There’s no doubt, AI is changing the Workforce Management (WFM) game. To be honest, it’s changing most of what we do. While a lot of what comes to mind with AI can feel daunting there are lots of positive aspects to AI that can significantly improve the lives of frontline workers and employers.
In our recent webinar, “Gartner trends and AI insights that will impact your 2024 WFM strategy,” our CMO Ani Obermeier chats with our CEO Erik Fjellborg and AI-driven WFM expert Johanna Holm AI workforce management trends and why you should incorporate AI in your strategy.
What is shifting in WFM?
A labor shortage in North America and Europe since the pandemic has forced organizations to look closer at how they can become more attractive employers. This, along with the pressure to do more with less, means new technologies and processes need to be adopted.
“Workforce management solution providers are combining communication, learning, and chat features with more traditional WFM features, like scheduling and time and attendance,” Erik says. “Companies also need cloud-native solutions. It’s a better experience [for everyone using the tool], and it’s more secure and cost-efficient.”
One of Gartner’s workforce management recommendations in the report is for companies to move from on-premise workforce management solutions, which can be more risky with cyber security and costly to maintain, to cloud-based tools.
Another big happening in WFM is, of course, you guessed it, AI. Our AI WFM expert Johanna sees a shift “to bring AI into different areas like absence management, time and attendance, engagement, and more.” So far, AI workforce management solutions have mainly focused on demand forecasting and automated schedules.
She sees so many opportunities for AI to supercharge WFM.
What is AI in WFM and why does it matter?
AI in WFM won’t ever replace humans, and that should not be the goal. Instead, AI’s function is to allow you to do what you’re already doing in a faster and better way. We have all probably said to ourselves, “If only I had more time in the day.” Well, AI can help give you that time.
Johanna sees three main benefits AI will expand into and improve in WFM in the coming years:
- Compliance - AI can help companies follow relevant labor laws in each market or region
- Automation - helping you do what you do faster
- Optimization - helping you improve and streamline your work
So far, it seems like we’re mentioning a lot of benefits for the managers, but there will be just as many benefits for frontline workers as well.
AI can help create more fair and unbiased schedules based on contract and availability data, creating a more evenly distributed schedule. Humans will always be the final stop in approving the schedule, but one of Quinyx’s customers has been able to reduce time scheduling for their store managers by 33% with the help of AI.
Frontline workers can also have the opportunity to provide the tools with data about needs and wants for flexibility or growth – allowing them to have more of a say in their schedule and development.
Quinyx and AI
Quinyx has been making AI a key part of our DNA. The team has been working hard to develop and expand AI capabilities to improve the lives of frontline workers around the world.
What is so great about AI in the WFM space, especially with Quinyx, is that “you can achieve fast ROI. There is a lot of good data that can be used in the Quinyx platform,” says our CEO Erik. So you can benefit from AI capabilities quickly!
To listen to the full chat and all the juicy insights, watch the full webinar.
