UK firms embracing workforce management technology to drive productivity, research reveals

Organisations around the world are facing demand from customers to provide a more agile workforce that is able to scale quickly and effectively meet demand. As a result, there is a greater need to scale up or down accordingly to remain competitive. However, this significantly complicates the task of ensuring the right employee skills are matched to the right jobs at the right times

UK organisations have proven to be ahead of the curve when it comes to embracing technology that helps manage productivity, according to a new report commissioned by Kronos Incorporated and conducted by Aberdeen Group.

The research reveals UK organisations consistently show they are more likely to implement strategic workforce management solutions such as absence and leave management or analytics compared to international counterparts.

The results of the Aberdeen Group report, Productivity: Managing and Measuring a Workforce (January 2015) confirm that organisations that automate workforce management processes with fully integrated solutions – as opposed to operating point solutions in silos – outperform their competitors. 

Organisations around the world are facing demand from customers to provide a more agile workforce that is able to scale quickly and effectively meet demand. As a result, there is a greater need to scale up or down accordingly to remain competitive. However, this significantly complicates the task of ensuring the right employee skills are matched to the right jobs at the right times.

Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of respondents from the UK utilise automated absence/leave management solutions that provides desired visibility into staff absences, whether planned or unplanned, and reduce the impact that absence has on the business. In comparison, global usage is less at 62 percent.[1]  Similarly, nearly three-quarters (71 percent)  of UK organisations have already automated labour forecasting to avoid over or under staffing and maintain consistent productivity levels whilst reducing unnecessary costs, compared to just more than half of global organisations.

Sixty-seven percent of UK organisations have automated labour analytics to provide better workforce management insights – enabling them to save time and focus on employee benefits, development, and customer services – compared to 57 percent of organisations worldwide. 1

Organisations agree that the automation of processes such as absence/leave management, scheduling, and time and attendance impacts workforce productivity and improves margins, yet in different ways. A third (33 percent) agree that it leads to a decrease in unplanned/unbudgeted overtime and helps control associated costs. A further 29 percent say it leads to greater profit per Full Time Equivalent (FTE) as a direct result of automation. In addition, 31 percent state that automating time and attendance processes resulted in an improvement in profit per FTE and Service Level Agreement (SLA) levels because managers are provided with insight into where labour is being consumed in real time.

Brenda Morris, general manager at Kronos, said: “While the UK economy is seeing steady growth, conditions remain turbulent. Organisations face the threat of increased global competition, rising costs, and compliance risks. Although the survey highlights how organisations have already gleaned benefits from automating some core workforce management processes, this is often done in silos and greater benefits can be achieved by implementing a more integrated solution.

“By using technology to automate core processes, organisations will free up employee time to focus on more meaningful activities, which creates a more engaging, motivating work environment and in turn delivers increased productivity. There are benefits to be gained for businesses of all sizes and if harnessed effectively across all areas of a business it can clearly help them compete more effectively in an increasingly competitive marketplace.”

 

Training Journal

Learn More →

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *