How AI Can Help with Workforce Management

Optimum workforce management is crucial for businesses to see improvement in performance, cost, and employee retention. A recent NICE survey found that 50 percent of employees spend well over half their day on repetitive and mundane tasks.

Unsurprisingly, more and more modern businesses are turning to AI for efficient management of the workforce. For instance, smart workforce management (WFM) software has become incredibly popular during the pandemic to help businesses easily manage and generate work schedules. Gartner has predicted that by 2022 nearly 30% of Tier 1 retailers will use intelligent automation for store workforce management.

As AI improves through repeated usage and increased collection of data, it is likely that it will be able to automate tasks or perform a series of actions without any need for human interference, except accepting or rejecting the action itself. The more it observes human behavior, AI will be able to make suggestions based on trends in behavior, and even help with future planning and optimum resource usage and allocation in businesses. This can help businesses not only save on time spent in repetitive administrative tasks, but also save on long-term running costs.

Role of AI in Workforce management.

Achieving optimum efficiency in workforce management is a result of an in-depth understanding of the requisite skills and behavioral sets required from employees, and an innate understanding of human behavior. However, this task has become incredibly challenging as business workforces have swelled in numbers too vast to allow for efficient management using traditional methods. AI workforce management employs machine learning and big data capabilities that allow for faster data processing of vast amounts of data, enabling intelligent decisions in real time.

AI workforce management tools, for instance, can store, maintain, update, observe, and manage employee data through advanced tracking, analytics, reporting and even forecasting. That allows field managers to make intelligent decisions for improved productivity. These tools can also allow for seamless operations through automated shift planning, task scheduling, tracking of hours, budgeting, malfunctions, and unauthorized actions. Some tools also allow for advanced actions, such as data interactions screening, spotting leads, or identifying errors.

The Future

Here is my prediction for how AI will shape workforce management over the next 5 years:

Skill Use Assessment Intelligence

Determining the most optimum usage of the time and skill sets of any multi-skilled employee can be a challenge for traditional methods of management. Predictive analytics are the most efficient way to figure out the best use of an employee's time across workstreams and demands for different skills. This avoids miscalculations based on human appraisal of capability and gut decisions. Skill usage assessment tools in AI workforce management solutions solve this by generating the most optimal schedule for individual employees across various workstreams.

Closed-Loop Intelligence Optimization

Unsupervised learning in AI tools enable contact centers to fine-tune scheduling as per real time changes in demand. This is made possible by machine learning’s ability to parse through vast amounts of data and make a decision based on the best estimate. This is later fine-tuned through a continual process of comparison to the expected outcome, and feedback that allows the machine to optimize its decision making.

Enable Better Workplace Engagement

Employees who are positively engaged with the workplace are more productive employees. Recent data shows us that engaged employees result in about 20 percent more revenue generation and 44 percent more productivity than satisfied employees. Optimum scheduling is critical in ensuring that the workload is shared fairly and does not result in burnout. Ensuring work/life balance and doing away with traditional seniority-based assignment processes result in a significant win for businesses, as employees who feel empowered and supported are much less likely to leave an organization.

Improve workforce productivity and potential

Workforce management leaders have a critical role in ensuring seamless continuity of workflow through effective talent and workload management. Better workforce management and deployment through AI can help unlock greater workforce productivity and employee potential. The better and faster you can leverage available talent with relevant roles and projects, the more seamless your operations can run with optimal resource usage and significant cost and time savings.

Steve Loyer is the president and CEO of Tech Group, LLC. IT Support Vermont company. With over 25 years of sales and service experience in network and network security solutions, Steve has earned technical and sales certificates from Microsoft, Cisco, Hewlett Packard, Citrix, Sonicwall, Symantec, McAfee, Barracuda and American Power Conversion.