5 ways Workforce Management Technology can help you to successfully manage the transition to Hybrid Workforce
Covid-19 has changed our working world forever. Companies that previously shied away from allowing employees to work remotely transitioned to 100% remote working in a matter of weeks. After experiencing the improvements in work-life balance that working from home brings, many employees want to maintain this flexibility and transition to hybrid working; combining working from home and office-based working.
Employers can also see that hybrid working offers a way to reduce their office footprint, attract a wider pool of talent and improve employee engagement while maintaining productivity. So, as we move away from the crisis mode of the pandemic and embrace hybrid working, how can companies ensure they’re effectively managing a hybrid workforce?
Hybrid working is generally used to describe a mixture of working from home and working in the office, but increasingly employees are seeking employers who offer flexible working hours and schedules too. Managing this level of flexibility manually can become an administrative nightmare, however, having the right technology can significantly ease this burden. Set out below are some of the ways WFM technology can assist you to manage new ways of working.
1. Tracking Employee Working Hours
Workforce Management Software enables you to keep accurate records of employee working hours using a range of methods depending on your requirements. From electronic timesheets to biometric terminals to easy-to-use employee self-service solutions and apps that enable employees to record their own time and attendance via PCs, laptops, smartphones and tablets. Allowing employees to record and view their working time no matter where they’re working is especially important for flexitime as it provides a to-the-minute record of hours worked, time in lieu and flexitime balances so employees always have a clear idea of where they stand.
2. Holidays & Absence Management
Many employees have put off taking leave during the pandemic so there may be a large volume of leave built up. Workforce Management Software takes the hard work out of leave management allowing employees to easily view leave balances and request leave through an employee self-service app. Managers receive an automated email with the leave request and a view of the team calendar so they can easily see whether they should approve or reject the leave request depending on their resource requirements.
3. HR Management
With a dispersed workforce, it’s more important than ever that information and documentation related to employees is stored centrally. Cloud-based Workforce Management Software stores employee personal information, performance appraisals, return to work forms and skills information centrally, allowing secure permission-based access and eliminating the need for paper-based documents.
4. Employee Rostering/Scheduling
With employees working more flexible schedules and not always on-site creating work schedules can be tricky. With Workforce Management technology it becomes easy to both manage and optimise rosters across your entire organisation, enabling effective scheduling and management of staff across all job functions, departments, teams and multiple locations.
5. Ensuring Legislative Compliance and Health & Safety
The legal requirement to ensure employees do not work excessive hours is as important as ever under the hybrid model but it could be harder to spot when an employee is working too many hours when they are not physically present in an office. Automated email alerts from your Workforce Management System can notify you of breaches of Working Time legislation enabling you to engage proactively with employees to resolve any potential issues before stress takes its toll.
The experience of the pandemic has taught us to trust in the productivity of remote workers. As more companies embrace the Hybrid working model the latest in Workforce Management Technology offers a secure, effective and easy way to manage this new way of working.
To find out how Softworks can help you manage your workforce effectively, get in touch to book a Demo today.
