Life is good for an organization when shift scheduling is established and working well. Let scheduling get even a little sideways, however, and that tightly run ship can quickly become an all-hands-on-deck disaster.
Shared calendars, lost emails, hard-to-read spreadsheets, white boards and even Post-it notes are not how to schedule employees. Comprehensive scheduling software tools can prevent a Titanic-like calamity from disrupting your employment schedule.
Effective employee schedulinggives managers immediate insight into how many staff members to schedule at any given time and optimizes planning breaks, setting vacations, adding time for training and addressing unplanned absences. A streamlined scheduling plan also cuts the time associated withonboarding new staff members to full productivity.
Here are some ways that scheduling software can save time, streamline scheduling and control costs.
Employee scheduling software saves time and money.
The old Benjamin Franklin adage of “time is money” is as true today as it was in ol’ Ben’s era. It certainly applies to scheduling the right employee into the right slot.
Whether it’s a 12-hour on-floor hospital shift or a four-hour lunch rush slot, scheduling software is a time-saver when it comes to matching an employee’s skills and availability to the proper shift. Managers will have a real-time schedule that changes with the organization’s needs. Scheduling software also removes the labor-intensive task of constantly rebuilding a schedule to free up you and your staff for other opportunities. In other words, you are saving up Benjamins by freeing up time.
Employee scheduling software streamlines the process.
Saving time is important, andscheduling software helps you make better use of that time. All schedules can be created and distributed electronically, and employees can use their phone to clock in and out, eliminating the need for onerous back-and-forth emails or missed phone calls.
A 2017 Quickbooks survey found that 49 percent of employees admitted to time theft, which annually costs companies more than $11 billion.Scheduling software tools cut down on fraud that may be taking place in your company.
Overtime, while often unavoidable, is another opportunity to save money through scheduling software. You have enough people to get the job done, but not so many that you’re cutting into the bottom line. Scheduling software provides the tools to cut costs in the form of unnecessary overtime by showing which employees are eligible for overtime assignments and who already clocked too many overtime hours.
Don’t be a ship helplessly tossed about in the swirling seas of scheduling employees! Find out about the benefits of Workforce.com’scomprehensive scheduling software today. You’ll see how it can boost efficiency and control costs across your entire enterprise.
Like meat and potatoes on the dinner table, a shift schedule template is considered one of the basic tools of workforce management.
Indeed, shift schedules are crucial to the smooth operation of workforce management. A single, uniform system allows employers to manage their workforce and standardize operations more easily and save money through simplified, consistent administration that allows the organization to focus on its core business.
Rather than managing schedules on paper, which can be inefficient and potentially risky when trying to balance overtime, paid time off and compliance regulations, viewtime and attendance and scheduling through a strategic lens.
A template for all needs
Finding a shift schedule template that fits an organization’s needs may not be as daunting as it seems. Most exist in Microsoft Word and Excel formats as well as in Google docs and Google sheets.
Some are detailed to include the week, day and times of day while others are largely blank. The templates are adaptable to adjust the days of the week among other details.
There are varying styles of shift schedule templates. Among the most-used, according tolabor management company 7shifts, include:
Fixed shift schedule — Fixed shifts consist of staff working the same number of hours and days each week.
Split shift schedule — Employees agree to fill their work hours over two shifts or time slots in a day. Work with HR or legal counsel to maintain federal labor law compliance.
Overtime shift schedules — These can be costly but are often necessary during emergencies and busy times. Again, recognize labor law compliance.
On-call shifts — An employee is available to work on demand, at any time. For example, if someone misses a fixed shift due to a family emergency, the employee in waiting will be contacted to take this shift.
Benefits of flexible shift options
It’s compulsory for organizations with hourly staffing needs to use shift scheduling tools. But with work from home becoming the norm, more companies are engaging employees through flexible shift schedules.
Implement a plan, keep in constant communication with those who are remote, and then evaluate its success.
A shift scheduling template keeps all employees — in person or remote — on the same page. A work schedule calendar also assures that no shifts will be missed.
Why innovate what already works?
Some people are perfectly fine with meat and potatoes every night for dinner. By the same token, some organizations are content with pen and paper to schedule employees.
Technology-based employee scheduling software not only offers the steak and spuds, it provides a tantalizing appetizer, a warm loaf of bread, a scrumptious side of veggies and to-die-for dessert, too.
