Changing Times, Changing Tech: Meeting Post-Pandemic Demands with Workforce Management

When future generations look back at these recent years of pandemic life, they’ll marvel at how swiftly civilization had to adapt and dramatically change to keep things moving forward. Overnight, decades of precedence for running businesses were wiped away and new methods were hastily put together in the hopes of maintaining productivity and profitability. While many of these novel structures have proved beneficial to employer and employee alike, many organizations are either clinging to outdated notions of management or attempting to discontinue these popular new strategies.

Recently, research and analyst firm Brandon Hall Group (BHG), released a blog entitled “Reimagining the Importance of WorkForce Management in 2022”; this post is a summary of that blog. In it, they detail how workforce management is attempting to fix the ongoing issue of changes in the workplace. With intelligent digital options in programs, many organizations are finding ways to optimize many of the newer business tactics brought on post-pandemic, while providing a solid structure and monitoring capabilities that managers are more accustomed to.

HR and operations teams worldwide are being challenged by a massive task by their companies: to realign their workforce in response to fundamental changes to their business demands by market trends and employees alike, develop and implement a strategy for how to respond to the changing workplace, all while achieving their business goals.

A multitude of issues must be considered. Recent global supply chain disruptions can be mitigated by factoring in labor demand when it comes to scheduling employees for anything from loading/unloading products to staffing the sales department. Organizations that still have face-to-face interaction with customers must pivot immediately to set schedules to navigate around sick, unvaccinated, or nonspecialized staff. The examples are numerous and highlight the value of having the ability to schedule the right people in the right place at the right time. This is not only an optimized business strategy but necessary to keep organizations running in a post-COVID environment.

The secret to keeping these operations running is with modern workforce management platforms. Systems using artificial intelligence and machine learning can achieve the complex navigations needed for today’s businesses to optimize their time management, scheduling, compliance, and payroll processes. Outdated or manual processes simply can no longer keep up with the challenges and provide solutions capable of handling the demands of today’s employees and employers.

The ultimate goal of workforce management is to create efficiency and enhance productivity. The changes brought on by the pandemic have elevated adaptability and agility as the most important functions in any business’s toolbelt. Any organization that wants to remain competitive and attractive to talent will have the tools in place to change course at a moment’s notice and continue to meet the needs of customers, employees, and shifting business conditions alike.

Read the full article to find out more about BHG’s findings and the advantages of automated AI-enabled workforce management technology in this research brief, “Connecting the Dots from Fully Automated Workforce Management Systems to Business Results.”