Workforce management

Workforce management (WFM) is an institutional process that maximizes performance levels and competency for an organization. The process includes all the activities needed to maintain a productive workforce, such as field service management, human resource management, performance and training management, data collection, recruiting, budgeting, forecasting, scheduling and analytics. Workforce management (WFM) is an institutional process that maximizes performance levels and competency for an organization. The process includes all the activities needed to maintain a productive workforce, such as field service management, human resource management, performance and training management, data collection, recruiting, budgeting, forecasting, scheduling and analytics. Workforce management provides a common set of performance-based tools and software to support corporate management, front-line supervisors, store managers and workers across manufacturing, distribution, transportation, and retail operations. It is sometimes referred to as HRM systems, or Workforce asset management, or part of ERP systems. As workforce management has developed from a traditional approach of staff scheduling to improve time management, it has become more integrated and demand-oriented to optimize the scheduling of staff. Besides the two core aspects of demand-orientation and optimization, workforce management may also incorporate: The starting point is a clear definition of the work required through engineered standards and optimal methods for performing each task as efficiently and safely as possible. Based on this foundation and demand-based forecasts, workers are scheduled, tasks are assigned, performance is measured, feedback is provided and incentives are computed and paid. In addition, online training is provided along with supervisor-based coaching to bring all workers up to required levels of proficiency. Workforce management is a complete approach designed to make workforce as productive as possible, reduce labor costs, and improve customer service. Workforce management also uses the process of field service management in order to have oversight of company's resources not used on company property. Examples include: In the 1980s and 1990s, entrepreneurs focused on topics such as supply chain management, production planning systems or enterprise resource planning. As cost pressures have increased, managers have turned their attention to human resources issues. In all personnel-intensive industries, workforce management has become an important strategic element in corporate management. The process has experienced growth in all sectors, including healthcare. As our society continues to adopt new technologies such as smartphones and enterprise mobility tools, more companies are allowing employees to become mobile. Mobile workforce management refers to activities used to schedule the employees working outside the company premises. It helps distribute workforce efficiently across various departments in an institution. Workforce management solutions can be deployed enterprise-wide and through mobile platforms. While special software is commonly used in numerous areas such as ERP (enterprise resource planning), SLM (service lifecycle management), CRM (customer relationship management) and HR (human resources) management, the management of the workforce is often still handled using spreadsheet programs or time recording. This often results in expensive overtime, non-productive idle times, high fluctuation rates, poor customer service and opportunity costs being incurred. By using a software solution for demand-oriented workforce management, planners can optimize staffing by creating schedules that at all times conform to the forecasted requirements. At the same time, a workforce management solution helps users to observe all relevant legislations, local agreements and the contracts of individual employees – including work-life balance guidelines. A key aspect of workforce management is scheduling. This is achieved by establishing likely demand by analyzing historical data (such as the number and duration of customer contacts, sales figures, check-out transactions or orders to be handled). Many workforce management systems also offer manual adjustment capabilities. The calculated forecast values are then converted into actual staffing requirements by means of an algorithm that is adjusted to the particular use case. The algorithm itself is based on the work of Erlang though most modern adaptations of workforce management have shifted towards a richer state management, and optimizations to the original idea.