Why regular maintenance is the key to success with workforce management

Posted by Sarah Bates, WFM Practice Solution Consultant, DXC Oxygen

As someone who has been involved in workforce management for over 25 years, I am very aware that time and attendance systems need to be actively managed – they are not a ‘set and forget’ implementation. To reap ongoing compliance and efficiency benefits, organisations need to ensure their systems are always fit for purpose.

It is important to undertake regular maintenance of existing functionality to ensure processes do not get out of date. Taking the time to implement a regular review of your solution will reap benefits over the long term. For those customers using Kronos, the world leader in workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions, now is a good opportunity to remediate out-of-date configuration and explore if there is any new functionality that may further streamline the management of your organisation’s workforce.

Businesses deploy these systems to ensure they can match the right resource, at the right time to the right job. However, in light of recent events, there will be a number of organisations struggling to achieve these aims. New employment conditions, work from home measures, social distancing and a greater reliance on contingency workers are issues that many businesses now face.

Since the disruptions of 2020, there is a heightened awareness of the need to improve agility and build greater resilience to external factors. However, if your workforce management solution is not up to scratch, compliance and efficiency failures can become a problem.

The key to ongoing success is fine-tuning your solution post implementation. Failure, for example, to update payroll codes or include changes to collective agreements in the system can lead to a deteriorating user experience, which in the worst case scenario, may cause users to undertake manual workarounds. This, if left unchecked, can lead to poor compliance. If users are faced with redundant screen options or incorrect labels, for example, system utilisation declines and accuracy is compromised. If errors do increase, then the cost of ownership to the business is also negatively affected.

A simple system review can reveal where things have started to drift and help you avoid the above scenario. You probably already have a list of things which you know need updating. Typical examples include reviewing the drop-down lists in your timecard or updating your HyperFind queries, streamlining your navigation. After all, it is difficult to manage your workforce effectively if staff are not appearing in your lists.

These sorts of scenarios can have knock-on effects – such as a failure to pay staff because no-one can find them in the system. These are issues that no company wants to experience and by they can be avoided with some simple housekeeping activities.

It may also pay to see if there is any Kronos functionality not included in the original implementation that may now be of value. Did you know that Kronos offers a free contact tracing feature, which in the current disruptive climate, may well be worth exploring? If you have clean, accurate data in your system, Kronos is able to track staff across each work site, so if someone does test positive with the virus, you can trace everyone who was on the same site or in that department during the relevant period.

A little upkeep now can ensure difficulties are sidestepped down the track. If you need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us at oxygen.info@dxc.com. Earlier this year, DXC Oxygen signed a partnership with Kronos to sell, implement and support their solutions in the ANZ region. The Kronos application suite complements our existing SAP portfolio and aims to improve employee engagement. We are more than happy to provide workforce management expertise to help you eliminate redundant configuration, improve system ultilisation, empower your system administrator or discuss a project to deploy new functionality.

https://www.dxc.technology/au/insights/149379-why_regular_maintenance_is_the_key_to_success_with_workforce_management