Daniel Chou
As businesses struggle to cope with another downturn in the world economy, they are seeking further cost-cutting measures. Indeed, in an environment of austerity, those cost-cutting measures often involve reducing the workforce, asking employees to reduce hours or reducing budgets.
However, there are measures that businesses can implement, especially in the hard-hit retail sector, which can not only cut costs, but can add to the bottom line. Workforce Management, for example, is a branch of Time & Attendance that is well understood by the larger retailers, but not always fully leveraged.
What is Workforce Management?
Workforce Management is the practice of optimising the deployment of staff who work in shift patterns, and is commonly used in retail, construction and manufacturing industries, although retail banks are among other industries who have started to see the benefit.
Workforce Management differs from Time & Attendance in its breadth. Time & Attendance (T&A) is often referred to the clock-in, clock-out systems commonly seen in factories. Workforce Management applies to the full set of technological options available to managers that allow them to optimise staff deployment for financial gain.
How can it save money?
Workforce Management can save at least 2% of an organisation’s wage bill simply by connecting to payroll and ensuring that employees are paid for the hours they work. In many organisations where overtime is not monitored correctly, the system is open to casual abuse, leading to overpayments. Indeed, there are many examples of underpayments, which lead to queries from employees, and therefore time spent resolving the queries.
Systems also allow managers to manage tax and National Insurance thresholds so that they do not enter “premium pay” scenarios. This complex juggling of employee shifts can take place on a point-and-click interface which alerts line managers to premium pay scenarios that may be costing the business too much.
How can it add to the bottom line?
Many people stop at saving money, and assume that Workforce Management is purely for cost savings. Indeed, few think about boosting profitability through Workforce Management solutions. Peak periods for customers should be peak customers for staff, ensuring that when your business is busy, your staff are busy. When not – you can ‘cut the slack’ and deploy fewer people. This ‘lean’ approach is appropriate for these recessionary times, as businesses can ill afford to deploy staff when they are actually not required. Equally, businesses can ill afford not to deploy staff during key periods.
Therefore, by boosting productivity during these key periods, Workforce Management can help you add to your organisation’s bottom line – customers will be happier, as customer service will be better.
Byline:
This is a guest post by Morgan Danaher, from Ceridian Ireland, a provider of Workforce Management solutions.