Charlie Camphin, WorkForce Software Vice President of Sales, APJ

Employee productivity, or how effectively employee time is managed, is key to ensuring a business can execute its overall strategy. In the competitive manufacturing industry, a sustained increase in employee productivity can give the business a competitive advantage.

Manufacturing businesses that implement workforce management technology can achieve a significant increase in employee productivity and improvement in their bottom line.

Manufacturers are often at the forefront of automation technology. However, many still rely on old-fashioned time sheets and scheduling systems that require manual input from both the business and its employees. Automating workforce management systems can help to improve communication and save time and resources that could be better spent on strategic priorities.

Automation technology lets companies minimise the costs of processes such as absence management. Automated absence tracking, for example, can reduce the time HR managers spend on manual absence-related tasks.

Top-performing organisations are increasingly integrating automated absence management tools to relieve managers of the burdens of handling short- and long-term employee absences.

There are three key ways that manufacturing businesses can enable employee productivity through technology:

1. Improving engagement and satisfaction

Boosting employee engagement has a direct impact on productivity. However, almost half (49.5 per cent) of employees are not engaged and 16.5 per cent are actively disengaged.[1] Workforce management technology can give employees self-service tools for tracking time-off balances and requesting leave. This means they have greater control and insight over their own shifts and holiday time, helping to create an engaged, productive and loyal workforce.

2. Analyse performance

Information on employees’ activities and performance is essential to how well a business can harness its true value. The data provided by workforce management systems can provide greater insight than traditional methods of worker observation. Manufacturing businesses with robust workforce analytics and reporting can gain a deep understanding of employee productivity, market trends and customer preferences. This lets managers develop data-informed strategies to improve productivity based on current and expected trends.

Organisations with variable demand need robust scheduling capabilities that can incorporate and analyse customer traffic and point-of-sale data to produced optimised schedules. Demand-based scheduling can improve productivity by scheduling workers where they are needed most.

3. Track skills and certifications

Automated tracking of employee skills and certification can help businesses fill open shifts by instantly contacting qualified, eligible workers via their preferred mode of communication. This means the business achieves the optimum balance between staff skills, productivity goals and labour costs.

Businesses with automated workforce management systems can identify roadblocks to employee productivity and develop data-informed employee management programs to help them execute their overall business strategy. With the insight necessary to change processes and attitudes that can hinder overall productivity levels, the technology can give the business a competitive advantage and support its growth.

[1] http://www.gallup.com/poll/190622/employee-engagement-reaches-new-high-march.aspx