Best Workforce Management Software – 7 Preferred Tools

If the stats from the vendors above have shown us something, it’s that workforce management software can simplify HR processes in order to save time and money. As a result of that, you’ll be able to be more efficient as a company, all while employees get a better experience. Specifically, here’s how WFM systems can make your job easier:

• Scheduling Employees: You can manage all of your employees’ schedules in the same place. With these tools, you won’t have to worry about over-scheduling, missed shifts, or unhappy employees (or managers). Also, some of the best workforce management tools let employees self-serve and make suggestions for their schedules, indicate their preferences, or when they just can’t make it. Through automated workflows, all this can be taken into consideration to create the first iteration of a schedule, so the manager only needs to tweak and approve within minutes instead of hours. 
• Time & Attendance: Likewise, attendance tracking and time management are hugely important tasks, but they also eat up a lot of time. Employee scheduling software alleviates this by tracking employees’ hours automatically and letting them clock in and out, even through mobile devices. Some workforce management platforms integrate with whatever existing timesheet tool you might be using, syncing all that time data back and forth.
• Time Off Requests: Workforce management software also lets employees request paid time off (PTO), parental leave, and more. Managers can approve or deny requests right in the program and see who will be out when creating schedules. That way, no one in the team will ever make the mistake of scheduling an employee when they won’t actually be available.
• Forecasting Labor Demand: Although more of a feature for workforce planning software, some WFM tools also provide data on how many employees — and what type of employees — are needed on a given day. This is based on expected demand, calculated from the data you feed into the system, so you can avoid over- and under-staffed days. 

Using a workforce management system is all about convenience. Traditionally mundane and tedious processes — like managers creating and assigning employee schedules manually to employees having to request changes based on their actual availability — can all be streamlined, managed, optimized, and stored in the same place.

Software solutions can be extremely helpful in business. When it comes to labor management and employee time, a SaaS solution seems like a no-brainer. But as great as workforce management software sounds, you’ll want to use it the “right” way in order to really reap its benefits. With that, keep these considerations in mind as you research, select, and then implement a WFM tool:

• Choose mobile-first provider: As we’ve mentioned, WFM solutions provide added convenience for you and your employees. What’s more convenient these days than mobile access? Choosing a solution that has a user-friendly mobile app will create an even better experience for them — after all, they can track their schedules, hours, and leave in real-time and even while on-the-go.
• WFM requires continuous optimization: This isn’t a “set it and forget it” solution for your workforce management. As your business and staffing requirements change, you’ll need to update your program settings accordingly. Fortunately, many providers offer reporting and analytics that can provide great insight into how and/or when you should make certain changes.‍
• WFM vs. time tracking software: Workforce management software is not just for time tracking. So if you’re looking for a set of solutions that can help with a host of your WFM needs, make sure you look for a solution that offers more than digital timesheets, for example.

When you don’t staff properly, you can lose money. On one hand, you could pay too much income if you over-staff. On the other hand, you could lose revenue if you under-staff. But when you staff “just right” — i.e. when you schedule only the employees you need on a given day or for a given time period — you’ll stay within your payroll budget and still keep revenues up. 

This, of course, is a huge benefit to using workforce management software. But it’s not the only one. Other advantages include:

• Reduce compliance risk: Because some WFM tools offer compliance-related features, you can be confident that you’re staffing the right people (with the right certifications, that is) and following all necessary federal, state, and local labor/union laws. 
• Improve employee retention: When you can show your employees that you value their time — including their time off — with a program that streamlines their time and leave management, they’ll be more apt to stay. What's more, offering employee self-service tools is a great way to boost employee engagement.
• Automate tedious tasks: How much time do you currently spend scheduling employees? How many PTO requests do you get in a month? We’re willing to bet the answer to both of these questions is… a lot. So you’re likely spending more time than is necessary figuring out staffing needs and deciding whose time-off requests can be approved. With WFM software, this work can be done for you so you can spend your time on more critical, strategic, and/or revenue-generating activities.
  

To see how this can actually improve your bottom line, check out our HR Tech ROI Calculators.

Another topic to discuss in your demos is cost. Typically, workforce management systems charge on a per employee per month basis. And, some might offer tiered pricing depending on what features you actually need. For example, entry-level pricing starts at less than $5 per employee per month for some providers.

