Workforce trends are always evolving, but one thing that remains the same is the desire to improve process while increasing productivity. Today’s workforce demands are no different, but they now include a strong desire to promote flexibility, all while responding to business demands in a digital savvy and agile manner. This is where innovation comes in. It’s important for leaders to incorporate innovation in their workforce management strategy to ensure they can meet the needs of both a permanent and contingent workforce.
Arm your team with the right tools.
Your team’s skills are essential to business performance, but the tools they use also play a huge role. Many times, collaboration can foster efficiency and growth, but on the flip side too much information/process in too many areas can be counterproductive. That’s why it’s important to offer digital work tools that manage your employees time and energy so they can focus on the things that matter most and operate at a higher efficiency rate.
How do you decide on which tools to invest in? Think about your team’s current processes, what they need to accomplish, and your end business goals. Anything that can mitigate time spent on low-value tasks is a good place to start. Some good examples are quicker hiring tools with automatic sourcing, interview process, or seamless onboarding. Identify the technology that best suits each department’s specialized circumstance to reduce the complexities involved.
Set up a successful a mobile workforce.
It’s no secret that most organizations are moving towards a more flexible workforce. The modern workplace has evolved in the way we work, manage, organize, and communicate— this means your employees could be working in multiple locations, in different formats, and for limited amounts of time. If that doesn’t complicate things enough, today’s workforce demonstrates the largest age range than any labor pool in history.
Strong communication is key! The last thing you’d want is a new employee to step into a short-term project and need to spend a week figuring out how to get up-to-speed. Take a simple and integrated approach that puts communication on the forefront. Using one cloud-based information system is a great place to start and incorporating video and web conferencing is another route that helps minimize communication barriers.
Measure and analyze your productivity.
Productivity loss can be avoided if you’re able to analyze your data and understand where issues origin from. Automatic data can be collected and analyzed in simplified, real-time, dashboards that allow you to understand daily productivity and even where to improve a certain area of business that is underperforming. This can also help give you insights into individual employee performance and create a culture of independence and accountability.
With technology continuing to evolve, coupled with a shift toward a mobile workforce, a true assessment on your organization's workforce management strategy will directly impact the bottom line. Contact a Business Development Manager to start embracing innovative hiring practices and generating increased productivity for the future.