Rather than spending hours slaving over a hot stove — er, spreadsheet — managers can build schedules on the go and immediately post for all employees to access.
Managers also understand that employee schedules can no longer be based solely on business demand. Schedules need to reflect employee preferences. Intuitive software can inform the organization when an employee is available and how many hours that person wants to work each week.
This also empowers employees to communicate with managers regarding time off orco-workers who may want to swap shifts. There is shared value for both sides. And if employee engagement is a goal, employers can build schedules that are more predictable, consistent and adequate so employees can better plan their lives and budgets and reduce use of sick days and shift trading.
If you have a large hourly workforce, Workforce.com is here to help. Its comprehensivetime-keeping andscheduling softwarecan handle complex business demands and allow the organization to view the big picture while empowering employees and maintaining compliance.
The COVID-19 pandemic has catapulted workforces around the world into remote work or a different environment than what employees are used to.
Businesses are making adjustments to their operations in adherence to social distancing and in joining the fight to curb the pandemic.
As the search for a vaccine continues, it seems like flexible work will be here to stay. But what does that mean to the workforce? And what must managers do to help navigate the new normal involving remote work?
Same principles, different times
Jacob Morgan, an author, speaker and authority on leadership, employee engagement and the future of work, said in a recent blog post that more companies will embrace flexible working arrangements.
“With the current pandemic, millions of people around the world are working from home,” he said. “This will likely continue over the coming months but even after the pandemic is over, I expect we will see a dramatic rise in flexible work arrangements. However, in order for these efforts to be successful organizations need to use a new set of digital technologies and embrace a new way of working.”
“Before rushing to pick that shiny new collaboration and communication platform, focus on developing a strategy which will help you understand the ‘why’ before the ‘how.’ This is crucial for the success of any collaboration initiative,” he wrote. “You don’t want to be in a position where you have deployed a technology without understanding why. Especially during this pandemic, make it clear what the desired goals are so everyone is on board.”
Aside from implementing suitable solutions, Morgan also highlighted the importance of collaboration, measuring the right metrics, leading by example and listening to the voice of the organization, among others. Morgan explained the challenges in applying them and practical ways to overcome them.
“Collaboration should never be seen as an additional task or requirement for employees,” Morgan wrote. “Instead collaboration should fit naturally into their flow of work. For example, with my virtual team of ten employees turning on Skype every morning and looking at what’s going in Asana is how we all start our day, it’s not an afterthought or something additional we do … it’s how we get things done.”
He reiterated that collaboration is an ongoing initiative and goes beyond simply rolling out initial guidelines, thinking that it will stand the test of time. It’s all about adjusting and being agile to changes.
“It’s important to remember that collaboration is perpetual,” Morgan wrote. “It’s a never ending evolution as new tools and strategies for the workplace continue to emerge. This means that it’s important for your organization to be able to adapt and evolve as things change. Keep a pulse on what’s going on in the industry and inside of your organization. This will allow you to innovate and anticipate. So many organizations were caught off guard by this pandemic because they had neither the tools, the training, the leadership, or the guidelines to help make flexible work successful.”
Clear course of action is vital
The pandemic has disrupted global workforces. Management consultancy Gallup has seen massive changes in different aspects of work and employee life, and they are seeing record levels of stress and worry among the U.S. workforce. So how are employers faring in terms of their response?
Leaders need to have a clear course of action and communicate it clearly to their employees. A survey from Gallup shows that 52 percent of employees strongly agree that their employer fared well in terms of sharing information to them about the next steps.
Technology is key to implementing action plans
Having a strategy is just half of the battle. The other half is implementing it. Technology plays a crucial role in that.
A workforce management platform is helpful in this regard as it can help you operate efficiently beyond borders, staying on top of your operations, and improving overall communication with staff. It can help you automate and customize certain processes and adjust quickly to market changes.
There’s a lot of factors at play when managing a workforce, especially so at a time like this. It’s vital to have the right solutions in place that will help you focus on enriching your people and equipping them to do their best even in this era of remote work and beyond.
Labor compliance software is an innovative way to manage the overwhelming alphabet soup of laws, regulations and agencies that govern the workplace.
HR practitioners must recognize the regulatory distinctions of the FMLA and FLSA and navigate the nuances between the ADA and ADAAA. What are the latest regulations surrounding the ACA? Can a misstep with COBRA come back to bite them? And SOX … is that a professional baseball team or a law protecting corporate whistleblowers?
