The Essential Guide to

Selecting Workforce
Management Software
Is Your Workforce Management Solution This guide is tailored to professionals who …
Up to Current Challenges? • Are being forced to select a new workforce management
solution because their legacy application provider is
In this time of accelerating change and continued economic uncertainty,
sunsetting their current product
your company is likely navigating many challenges. You must optimize
your investment in labor, quickly adapt to support profitability, nimbly • Want to modernize their approach to workforce management
respond to operating disruptions, and strategically adopt and leverage because: a) their requirements have evolved, including the
technological advances. need for the critical capability of communicating effectively
with their frontline workers, and b) their current solution no
And, you must prioritize employee experience to attract and retain the
longer meets their needs as it did many years ago when they
talent required for your organization to thrive and grow.
bought it
Modern workforce management (WFM) bridges the gap between desired
• Are looking for a cloud-based modern workforce
business outcomes and employee expectations by optimizing operational
management solution that will not only optimize their
performance and supporting the ability to treat workers as valuable
workforce management operations today, but provide the
resources. Through cloud-based intelligent automation and consumer-
cutting-edge technology advancements that will help them
grade apps, modern workforce management enables the success of your
rapidly adapt now and in the future
organization and employees no matter where and when work happens.

Use this guide to help you …

• Identify how your workforce management needs have
evolved in the context of the business challenges, regulatory
changes, and worker expectations you’ve encountered

• Examine your operational and employee-focused

requirements

• Understand the implications of implementing a new

workforce management solution

• Select a modern workforce management solution that

improves performance now and adapts along with your
organization and workforce moving forward

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 2

Table of Contents
4 | The Evolution of Workforce Management

6 | Is It Time to Change Your Workforce Management Software?

8 | What to Look for in a Modern Workforce Management Solution

11 | Resources for Evaluating Vendors and Solutions

13 | Why You Should Consider WorkForce Software

14 | Select Set of Our Valued Customers

16 | WorkForce Software for Smooth, Robust Integrations

17 | Systems Integrator Partner Network

18 | Work With the #1 Leader in Modern WorkForce Management

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 3

The Evolution of Workforce Management
Few of us could have imagined the profound changes to workforce management in
the past ten years, especially since the pandemic dramatically changed the workplace 80%
forever. The disruption accelerated digital transformation initiatives around the world
and prompted companies to rethink their workplace practices.

The importance of frontline, or “deskless,” workers has also gained prominence as of the global workforce is made
many of these workers have left the workforce or switched to other industries after up of deskless workers
COVID-19 disruptions. Those same employees, however, felt overlooked by their
employers, as they perceived a disparity between how they were treated compared About 2.7 billion deskless workers1 go
to their corporate counterparts. Many quit, contributing to an ongoing labor shortage to work in the field, on the assembly line,
and highlighting the importance of improving overall employee experience to attract behind the wheel, at brick-and-mortar
and retain workers in support of operational resiliency. shops, in the classroom, and in emergency
rooms. The needs of deskless employees
Today, we’re working in a business landscape shaped by economic volatility and the are often overlooked as compared to
lasting impact of COVID. As we look for solutions that allow us to remain agile in the those of corporate or knowledge workers.
current environment and beyond, one thing’s for sure — there’s no going back.

One clear lesson from these experiences is that old approaches to workforce
management, which were designed for highly transactional, top-down
communications, no longer work. Employees want more — scheduling flexibility,
information on demand, learning opportunities, and connections to their employers
and each other. This is especially true of the growing number of digital natives, who
expect consumer-grade technology, a deeper level of engagement, and instant access
to the resources and tools they need to be productive and successful in their jobs.

Without the right people, it’s not possible for an organization to succeed. Companies
must become an employer of choice to meet current operating requirements and
maintain a healthy workforce.

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 4

Employers of Choice Win the Battle for Talent
Many deskless shift workers say that a flexible, predictable, and accessible schedule
adds stability and control to their lives. Yet, 62% don’t see their schedule more than a week
in advance2. To become an employer of choice, companies must offer their employees:

• Improved training opportunities and enablement

• Greater work-life balance

• Increased scheduling flexibility and control

• A mechanism for real-time feedback at the time work is happening

Organizations that win the competition for labor adopt modern workforce management
software that improves employee experience and engagement, increases productivity,
and ultimately boosts operational efficiency and financial performance.

