Biggest Challenges in Workforce Deployment and Implementation Plan

Workforce Deployment offers a centralized planning and scheduling solution that leverages the web to transform the process of short interval scheduling from a necessary, tedious, clerical function into an analytical, cost-effective, business management process that is visible at all levels of the enterprise.

What is Workforce Deployment?

Workforce Deployment (WFD) provides flexible multi-channel and back-office forecasting. The result workload is an accurate representation of work that meets budgetary goals. The optimization engine then finds the best possible employee schedule. It fully leverages employee skill-sets while balancing workload and weighted variables such as: payroll requirements, budgetary objectives, employee availabilities, workplace rules and performance standards.

Workforce Deployment effectively aligns Store Operations strategy with the goals of the corporation, the expectations of customers, and the career needs of employees. Workforce Deployment transforms the scheduling process from a necessary, tedious, clerical function into an analytical, cost-effective, proactive business management process.

What are the Industry Challenges in Workforce Deployment?

• Difficult to align customer service and operational goals with strategic business objectives
• Store Operations becoming revenue focused
• Increasing complexity of business environment
• Competitive staffing environment
• Niche solution providers lack integration to enterprise-wide architecture
• Lack scalable centralized web-based architecture
• No single solution meets all WFD related needs
• Reduced effectiveness/usability after initial installation

What are the Industry Challenges in Workforce Deployment

What are the Benefits in Workforce Deployment Software?

Workforce Deployment provides the manager a proactive management tool, thereby enabling managers to focus on more strategic objectives:

• Facilitates alignment between Corporate goals and Store Operation workforce strategies
• Effectively forecasts business activity for each location – time specific and time indeterminate activities
• Efficiently leverages employee skills across all work areas and store locations
• Provides a means to consistently meet service-level goals
• Provides visibility to staffing areas resulting in:
• Possible head-count reductions and/or increases
• Focused training needs
• Identifying employee cross-training opportunities and needs

What are the Benefits in Workforce Deployment Software

Forecasting in Workforce Deployment offers a flexible multi-channel and back office forecasting for all activity and volume types. There are advanced algorithms for different volume types, designed to allow for addition of custom or proprietary algorithms.

The user driven forecast parameters and modifications allow adjustments for budgetary goals, seasonality, special events and promotions. There are also open interface for actual volume data following integration to any data types and sources.

Volume data is forecasted within WFD based upon the number of historical weeks selected, placing weights on specific weeks for forecasting, and placing a percentage change on the days of the week for forecasting. This flexibility allows companies select forecasting parameters to account for specific business needs and sales goals. Tagged history can be used for forecasting to utilize similar sales and volume patterns not reflected by recent history. An example includes days or weeks where sales events or holiday sales occur.

Forecasted volume information is applied to flowed task parameters to create a forecasted workload. Activities and filler tasks are also accounted for during the workload modeling process. Budgeted goals are achieved by placing budgetary constraints, either by hours, projected payroll, payroll percent, or sales per hour goals. Forecasted workload is adjusted based upon budgetary constraints.

Workforce Deployment Features

Volume forecasts can be modified by the user to accommodate for business events not accounted for by the forecasting method. Scheduling in Workforce Deployment uses hybrid optimization technology for most efficient schedule results. It accommodates various scheduling techniques and enables users to balance schedule goals.

What are the High Level Project Activities in Workforce Deployment Implementation?

An example Project Plan for the Workforce Deployment Implementation as follows:

1. Project Preparation: (2-3 Weeks)
2. Business Blueprint: (4 - 6 Weeks)
3. Realization: (7 - 10 Weeks)
4. Final Preparation: (3- 5 Weeks)
5. Go-Live & Support: (3-6 Weeks)
6. Execute additional store Roll-Out

What are the High Level Project Activities in Workforce Deployment Implementation

• Project Preparation Plan

Develop Project Charter/Organization
Select Team Members
Conduct Project Team Training

• Blue Printing

Kick Off Meeting
Develop and Finalize Detailed Project Plan
Develop/Validate Business Requirements
Data Collection and Interface Specification Verification
Store Roll Out and End User Training Plan
Lab and Pilot Preparation
Blueprint Sign Off

• Realization

Application Configuration
Integration Testing
Workload Validation
Schedule Validation
Gather Training Requirements

• Final Preparation

Conduct Final Testing
Conduct Go-Live Checks
Configuration Sign Off
Pilot Implementation

• Go Live and Support

What are the Project Roles in Workforce Deployment Implementation?

What are the Project Roles in Workforce Deployment Implementation

• Project Manager: General Project Management, managing project resources and deliverables. Implementation-wide issue resolution. General Project Management and Coordination/Communication with Executive Team.
• WFD Consultant: Develop business requirements, Configure Core CRM and Workforce Management and Conduct Unit Testing.
• Functional Team members

Business- and technically-knowledgeable personnel to assist with
Identifying and developing business requirements,
Developing project and implementation documentation
Conducting scenario, integration, and end-user testing
Develop reporting requirements
Assess and implement Change Management
Design and create end-user training processes and materials, as well as assist in conducting the end-user training

• Systems personnel

Assist in hardware & software installation and tuning
Assist with developing and maintaining system security for the Online and Web environments

• Other Resources, as needed…

Project Sponsor / Steering Committee
Business Owners
Power Users
Testers and data entry / validation personnel
System roll-out team