A Buyer’s Guide: 7 Questions to Consider When Searching for the Best Workforce Management Software Solution

According to Gartner’s Market Guide for Workforce Management, “Workforce Management (WFM) is a solution that includes software, services and hardware, and helps organizations manage the operational deployment of the workforce. Core functions of WFM include:

• Accurately measuring the working time and absences of employees, and making this information available to payroll.
• Ensuring that employers are compliant with legislation pertaining to employee working time and leave.
• Providing a means of creating efficient work schedules, thus ensuring that the provision of labor matches the demand for labor and that workers are scheduled as efficiently as possible in terms of cost.”

Beyond question, a modernized workforce management solution can assist you in maximizing your most important and expensive asset: your staff. The question becomes, what kind of system does your company need and how do you identify and deploy it?

Workplace Culture Consultant, Steve Langerud, aids organizations in finding solutions to complex issues. He advises that when seeking a workforce management solution, “Decision makers should focus on being more interested than interesting. Before engaging with software vendors, take an informal approach to gathering information (from people across the organization who will be impacted by the management solution) by asking questions, such as:

 

• What or who gets in the way of your work?
• What or who helps you get your job done?
• What policies or practices hinder you in getting your job done?
• What do you think we should start, stop, and continue doing to be more effective in our workplace?
• How do you imagine or hope a workforce management solution can make you more effective?

Gaining a true understanding of what managing the workforce within your organization looks like (to your internal team) will help you present exactly what you need to vendors, quickly qualifying those that are best aligned with your business requirements.”

Finding the perfect solution is not simple, but identifying requirements that will positively impact operational efficiencies and involving key stakeholders are essential to the process. 

Once you’ve identified your functional requirements and begin to look for solutions, consider these seven questions to further the conversation. 

Buyers Guide:  

Each organization has unique requirements  when it comes to selecting the right workforce management solution. Industry vertical, location, employee type, and size and maturity of your organization all contribute to finding the solution that is the best fit.

According to Dan Buckhout, a workforce management professional responsible for overseeing workflow and management systems at 70kft, “Building a functional requirements list is a critical prerequisite to evaluating solutions. It forces your team to clearly define what the solution must be able to do well. This also provides a checklist to compare each solution being considered.” 

In addition to defining functional requirements, it is important to evaluate and test multiple solutions .

• Perform a thorough evaluation of all viable solutions - Selecting a solution that helps you achieve your identified goals is important. Be sure that you evaluate all viable solution options, reviewing not only their functionality, but their support services, and team members. Keep in mind that you will be building a relationship with the vendor, so comparing product and people elements will help you make the best long-term decision.  
• Focus on essential functionality - Avoid falling in love with the “bells and whistles.” Instead, review the functionality you will use, value added modules, and scalability to support your company’s overall operational goals.  
• Avoid selecting workforce management software on price alone - The cheapest or glitziest system may look good and save you money, but when put into use, it may provide a poor return on investment if it is not a viable and workable solution for your company. When considering cost, it is also beneficial to understand if you can adapt to a more cost effective configurable solution (no coding required) versus expensive customization (can involve expensive programmers).
• Take solutions for a ‘test drive’ - Taking the system out for a “test drive” is an underused research technique. Just like any other software solution you are investing in, workforce management systems can be tested in real-life to allow you to see, feel, and understand how the product works for your company and employees. It takes a little more time in the overall purchasing process, but makes all the difference when considering deploying the right system, return on investment (ROI), and longevity.  

The overall goal of a quality workforce management solution is to create avenues of cost reduction, increase productivity, and achieve overall employee satisfaction. Meeting and surpassing these goals can provide competitive advantages in the marketplace. In seeking a solution that is a perfect fit for your organization, create your “wish list” of functional needs, ask yourself the seven questions above, include as many stakeholders as possible to facilitate “buy-in,” and take your time by test driving your best candidates.  

Whether it’s called Workforce Asset Management (WAS), Enterprise Resource Management (ERM), or Workforce Management Solutions (WMS), there is a solution for all companies. Look for solutions with modular components and scalability, as well as the right security systems for confidentiality and protection and you will be able to make this critical purchase with confidence. 

Additional resources to help begin your evaluation of Workforce Management solutions include:
Gartner.com
Capterra.com
SWPP.org

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