If assessing guidance from agencies including OSHA, DOL and EEOC wasn’t enough to cope with, labor compliance software is a must-have now as the coronavirus invades organizational policies. HR leaders and corporate counsel must quickly familiarize themselves and understand the implications of implementing workplace laws surrounding a new bowl of alphabet soup — PPP, FFCRA and the CARES Act.
The value of labor compliance software
Maintaining corporate compliance with government regulations isn’t easy. Besides knowing what agencies actually do and how regulations affect employers, labor laws are dense, complex and confusing. A single unintentional compliance misstep by an organization can lead to a costly and time-consuming lawsuit with the potential to disrupt or even bankrupt a small, growing organization.
Compliance solutions allow organizations to avoid a trip to court and more easily comprehend constantly changing federal, state and local legislation. Employers can disseminate policies to employees, provide guidelines for regulatory enforcement and manage confidential documents all while saving money by easing time-consuming, onerous reporting rules.
Workforce management systems typically assist with traditional compliance issues while a specialized compliance solution takes employers beyond the basics and provides expert guidance on critical regulations. It can be like having a team of legal experts at your fingertips with minimal expense.
Labor compliance software also allows businesses to communicate company and legislative policies to their employees.
Key areas for compliance software
Regulatory software helps an HR department remain in compliance across all organizational departments. According to peer-to-peer software review site G2, there arebusiness functions and the germane laws that can be undertaken by labor compliance software:
Benefits — Affordable Care Act (ACA); Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA); Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA); Fair Labor Standards Act(FLSA); Family and Medical Leave Act(FMLA).
COVID-19-related policies —Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act); Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and Payment Protection Program (PPP).
Labor and employment relations — Labor union updates (AFL-CIO, AFGE, SEIU, etc.); Department of Labor (DOL); Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); National Labor Relations Board (NLRB); Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).
Payroll —Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA); Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA); Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).
Risk — Employee safety is a top priority for all organizations. Compliance software can manage and track guidance and enforcement by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Companies needing compliance software
No organization is immune from U.S., state and local labor laws. True, regulations often vary depending on factors including employee count. A four-person mom-and-pop shop does not face the same labor compliance regulations as a multinational company.
Yet it is crucial that company policies remain up to date and comply with changes in legislation. Despite the expense a lawsuit can present, many smaller organizations are hesitant to call on legal resources simply based on costs. Those concerns can be streamlined by compliance software.
Small companies have difficulty keeping up with changes in compliance because they lack the manpower, and HR departments are already stretched thin or responsibilities are divided among employees as collateral duty. There is no point person to track and update compliance regulations.
Compliance is particularly crucial to navigating the maze of workplace issues. Municipalities and some states have institutedfair workweek policies in the past two years with more on the horizon.
In the wake of the #MeToo movement,mandatory sexual harassment prevention training is compulsory in six states. Compliance training, employee handbooks and more can be structured and simplified with a compliance solution.
Small and midsize organizations in particular have difficulty keeping up with HR compliance regulations as new legislation is continually introduced. When the HR team is small (or even just one person), their bandwidth quickly becomes strained.
Sorting through the alphabet soup of labor regulations can be an eye-glazing exercise for employers. Labor compliance software helps them to spell out attractive cost-savings, easy-to-use solutions and avoid unintentional noncompliance.
When letting employees know their value to the organization, it’s important to show appreciation for their daily tasks through effective co-worker comments.
Technology provides exceptional opportunities to motivate your staff and engage their participation by providing ongoing feedback and building a two-way relationship. Selecting the right workplace app develops a continuous dialogue that improves your internal communications and builds a consistent, trusted relationship with employees.
Choosing the internal communications app that best suits your organization has far-ranging implications. Among the most effective forms of communication that your workplace app can provide is employee feedback.
The value of ongoing feedback
People thrive on feedback. Consider how often people are asked to “rate” an experience — the latest vacation spot, the quality of your pet’s food or a call center employee’s friendliness.
Naturally, employees are encouraged to rate their job experience, as well as their workload and the quality of management. In fact, feedback is not only appreciated, it is expected. Employees want to know where they stand with their employers.
An effective workplace app can make that communication faster and more focused. It could literally take seconds to offer a personal congratulations or post a companywide notice of the employee’s accomplishment.
Feedback can come in the form of an employee performance review, a note of encouragement or a thank-you for a job well done. Many people would be surprised at how well a supportive, positive message is received.
