The workforce management industry is changing beyond recognition. Rewind just a few short years and rotas, schedules and rosters were being scribbled out on scraps of paper or produced in a spreadsheet by a poor soul stuck in front of a computer. Oh, how times have changed.
Right now, with WFM software, complex schedules can be created automatically based on rules, forecasts, and variables decided by you. Employees are notified of their shifts via an app where they can also easily switch shifts or claim open shifts. And communication and employee engagement have become core pillars of powerful workforce management software.
This intelligent software is the solution businesses across the globe that rely on the deskless workforce turn to manage their workforce more effectively, become more productive, and ultimately provide an enhanced service and experience to their customers. And the software is only going to become more powerful thanks to artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
In this article, we explain what data-driven WFM means and the different ways it benefits your business. If you're interested in finding out more about AI in combination to WFM tools, you can also read our latest guide - Unleash your workforce with AI: The need-to-know WFM guide.
The benefits of data-driven WFM
Before we explore the benefits of data-driven WFM software, it’s important to understand what we mean by the term.
AI-powered and data-driven WFM means:
- Using data from your workforce management solution to make more confident decisions for your business and employees.
- Driving better employee engagement, creating a stronger ROI, and gaining additional insights into your business.
- Using tools, workflows, and solutions that were not possible in the past.
- A future solution that proactively provides suggested actions to you (the user), based on learned behavior and automated predictions.
Data-driven workforce management gives you the tools to choose where and how to optimize your business - and unleash your workforce.
Here are the different ways it will benefit your business:
1. A game-changing admin buster
Businesses that use WFM software already see a significant reduction in the time it takes to perform admin-heavy tasks like creating schedules and running payroll. As the software evolves this benefit is only going to become more powerful. The time it takes to run payroll can be reduced from days to mere hours, and complex schedules and forecasts can be created quicker and with greater accuracy.
This time saved on administrative work, means that your managers can spend more time with their staff, developing your business or focussing on sales and your customers. Initiatives that, in the end, play a big part for the future of your business and your results.
2. Increase sales
Better forecasting and business optimization also mean you can have the right staff, in the right place, at the time you need them. This helps you deliver a better service and experience to your customers alongside maximizing sales.
3. Reduced costs
From reducing the spending on overtime to better absence management (including reducing unplanned absences), data-driven WFM has the power to help you slash costs across all areas of your organization. It will help you balance your planned costs against results to create the most profitable resource plan.
AI gives the ROI
At its core, AI and data-driven workforce management, helps you work smarter. It makes your life easier, your staff and customers happier, and your business more successful and profitable.
Here’s an example of the kind of ROI you can see when AI is used in a WFM solution for one of our customers. This real-life example looks at the ROI seen in 6 months from a business with 30 stores and 300 employees.
Ready to step into the future? As these tools evolve, the potential to improve your business only gets bigger. If you're ready to level up your workforce management and tap into the full power of AI, now’s the time. The future of work is here, driven by data and AI. Don’t just keep pace—set the pace.
