How workforce management helps service charter delivery

As the private sector has sped ahead with digital transformation, the public sector has lagged behind. With the buying cycle for technology purchases lasting 22 months on average, public sector organisations including government, emergency services and education facilities face challenges that don’t commonly exist in other industries. The result is a patchwork of legacy systems held long past their sell-by dates.

This year, software spending by Australia’s public sector is tipped to peak at $4.7 billion. For already stretched public departments, this spending needs to be leveraged where it’s needed most, helping employees to meet their service charter. The number of employees is also set to grow to over 659,000 in public administration by 2025, an increase of more than 54,000 employees on today’s level. With employees to be managed across an increasingly dispersed workforce, it’s time for public sector organisations to consider a more comprehensive workforce management solution to allow them to do what they do best: serve their communities.

Workforce management is a journey not a destination

Public sector organisations are under huge pressure to deliver the best services to their citizens and meet their charters. As a result, these organisations must ensure they have the right tools in place to empower employees to do their best work.

Workforce management activities such as time and attendance and scheduling are critical operations; however, they can also be a burden on managers and employees. When selecting new technology to streamline operations, it’s important to ensure that implementation doesn’t make life more difficult. The secret is striking a balance with solutions that help maximise productivity, while also inspiring and motivating employees.

By implementing the right workforce management software, managers and employees get back time to focus on more strategic tasks. Managers can access the tools and data needed to make quick, informed and ethical decisions, and employees can easily access systems from wherever they are working.

Selecting modern tools for a modern workforce

Many public sector organisations still rely on outdated or manual workforce management processes that negatively impact on the ability of managers to make informed and effective decisions.

Centralised modern workforce management solutions can help public sector organisations maximise resources by ensuring the right people are in the right places, and that time is tracked efficiently and correctly. This helps reduce the risk of overpayments and underpayments and ensures that increasing compliance standards are met. 

Workforce management software that spans human resources (HR), talent, payroll and time can allow public sector organisations to:

1. Maximise productivity: Productivity should be top of mind for any public service organisation; however, processes like time collection, approving and running timesheets, and responding to time-off requests drain time and efficiency. Workforce management software improves productivity by automating and streamlining administrative tasks and reducing mistakes, putting the focus back on delivering quality service.
2. Reduce burnout and maximise compliance: Issues such as employee fatigue, burnout and talent retention present themselves in the form of absenteeism, reduced productivity, workers compensation claims and increased rates of attrition. Additionally, failure to comply with health and safety practices can have profound consequences including legal action and reputational damage. The right solution can identify regular absentees, those who aren’t taking leave and those nearing burnout while reducing work volumes and easily calculating hours, overtime and holidays.
3. Combat skills shortages and retain talent: Workforce management software can help public sector organisations retain staff through fair and consistent application of leave, rostering and other HR policies. To attract newcomers, automated talent management capabilities can develop, engage and reward employees, and foster a culture of trust and transparency.
4. Keep up with demand: Meeting rising demand requires agility and resilience. Manual paper-based processes can lead to miscommunication, human error and slower response times. Workforce management software provides greater visibility to help make informed decisions that can move the organisation forward.

A robust people management solution enables public sector organisations to deliver the same experience to all employees, regardless of location, and achieve greater transparency across the board. A comprehensive digital people management solution will also help organisations ensure compliance is maintained, labour-related costs are controlled, employee engagement is improved and that people are free to focus on what matters: the public they serve.

Image credit: iStock.com/Natali_Mis