| Unless yours is a one-man organization, you achieve | | | | service these work orders |
| your organizational goals, to a smaller or greater | | | | - Planning the tools and vehicles needed for the |
| degree, through a workforce. If that workforce is not | | | | servicing |
| productive, the efficiency of goals-achievement | | | | - Scheduling the workers, tools and vehicles in an |
| suffers and costs of achievement go up. | | | | optimal manner using predefined rules |
| To some extent, productivity can be ensured through | | | | - Assigning work orders to particular technicians in |
| use of fear. However, in modern organizations | | | | each area |
| operating in a competitive environment, fear is | | | | For call centers, workforce management software |
| becoming less and less effective. Workers have | | | | can: |
| increasing choices for selecting their employers. | | | | - Forecast call volumes throughout the day |
| This is particularly true of IT workforce with the | | | | - Plan shifts in a customized manner |
| specific kind of skills that your organization needs. You | | | | - Schedules workers by skills and experience |
| have not only to find people with the right skills but you | | | | - Forecast seasonal changes in volumes |
| also have to retain them. Both productivity and | | | | - Monitor performance |
| customer service can improve significantly if you are | | | | Workforce Management Contribution to Bottom Line |
| able to maintain a stable workforce. | | | | The diversity of skill sets required in modern IT |
| It is in this context that workforce management has | | | | departments make it critical that these be assessed |
| become a key management area these days. | | | | and managed properly. Otherwise, the IT department |
| What Is Workforce Management? | | | | would rather be a drag on the resources of the |
| Workforce management seeks to develop a | | | | organization instead of being a contributor to its bottom |
| workforce consisting of happy and productive | | | | line. There would be an imbalance in the demands and |
| workers through: | | | | availability of specific IT skills. |
| - Good payroll and benefits packages and | | | | Service organizations need to optimize the contribution |
| administration | | | | of their workforce through scheduling and routing of |
| - Best HR practices that help recruit and retain the | | | | their field service personnel. This scheduling is a |
| right kind of workers with the right set of skills | | | | complex exercise that needs to consider the skills, |
| - Training and developing the workers into a team with | | | | nearness to the service sites, availability of needed |
| the right mix of skills and fitting in with the organizational | | | | parts and other factors. It would need specialist |
| culture | | | | workforce management software to handle this |
| - Monitoring performance and rewarding good | | | | complexity in a reasonably satisfactory manner. |
| performers | | | | Conclusion |
| - Forecasting requirements and developing career and | | | | A workforce with right skill sets and experience can |
| succession plans to meet the requirements | | | | make a real contribution to achieving organizational |
| While the above is the generally accepted view of | | | | objectives. With an increasingly competitive |
| workforce management, newer and specialized | | | | marketplace for skilled workers, only a highly effective |
| definitions have also developed. These specialized | | | | workforce management could help organizations hire, |
| kinds of workforce management cater to the | | | | develop and keep their skilled workforce. Workforce |
| emerging needs of service organizations and call | | | | management software can help IT and service |
| centers. | | | | organizations optimize worker satisfaction and |
| Workforce management software can help service | | | | performance. |
| organizations through: | | | | We will look at different aspects of workforce |
| - Forecasting work orders | | | | management in a series of articles. |
| - Planning the number of skills of technicians needed to | | | | |