AI plays an increasingly significant role in workforce management (WFM), transforming how organizations manage their workforce. It affects every aspect of WFM, from predicting staffing needs and enhancing employee engagement to streamlining the recruitment process and optimizing work schedules.

AI’s role in WFM has become pivotal as businesses seek new ways to stay ahead. A startling 62% of hourly workers are considering leaving their jobs within the year, prompting companies to re-evaluate how they manage their most valuable asset—their people.

In response, Legion Workforce Management offers an employee-centric solution powered by advanced AI technologies that maximize labor efficiency and employee engagement simultaneously. Legion’s WFM Platform was created with AI at its core to help businesses completely transform how they manage their business and empower frontline employees.

Different Types of AI in Legion WFM: Key Points

Artificial Intelligence (AI), simply defined, is anything that automates what would otherwise require human intelligence. AI’s evolution has revolutionized workforce management software capabilities, offering unprecedented business advantages. Legion uses the following types of AI in our WFM platform.

• Machine Learning: A subset of AI that uses statistical techniques to give computers the ability to “learn” (progressively improve performance on a specific task) with data, without explicit programming.
• Expert Systems and Optimization Techniques: A subset of AI that creates the best possible decisions with constrained options. Emulates the decision-making capability of a human expert.
• Generative AI and Natural Language Processing: Processing of natural language by computers.

The Evolution of AI in Workforce Management

Artificial intelligence has dramatically reshaped the workforce management landscape. Businesses initially used basic algorithms to handle simple tasks like time tracking. But today’s AI can help you make smarter decisions and adapts over time.

This technology has grown from performing elementary data analysis to leveraging machine learning, expert systems, and optimization techniques.

These advancements have created systems that accurately forecast labor demands, allowing for proactive rather than reactive planning.

This evolution is accelerating, with generative AI enabling systems to autonomously generate data models and simulate scenarios for more precise scheduling and staffing strategies to create optimized schedules automatically that meet the needs of employees and the business. Managers are equipped with insights they didn’t even know they needed, transforming how teams are scheduled across locations.

The Different Types of AI in WFM

Workforce management isn’t just about scheduling and timekeeping. It’s evolved into a sophisticated dance orchestrated by AI. Let’s explore the technology Legion uses to transform workforce management.

Machine Learning for Demand Forecasting

Machine learning-based demand forecasting utilizes models that continue to learn and improve based on data. They deliver precise, accurate forecasts in changing business conditions without human intervention. Legion’s Demand Forecasting engine automatically recognizes patterns in data, learns from them, and makes predictions or decisions based on that learning. Accurate forecasts can be created with new levels of granularity, including location and category of item vs. generic models, with no manual intervention required.

With the use of machine learning, forecasts continue to learn and improve as new data becomes available to remain accurate in changing conditions.

Machine learning has become a cornerstone in predicting demand needs. By analyzing past trends and current data, it can accurately forecast future demand.

Optimization Techniques for Automated Scheduling

Say goodbye to spreadsheets and manual schedules—Legion Labor Optimization enables intelligent automation to empower managers with staffing guidance and labor insights, automatically computing optimal labor hours based on precisely forecasted demand and customer labor standards. Labor Optimization instantly predicts the number of employees and skills needed every 15-minute, 30-minute, and daily increments—resulting in better customer service and reduced labor costs. Flexible workloads, such as restocking or inventory, can be included automatically without human intervention.

Once the optimized labor plan is created, AI-powered Automated Scheduling will automatically create schedules that match business needs with employee skills and preferences 96% of the time, cutting managers’ scheduling time in half.

Generative AI: A New Frontier

Last but not least, generative AI and natural language processing are changing how we interact with WFM tools.

Legion’s Generative AI Copilot leverages a conversational interface, providing users with personalized, actionable, and knowledgeable assistance. Copilot is redefining interactions, making it more than just a digital assistant; it’s a virtual companion designed to assist, guide, and facilitate.

Regardless of location or task, managers and employees can now engage with Legion Copilot to gain insights into labor regulations, internal company policies, and even bespoke training content. But the Copilot continues beyond mere information dissemination. The real game-changer is how the Copilot empowers users to initiate actions, drive workflows, and orchestrate many tasks without ever needing to anchor to traditional software dashboards.

The Future of AI in Workforce Management

Imagine a future where your workforce management isn’t just reactive but can predict and adapt to changes before they happen. That’s the potential with a workforce management platform powered by intelligent automation delivers. As businesses strive for more agility, AI drives unprecedented efficiency and employee engagement.

A new generation of enterprise applications powered by AI is automating decision-making and executing those decisions. Until now, the role of enterprise applications was to provide software tools for users to execute business processes, but the users had to make most decisions outside the software. With intelligent automation, this major evolution frees managers and enables unprecedented productivity and business process automation.

AI isn’t the future; it’s now, shaping how we manage workforces today. Let these insights lead you to more informed decisions today and stronger results tomorrow. Learn more about Legion Copilot and Generative AI here. You can also schedule a demo or join us for our Live Product Tour on February 14th at 11 am PT/2 pm ET.