The most frequent obstacles to effective personnel management are listed below. The most time-consuming activities for managers may be reduced with workforce management software, improving forecast accuracy and scheduling flexibility.
Absenteeism
A common cause of absence is work-related illness or injury. Learn about five effective absenteeism interventions through ADP.com. It can result in salary loss, absence of discipline, accidents when a person returns to a less familiar work environment, and job impressions might alter. The person may be affected by their coworkers, workgroup, organization, family, and society.
Overstaffing
Overstaffing can be a costly and frustrating problem for businesses. It affects employees’ morale, increases the likelihood of volume spikes, and even results in lost wages. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the problems of overstaffing without sacrificing employee productivity. Read on to learn how to implement a flexible workforce management model. The advantages of a flexible staffing model go far beyond cost savings.
An effective workforce management system will track the availability of the workforce, forecast it, and plan for growth. It should include detailed information on the skills and experience of each worker, as well as data on their paid time off patterns. This information is crucial for accurate forecasting of labor needs and for producing workforce scheduling that doesn’t cause overstaffing and understaffing. Once employees are logged in and scheduled, managers will have a complete and accurate view of how much work they are doing.
Understaffing
Understaffing is a significant issue affecting employee morale, productivity, and company culture. Understaffing can be prevented by hiring temporary employees as necessary. However, in-house recruiters may not have enough time to suitably screen candidates, resulting in a high turnover rate and an unsatisfactory customer experience. That is why hiring a staffing agency can be beneficial.
Understaffed businesses struggle to hire and retain the right employees to meet their needs. Finding the right balance between too few employees and too many are tricky. Not only do you have to manage employee turnover, but you’ll also run the risk of incurring overhead costs. If you’re constantly hiring staff, customers will find out – and complain! If your employees are stressed, and your work is subpar, it could damage your business’s reputation.
Double-booking
Many companies use double-booking to handle multiple clients at once. Although the term may have a positive connotation, double-booking can occur when various employees or customers are scheduled together. Often, a hairstylist will have to wait up to thirty minutes between appointments, which can result in a double booking. Ultimately, this can lead to higher fees and less repeat business.
In an ideal world, double booking would be beneficial. But it doesn’t make sense for all businesses. If you’re running a single-person business and don’t want to double book people, don’t do it. Double-booking is only valid when you have enough staff and capacity for it. It’s best avoided when taking appointments but can be helpful when running a virtual seminar or group appointment.
Schedule adherence
There are many problems associated with a call center’s schedule. First, agents can be out of adherence several times during a shift. For example, an agent may arrive five minutes late to a change, log on to the ACD seven minutes late, and run 10 minutes over their break time. This is a significant problem in a call center with hundreds of agents. The best way to improve adherence rates is to create a standard for agents’ schedules.
Next, knowing how much time an agent works on each shift is essential. High adherence will help managers understand how much time agents spend working, allowing them to identify coaching opportunities. While it might seem trivial, even one minute away from the phone can increase hold times and lower customer satisfaction. For these reasons, companies aim to have an ASA score close to 100%. An agent’s SA score is so low because employees aren’t following their scheduled time to the letter.