Peer-to-peer feedback
Constant colleague feedback also encourages your staff to communicate with one another and enables growth in the company. Employees can use communication-based apps, for example, to swap shifts. This process encourages staff to remain open with one another and enhances growth in the company as well.
Employees can use this online feedback to build an authentic, trusting relationship with each other, as well as with supervisors. Peer-to-peer communication coupled with supervisor appraisals goes a long way in helping them become better in areas they need to improve and showing genuine appreciation in the areas that they have excelled in.
Organizing feedback
Your app simplifies feedback by providing a centralized clearinghouse for all employees on a single platform. Employees can communicate one-on-one or in team settings. They also can organize schedules and are crucial to building a feedback-seeking culture.
Feedback is clearly a valuable business proposition. According to a Gallup study, managers who received feedback on their strengths had turnover rates that were 14.9 percent lower than for those who received no feedback. Still, some employees are hesitant to provide feedback in person. And that applies to managers and supervisors as well.
An internal app makes feedback easier and eliminates barriers with simple, easy-to-use communications. An app also provides the ability to give feedback for those who prefer to avoid face to face meetings.
Using a communications app is redefining the way we think of employee engagement. Unleashing such tools in your workplace are changing the way businesses operate and make feedback immediate and continuous.
Give employees the power to communicate! Workforce.com’s employee engagement module empowers employees to respond immediately and effectively to topics relevant to your business any time of the day or night.
Leon Pearce is a senior software engineer for Workforce.com. Photo by Lenny Gilmore
Creating innovative HR technology that empowers employees while also saving organizations time and money is an accomplishment to be applauded.
So when the founders of Workforce.com initially developed a highly advanced time-and-attendance platform in their native Brisbane, Australia, in 2014, it was only natural that the four friends were ready to take it to a global stage. After international wins in tech hot spots such as the United Kingdom, Israel and Asia, unleashing their product on the hyper-competitive shores of North America is now a success story that’s ready to be told.
From those early days with just the first four employees, Workforce.com now boasts dozens of employees who diligently serve businesses nationwide and across the globe.With a commitment to success and a reputation for achievement, Workforce.com’s talented and diverse team is building a strong tradition of delivering excellence by customizing its offerings to their client’s evolving business needs, be it large or small, simple or complex.
Among those dedicated to superior customer service is Chicago-based Workforce.com software engineer Leon Pearce, who has maintained a commitment to promoting the product’s ease of use.
“People are the most significant competitive advantage any business can get, so they need to be truly engaged for long-term success,” Pearce said. “We want to help tackle these complex problems and streamline those processes so they can focus on the essentials of managing their workforce: worker happiness, welfare and efficiency.”
Considering that human resources practitioners must be all things to all people, the sheer volume of work they perform to keep a business functioning smoothly can be overlooked and underappreciated by organizational leaders and employees. Workforce.com technology supports their efforts and provides them with the opportunity to become strategic business partners, Pearce said.
“In essence, we build the software with the purpose of improving workforce compliance, automation, engagement and productivity,” he said. “This helps HR stay compliant with ever-changing labor regulations, automate administrative processes, build trust with front-line staff and improve business productivity.”
That said, software and technology isn’t very effective if not used properly. As an example, Pearce evoked the tool wielded by the Marvel Comics’ God of Thunder.
“You could own Thor’s hammer but that’s not very useful if nobody can lift it,” he said.
Software fundamentally changes business operations, which means it’s also important to make sure the partner you choose aligns with the vision you have for your teams.
“With the emergence of Software as a Service as the future of technology adoption, you are not necessarily buying into what it is today, but its ability to improve and help your company reach its potential in the future,” Pearce said.
Ask multiple questions of the software provider, Pearce added, such as:
How many features did they release in the last 12 months?
Who is your chief technology officer?
Do you understand the future of work and what’s your product road map for the future?
What improvements to the user experience have been made recently?
What percentage of revenue do you commit to new research and development compared to supporting old infrastructure?
Are you going to grow and improve your product as we grow and improve our business?
When it comes to implementation, a common complaint about HR software is when it purely serves management and not the rank-and-file employee.
Ask to see it live in a demo and test the software by placing it in the hands of the end user and get their honest feedback, Pearce said. And there are numerous techniques to understand if users like a product.
Yet, he pointed out, many of these techniques are flawed.
“You can compare companies based on revenue, but then are you evaluating how good the product is or how slick the salespeople are?” he said.