Depending on your workforce management needs, you can find a stand-alone solution that focuses solely on workforce-related needs or opt for one that integrates with a larger human resource management tool you’re already using. Whatever the case may be for you, you can expect to see some or all of the following WFM features: 

• Mobile app: Most workforce management solutions have a portal where employees can log in to track time worked, request days off, and see when they’re scheduled to work. Typically, these portals are web-based while some are accessible via a mobile app so they can manage their own schedules directly from their smartphones. Mobile access, and for both Android and iOS, should be possible and also available for managers, so they can also make real-time decisions on the go.
• Time tracking: Forego traditional timesheets and allow your employees to keep track of their hours with built-in time tracking tools. Employees can even clock in and out via their portal or mobile app so you get the most accurate, real-time readings of their hours.
• Scheduler: Use WFM software to set schedules for your hourly employees, track their days off to avoid scheduling mistakes, and allow employees to check the schedule so they don’t miss days and/or can request time off. Employees could even swap shifts without requiring manager approval.
• Payroll & Benefits: Keep track of how many hours your employees have worked so you can streamline payroll processing and other earned benefits. Depending on the workforce management software you use, payroll can be processed directly in the program or you can integrate with an existing payroll software you already have.
• Analytics & Reporting: Get reports of your employees’ hours to find out who is on time, who has missed shifts, who is late, etc. From there, you can better understand what promotes employee productivity and then create benchmarks and evaluate your workforce against them. What's more, you can use insights to improve your own decision-making for things like employee management and workforce optimization. 
• People & Performance Management: Make note of each employee’s skills and qualifications so you always schedule the “right” person for a given job/task — and so you can better identify who is ready for a promotion. With increased talent management tools like these, you can more effectively onboard new employees — and keep existing employees engaged and happy.
• Communication: Managers and employees can easily communicate using a workforce management system, allowing for better management of things like time-off requests, scheduling changes, etc.
• Compliance: Depending on your industry, location, and/or the types of employees you hire, you’ll need to remain compliant with certain federal, state, and local laws. You might also need to keep track of required certifications, training sessions, missed breaks or unmet leave/PTO requirements, labor standards, and union agreements. Some WFM solutions help you keep track of these requirements so you stay compliant and avoid fees and other penalties. ‍‍
• Artificial Intelligence & Automation: Some workforce management systems have artificial intelligence features that essentially learn your business rules and will automatically approve or deny time-off requests, forecast labor needs, etc. To do this, the AI can look at how much time off a given employee has accrued, check the team schedule to see who is already going to be out of the office, etc. That way, it can “see” if an employee has earned a day off and confirm that there will still be coverage at the office, store, or restaurant if they are out.

To help you decide which workforce management solution is right for your company’s HR processes, you need to see a few in action. That’s where demos come in. 

Prepare for each demo with a list of questions and make sure to drive the discussion as much as possible. You’ll want to understand which features work best for your unique needs, what integrations you might need, etc. Here are a few questions to get you started:

• Is this suited to a particular industry or type of worker?
• Do I need to use the rest of your HR software suite to use this?
• How will this solution fit into the rest of my tech stack and therefore what integrations do I need?
• How will others in the organization use this solution?
• What are the key features I want to ask about?
• What are the things that would make me nervous about buying this sort of solution?

In some cases, you’ll need to integrate your workforce management software with your HRIS and/or payroll systems. In others, this will all be the same system. It depends on the provider you choose. 

When you have your demos, make sure to discuss implementation to figure out exactly what is required on your company’s end. In other words, how long will it take to get up and running? Will you need to get IT or other internal stakeholders involved? Refer to our list of demo questions above to help drive the conversation around implementation.

In addition to figuring out the back-end side of your implementation, you’ll also need to create a roll-out strategy for your team. Managers will need to be trained on the scheduling functionality, how to approve or deny time-off requests, how to track and/or submit compliance-related information, etc. And employees will have to learn how to check schedules, submit time-off requests, and clock in/out. Some WFM solutions offer training materials and videos that you can share directly with your team.

What is workforce management software?

Workforce management software is a tool that can maximize the results of several business-related tasks through automation, communication, collaboration, and data science. Some of these tasks include staff scheduling, task management, attendance management, time keeping, labor compliance, onboarding, and more.

What industries can workforce management software be used in?

Workforce management software can be industry-specific, but the best vendors can help companies in industries as varied as restaurants, retail, call centers, non-profits, education, hospitality, health care, and more. They’ll also accommodate many different types of business sizes and working styles, like hybrid (remote & in-office). 

What is the best workforce management software for call centers?

Out of the vendors on this list, Sling is one that stands out for being very vocal abouts its experience with call centers. Many businesses use Sling for their contact center, mainly using it to optimize the task of creating individual and customizable employee schedules. 

What features do workforce management software solutions provide?

Workforce management software should have features that tackle business functions like scheduling, data collection, task management, time and attendance, and employee communication.

If you are managing schedules and shifts for a dozen or more people, it might be time to consider a workforce management solution. Investing now will save you a lot of time and money in the long run. At the end of the day, your time should not be spent on tedious HCM activities — instead, it should be spent on improving the customer experience so you can grow your business fast.

If you’re in need of a broader HR solution that helps with workforce planning, recruitment, and more, check out our roundups on the best HR software, the best HR tools for SMBs, or the best free HR software.