Workforce optimisation is closely related to and an evolution of Workforce management

Workforce management

Workforce management encompasses all the activities needed to maintain a productive workforce. Sometimes referred to as HRMS systems, or even part of ERP systems...

and encompasses all aspects of managing the complete workforce lifecycle.

Definition

Workforce optimisation supports the business with key insights into how its workforce is performing. The emphasis in the closely related area of workforce management was on improving operational efficiency and managing the workforce effectively. Workforce optimisation takes this one step further by tying workforce management to key business concepts such as the customer experience. Workforce optimisation is concerned with enabling businesses to take control of all aspects of their staffing, and helps them understand how staff affect the business's performance, with an emphasis on improving this incrementally.

Workforce optimisation solutions tie together siloed workforce management systems and bridge between the three main stakeholders of HR, operations and IT. The approach is business driven and involves automating entire processes, making key data more visible to support better decision-making, ensuring compliance with a wide range of relevant legislation, and solving business problems related to staff.

Workforce optimisation is best viewed as the next logical step in the move to optimise the performance of staff and to manage and understand the impacts of staff on both operational efficiency and the customer experience.

Importance

In many industries people are one of the main costs to the business. Yet, much less attention has been focused on optimising processes, costs and issues related to staff than has been focused on other aspects of operations (such as inventory or supply chain). This area also has a much lower level of deployment of technology and automation than many other parts of the business. In highly competitive but people-intensive industries such as retail, workforce optimisation is therefore seen as the next battleground for commercial differentiation and advantage, as the benefits from optimising the other main cost area (inventory)are exhausted.

The role of mobility

Workforce optimisation employs mobile (wireless) technologies more extensively than was the case with workforce management. The aim of using mobile technology is to improve the productivity and effectiveness of staff. Among other things, mobile technology delivers access to key information wherever staff are located, m-learning opportunities, and improved communication with staff.