App store ratings give a voice to the people who actually use the software. Since users didn’t choose it, they will be honest with their opinion.
“The biggest mistake we see is when software is chosen because it ticks the boxes of a proposal and not how it works and is used by the front-line employees,” Pearce said. “Is it intuitive and easy to learn? I’d always make sure to evaluate whether it enhances or detracts from the employee experience.”
Pearce said that Workforce.com’s technology fits seamlessly into the big picture of people management, helping guide where the world of work is heading and providing a path for HR to be there alongside it.
“Technology is changing how people approach their work and their relationship with work, so we’re engineering to build a future where teams can perform better through improved workflow and feel empowered with the right technology,” Pearce explained.
For employees that means intuitive mobile apps to see future work hours, swap shifts, provide company feedback and apply for time off and schedule unavailability. For managers, it’s being able to easily build, send and optimize schedules against forecasted demand while tracking actual hours worked.
“And for HR and workforce professionals it means being able to manage and oversee this in one place that they can customize perfectly to their way of doing things and integrate with their existing payroll and technology stack,” Pearce said. “On the whole it means building a platform that leverages the very best technology to help the workforce win and reach its potential.”
Competitive advantage is key to any software platform. Finding what separates one product from another doesn’t necessarily take a publicity-hungry influencer. The benchmark for software in this space would be a solution that can follow best practices for each particular industry and help teams get to where they want to be, while being easy to use.
“Create a solution that supports an organization while they find their way forward and enables them to operate in ways that create new competitive advantages,” Pearce said. “Our strategy is to build our software like a platform that provides adopters with a starting point of industry best practices, but is also flexible enough to evolve with them. Stagnation always ends in failure, which is why enabling our users to keep tweaking their functions and improving the way they operate is so important to us.”
While many see software — any type of software — as a tool, a thing to use merely to accomplish a task, Pearce fancies a more cultured approach.
“It’s like art. Seeing people use the software I helped build definitely gives me pride, but I think more to the point is the knowledge that I was involved in hopefully making people’s lives just a little better,” he said. “I thank our customers every day for giving me that opportunity.”
Don’t take our word for it. There’s a lot that goes into making time and attendance software simple to use and hassle free. Try Workforce.com’s multifaceted time and attendance software and you’ll be lifting Thor’s hammer in no time.
Workforce management professionals face more responsibilities than ever before, and workforce management software can help them manage their many responsibilities.
While workforce management used to be a more focused term — mostly encompassing payroll, timesheets and scheduling — now it encompasses a broader array of duties including recruiting, onboarding, training, technology and more. Some of these duties are owned by HR, while IT, finance or operations take care of others. Balancing this variety of duties is not simple.
Between 2020 and 2025, the workforce management software market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.21 percent, according to India-based market research organization Mordor Intelligence. The report also found that the global workforce management software market was valued at $2.7 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach a value of $3.5 billion by 2025.
Why use workforce management software?
Organizations are interested in using HR and workforce management software for multiple purposes, and many organizations plan to use certain types of software in their long-term plan, according to the 2019 “HR State of the Industry” report from the Human Capital Media Research and Advisory Group, the research arm of Workforce.com. While 37 percent of the organizations surveyed already use a management software system that addresses all core areas of talent management, 10 percent plan to purchase it in the next year and 8.4 percent plan to in the next three years.
The same trend exists for organizations interested in software that specializes in one talent management category. According to the report, 46.4 percent of employers already used recruiting technology software, 9.2 percent planned to in the next year and 6.5 percent in the next three years. With scheduling/time and attendance software, 59.9 percent of respondents already used it, and 9.3 percent and 5.8 percent plan to in the next year and three years, respectively.
Among this huge workforce management software landscape, organizations may have challenges choosing a provider and managing the software. Vendors are releasing new versions of workforce management software every other day while similar companies are also emerging, noted MarketWatch.
One important functionality of a workforce management software solution is the capability to create schedules based on varying rules and regulations. For example, numerous cities and states have passed legislation including laws guaranteeing workers the right to request scheduling accommodations and predictable scheduling laws. Meanwhile, an organization may have specific internal rules that apply to just one team of employees, or they may have global employees who don’t fall under American law.
The benefits of workforce management software
Workforce.com software, for example, addresses this by allowing users to input a rule or regulation and have it automatically added to the system. This isn’t the case with every time and attendance software, but capabilities like this allow workforce management professionals to create good schedules despite the many rules that impact how they can and can’t schedule employees.
