for you in order to remain connected. Think about informal contact too like virtual lunches and virtual coffee breaks. 

WF: What do you think the future of work will look like as businesses start operations again, especially those that have actual establishments?

Neeley: Opening up does not mean that we go back to our old system immediately, especially when we don’t have vaccines yet. So there are many questions around the use of space and technology. 

For example, I recently spoke to a company that specializes in beverages and their business has never been better. They’ve started e-commerce first.  Businesses need to think about whether it would make sense for them to begin a robust online delivery system in order to supplement their revenue, serve their customers, and remain very present.

Nonetheless, it’s important to keep in mind that when businesses are reopening and they are not using the full capacity of their staff – meaning some are at home still and some have gone into  work. There actually creating two groups – those who are out risking exposure to COVID  to start the business and those who remain safe at home. What can that create? That can create an us-versus-them culture. Leaders need to be very careful about those dynamics  and make sure that no group feels privileged or excluded. 

Read more: Shift scheduling strategies can be improved through technology

WF: We are talking about leaders being at the forefront of this. So for leaders, where do they get support because they are in a unique position of experiencing the effects of the pandemic and taking care of a team?

Neeley: That is an excellent question. People need to ask that question more. 

Every organization needs to have a very visible CEO who is communicating regularly so that leaders can lead. The leaders of leaders have to set the tone. They have to help them figure out how to lead through a crisis. 

There are two things that are important for them to identify. They need to recognize that they are leading during times of crisis, which requires a certain type of leadership. They are also leading radical change, but many of them don’t think they are. When your entire workforce has shifted to work from home; when your client base is in this extraordinarily dynamic period; when your entire patterns of work have changed, you are going through a radical change during a time of uncertainty. You don’t know what the future will look like. People are anxious. People need new skills. People need new equipment. Entire organizations have turned upside down. It’s a radical change. And you’re leading it. 

Organizations need to set the tone and they need to equip their leaders to be able to lead accordingly.  That’s the first step.

Second, leaders should form groups or task forces to help align their messaging, to help align their movements and actions and to bring together the best ideas and best practices. This way, no leader is trying to figure it out all on their own especially since no one has gone through a global pandemic of this scale in our modern times, right? To create the best practices collectively within the organization, that’s a way to get your support system.

Finally, leaders always need to have a set of mentors or kind of their own board of advisors, not formally necessarily. But leaders should have three or four people who they can turn to to think through things. These are not ordinary times and during times of crisis, you need your mentors. They are people you trust or people you build trust with if you don’t have them yet. These people have some serious expertise in a certain area that you really want to thrive in and be unafraid to hear truth from. You need to reach out to make sure that you have those.

This is not a time to be a solo leader. Leaders need to understand how to lead change, lead during times of crisis, and innovate. There are so many things that they need to figure out very quickly and they can’t do that alone. 

 

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Give managers the time they need to sharpen up their all-around skills

timeclock, wage and hour, schedule, timesheet rounding

How to improve manager effectiveness seems like a loaded question.

Sure, there is always room for improvement. But how do you improve the effectiveness of a manager who shares responsibilities in almost every aspect of the business process? There are business operations including onboarding and offboarding, compliance and regulations, and scheduling shifts.

A manager also is involved in training, coaching and motivating staff. Sometimes they even play the role of staff psychologist. In short, a manager is an organization’s Swiss army knife.

Which leads to another question: If you are seeking ways to improve manager effectiveness, what blade of the knife gets sharpened first?

Manager basics

At its core, a manager’s job description lists overseeing daily operations, ensuring employee productivity, monitoring efficiency of all processes and creating a positive workplace environment. Because there are nuances to every aspect of a manager’s responsibilities, freeing up time could be the biggest perk an employer could provide for their supervisorial staff. By implementing workforce management solutions, employers empower their managers to make the right business decisions in less time through software solutions.

For those managing an hourly workforce, Workforce.com’s Live Wage Tracker software allows supervisors to see wage costs in real time and adjust staffing levels and assignments to drive profitability. Every shift becomes a profitable one, and because sifting through endless reams of paperwork is no longer necessary, a manager can concentrate on other ways to drive productivity and trim costs.

Creating effective managers

Managers rarely just materialize. A high-performing employee doesn’t necessarily make a great manager. The process takes patience and time — a rare commodity for managers in most businesses.

According to Great Place to Work, effective leaders should define the most important behaviors for great managers at an organization. While certain characteristics of manager effectiveness are universal, the best insights come from identifying the unique behaviors that align with an organization’s mission, culture, customer needs and strategic goals. 

  • Find the managers inside an organization who build high-trust relationships. 
  • Interview these managers and ask them how they did what they did.
  • Use this information to identify behaviors that create a great work environment and share them across the organization.

 Once company leaders identify managers and their best practices, instill in them these ideals:

  • Work with teams, seek ideas from team members and involve them in decisions that affect them.
  • Recognize employees, especially by calling out accomplishments and helping employees get ahead in their careers.
  • Inspire employees to follow by showing them that leaders are competent, honest and reliable.

What managers need from employers

Equip managers with the solutions to work smarter so they will be more productive throughout their work day. The result is an efficient workplace and a supervisor who can create a work/life balance for themselves.

Managers are constantly looking for ways to be more efficient with their time. Provide the leadership and perspective to manage their time. Encourage and help managers to: 

  • Establish their priorities.
  • Break big projects into small tasks.
  • Use a to-do list in the right way.
  • Eliminate distractions.
  • Avoid procrastination.

 Perhaps the most important tool in a manager’s arsenal is time. Through workforce management software, time becomes an ally for a manager rather than an opponent. Implementing Workforce.com’s Live Wage Tracker platform provides actionable data that empowers managers to react quickly and confidently to unexpected changes and keep things running smoothly throughout the day.

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COVID-19 is not an excuse for age discrimination

workforce management software; hr tech
Consider these headlines:
While there’s still a lot we don’t know about COVID-19, one of the things we do know for sure is that is much more greatly impacts people age 65 and above.
Indeed, according to the CDC, 80.6 percent of all coronavirus deaths are in that age bracket. These fatality rates might explain why you might want to protect your older workers by forbidding them to come into work or by placing them on leaves absence.
Here’s the thing, however. Employment discrimination laws hate paternalism. While you might be acting from a place of good intentions to protect your older workers from a potentially deadly exposure of COVID-19 by keeping them away from the workplace, that’s not your choice to make. Only the employee can make that choice.
The EEOC confirmed this guidance in an updated FAQ on COVID-19 and antidiscrimination laws it published late last week.

The ADEA would prohibit a covered employer from involuntarily excluding an individual from the workplace based on his or her being 65 or older, even if the employer acted for benevolent reasons such as protecting the employee due to higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

Unlike the ADA, the ADEA does not include a right to reasonable accommodation for older workers due to age. However, employers are free to provide flexibility to workers age 65 and older; the ADEA does not prohibit this, even if it results in younger workers ages 40-64 being treated less favorably based on age in comparison.

If you force older workers to stay away (even if it’s for their own protection), you are almost certainly committing age discrimination. Their health, their choice. Don’t make it for them.