Deciding to invest in a workforce management solution is a big decision for any business to make.
Introducing new systems, or even changing existing ones, will require effective change management, employee ‘buy-in’ and an initial investment of time and resources. But where should you start? Whether you’re changing solutions or investing in a workforce management system for the first time, we’ve put together the top questions you should be asking potential vendors.
1. Is it mobile-first and cloud-based?
If you’re still using a legacy system or have limited mobile functionality within your workforce management solution, you’re making your own life much more difficult and compounding this in your employees.
Why not take advantage of the fact that your employees have a supercomputer in their pocket? Doing so has the power to revolutionize your business - from reducing labour costs through to improving communication.
As a rule of thumb, our advice is to avoid investing in legacy solutions that require you to invest further in infrastructure to make the solution work. If the software is marketed as web-based, find out whether it is truly a 100% SaaS-service.
This means when you’re looking for a supplier, you need to choose a next generation workforce management supplier who has set a product strategy based on your industry’s future needs. The added bonus of having a cloud-based solution is you’ll always be running the most up-to-date version of the software with updates being rolled out by the software provider on a regular basis and requiring zero-effort on your part.
2. Is it easy to implement?
Historically, one of the biggest drawbacks to companies taking on a workforce management solution has been the time it takes to implement the software. Many solutions remain too complex to set up and then to use effectively, leading to many businesses abandoning them or not using them to their potential. That’s why any solution you choose should be simple to setup and simple to use.
Check out our free guide to successfully implementing a workforce management solution
3. Does it have the ability to create intelligent schedules?
Look for a solution that allows you to quickly create fair, reliable and intelligent schedules optimized to match your business practices. The best workforce management solutions allow you to create shifts based on employee skills and experience, or even around your businesses’ busiest times, with the press of a button. With smart scheduling you’ll have happier employees, happier customers, and a happier business.
4. Is there time and attendance functionality?
The best systems come complete with fully-integrated time reporting and absence management, allowing you to plan better. They even allow your employees to punch in and out directly using their mobile phone. This gives you accurate data, and helps your workers enjoy a seamless experience.
5. Does it prioritize employee engagement?
With a mix of full-time, part-time and extra staff it is often difficult to engage your full workforce in the way you want to. Look for a solution that makes employee engagement a top priority. For example, Quinyx has industry-leading tools to help drive engagement among your employees, from real-time communications to company-wide surveys and recognition, giving you the tools you need to create an all-important happy workforce.
6. Does it have strong reporting and insights?
Find a solution that makes it simpler to follow up on your business's most important key performance indicators, such as sales figures, number of scheduled or worked hours and staffing costs. This allows you to respond quickly to new trends and changes within your workforce.
7. Can you use it for task management?
A workforce management solution that integrates task management can improve efficiency by creating workflows for your employees, and it enables your managers to track these to ensure important daily tasks are being completed.
8. Will it integrate with your payroll provider?
Having a system that integrates with your payroll provider and can generate the correct payroll files for them will save you hours of time and significantly reduce your admin.
9. How important is research and development to the provider?
Before committing to a vendor, find out how important research and development is to them. Ask them what their roadmap is, what features they are developing and where they are going as a company.
10. How well does the app perform and what is the feedback from the end-users?
Ultimately, the success of a workforce management solution relies on how well it’s used by your employees. That’s why you want to find a solution that’s going to be easy for them to use. Look at the reviews of the software and seek feedback to see how easy it is for staff to use.
Most importantly, you need to find a provider you can trust, who understands your business and who understands the specific problems you’re looking to solve by improving your workforce management.
We believe in workforce management for a happier business with seamless scheduling, staffing, time reporting, communication, and task management all in one place. Let us show you how it works…