The benefits of workforce management software solutions are clear. They can save organizations time and automate complicated processes. Still, some organizations haven’t made the leap yet, citing reasons like lacking the time, budget or resources to choose products, assess vendors and deploy new applications.Experts advise companies in this predicament to start small with core software solutions that address payroll, time and attendance, paid time off and benefits. Delaying workforce management software investments will hinder a manager’s ability to automate the necessary tasks and focus on the parts of their job that can’t be automated.
Some 768 million days of paid time went unused by American workers in 2018. That time amounted to about $65 billion in value.
While those statistics point to an American workforce that is overworked, it also presents an underlying problem many workers face: an organization’s time off policies that are poorly communicated, too complicated and overly cumbersome.
That could lead to employees shirking the system, which frustrates managers and angers payroll staff. Simplifying time off policies helps employers to more easily track their workforce’s vacation and sick time while allowing employees to take off the time they have earned.
Considering that some payroll systems are stuck in decades-old processes, an upgrade may sound easier said than done. But that’s not the case.
Even if a time off policy is locked in a paper-based 1980s time warp that’s as scary as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” employers can channel their “Old Town Road” and easily upgrade to a fresh, comprehensive 2020s system that promotes modern sensibilities through ease of use.
Here are four ways a tech upgrade canstrengthen your organization’s PTO policy:
Simply simplify.
With a simplified time-off system, employees are more likely to take the time off they have earned and deserve. That leads to happier employees, which in turn leads to higher productivity. An updated time off policy includes features allowing employees to submit time off requests from any device at any time, making it a convenience rather than a cumbersome process.
Communicate your time-off policy capabilities.
Employees can be intimidated to take time off for whatever reason. And if they don’t know that their employer has upgraded to an employee-friendly, mobile-enabled time-off system they are less likely to request earned PTO. It’s clear that a rested employee is more productive. Your enhanced time off system also should provide an easy and effective way to communicate anything from a newly opened shift to a company’s time off policies.
Paperwork is a relic of the past.
A time off system that relies on technology rather than file folders and cold steel cabinets is not only a nod to a more mobile workforce but to the younger demographics of today’s working population. A mobile-friendly time off policy makes it easy to manage PTO requests and sends the message that you’re encouraging employees — especially millennials and Generation Z — that they should use their time.
Build a more productive, trusting workforce.
By encouraging employees to take their time off, rather than obfuscating it through some dim, impermeable system, employers can enhance engagement, promote transparency and build trust. Such employee engagement tactics lead to a more positive work environment. Streamlining the PTO process makes it easier for employees to use their paid time off and leads to a more productive workforce.
An engaged, rested workforce leads to a more harmonious and productive workforce. A mobile-friendly leave management system also allows employees to better plan for their time-off needs, switch schedules and communicate with one another.Workforce.com’s intuitive leave management provides seamless operations and provides tie-ins to scheduling and payroll.
Just as employees are expected to grow with the times and learn technology skills like data science and programming that make them more attractive to employers and relevant to the jobs of the future, HR managers must do the same.
Technology is gaining a larger role in many traditional HR duties, from recruiting to scheduling to performance management. This has been happening for a while and means that HR managers must be prepared to learn new systems and skills related to the software an organization uses. Relying on current skills is not going to get an HR manager far. They must be willing to be flexible, show curiosity and learn new skills.
However, if an HR manager is tech-savvy enough to manage various HR technology systems, ultimately they will have more time to focus on the HR duties that require timeless skills like tact and empathy.
Programs enabled with artificial intelligence, for example, can help answer common employee and candidate questions, leaving HR professionals time to focus on other responsibilities rather than repeatedly answer the same common, basic questions. Chatbots can’t answer more complex questions, but they can alert a person to answer those queries.
In the recruiting context, technology can help HR managers quickly review resumes. This has both advantages and risks. On one hand, employers don’t spend as much time going over resumes. On the other hand, recruiting technology may make biased decisions if it has been programmed with biased training data. Still, with appropriate training data, this has potential to make the recruiting process better.
And with scheduling, workforce management software can help HR managers create schedules, even considering compliance laws that make scheduling complicated. Different states and localities have varied regulations regarding paid time off, sick leave and overtime. But the appropriate software can take regulations into account as someone creates a schedule for its workforce.
