Increase Employee Productivity With Retail WFM Software

Finding ways to increase employee productivity is particularly important in the retail industry, where margins are tight and rivalry is intense. To achieve this, we need to explore several key areas that directly impact workforce productivity.

In summary, this post will delve into:

• Workforce Scheduling: the importance of effective workforce scheduling and how it can help increase employee productivity by ensuring employees work at the most critical times
• Labor Forecasting: its role in predicting staffing needs to maximize productivity
• Real-time Communication: how these tools facilitate clear goal setting and enhance company culture—both crucial elements for engaged employees who deliver more
• Compliance and Regulations: the relationship between ensuring compliance with regulations and productivity

Workforce Scheduling

Effective scheduling is key to running a successful retail business. Workforce management systems like Legion WFM automatically generate optimized schedules that match business needs with employee skills and preferences. Business needs are based on automated demand forecasts that analyze historical sales data and foot traffic patterns, weather and local events, and create the optimal labor plan that avoids understaffing or overstaffing and considers compliance requirements, budget constraints, and company policies.

• Understaffing: Long wait times during peak hours can lead to dissatisfaction and lost sales.
• Overstaffing: Too many staff members during slow periods result in unnecessary labor costs and idle time for your team.

Analyzing Historical Data & Labor Analytics

Through intelligently automated historical data analysis, retailers can instantly improve decision-making and execution. Legion WFM can automatically make data-driven decisions about the optimal labor plan while allowing human intervention. Labor analytics, offered by many workforce management software solutions, predicts future trends based on current data inputs, providing even more accurate scheduling recommendations.

Skill-Based Scheduling

Workforce management systems allow managers to assign specific roles/tasks to individual workers, optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of operations while increasing employee productivity through purposeful work allocation.

By implementing advanced scheduling strategies and using technology like Legion’s retail workforce management software, businesses can maintain oversight and control while reducing scheduling time by 50%. That’s the definition of improving employee productivity.

Labor Forecasting: The Key to Efficient Staffing

Want to avoid unnecessary overtime or idle time? Accurate labor forecasting is the answer. Retailers can optimize labor costs and improve overall performance by predicting future demand.

The Role of Workforce Management Solutions

Workforce management solutions are crucial in facilitating precise labor forecasting. These systems can make reliable predictions about future requirements by analyzing past sales data and foot traffic patterns, and automatically incorporate data about local events and weather. They also schedule the required number of employees accordingly, ensuring maximum efficiency without overstaffing or understaffing scenarios.

The Impact on Productivity

Labor forecasting goes beyond cost savings; it also significantly impacts employee productivity. When the right amount of personnel is arranged for busy times, workers can better concentrate on their duties without feeling overloaded or not utilized enough. This balance not only boosts individual productivity but also improves team morale leading to better service delivery, ultimately resulting in an enhanced customer experience.

Real-time Communication: The Secret Weapon to Increase Employee Productivity

Effective communication is key to smooth retail operations. To increase employee productivity, leveraging the real-time communication tools within WFM software is critical. They play an instrumental role in fostering collaboration among employees and managers.

The Power of Frontline Communication

Modern communication capabilities embedded within workforce management software enables the immediate and fully compliant exchange of information among employees. Whether it’s sharing kudos, an update on company policy, or coordinating shift changes—everything becomes easier with modern communication tools that are embedded in the same app that employees use to access their schedules.

Easy-to-use communication tools make it easy to address issues promptly and reduces the need for lengthy email threads or time-consuming meetings. The result? You’ll improve employee productivity as they spend less time on unnecessary communications and more on tasks that directly contribute to business growth.

Leveraging Mobile Apps for Workforce Management

Mobile applications designed specifically for workforce management are another powerful tool at your disposal when it comes to real-time communication in retail settings. These apps provide easy access to schedules, task lists, and notifications about important updates or changes—all from the convenience of a smartphone.

The ability to instantly communicate any change in plans or emergencies ensures minimal workflow disruption while maintaining high levels of operational efficiency across different store locations simultaneously.