Compared with employees who feel their well-being is neglected, employees who
feel cared for are3:

69% 71% 3x
less likely to search for a less likely to report more likely to be
new job experiencing burnout engaged at work

A 2022 Gallup report4 found that compared with bottom-quartile teams, highly
engaged employees yielded:

23% 18% 14%

higher profitability higher productivity (sales) higher productivity
(production records and
evaluations)

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 5

Is It Time to Change Your Workforce Management
Software?
Your workforce management software is critical to efficiently running your organization.
Changing it is no small task, so it’s important to take time to evaluate your options. In this
section, we’ll discuss the top three reasons for changing your workforce management
software.

1. Your Legacy Application Provider is Ending Support for Your

Current Solution
You may be in the unfortunate position of being forced to find a new workforce management
solution because your legacy application provider has decided to sunset your current
product. Soon they’ll no longer support it. Keep in mind that:

• Since you must move to a new solution now, it’s important to pause and do a robust
comparison of at least two other leading market alternatives to ensure that they
meet — or better yet exceed — your requirements

• Any alternative product from your vendor still requires that you do a full evaluation to
see if it meets your current and future requirements

• Implementing a new workforce management application, even from the same vendor,
means that administrators, managers, and employees must learn a new system

• Any alternative solution should maximize your investment in making a change by

improving your ability to optimize labor, increase productivity, elevate the employee
experience, and ensure ongoing compliance

• Changing your workforce management system requires that you rethink many things,
including how you’ll retrain users and adopt new capabilities given your own business
changes

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 6

2. Your Workforce Management Needs Are No Longer What They
Were a Few Years Ago
It may be a long time since you bought your current workforce management solution, 80%
and even though it met your needs when you selected it, your requirements have likely
changed. Regulations and the pace of regulatory change have increased. Unions have
been formed within organizations, including companies not previously unionized and who
By 2025, 80% of large enterprises with hourly
are now dealing with complex union rules. The balance of power between employers and
paid workers will have invested in workforce
employees has also shifted in the face of labor shortages, requiring that companies do
management solutions to support employee
more to improve employee experiences.
experience and/or digital workplace initiatives.
3. Your Manual Processes and Homegrown Applications Don’t (Gartner5)

Enable Rapid Change or No Longer Scale

Your company may have grown a lot since you started. In the early years, you could
get by with manual processes and static homegrown applications, but those no longer
scale or enable operational agility. There are simply too many complexities to manually
optimize your workforce management operations. The risks of expensive errors and

60%
noncompliance are too high, and the costs associated with inefficiencies could be
negatively affecting the bottom line.
20-30%

Success, especially in a volatile economic environment, depends on how quickly your

organization can identify and adapt to opportunities. Lack of agility caused by manual
approaches to labor compliance, managing costs, optimizing labor usage, and avoiding By 2025, 60% of global midmarket and
unplanned expenses are certainly inhibitors to growth, as are outdated ways of managing large enterprises will have invested in a
workers. Without fully optimizing your systems and your people, it’s nearly impossible to cloud-deployed human capital management
meet your financial goals. (HCM) suite for administrative HR and talent
management. However, organizations will
still need to source 20% to 30% of their HR
requirements (often including WFM) from
other solutions.
(Gartner6)

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 7

What to Look for in a Modern Workforce
Management Solution
Advances in analytical software and time-tracking technology have allowed organizations
to gather data that shows the link between employee well-being and successful business
outcomes. With unequivocal proof of a positive relationship between the two, many companies
are shifting from an input-output approach to thinking about employees holistically.

Modern workforce management rests on the fundamental understanding that

operational excellence depends on delivering a compelling employee experience. A fully
modern workforce management system provides a comprehensive set of capabilities for
delivering both.

Labor Optimization - Eliminates manual labor management practices and enables

you to optimize the use of your workforce and leverage the right people with the
right skills at the right time. Enables intelligent planning to match labor supply
with the optimal labor needed to meet current demand. Reduces manual work
with digital assistants and automation, for example, auto-approvals of planned
and unplanned shifts based on predefined criteria, flagging overtime overages
and no-shows, and automatically filling shifts with qualified, fit-for-duty workers.

Increased Operational Efficiency and Productivity - Provides labor forecasting

and time-tracking technology that aligns company requirements with employee
data, such as personal leave, availability hours, and skill level. Optimizes staffing
outcomes while delivering employee benefits, such as improved safety, flexible
scheduling, and smart communications between managers and employees
integrated into the flow of work.

Compliance - Enables compliance across multiple countries no matter how

unique the pay rules, labor regulations, schedules, or policies. Allows employees
and managers to adapt rapidly to changing schedules while meeting federal, state,
and union compliance requirements.

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 8

 Digitized Communications to Improve Agility - Goes beyond simple chat systems
to integrate workflow-driven communications that leverage data, advanced
analytics, and automation in real time and in the flow of work. Enables employees,
and co-workers, and their managers to adapt and communicate quickly through
mobile devices.

