Summary: Workforce planning software helps organizations forecast future staffing needs, identify skill gaps and prepare for long-term business goals. Workforce management software focuses on day-to-day workforce execution, including scheduling, time tracking and labor optimization.
By: Ewan Speirs
Every organization builds upon the power of their people. Having the right team with the right skills available at the right time is critical to success. However, it’s not uncommon for those considering enterprise workforce management software to have difficulties distinguishing strategic workforce planning from operational workforce execution.
When you’re investing in workforce technologies, understanding the difference is crucial to supporting your business goals: workforce management software supports optimizing immediate day-to-day processes, while workforce planning software sets you up to succeed by helping you plan for future needs.
In this blog, we’ll go over the core functions and differences when it comes to workforce management vs workforce planning software. We’ll also go over how they work together and which technology might be a better fit for you depending on where your team is in their workforce transformation journey.
What is workforce planning software?
Workforce planning software helps you forecast future workforce needs, identify skill gaps and make sure your talent acquisition plans align with your long-term goals. It helps you discover what your organization’s unique needs are and plan to meet them so it can thrive in the future.
Features of workforce planning software can include:
- Workforce analytics and labor forecasting to support later staffing decisions
- Cost forecasting and budget alignment to support HR goals
- Modeling of “what if” scenarios to stress test current systems
Workforce planning software supports your long-term goals by pinpointing what your workforce will need to achieve those goals. You might use it to avoid labor shortage issues, plan for succession when people are promoted and anticipate your budget as your operations scale.
Workforce planning software supports your long-term goals by pinpointing what your workforce will need to achieve those goals. You might use it to avoid labor shortage issues, plan for succession when people are promoted and anticipate your budget as your operations scale.
What is workforce management software?
Workforce management software helps you execute essential daily workforce tasks. It helps you fill shifts, manage callouts, track overtime and maintain compliance. If you need support getting the right people with the right training working at the right time on a day-to-day basis, this is the tool for you.
Common workforce management features include:
- Time and attendance tracking integrated with payroll systems
- Real-time team scheduling and shift management
- Tracking and automation of compliance needs such as labor laws, audit trails and wage rules
Workforce management software keeps your teams running and optimizes their processes daily. You use it for regular team scheduling, boosting on-the-ground efficiency based on current resources and managing real-time events like fluctuating staffing needs.
Workforce planning software vs workforce management: 3 key differences
1. Function: Strategic vs. operational
Workforce planning software sets up your strategy, while workforce management helps you execute the tasks needed to bring it to life.
Example: A retailer opening dozens of new stores in the coming year uses workforce planning software to determine how many new team members they’ll need, create the hiring target and estimate their staffing budget. They’ll use workforce management software to build the new schedules, ensure shifts are staffed appropriately and manage absences.
2. Time: Future vs. current demand
Planning software focuses on understanding what your workforce needs to succeed in the future. Management software is about meeting the current needs of your workforce on a day-to-day basis.
Example: In a large healthcare system anticipating increased patient volume, planning software can help leaders anticipate future staffing requirements and avoid future nursing shortages. Workforce management software can help maintain adequate coverage today by tracking callouts, filling shift gaps and ensuring compliance requirements are still being met. It can also help increase efficiency, as Tenet Healthcare’s workforce management transformation with ADP® WorkForce Suite demonstrates.
3. Primary users: HR leaders vs. frontline teams
Workforce planning software influences larger strategy choices, so it’s more likely to be used by HR teams and executive leaders. Workforce management solutions are typically used daily by frontline managers, schedulers and operations leaders who own day-to-day workforce execution.
Example: In a manufacturing company facing labor shortages, the use of workforce planning software falls to business executives and HR leaders to pinpoint a solution. The use of workforce management to ensure shift coverage as they figure it out falls to frontline team members and supervisors.
| Workforce planning software | Workforce management software | |
| Primary goal | Plan for workforce needs to support long-term organizational readiness | Manage daily tasks effectively and efficiently |
| Time horizon | Long-term: 6 months to 5+ years | Short-term: real-time to 8 weeks |
| Data used | Broad economic trends, market-specific info and historical growth | Daily clock-in data, leave requests and absence notifications |
| Primary users | HR, finance and executives | Frontline team members and team managers |
| Business question answered | What will our workforce need in the future? | How do we work efficiently today? |
| Business problem solved | Preventing talent gaps, staffing shortages and budget overruns | Optimizing scheduling, attendance, labor costs and workforce utilization |
Do you need workforce planning software, workforce management software, or both?
Some situations may call for one tool’s strength more specifically. For example:
- Organizations undergoing periods of rapid growth, restructuring or wider digital transformations might find more value in planning software to map out how to achieve their goals.
- Companies seeking to get more value out of their existing workforce system or solve immediate issues like meeting compliance standards are likely to get a more meaningful return from workforce management software.
However, when it comes to workforce planning software vs workforce management solutions, the question to ask isn’t “which?”, but “when?”.
Through supporting large global organizations across complex industries like manufacturing and retail, our team has found that the strongest workforce strategies are the ones that connect long-term labor forecasting with daily workforce management processes.
If you only focus on workforce planning, you might find it difficult to connect the dots and execute it when it matters most. If you only focus on workforce management, you might find it difficult to properly prepare for the future. But together, you can bridge the gap between your long-term strategy and your day-to-day execution to build a workforce that is resilient, productive and ready for the future.
FAQ
What is the difference between workforce planning software and workforce management software?
Planning software is used to inform workforce strategy and plan decisions on a long-term, high-level basis. Management software is a tactical tool used in real-time to optimize your execution based on your current circumstances. Both support your organization’s ability to set its workforce up for success.
Is workforce planning a part of workforce management?
Despite their close relationship, workforce planning and workforce management serve different purposes. Workforce planning is not a part of workforce management. However, some enterprise workforce management solutions include workforce analytics features that provide insights to help plan on a shorter time scale.
Do I need both workforce planning software and workforce management software?
Not necessarily. Because both contribute to workforce success in their own ways, many organizations benefit from leveraging both. Nevertheless, workforce planning software and workforce management solutions serve two distinct purposes: identifying future requirements and meeting operational needs, respectively.
What should organizations look for in workforce management software?
Key features of enterprise workforce management software include scheduling capabilities, time and attendance, compliance support, workforce data analytics and mobile access for deskless workers.
What organizations benefit most from workforce management software?
Organizations with complex scheduling needs will find workforce management especially valuable. This includes industries like healthcare, retail and manufacturing.
Download Five questions to answer during a workforce management needs assessment to uncover priorities, align stakeholders and identify the right workforce management solution.
