The WFC Group Blog

Some of the most important experiences in life take place outside of a profession and help shape one's worldview. One of our own experiences like this recently sprang back into focus through a surprising feature on Facebook's Returning the Favor TV show—a series that recognizes those who pay it forward and gives back to help keep their work going.

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New local and state laws about employee scheduling practices are making some industries like retail, hospitality and food service reexamine the flexible and on-call scheduling systems of old. Predictive scheduling, required in cities like San Francisco and now entire states like Oregon, means employers have to provide employees with an advance schedule with anticipatable shifts—or compensate more for last minute shift changes. While that puts a pinch on long-trusted practices and policies, today's workforce management systems like Kronos can help employers be predictive and smart at the same time.

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For the many businesses that already trust and use Kronos Workforce Ready for their workforce management, this solution just got a valuable update. Kronos recently announced the launch of Kronos Workforce Ready People Analytics, a suite of tools to put clearer data and insights at employers fingertips.

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Several important undercurrents are changing the face of tomorrow's workforce today:

• The labor shortage is growing, meaning pressure is on for businesses to offer greater appeal through benefits and operational considerations (e.g., disability accommodations).
• Planned retirement age is rising for a few reasons—both out of necessity (retirement savings recovery after the great recession) and by choice (a cultural shift toward pursuing purpose in work that aligns with personal beliefs and values).

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When is the last time your business assessed its payroll systems? Nearly a third of businesses are coasting on solutions put in place more than 10 years ago—even before the great recession. This is likely due to the fact that many organizations do not actively measure and analyze this essential process for necessary performance standards. Results of a new study by Kronos Incorporated in partnership with the American Payroll Association called "Evolution of Payroll Technology Trendline Survey" should have many leaders wanting to look inward and evaluate their payroll system's performance. Its findings suggest a concern over keeping up with the speed of modern business on systems not built with today's biggest needs in mind.

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Did you know that less than half of employers consider preventing employee burnout a top priority for their business? Only 41% of respondents in a new survey by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Inc. called "Engaging Opportunity: Working Your Way" showed concern for how their business prioritizes employee well-being. We'd love to see just how these companies compare in employee engagement levels with those who don't! For the other 59%, the lack of concern should be a warning that their practices may be a little old-fashioned for this day and age and prone to creating employee burnout. This should be a major concern for businesses, since a whopping 29% of employees expressed nearing a state of burnout. Survey responses by employees reveal a lot about the policies and decisions that create tension and challenge their productivity.

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We see them time and time again—businesses that try making crucial workforce management transitions independently, only bringing in a partner after things don't go to plan. And while we love a good rescue challenge, it's always more satisfying knowing (as both consultants and implementers) that we can prevent a lot of the struggle and frustration that comes with complex transitions by getting involved earlier into the process.

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Kronos Incorporated recently announced a key technology partnership with Microsoft for its Kronos Workforce Dimensions platform. To businesses that already trust Microsoft for business software, this partnership presents a huge opportunity for workforce management efficiency if they currently employ or are planning a transition to Workforce Dimensions. By teaming up, both business juggernauts aim to provide innovative, new tools to empower workforces across platforms.

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Millennials in the workplace have had more than their fair share of coverage, largely due to the shift in employees' cultural expectations of their employers. And as these millennials rise up in the ranks to fill management positions, businesses are caught searching for ways to make the most of their new school management styles (eschewing the status quo of management roles from years past). The Workforce Institute at Kronos dove into the millennial management mindset recently in their podcast, and we'd like to call attention to some of the key themes that should guide businesses' as they prepare to make this new generational outlook work in their favor.

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Companies of all sizes are flexing their remote workforce muscles more and more as of late. Some allow employees to work offsite on a regular (e.g. weekly) basis, while others like us at The WFC Group operate entirely remotely. This flexible working style offers a lot of benefits to organizations, from tech-driven startups to massive enterprise systems, but not without having a solid workforce management system in place to support it. With a fragmented workforce of any size, the importance of unhindered personal access to benefits, payroll and productivity tools like timekeeping is paramount—all of which can be solved with centralized workforce solutions.