Proactive, Data-based Decision Making - Offers predictive analytics and

insights to enable proactive actions. Allows for the monitoring, comparison, and
assessment of data generated across employee populations, locations, and
divisions to discover best practices and accelerate adoption.

Peer-to-peer Communications - Gives employees more independence and

flexibility by enabling them to autonomously swap shifts, and makes it simple
for managers to see whether shift requests are feasible. Fosters a sense of
community and collaboration.

Secure Data and Privacy Protection - Offers global protection against any
breaches in data security. Includes multiple co-located global SaaS facilities with
primary and disaster recovery data centers and data encryption to safeguard
information from unauthorized access.

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 9

Human Capital Management Suites vs. Best-of-Breed Workforce
Management Technology
While most Human Capital Management (HCM) suites offer some level of bundled workforce
The Right Workforce Management
management capabilities, they often don’t fully support the needs of organizations with
System is About More Than Just
advanced workforce management requirements.
Software — the Vendor Matters Too
Best-of-breed workforce management systems deliver the value necessary to maximize
labor investments. The ROI achieved by optimizing labor spending, boosting productivity, Choosing a workforce management solution

reducing payroll leakage, and keeping employees engaged and in their roles exceeds the involves more than choosing software. It also

cost savings of HCM suite implementations alone. requires finding the right vendor, one who
will be a trusted partner and who will provide
Best-of-breed systems stand on their own or easily integrate with Human Capital real business value and tailored guidance
Management suites to deliver optimal cost management and foster a satisfied, high- and support. A good vendor will work with
performing workforce. you to optimize your workforce management
operations, maximize efficiency, and drive
A Nucleus Research 2022 survey7 on workforce management satisfaction found that:
overall business success.

30% $12.24
+50% 60%
For Every Dollar
Invested

More than half of Implementating dedicated Standalone workforce

respondents using bundled solutions for modern management platforms show
HCM/WFM solutions workforce management can a return of $12.24 for every
would prefer a standalone decrease turnover by 30 to dollar invested.
workforce management 60 percent.
solution.

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 10

Resources for Evaluating Vendors and Solutions
Whether your legacy application provider no longer supports your current technology, or
your current solution no longer meets your requirements, best practice is to evaluate a
Checklists for Evaluating Vendors
few alternatives to understand what’s available on the market, what the similarities and
and Solutions
differences are, and which solution best aligns with your workforce management goals
and objectives. These resources will ease your evaluation process. Doing a detailed evaluation using focused
checklists will give you a deep understanding
• Request for Proposal (RFP) template - The RFP template helps you be very specific
of the business and technical value a given
about your needs and requirements. In addition, the answers from vendors highlight
solution and vendor provides. WorkForce
which requirements they can and cannot meet, allowing you to make the most
Software has curated a set of checklists for
informed choice.
every evaluation you conduct so you can be
sure of making an informed decision about
• Reports by leading research firms - These reports include the Gartner Market Guide
which workforce management solution will
for Workforce Management Applications8 and the Nucleus Research Workforce
support your organization now and in the
Management Satisfaction Survey 20229. Each offers unbiased information from the
future.
leading industry analysts and experts on workforce management solutions.
Checklists for Starting Your Evaluations
• List of Systems Integrators - Talking to a network of trusted Systems Integrators is
a great way to benefit from their direct experience with moving customers from one • Business Value
workforce management solution to another. • Innovation

• Future Readiness
• Guide to Running an Effective Demo Evaluation Process - Running a demo evaluation
is one of the best ways to see different vendor solutions in action and decide whether • Vendor Partnership
they can meet your functional needs. This guide offers best-practice tips on how to get Checklists for Evaluating Shortlisted Vendors
the most out of your demo evaluation process. and Solutions

• Business Value Scorecard - You can compare cloud-based workforce management • Business Value
solutions from different vendors by focusing on key performance indicators (KPIs) and • Innovation
aligning them with your business objectives. The Business Value Scorecard helps you
• Trusted Advisor
assess the potential impact on efficiency, productivity, and cost savings so you can
• Future Readiness
choose the most suitable solution for your organization.
Download Your Evaluation Checklists

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 11

What Workforce Management Business Leaders Care About
Teams across your organization have different focuses of concern about workforce
management. Understanding them is important when choosing a solution that addresses
these varying needs.

Finance cares about ensuring full visibility of labor spend, accurately

assigning labor hours to budgets or cost centers, and finding opportunities
to reduce overspend.

IT cares about providing secure, performant best-in-class employee

experience through the implementation of consumer-grade mobile self-
service capabilities that boost employee engagement and productivity.

