Workforce management systems (WFM) modernize your time and attendance strategy and help increase your personnel’s overall efficiency. The benefits of using WFM software can be harnessed on an individual and company level to enable better insight into employee roles, productivity, and operations—and most importantly, the gaps in operations can be identified. 

 

Wise Consulting’s very own Ginnette Clark, CPP, Implementation Consultant and APA Vice President recently wrote an article for the American Payroll Association (APA) titled “Align Time & Attendance With Your WFM Corporate Strategy.” Below is a recap of the article, which provides Ginnette’s insight into how companies can use WFM software to align time and attendance capabilities with their corporate strategies.

 

Still Using Paper and Pen as a WFM System? Throw Manual Processes Out the Window

 

“Program your rules into the WFM system to eliminate any manual processes,” Ginnette advises. This is a crucial step toward improving efficiency and staying compliant. While most enterprises are replacing traditional payroll processes with technological upgrades across industries, it is surprising how many companies still use pen and paper to capture time and attendance metrics. This derails operational efficiency and leaves too much room for error.

 

To this point, Ginnette says, “Utilizing multiple ways to capture time and analyze coverage areas has changed. Traditional time clocks and biometric readers are the old standby. Capturing this data can now be done via the web through HTML clocks on desktop computers as well as personal devices such as cell phones. If you are using paper or Excel-based tracking, now is the time to eliminate them.”

 

Workforce Management Systems Pinpoint Gaps and Automate Attendance Policies

 

Relying on manual time and attendance processes leaves gaps in budget forecasting and encourages labor imbalances. When it comes to utilizing an automated system that allows management to assess shortages and conduct risk management, Ginnette says many companies are still behind.

 

In her article, Ginnette states, “Many companies do not fully use the abilities of their WFM system to create punitive attendance policies (that comply with applicable laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act). The assignment of ratings or points to various absences should provide input to the employee performance process.”

 

Ginnette continues, “having this process come directly from the time and attendance system allows for a more automated approach and allows staff to audit the approach rather than administer it directly. Utilizing those abilities will allow you to control unplanned time off.”

 

Workforce Management Systems Improve Compliance and Integrity Amid COVID Changes

 

Consider the unintended consequence of companies mass-transitioning to working from home: it can impact your tax compliance without you even knowing it. If your employees span several states and have now shifted to working from their separate residences across state lines, you’ll have to ensure your current time and attendance system is adaptable to handle these changes to prevent costly fines down the road.

 

“Make sure you understand the rules and what is programmed. Keep a logbook detailing what is in the programming,” Ginnette says, “This will ensure that as you have staff turnover, you can keep track of what the system is doing and make it easier to review processes in the future as state and federal laws change.”

 

A reliable WFM system not only keeps you compliant with tax regulations that vary by state, it helps prevent unnecessary errors in payroll that can hurt the overall employee-employer relationship. Inaccurate entries lead to errors in payroll that are often hard to make up for.

 

“The downstream effects of those incorrect entries can include the loss of integrity to the department, incorrect paychecks, and additional work through off-cycle payments,” says Ginnette.

 

Wise Consulting Provides Support to Update and Optimize Your WFM System

 

Workforce management software needs to be carefully configured and monitored now, more than ever, due to the wave of pandemic-initiated work-from-home orders. Our expert implementation consultants at Wise Consulting are helping clients improve their workplace productivity, achieve time-saving automation, reduce labor costs and align their strategies with their WFM system. If you are interested to learn how your company can benefit from a properly configured and more automated approach to managing your time and attendance, please contact us to find out if our experts can assist you with your WFM system or processes. 

 

Send a message to HCMHelp@WiseConsulting.com, call 800-654-4550 or fill out a form here. To read Ginnette’s full article published by the APA titled “Align Time & Attendance With Your WFM Corporate Strategy,” click here.