Optimising the workforce management process with AI-enabled software  

Managing large numbers of employees who work variable shifts is complicated and time-consuming. Find out how you can optimise your workforce management process with enterprise software built to boost efficiency and simplify scheduling.

All businesses with shift workers have one thing in common – the need to optimise the workforce management (WFM) process. Being able to create staff schedules that maximise efficiency and employee productivity is vital in any dynamic, demand-driven sector. With AI-enabled workforce management software, large-scale businesses gain the digital scheduling and forecasting capabilities to assign the right person to the right job, at the right time. 

In this blog

How important is an effective workforce management process? 

Purpose and benefits of enterprise workforce management software  

Conclusion and key takeaways 

How important is an effective workforce management process? 

Effective workforce management is the backbone of organisational success because it enhances efficiency, reduces costs, and increases employee satisfaction. 

However, optimising workforce management operations becomes increasingly complex in industries where large numbers of employees work variable shifts, such as retail, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation. 

In these sectors, managers and operations teams must constantly juggle employee availability with ever-changing business demand. This fluctuates daily and even hourly due to seasonality, holidays, weather conditions, and more.

But that’s just the beginning – employers in frontline-heavy industries are facing a range of workforce management obstacles, including: 

• Time-consuming scheduling methods: Many companies still rely on spreadsheets and paper-based processes to manually create and update staff schedules, which requires a lot of time, effort, and administration.  

• Growing regulatory complexity: Employers must navigate changing requirements, for example Ireland’s Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, which introduced leave for medical care and extended breastfeeding breaks.

• Compliance with labour laws: Working Time Directive laws in force both in Ireland and the UK stipulate maximum working hours, rest periods, Sunday work, and exemptions, with non-compliance risking serious penalties.  

• Economic uncertainties: According to IBEC, external factors like US tariff changes have driven more companies in Ireland to seek advice on reduced working hours and temporary lay-offs. 

So, how can workforce management software help employers navigate the above challenges and optimise their scheduling processes? 

What does enterprise workforce management software do?

Enterprise workforce management software can use AI to optimise schedules and accurately forecast labour demand. This means that staff can be allocated to tasks as efficiently as possible. The software analyses everything from past holiday trading to current sales, customer footfall, nearby events and even local weather to predict workforce needs. 

For example, if a retail store typically sees a 30% spike in footfall on Black Friday, they can plan ahead, avoiding queues, delays and unhappy customers.   

Workforce management software can also auto-generate schedules – considering labour laws, contractual commitments, working policies, and employee preferences to produce legally compliant rotas in minutes. 

Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of enterprise workforce management software.  

1. Improved employee satisfaction

With workforce management software, you can ensure shifts are distributed evenly across employees. You can also take into consideration employee availability and skillset. This promotes better work-life balance, job satisfaction, and retention. 

What’s more, with AI tools like ELLA, employees can quickly handle unexpected rota complications, like travel problems and personal emergencies. This reduces unnecessary back-and forth discussions with managers. 

For example, an employee might realise they’re scheduled to work an hour’s drive away. But, their car has just broken down. Instead of panicking or ringing around trying to find cover, they can simply ask ELLA: 

“Who can I swap my 10 am shift with?” 

In seconds, ELLA scans the live rota, checks availability, and identifies suitable colleagues who meet the shift’s requirements. The employee sends a swap request, a notification goes to their manager and colleague, and the shift is confirmed. 

This kind of intelligent automation not only supports employees but also reduces manual admin for managers, keeping operations running smoothly. 

As one hotel worker commented: “Everything is made more accessible and convenient with just a few taps on my phone or a quick question to ELLA. No more stress or confusion – just efficiency and ease. It’s truly amazing how technology can enhance the workplace and make us feel more connected and supported. My job has become more than just a cleaning task – it’s about being part of a team and feeling empowered in my career growth.” 

2. Increased productivity and efficiency

Instead of spending up to five hours in front of a computer manually creating complex schedules and trying to predict labour demand patterns, shift rota-makers can use workforce management software to create advanced schedules on the spot. This frees them up for more productive, value-adding activities, such as helping customers or employees on the shop floor. 

3. Guaranteed compliance

Auto-scheduling helps companies stay on the right side of employment legislation. Rather than inadvertently scheduling an employee to work more than the weekly hours allowed under the Working Time Directive, the software automatically finds another employee with capacity and allocates the shift to them in line with their contracted hours. 

4. Accurate time and attendance tracking

With the right workforce management software, you can empower employees to clock in and out with ease. Geo-fencing and geo-tagging technology ensures that staff are physically present on-site, which avoids disputes over time worked. Hours are tracked in real time and managers can validate these in the app at the end of the week before the data is automatically sent to payroll. 

Zellis’ enterprise WFM software is helping employers in the service and manufacturing industries to better manage busy, multi-site, multi-shift environments, while enabling improved performance, empowered employees, and intelligent scheduling.  

“What makes the enterprise WFM software so powerful is that it captures and integrates all of the scheduling and related data in one place. The live time-tracking means that payroll is always completely up to date and there are no surprises for employees come payday. Ultimately, you can maximise efficiency by always having a workforce prepared to handle peak demand periods, seasonal fluctuations, or unexpected events.”

Seán Murray, Director of Product Services Ireland, Zellis 

Conclusion: Take the stress out of shift scheduling

Optimising the workforce management process by streamlining staff scheduling is key in frontline heavy, demand-driven sectors.  

Enterprise workforce management software lets you assign the right employee to the right job, at the right time, factoring in availability, skillset and compliance requirements, all while ensuring accurate payroll processing.  

This not only enhances the employee experience by fostering trust, but it also frees managers from the time-consuming task of managing complex schedules, enabling them to focus on more strategic, value-adding work. 

Key takeaways

• The workforce management process for large-scale shift-based work is complex. It must account for fluctuating demand, legislation on statutory leave and working time, and external economic factors.  

• Enterprise workforce management software is an AI-enabled employee scheduling solution that allows you to automatically forecast labour demand so that staff can be allocated to tasks as efficiently as possible hour by hour and day by day.  

• Capabilities of the software include digitised scheduling and rota-making; auto-scheduling rotas based on workloads; AI-driven forecasting; a digital AI HR assistant; and integration with HR and payroll processes in a single solution. 

• Enterprise WFM optimises employee efficiency while helping maintain a better work-life balance; frees up managers for more productive, value-adding activities; helps ensure compliance with employment legislation; enables accurate payroll processing; and boosts organisational productivity and profitability.  

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