Need for improved workforce performance and better visibility across workforce operations

Authored by:

• Brianna Zink | Senior Director of Global Strategy, Infor WFM
  
• Kristin Shelley | Director of Industry & Solution Strategy, Healthcare, Infor WFM
  
• Chetan Parmar | Head of Product Development, Infor WFM

Blog series: “Unlocking workforce potential: Agility, visibility, growth, efficiency, and innovation”

Blog #2 of #5—Better data visibility and advanced scheduling capabilities for optimal workforce utilization

Infor™ surveyed hundreds of Infor Workforce Management (WFM) users through the UserEvidence platform to better understand how our solutions deliver value to customers, improve their operations, and help them achieve their organizational goals. Different organizations have different motivations for selecting and implementing a WFM solution, and this research helps us understand these diverse needs and priorities more deeply.

In this blog series, our WFM strategists and Product Management team share insights into how Infor WFM addresses specific customer challenges and supports their most important workforce management initiatives.

In this second blog of the series, we explore another top challenge our customers say drove their selection of Infor WFM: the need to improve workforce operations through enhanced data visibility and advanced scheduling capabilities.

If you missed our first blog, which explores how Infor WFM supports better workforce agility and resilience, you can read it here to get the full context for this series.

Brianna Zink, Global WFM Strategist, shares her thoughts on why optimizing workforce scheduling is key to driving operational efficiency.

Why it matters: Workforce scheduling and staffing are foundational to operational efficiency, particularly for organizations managing complex requirements such as multiple regions, time zones, collective bargaining agreements, and other labor regulations. Poor scheduling can lead to uneven resource utilization, employee dissatisfaction, and higher costs, negatively impacting productivity and overall performance. Scheduling solutions must be scalable, adaptable, and able to balance operational consistency with employee engagement.

How WFM helps: Infor WFM provides a comprehensive suite of scheduling tools designed to address these challenges. Its central staffing feature gives leaders clear visibility across locations so they can view and manage staffing needs while staying compliant with local regulations. The platform’s self-service scheduling empowers employees to manage their shifts, request changes, and swap schedules, improving satisfaction while reducing administrative burdens. Additionally, the open shift manager simplifies the process of filling coverage gaps, ensuring smooth operations even during unexpected disruptions. Combined with artificial intelligence (AI)-driven forecasting and predictive analytics, Infor WFM helps organizations align staffing decisions with business objectives, driving productivity, reducing costs, and fostering a collaborative workforce.

Kristin Shelley, WFM Strategist for Healthcare, highlights why enhancing workforce visibility is crucial for optimizing operations through data-driven decision-making.

Why it matters: Informed decision-making relies on accurate, real-time visibility into workforce operations. Without it, organizations face inefficiencies, rising costs, and missed opportunities for optimization. Siloed or fragmented data can create blind spots, limiting the ability to monitor key metrics such as labor costs, resource utilization, and employee performance. Improved visibility, combined with actionable insights, is essential to refining workforce strategies and responding dynamically to operational needs.

How WFM helps: Infor WFM provides real-time analytics and customizable dashboards that consolidate data on a unified platform, eliminating silos and enabling leaders to monitor critical metrics such as labor costs, employee performance, and resource allocation. The customizable persona-based workspaces offer personalized landing pages for users, reducing clicks, speeding up navigation, and ensuring frequently used functions are easily accessible. These tools allow decision-makers to identify trends, predict challenges, and refine strategies with confidence—so workforce operations stay closely aligned with broader organizational objectives.

According to Chet Parmar, Head of Product Development for WFM, access to meaningful data is critical to achieving workforce excellence.

Why it matters: Scheduling an hourly workforce, especially one that works around the clock, is a continuous balancing act. Different users need different data at different points in the scheduling process. Executives may require insights into the costs and productivity of different units or teams to inform long-term planning. A team leader or manager needs visibility into where shifts are understaffed or overstaffed so they can act quickly. A fully integrated system with role-based security and dashboards ensures organizations can dynamically manage workforce operations, address inefficiencies proactively, and optimize performance.

How WFM helps: Infor WFM ensures leaders have a single source of truth across the entire WFM continuum, surfacing the most relevant data for each user through role-based workspaces and security. This allows leaders to confidently make labor planning decisions that reflect real-time priorities and business demands. Unlike retrospective systems, Infor WFM converts real-time scheduling data into actionable productivity metrics, enabling leaders to address inefficiencies immediately and optimize staffing decisions proactively. This level of integration helps organizations prevent productivity losses, streamline operations, and continuously improve workforce outcomes.

In summary, Infor WFM transforms workforce management by delivering cutting-edge tools for advanced scheduling, real-time visibility, and seamless integration. By giving leaders dynamic, role-based insights and tools, Infor WFM empowers organizations to stay agile, streamline operations, and make smarter decisions. The result? Reduced costs, enhanced productivity, and a clear path to sustained success across industries.

Stay tuned for the next blog in the series, where we’ll explore how Infor WFM addresses inaccurate and inaccessible labor data that often hinders organizational growth and complicates strategic planning.