By Stefania Viscusi, Assignment Desk, Content Management

Workforce management (WFM) has become an essential element for the success of any operation. Beyond supporting and promoting productivity in the workplace, WFM has helped to optimize operations in a way that also improves labor costs.

 

According to news release announcing Aberdeen (News - Alert) Group's latest benchmark report, "Beyond Time and Attendance: Agility Meets Efficiency in Workforce Management," automated WFM solutions are increasing in adoption as it optimizes efficiency and helps industries to outperform.

 

The study found that "all but two-thirds of best-in-class organizations have installed a licensed or on-demand WFM application" and in order to optimize or reduce labor costs in relation to revenue, flexible scheduling and real-time labor tracking, is needed.

 

With these capabilities in place, optimization and performance levels increase, even when demand shifts or change occurs, because an automated WFM solution forecasts the changes and incorporate them into the management, operations continue running at best.  

 

David Foster, Aberdeen Groups Human Capital Management Practice Leader commented in a statement, "By investing time and money into an automated workforce management system, they are able to optimize labor deployments for both project based and shift based workers among frequent changes in labor demand and availability."

 

Using an automated WFM solution, it is easier to forecast and develop optimal schedules free from over or understaffing, which could hinder performance or increase cost. With real-time labor tracking, levels of work can be monitored; at whatever time the information is needed.

 

To better the workforce management process, Foster noted the following points in a recent news release:

 

 

 

 

In an earlier interview with TMCnet on the topic of WFM for Decision Making in the Call Center, Charles Ciarlo, founder and CEO of Left Bank Solutions commented, workforce management, "helps an organization focus on creating the most efficient employee schedules. Based upon precise forecasts, WFM develops staffing schedules that optimize a wide range of factors – agent availability, expected call volume, service level goals and center budget. The technology adeptly handles the various permutations and combinations of agent requirements and volumes. This is extremely useful for busy call center managers enabling them to create schedules and customized shifts to efficiently handle forecasted volumes, or respond to real-time fluctuating volumes, and even manage seasonal volumes. The result is greater efficiency, improved service levels and lower margins."