We are in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), which blurs the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres. Technology has been fundamentally transformed the way we live and work. Meanwhile, complex legislation and social movements are shaping sweeping policy changes across the countries, thus impacting every aspect of the labour market. And the workforce of today has unique and rising expectations from their employers. Failing to deliver on those expectations can be hurtful for businesses. Wondering how to keep up with the dynamic landscape of the labour market? A simple answer - Workforce Management. 

What is Workforce Management?

Workforce Management (or WFM) is an integrated use of the right technology, processes and procedures to manage and optimize your employees for maximum productivity and efficiency. WFM is more than just scheduling employees, it covers workload forecasting, payroll, time and attendance tracking, data analytics and reporting, performance tracking and managing legal requirements. In short, it includes a collection of processes required to run an efficient, engaged and dedicated team in an organisation. 

Why is Workforce Management Important to Care Homes?

Employees are the heart and soul of any business. When you have the right processes, tools and systems in place, employees can deliver the best, thus resulting in increased productivity, service quality and revenue. 

Here is what you will gain with workforce management.

• Reduced costs

First and foremost, workforce management solutions help to save time and money. In the current scenario - poor management and time-intensive administrative procedures often lead to data inaccuracies and increased labour costs. 

Introducing a work management system enables care homes to work more efficiently and reduce costs by optimizing staffing levels and service hours. Automating the employee time and attendance tracking and integrating payroll systems eliminates human-induced errors.  This leads to a reduction in costs per hire, operational expenses, administrational burden and more.  

• Increased productivity

Having an automated approach to workforce management helps in assigning the right people with the right skills at the right time and at the right costs. This facilitates your care home’s ability to respond to the up-and-coming situations effectively while maintaining the service quality.

With workforce management solutions, your management level members can have access to detailed data and reporting, which allows them to make smarter decisions. This would also help in increasing the overall efficiency, fewer revisions and higher productivity. 

• Improved legal compliance

Managing regulatory compliance of any social care organisation of complex undertaking. With the constant changes to policies, laws and procedures, it is an arduous task to keep up with the system. Failing to comply with legislation can cripple your company financially and it would also damage your company’s reputation. With a workforce management solution, care homes can manage their regulatory compliance with ease.  

Rapid adaptation to changes in regulatory, legal and risk environment is essential and WFM helps your care homes with it. This translates to quick flexibility and the avoidance of manual errors when managing employee absences, time-offs, vacations, and leave, as well as assuring compliance with labour laws. You can pull all data from a single platform with a unified system, making it easier to develop accurate reports and fulfil regulatory obligations.

• Better employee engagement

High employee turnover has been a significant issue for most healthcare organisations these days. Increasing employee retention is crucial for thriving in today’s economy. Why do employees leave? An organization, regardless of its size, should provide a positive environment for its employees to work and grow. However, most companies are simply not aware of their issues with employee engagement. 

Automating your workforce management system increases overall transparency, establishes a clear line of communications and keeps your employees always in the know. Moreover, empowering your employees with self-service options such as leave requests, setting availability, and swap shifts would provide them with a greater sense of independence, involvement and satisfaction.  Introducing a WFM solution would prove invaluable in raising the bar for employee engagement and morale. 

• Improved customer experience

The trust you develop with your customers is undoubtedly one of the most essential contributors to your revenue. Customers are, after all, what keeps your firm afloat. Organizations that successfully incorporate technology into both their resident’s experience plan and organizational structure are ideally equipped to succeed in today's social care climate. This includes using technology for everything from administrative tasks to staffing decisions and patient care.

When you implement a workforce management solution like JMS One, the work allocation is completely automated, which reduces the risk of human error and ensures an orderly approach to addressing dynamic needs effectively. All these features point towards quality care and a positive patient experience.

What Are The Core Features Of Workforce Management Software?

Workforce management solutions help organizations address difficult workforce challenges today and in the future. In this insight, we outline six key areas where a workforce management solution can make an impact.

1. Scheduling: The ability to automate and optimize your scheduling is a really appealing feature to look for. For instance, JMS One uses AI-algorithmic technology to create fair rotas that better match your team members' shifts to customer demand while also improving employee experience, freeing up management time for more crucial business operations 

2. Time and attendance tracking: Tracking your employees’ work hours is one of the most challenging and time-consuming tasks. Using a workforce management solution with time and attendance tracking would help in generating automated timesheets, thus reducing the cost of time theft.  Employees may clock in and out using their smartphones, giving supervisors a real-time snapshot of their workforce at any location.

3. Mobile Experience: Mobile-friendly technology is a must in today’s digital era. Workforce management software serves a purpose other than simply increasing the burden on office servers. It can be set up to assist employees on the go. Employees can access information anytime they need it from their own phone if you provide a mobile experience.

4. Leave Management: The administrative burden of leave management is digitized with workforce management solutions.  Instead of dealing with traditional paper request forms and a time-consuming manual process, care homes can take advantage of a straightforward workflow that is accessible to everyone in your organization, from HR to individual employees.

5. Integrated reporting: Analytics is a critical component of every operating system because they allow us to see what is working and what needs to be improved. This gives information on everything from payroll to the number of employees per patient. The benefits of generated reports are that they can be tailored to meet your specific needs and effortlessly interact with your business insights.

6. Compliance: Compliance can be one of the most difficult responsibilities for a company to deal with. It might be difficult to ensure that everyone in your organization is safe while adhering to CQC and other legal regulations. Non-compliance might have legal repercussions, which a smart workforce management software solution will help you avoid. You'll be able to get the information you need faster if you use it as a centralized storage location for all of your documents.

How to Choose a Workforce Management Solution for Your Care Home?

Search for a software solution that has modular components, flexibility, scalability, and the appropriate security to ensure confidentiality and authentication. To get the most out of the available technology, you'll need to think outside the box. Make a wish list of the features your care home requires, opt for free trials and make informed decisions before buying it.

Final Thoughts

What care homes and nursing homes need is a strict transition from the overburdened manual processes into a technological foundation that supports the patients, the caregiver and the management team. Implementing new digital platforms in care home systems not only improves the workflow but also enhances patient satisfaction and experience.