5 Workforce Management Software Features for Businesses

As a business owner, it can be extremely difficult to be in all places at once and supervising all processes that occur on a daily basis. This led to the advent of workforce management software.

This type of application features many different processes that allow for maximum efficiency and productivity. There are many types available, but they are not all the same with some offering more than others. The following are 5 important components that the workforce management software you adopt should have.

1. Scheduling

As a smaller business with employees in different roles, it can be difficult to compose a schedule that ensures efficiency. As a larger business this can get even harder with hundreds of employees working in different departments.

A workforce management software application needs to allow management to compose schedules quickly and with relative ease. The scheduling component of the application is able to look at employees available as well as the operational needs of each department. The workforce management software can then initiate a schedule cognizant of both availability and requirements of each department.

2. Attendance

Attendance may be a small feat for smaller businesses but for larger ones it can be quite onerous. Not only do you need to confirm employees are working the days they are scheduled, you need to keep track of sick days and vacation days of each worker as well.

An efficient workforce management software should be able to track the attendance of all of your employees, including hours worked and any sick or vacation days they booked. In doing so, all employees are able to take time off with credits they are entitled to and your business will not be losing money paying employees for dates they were not in attendance.

3. Payroll

Getting payroll right the first time is important. If you make errors on an employee’s pay it may mean costing the business money if an overpayment occurred. Conversely, it could warrant taking additional steps to make additional payments if the worker was shortchanged.

Any workforce management software worth your consideration should have the option to utilize

payroll features. Many applications that have this option are able to be seamlessly paired with time and attendance processes. This information can be sent to your payroll department who can then make accurate payments to employees.

4. Tracking

Things such as benefits and pensions are extremely important to employees. This is because these two elements are factors in their health and livelihoods especially when they retire.

Tracking employee contributions to benefits and pensions is also important to you too as a business owner. If an employee receives one or both without contributing, this will cost you money and funding pools will become needlessly depleted. A solid workforce management software is able to track contributions to benefit and pension plans, keeping track of eligible recipients. Number of hours worked can also be tracked in this feature if this is a major determinant regarding whether an employee is a beneficiary of benefits and pensions.

5. Forecasting

Even before you commence scheduling employees you need to know what your needs are. This can be especially tricky of your operations fluctuate based on demand. Having too many employees means not enough work for everyone and more money being spent than is necessary on wages. Having too few workers may mean not completing the work that needs to be done.

Workforce management software should have a feature that helps you to forecast your scheduling needs. It should allow you to do so based on tasks that need to be completed. In doing so, you are optimizing your workforce, allowing for ideal business operations.