Payroll cares about ensuring accurate, prompt, and compliant payroll

to deliver a great overall employee experience and improve employee
productivity.

Operations cares about maximizing labor utilization and operational agility

using accurate labor forecasting, flexible shift management, and employee
self-service options.

Human Resources cares about improving the retention and engagement of

deskless shift workers by giving them a voice, providing them the training they
need when they need it, ensuring compliance with all workplace regulations,
and making it easy for employees to balance work-life commitments.

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 12

Why You Should Consider WorkForce Software
#1 Rated Workforce Management Vendor by Purpose-built Modern Workforce Management
Both Analysts and Real Users Boosts ROI
WorkForce Software is committed to making work easy for global At WorkForce Software, our sole focus is on developing modern workforce
employers and their teams with modern workforce management management solutions to better enable enterprise organizations with large
solutions. We are the only global provider of modern workforce teams of deskless shift workers. Our best-of-breed software stands out
management solutions with smart, integrated employee for its capabilities, usability, security, and overall value to our customers —
communications. Our software leverages data, advanced analytics, and because, unlike other vendors, delivering the most advanced workforce
automation in real time to create personalized experiences in the flow management solutions is the only thing we do.
of work, so you and your employees can respond and adapt quickly
Not only do we enable a higher return on investment than Human Capital
with the ease of use of a favorite personal app.
Management suites, we deliver that ROI through hard dollar savings in
Enterprise-grade and future-ready, the WorkForce Suite adapts to your key areas such as time and attendance, scheduling and forecasting, and
organization’s needs — no matter how unique your pay rules, labor absence and leave, while helping our customers achieve returns more
regulations, and scheduling requirements are — while delivering a quickly. WorkForce Software’s Value Engineering team partners with
breakthrough employee experience at the time and place work happens. customers to develop ROI models: on average, the typical ROI calculated
exceeds 600%, with a seven-to-10-month break-even period.

WorkForce Software has been proactive in adapting to the evolving needs of employees by making
substantial Investments in automation and analytics, particularly in areas such as scheduling and
communication. With capabilities that include demand forecasting, schedule optimization, and support
for intricate compliance regulations, WorkForce Software consistently delivers a strong solution that
meets the unique requirements of its customers.
- Evelyn McMullen, Research Manager, Nucleus Research
Nucleus Research WFM Technology Value Matrix 2023

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 13

Select Set of Our Valued Customers
At WorkForce Software, our dedication to our customers is foundational to everything we do. Our customers include complex, global enterprise
organizations with large, diverse employee groups. As the world changes, our customers’ evolving needs inform our product strategy and solution
investments. Our culture of service and commitment to customer success is what makes us stand out as a valued, long-term partner.

From education and government to manufacturing and healthcare—we’re transforming the way people work.

Read Story Read Story Read Story Read Story

Read Story Read Story Read Story

Learn more about our customers’ success.

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 14

Awards and Recognitions
We believe that true success is measured by the experience and value we deliver to our employees, partners, and customers and by how we continue to
work together to lead the future of the modern workforce. We are humbled and proud to be recognized as the #1 workforce management vendor year after
year—not only from a product perspective but also as a company that our customers trust and want to do business with.

See more WorkForce Software awards and recognitions.

Top Leadership Position in the The Software Report’s Top 100

2023 WFM Value Matrix: For the Software Companies: WorkForce
ninth year running, Nucleus Research Software is honored to be placed
named WorkForce Software as the in The Software Report’s Top 100
leading workforce management Software Companies of 2023,
vendor for the value, functionality, reflecting our dedication to innovation
and usability of our solutions. and customer satisfaction.

Learn More Learn More

Exemplary Value Index Leader in 2022 Stevie® Awards for Great

Six Distinct Categories by Ventana Employers: WorkForce Software is
Research in 2022 Workforce honored to be named the Gold Winner
Management Value Index: We are by the 2022 Stevie® Awards for Great
proud to receive top honors from Ventana Employers in the HR Technology
Research for creating the best customer Solution Provider category.
experience and delivering the best return
on investment to its global customers.

Learn More Learn More

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 15

WorkForce Software for Smooth, Our Technology Partners
Robust Integrations WorkForce Software provides rapidly
deployable integrations with leading Human
A robust integration strategy is important for ensuring smoother implementations, faster
Capital Management suites so you can
adoption, enhanced scalability and performance, lower lifecycle costs, and configurations
maximize functionality for an all-in-one HCM
that meet the specific needs of global employers.
or ERP solution.
WorkForce Software operates within a large ecosystem so you can easily share data
between the WorkForce Suite and your other business critical systems, including HCM
and ERP platforms, and hundreds of best-of-breed solution providers for payroll, core HR,
operations, access control, and more.

