Absence Management and Workforce Management
Some organisations have started to understand the deep need for workforce management. The presence of remote workers is a hot trend, with half of all managers believing that the majority of their workforce will not require to be physically present in an office by 2020.
This raises many questions: How can organisations manage employees who are working remotely? What are some ways that employers can keep up with changes in technology and evolve with their workforce?
In this blog, we delve deeper into how employers and employees can work together to make these changes happen. We explore why workforce management has become such an important issue, what skills are needed today and what types of qualifications those individuals will require to thrive in the future.
What is workforce management?
Workforce management can be defined as: "The planning, organising, directing and controlling of employees in relation to priority work and work flow." The phrase "workforce management" is used throughout this blog to describe the process of planning, organising, directing and controlling an organisation’s employees. It includes a wide range of activities that need to be considered when managing employees. Workforce management therefore has both a micro (individual manager) and macro (organisation-wide) perspective.
The workforce management process involves planning, organising and controlling the organisation’s employees, allowing them to provide the best possible service to customers. There are four main elements that make up this process:
Planning : The goal of work planning is to be able to plan effectively with limited information. It involves identifying all external factors (such as budgets and future trends) that could influence or limit the organisation’s ability to achieve its goals. This includes a review of policies, procedures and practices within the organisation. As a result of this planning there should be a plan for each employee, detailing his or her tasks and responsibilities. The plan should outline the goals, activities and resourcing required to complete each task.
Organising : Organising is the identification of all the activities that are needed to complete a particular task. It includes creating a schedule for employees, controlling their workloads and prioritising their activities. Integrating workforce planning and workforce management can help organisations achieve its objectives by aligning employee schedules with overall schedules. Analysis of working time and attendance can also be used to identify productivity issues in an organisation.
Directing : Directing is ensuring that employees are completing tasks in accordance with plans made during planning and organising stages. It requires monitoring workflows, managing employee performance, identifying risks and making sure there is appropriate resourcing available when needed.
Controlling: Controlling involves the ability to recognise, communicate and prioritise employee needs and issues. This is essential because it allows organisations to respond quickly to work changes, employee grievances and unexpected problems. The ability of an organisation to control its employees is a key indicator of performance, with companies generally showing the greatest levels of workforce management when they are able to limit distractions and deal with employee complaints quickly.
Why is workforce management important?
Organisations want their employees to be present when they need them, but also want them away when they are not yet utilised by the business. This can be achieved in many different ways in accordance with each organisation's priorities. For example, an organisation may simply need an additional staff member to answer the phone at certain hours of the day. It is useful, therefore, to understand what are some of the most common tasks that remote workers do and whether it would be possible to do these tasks from wherever they work.
A remote workforce may provide a solution for organisations that want to:
Add a new source of revenue by attracting customers through an online shop. For example, if a customer needs a desk at 8 am, there may be no need to open the shop until 8:30 am. If there is no need to open the store until 10 o'clock, it would be possible to send someone out at 7:30 am and they could stay on site until the store opens at 9 am.
Turn around stagnant business by sending remote workers out to talk with customers or distribute leaflets in certain locations. The local state coroner regularly sends teams of lawyers, researchers and secretaries out into the community for these types of tasks.
Better serve customers by allowing employees to answer the phone, visit customers in their homes or businesses and/or help with any other tasks that need to be done at times that are convenient for the customer.
Make employees productive by allowing them to work on their laptops while at home or in a coffee shop. This allows employees to always be online, accessible and available to carry out workplace tasks.
Lower staff turnover by offering remote workers benefits including flexible working or telecommuting. This can help organisations retain current remote workers and attract new ones who are seeking greater flexibility in their work schedules.
Increase the extent of employee training by providing employees with online work that can be completed from wherever they are located. They can still benefit from being coached and offered additional training even if they are attending school, volunteering or travelling.
Give remote workers an opportunity to enter the workforce by allowing them to work before starting school or in between school breaks or during holidays when other jobs may not be available.
Increase productivity by allowing remote workers who travel for business to complete their tasks from a remote location with ease, such as an airport lounge, hotel room or on a plane. This is especially helpful when travelling internationally where it might be more difficult to get internet access or make phone calls.
How can Remote Work be implemented?
Remote work isn't a new concept. In the 1990s, it was very popular among businesses to allow employees to work from home or from other places around the world. The main problem with this was that there were many instances where employers were unable to track workers who were travelling for work. This was a major reason why many businesses began implementing the policy of allowing their employees only to work from a designated office space and allowing no exceptions.
Conclusion
By using workforce management software, companies can process information about employees and their work schedules. They can also use it to manage and monitor every aspect of their business, from sales and customer service to cash and credit control. This includes training and development, scheduling, payroll calculation and leave management. By letting employers know how their employees are performing on the clock, they can make sure that each employee is meeting or exceeding job-specific expectations.
It is crucial for companies to implement good data collection practices when using workforce management software. This can help them collect real-time data about the workloads of individual workers, which allows them to determine if one particular person needs extra training or if someone else needs additional training.