Meanwhile, some HR tasks should always retain the human touch. Managers should always terminate employees face to-face, avoiding doing so via text message, email or other forms of virtual communication. Managers also have key communications responsibilities — for those times as common as the annual open enrollment and as unique as a crisis or global pandemic. Being able to effectively, strategically and sympathetically communicate information is part of the HR job description that does not change with the advance of HR technology solutions.
Consults legal counsel to ensure that policies comply with federal and state law.
Develops and maintains a human resources system that meets top management information needs.
Oversees the analysis, maintenance and communication of records required by law or local governing bodies, or other departments in the organization.
Advises management in appropriate resolution of employee relations issues.
Other responsibilities can likely be streamlined through technology:
Recruits, interviews, tests and selects employees to fill vacant positions.
Responds to inquiries regarding policies, procedures and programs.
Administers benefits programs such as life, health and dental insurance, pension plans, vacation, sick leave, leave of absence and employee assistance.
Prepares budget of human resources operations.
Responds to inquiries regarding policies, procedures, and programs.
Additionally, the rise of technology solutions adds extra responsibilities to that list, like understanding how to use several types of tech tools. These include:
Knowing how to use social media to post jobs, research candidates and communicate with employees.
Knowing how to use an applicant tracking system.
Using talent management software and learning management systems can help you streamline hiring, onboarding, training and retention processes.
Using time and attendance software to quickly and efficiently create compliant, fair schedules.
While HR practitioners are expected to do more than ever before, they have more technology and tools available to make their jobs more efficient in many ways.
The coronavirus outbreak has prompted enterprising businesses to use their existing workforce management technology in new ways.
The unprecedented impact on people’s daily work and personal habits has been the catalyst for the businesses we work with to find new functions for our technology.
Innovative organizations are using the platform to help communicate with their employees about safety measures, shift changes and team morale during this difficult time.
The following are issues that businesses should be prepared for over the coming days, weeks and months and how workforce management technology can assist.
Health and safety issues are top of mind. Employers can use workforce management software to enter and monitor safety processes such as their staff’s COVID-19 test results and to monitor the staff’s self-isolation dates so they know when it is safe to allow them to return to the workplace.
This is an innovative use of a function that was originally created to ensure workforce compliance with industry regulations, certifications and visa working restrictions.
Leave management is another important issue. As a large number of people are required to self-isolate, businesses will see a dramatic increase in requests for all types of leave. They will need systems in place to handle this influx of applications.
Workforce management technology allows for easier approval of shifts and timesheets, along with the power to add and edit staff leave and add manual allowances.
Shift equity is something many employers will want to focus on. A platform can be used to equitably share shifts among staff as a fairer alternative to dropping staff members off the schedule.
Facing unprecedented economic conditions, businesses will be keeping a close eye on profitability. Workforce.com has introduced a live wage tracker that allows employers to make early cost-saving decisions based on reduced demand.
Our live wage tracker provides an update on wage costs every 15 minutes. If this data is connected to point-of-sale technology, businesses can track exactly how they are performing throughout the day and use the data to make staffing decisions. Especially when government directives are being made frequently, it’s vital that businesses are able to make rapid cost-saving decisions based on demand.
Employees working from home can still clock in via Workforce.com’s remote clock in, which allows staff to clock in via their mobile devices, to clock in and out multiple times to account for the distractions of working from home, and to list their activities performed.
This pandemic will speed up the adoption of remote work technology and employers are on notice that the workplace may be permanently impacted.
Once the virus is contained and it is business as usual, employees may be asking, “Why do I have to come into the office every day, I’m just as efficient from home?”
Can your business keep up if people want to continue to work from home? Some businesses are using this time of reduced demand to ensure they have the right processes in place for a flexible workforce.
Maintaining team unity is more important than ever. A chat function is a good way to check in on staff morale, set up reminders about sanitizing frequently touched surfaces, and even report on interactions with potentially unwell customers so that good records are kept.
Employers also can easily communicate changes to the business by messaging individuals or entire teams, sharing key updates and important documents like training files, new health and safety policies, and opening hours.
Because chat messages are easy for all team members to see in the app, employers and managers can also use this platform for important things like saying happy birthday to a team member or reminding them to clock out if they’ve forgotten to do so.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced upon employers and employees a new way of operating, at the very least in the short term. But technology that already exists can help businesses keep on top of the new normal of managing a workforce.
