As we head into 2021, we believe it’s only right for the WFM team to use their Workforce Management system knowledge to predict any upcoming trends in the sector.
2020 certainly saw a dramatic change in the WFM field, with everything for Time and Attendance to Scheduling functionality needing to be used in new ways by organisations.
Working from home became the norm, and businesses still working onsite had to adapt to new and scary regulations, often overnight.
WFM could and did help businesses adapt and keep their workforce optimised where possible, so with the gift of hindsight, we can now look to the future and what we’re predicting our top WFM System trends will be for 2021.
Self-Service
Because more people are working from home, the need to be able to ‘crack on’ with admin tasks such as booking holiday or checking their timesheet is stronger than ever.
Not being able to simply ‘log on and go’ will be a huge frustration for employees who continue to work from home and employers will need to invest in the software to ensure their workers frustrations don’t turn to procrastination.
Contactless clocking
Understandably, employers and employees will be reluctant to instantly go back to fingerprint or touch clocking.
This is why we believe the rise of the contactless clocking units is coming!
Whether you would prefer to clock employees by facial recognition (which means no buddy clocking) or via RFID – which has a simpler set-up process – both offer 100% touch-free options.
Holiday and Absence
Due to regulations on Furlough in 2020, many employees with have a host of holiday to carry over into 2021. Managing or rolling over holiday allowances can be a huge pain, but with a decent WFM system, you can simply change the time allowance adjustments.
This gives your employees transparency of what they have to take, and you understanding of how many you can allow to be on leave at once etc.
Certification checks
Reviewing H&S training and certification for First Aiders, Fire Marshalls, Forklift Truck Drivers and ensuring safety and compliance is ever more important.
For care home staff or key workers, who need COVID test weekly, keeping track of results when they need to be renewed could be a logistical nightmare. Thanks to a WFM system however, your admin can receive weekly updates with employee’s needs – ready to email to workers in an instant.
Back to work functionality
For some people it might be as long as a whole year before they can finally return to work.
Making sure that you have the right methods, paperwork and training ready for those workers is a must.
Whether you’ve implemented new working rules, have updated your contract or more – keeping everything in one, easy to reach place will save your admin or HR staff time, and help you make sure your workplace is compliant with regulations.
Boss from home
We often think about the things that employees need to work from home. They need to clock, request holiday, breaks, etc. But making sure that Managers are supported and able to fully do their jobs from wherever is just as, or in some cases more, important.
Managers working from home or in different locations will need secure access to their T&A system to give them visibility of who is working, what hours they are accruing, whether employees clocked in late or left early and much more.
In case of self-isolation or virus compliance rules, having instant access to who worked when is vital.
For more information on WFM by Chronologic, and how it can help you optimise your workforce in 2021 and beyond, click here.
