Workforce Management Trends To Watch In 2018

Things won’t be easy for businesses

Officer 2018 promises to be a great year. Stocks are higher and business tax rates just went down. But this doesn't mean things are easy. Staying competitive means using every edge available to increase margins. The trends are clear: automation will save time, prescriptive analytics will save on the bottom line and a CCO with expertise will keep companies in compliance.

Businesses that look at developing workforce management trends and plan ahead will come out on top.

Ride the Automation Train

As unemployment rates continues to drop, finding and keeping top talent will become harder. HR's ability to free up time to focus on creating a more attractive, value-driven company culture can make or break a business.

Automation is a key aspect. HR work is filled to the brim with processes that repeat for every employee, from onboarding to answering simple questions. In the next year, automating these run-of-the-mill procedures will need to be a priority.

Luckily, tools to make HR tasks more user-friendly have matured in recent years. Chatbots can now be used to answer frequently asked questions, while automated learning management systems can get new employees up to speed on protocols and disseminate information and to current employees.

For businesses who use hourly workers--and most do, at this point--automated scheduling tools also help to optimize cost-efficient staffing, getting the right employees working at the right times. They are also able to track workers’ hours and simplify the process of finding replacement workers for open shifts.

Big Data Getting Bigger and More Accessible

Data analytics are a household idea at this point. Any business that isn't using historical data to predict future trends is falling behind their competition. As analytics mature, however, companies are finding prescriptive analytics as an even more essential business tool. Where predictive analytics forecast potential future outcomes, prescriptive analytics looks deeper into the data, allowing companies to utilize specific data to help them achieve their unique goals.

And as analytics continue to advance, SaaS-based tools help companies big and small make the most use of their data to save both time and money. For example, maintaining pristine records is an ever growing concern in a landscape of shifting laws and regulations. Predictive scheduling can help HR get ahead and stay on top of the curve worry-free.

The Rise of the Chief Compliance

Heavily regulated industries have known the necessity of a chief compliance officer (CCO) for some time now. Where attorneys offer guidance around legal matters and HR directors address people and pay issues, CCOs administer business compliance programs. Smaller companies that have adopted this role have experienced great success in averting lawsuits, employee complaints and general discontent.

Regulations impose an often narrow track for businesses as they are the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that determines what a company can and can't do. Just as IT people make fixing computer problems look easy because that is their main focus, a CCO's main focus is compliance. Lawsuits resulting from compliance issues–win or lose–are expensive. More and more businesses see having an expert on staff to keep the company on the right track as an essential preventative measure.

New Year, New Workforce

In addition to changing laws and falling unemployment, the DNA of the workforce itself is changing. Millennials are surpassing Gen Xers in the workforce, the impact that younger workers have is outpacing many companies' abilities to plan and cater to swift changes. By focusing on automation, big data and compliance, businesses can do more than keep up. They can comfortably integrate change--and in this day and age, change is the only guarantee. 

Author Bio

Derek Jones, VP of Business Development at Deputy, is an expert on all things compliance and avoiding lawsuits in this realm. Visit www.deputy.com Connect Derek Jones