Do you ever wish you could get a complete picture of your workforce so you could easily spot where to make the necessary improvements? Today’s post is for business owners who have limited experience with data analysis, use manual timekeeping and scheduling processes, and want to use a scientific approach to better manage their workforce.
Timekeeping & Workforce Management 101
Capturing Workforce Management (WFM) data is the first step to creating a Human Capital Optimization strategy. But in order to gather and manage this data, you first need the right tools.
Workforce Management systems provide these types of tools and are ideal for the WFM beginner. Better yet, a solution like SDP Time is as easy to use as your favorite mobile app and automates time-consuming HR processes.
Additionally, because this software gathers the data that is essential for improving your productivity, it also provides you the data you need to increase profitability.
You Can’t Improve What You Don’t Understand
Before diving into how to data-mine your HR records, let’s first understand how to get the necessary information in the first place.
SDP Time, the cloud-based employee timekeeping system in our workforce management suite, can be used in combination with our TimeWorksTouch clocks to capture punch-ins. (Conversely, employees can simply punch in/out in the employee dashboard from any internet-enabled device.)
Further, SDP Scheduling paired with SDP Time has a number of key benefits for employee timekeeping. For example, schedule creation, employee shift trading, and general inter-departmental communication. However, for the purposes of this article, we’ll look at the types of data SDP Time automatically captures.
Ease and Accuracy
SDP Time tracks time to the minute. Why is this important? Well, by simply automating punching in/out, you can find out exactly who habitually punches in early or punches out late.
Do you know exactly how much overtime your employees log? With pen and paper time cards, you would have to manually look through all the time cards. Then, find the ones with overtime listed, and finally, add it up. SDP Time tracks overtime automatically and gives you all of the analytics you need right from your manager portal.
Once you have your data together, you can begin looking at a number of areas to evaluate your current processes.
Scheduling
Are employees with the necessary skills and certifications scheduled at the right times? How are production levels impacted by scheduling changes? Additionally, does personnel morale change from shift to shift?
Absences, tardies, breaks, and time theft
Who punches in early? What about forgetting to punch out during breaks? Or habitually punching out late every day, adding many unauthorized minutes a week to their time card?
Coverage gaps
Which shifts are understaffed? How does this understaffing impact production, customer service, and workflow? Are your managers wasting time trying to find personnel to cover shifts at the last minute?
Overstaffing
Which shifts are costing you more in labor than is necessary? Are staff members wasting time due to overstaffing?
Overtime
How much are you spending on overtime every month? Further, could this be curtailed with smarter scheduling or automatic notifications?
Mobile staff
Are your offsite and mobile employees where they should be?
Schedule flexibility
Can your staff members easily trade shifts? Would you have increased employee retention if schedule preferences were better accommodated?
Admin time
How many hours a week do your managers spend researching and correcting time card errors, tracking accruals, doing compliance reporting, submitting payroll, responding to employee requests for HR information, and dealing with other employee issues?
Putting It All Together
To recap the process:
- Capture data about human resource management.
- Analyze the data to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Then, use this data to make changes.
- After that, ascertain whether the adjustments were effective and adjust where necessary.
- Lastly, continually monitor the results, especially when there have been significant changes in workflow, staff, labor law standards, or business objectives.
What Do You Think?
We would love to help take the mystery out of HR data mining for your business. SDP Time makes it easier than ever to get the data you need to take actionable steps towards improvements.
We designed SDP Time for busy employers like you. Interested in streamlining scheduling, automating timekeeping, maintaining regulatory compliance, and decreasing labor costs? Then let’s talk! Click here to get in touch with a member of our team for more information or to schedule a free demo.
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