WorkForce Software provides a mature and evolving integrations tookit that offers secure,
reliable, and high-performance data integration between WorkForce and other business
systems. Our platform provides:

• Configurable, no-code connectors with major partners like SAP, Oracle, and Workday

• Pre-configured policy templates to support the most common integration scenarios

• Integration policy access to facilitate customizations

• REST APIs for data feed and application integrations to deliver maximum flexibility
with other vendors

• Out-of-the-box support for major use cases like effective dates, new hires, and terminations

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 16

Systems Integrator Partner Network Trusted by the world’s best
workforce management
Working in partnership with a large network of trusted advisors offers extensive value
for organizations transitioning from one workforce management vendor to another.
implementation providers, our
extensive ecosystem of global
Our partner experts:
partners ensures your success.
• Ensure seamless migration

• Minimize disruption to daily operations

• Maintain data integrity

• Find opportunities for optimization

• Improve overall system efficiency

• Elevate the overall user experience

Their expertise helps organizations navigate the complex process of change, enabling
them to take full advantage of the new solution’s features and benefits. This partnership
ultimately translates to reduced costs, increased productivity, and better decision
making across the organization.
See our list of regional partners.

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 17

Work With the #1 Leader in Modern About WorkForce
WorkForce Management Software
Modern workforce management solutions play a critical role in meeting the demand on WorkForce Software is the first global provider
companies to quickly adapt to opportunities in a climate of continuing labor shortages of workforce management solutions with
and accelerating change. Employers must prioritize employee experience, including for integrated employee experience capabilities.
deskless workers, to become an employer of choice who attracts and retains the talent The company’s WorkForce Suite adapts to
they need to succeed. each organization’s needs—no matter how
unique their pay rules, labor regulations, and
Whether your workforce management requirements have changed, or your vendor is
schedules—while delivering a breakthrough
forcing you to select something new, evaluating vendors according to robust criteria will
employee experience at the time and place
enable you to find the best solution to meet your current objectives and plans for growth.
work happens.

Dedicated to Your Success Enterprise-grade and future-ready, WorkForce

WorkForce Software can help you assess your workforce management needs and Software is helping some of the world’s

recommend a solution that’s tailored to your specific workforce environment and aligns most innovative organizations optimize their

with your present and future business goals. We’ll ensure you get the best option for workforce, protect against compliance risks,

modern workforce management and make the most of the effort required to move to a and increase employee engagement to unlock
new system. new potential for resiliency and performance.
Whether your employees are deskless or
Our Customer Value experts are dedicated to your decision-making process and can office workers, unionized, full-time, part-time,
work with you and your key stakeholders on a personalized value assessment that makes or seasonal, WorkForce Software makes
a compelling business case for change. Or, if you’re clear on your needs and goals, we managing your global workforce easy, less
look forward to designing a solution that meets all the requirements of your RFP. costly, and more rewarding for everyone.

We’re confident that we can help you define quantifiable benefits and savings using For more information, please
WorkForce Software’s solutions. visit WorkForceSoftware.com.

Request Your Pesonalized Value Asessement

The Essential Guide to Selecting Workforce Management Software 18

 Global Headquarters EMEA Regional Headquarters APJ Regional Headquarters
workforcesoftware.com workforcesoftware.com/uk wfsaustralia.com

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

877-4-WFORCE +44-1908-242-042 AU: 1300 766 365

NZ: 09 884 4111

1. “The Overlooked Majority of Our Workforce, The Deskless Worker.” WorkForce Software.

2. “Global Employee Experience Study,” WorkForce Software, 2023.

3. Jim Harter. “Percent Who Feel Employer Cares about Their Wellbeing Plummets.” Gallup.com, March 18, 2022.

4. Ryan Pendell. “The World’s $7.8 Trillion Workplace Problem.” Gallup. June 14, 2022.

5. Sam Grinter, Ron Hanscome, Kelsie Marian, Ranadip Chandra, Josie Xing, David Bobo, “Market Guide for Workforce Management Applications,” Gartner, August 16, 2023.

6. Ibid.

7. Arocha, Joseph and Evelyn McMullen. “WFM Satisfaction Survey 2022.” Nucleus Research. April 2022.

8. Grinter, Sam and Ron Hanscome, Kelsie Marian, Ranadip Chandra, Josie Xing, David Bobo. “Market Guide for Workforce Management Applications.” Gartner. August 16, 2023.

9. Arocha, Joseph and Evelyn McMullen. “WFM Satisfaction Survey 2022.” Nucleus Research. April 2022.

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