8 Signs It's Time for New Workforce Planning Software

When it comes to workforce planning, everything revolves around efficiency, accuracy, and smoothly running your (daily) operational processes. The right software is a crucial part of this equation. But sometimes, you reach a point where your current software just doesn’t cut it anymore. Here are 8 clear signs indicating that it’s time for new workforce planning software that better fits the needs and challenges of your organization.

Gathering the right information requires a lot of effort

Collecting data should be a streamlined process. If you find yourself investing significant time and energy into gathering the necessary information for a proper planning, it’s a sign that your current software is lacking. Good workforce planning software should effortlessly gather, organize, and present data centrally: enabling you to make quick and effective decisions.

You spend (too) much time creating schedules

Many organizations still manually create schedules, which is not only time-consuming but often a source of frustration. If your workforce planning software can no longer simplify and speed up creating schedules, it’s time to switch to a solution offering more automated and flexible scheduling options.

You struggle with overstaffing or understaffing on a regular basis

Maintaining the right balance in staffing is crucial for smooth operations. If your workforce planning software doesn’t provide accurate forecasts or tools to address over- or understaffing, it can affect your productivity and customer satisfaction. With modern workforce planning software you are able to use more advanced and effective forecasting options.

Employees frequently ‘forget’ their schedules

If employees constantly forget their shifts or fail to show up according to the planned schedule, it can lead to frustration. This might indicate a lack of communication or transparency in your current workforce planning software. Advanced software can improve and sometimes even automate the communication process. By using modern workforce planning software, employees can easily access their schedules online, conveniently via their smartphones, reducing misunderstandings and confusion. Additionally, some software includes integrated communication tools, such as messaging features and bulletin boards. Further enhancing internal communication.

Managing vacation requests and swaps is a hassle

If handling vacation requests and arranging swaps becomes a significant challenge, it may indicate a lack of flexibility in your workforce planning software. Modern workforce planning software offers a solution where employees can easily submit vacation requests or swaps themselves, with behind-the-scenes checks to ensure correctness, fairness, and transparency. This provides more autonomy for employees and reduces the administrative burden for managers.

You’re constantly dealing unexpected problems

If you spend most of your time resolving unexpected problems and personnel issues, your workforce planning software may be inadequate in anticipating these challenges. Effective software should have tools to predict and resolve potential problems before they escalate, allowing you to focus more on strategic tasks.

You regularly (unintentionally) violate regulations

Non-compliance with laws or regulations can have serious consequences for your business. If you find that your workforce planning software is causing issues due to incorrect calculations of working hours or rest periods, it’s important to switch to software that allows you to add both legal and internal rules. This new software should monitor real-time compliance with these regulations and prevent you from violating them.

Your employees constantly complain about their schedules

If you notice that employees frequently deviate from their schedules, it may indicate a lack of engagement with or understanding of the schedule. Modern workforce planning software can offer opportunities for better communication, higher employee engagement, and tools to adjust the schedule to individual needs, such as self-scheduling options within the software.

You need too many additional tools

If you find yourself using many additional tools alongside your workforce planning software, such as Excel sheets, it’s a sign that your current system doesn’t provide everything you need. It’s time to switch to a comprehensive workforce management solution.

When considering new workforce planning software, it’s essential to invest in a system that not only meets your current needs but is also scalable for future growth and challenges. Upgrading to a more advanced system can be a real game-changer for the efficiency and productivity of your organization.