Promoting Collaboration through Real-Time Communication Tools

• Faster problem-solving: With everyone connected via a single platform, teams can quickly collaborate on solving problems as soon as they arise without wasting valuable time.
• Better coordination: Effective scheduling requires precise coordination among staff members, simplified with real-time communication tools.
• Cultivating teamwork: By promoting transparency and open dialogue among team members regardless of location, these tools help foster a culture conducive to productive teamwork.

In short, by integrating advanced real-time communication features within their operations, retailers can ensure a seamless flow of information and increase employee productivity.

According to Legion’s June 2022 State of the Hourly Workforce Survey:

• Besides salary, 39% of surveyed managers think their employer can enhance their work experience by offering tools that simplify communication with their team.
• Most managers (84%) believe using the same app for employee communication and schedule viewing would improve efficiency and productivity.
• Managing call-outs and no-shows is likely time-consuming because, as our survey data shows, employees are manually communicating the changes to their schedules through emails, calls, and text messages. In fact, 83% of employees call or text their managers to notify them about unexpected schedule changes, sometimes before the shift but too often after, to explain what happened.

Compliance and Regulations

Complying with labor laws and regulations is crucial but can be a substantial headache for retailers. Luckily, advanced workforce management systems like Legion automate time tracking, break management, and payroll processes to ensure adherence to legal requirements.

Automated Time Tracking

Accurately tracking employee work hours is essential for compliance. Workforce management software automates this process by allowing employees to log their hours on a computer or mobile device. This eliminates manual errors and provides a transparent record for employers and employees to reference if disputes arise over hours worked or overtime pay. And more importantly—a good retail WFM solution will allow you to restrain time tracking to specific parameters, such as while at their workplace and between their working hours, to minimize time theft.

Break Management Made Easy

Managing employee breaks effectively is just as important. Legislation mandates that contingent on the length of a worker’s shift, employers must offer certain rest periods.

The right workforce management system removes all guesswork by automatically scheduling mandatory breaks based on each worker’s daily schedule. Employees receive notifications when it’s time for their break, helping them manage their tasks more efficiently while ensuring regulatory compliance.

Simplified Payroll Processing

Automated payroll processing plays a crucial role in meeting financial regulations within your organization. Workforce management solutions integrate seamlessly with existing HR systems, making it easy to streamline payroll processes. They calculate wages based on tracked work hours, eliminating discrepancies that might occur due to human error during manual calculations.

Mitigating Administrative Burdens

These features significantly reduce administrative burdens related to monitoring attendance records manually or calculating salaries individually. By taking care of these responsibilities digitally through automation, retailers allow managers freedom to focus on productive activities such as improving customer service quality and driving sales growth instead of getting bogged down in paperwork and red tape.

Remember, the ultimate goal isn’t just about ticking boxes and staying compliant (although obviously very important). By investing in tools that make life easier for all, retailers demonstrate their commitment to creating an environment of respect and value for each team member. That kind of positive culture breeds loyalty and commitment among staff, improving employee productivity levels in the long run—exactly what we aim to achieve.

Key Takeaway
Workforce management software can increase employee productivity by automating compliance with labor laws and regulations, accurately tracking work hours, managing breaks effectively, simplifying payroll processing, and mitigating administrative burdens. This creates a positive culture where employees feel valued and respected for their work, leading to higher productivity in the long run.

Conclusion

Boost Your Team’s Efficiency and Increase Productivity

In summary, you can increase productivity and ensure each employee reaches their full potential by investing in these strategies:

• Don’t let understaffing or overstaffing hurt your business—effective scheduling ensures you have the right amount of staff to meet customer demand.
• Forecasting future staffing needs based on past trends, current, local events, and weather data can help you stay ahead of the game.
• Real-time communication tools keep your team on the same page and working together seamlessly.
• Compliance with regulations is crucial for avoiding costly penalties and maintaining a safe work environment.

Want to explore the impact workforce management software can have on your organization? Schedule a demo with Legion today.