Canadian Government Executive - Volume 22

October 2016 //

Canadian Government Executive /

Strategy

Like other governments, the Region is

accountable on how it spends its budget

and time to deliver these services. The

citizenry also expects these services to be

functional and available when required.

For the Region, this means having appro-

priate levels of staffing and knowing when

employees who are dispersed across a vast

geography are present or absent.

In order to ensure visibility, manage-

ment was forced to rely on reports and

information that were prepared manually.

Managers also did not have access to in-

depth employee data and analytics, mak-

ing daily and long-term decision-making

difficult. Additionally, preparing reports

and gathering information were also sub-

ject to human error and often came from

different sources, making decision-making

slower still.

The Region’s leadership and HR teams

recognized that they needed to change

how they managed workforce-related pro-

cedures, and eventually turned to a work-

force management solution to help them

improve efficiencies.

For example, the Region was affected

in 2011 by a number of unexplained em-

ployee absences. These absences usually

lasted more than five consecutive business

days without any sort of medical docu-

mentation or knowledge. Scheduling and

forecasting were difficult from a planning

perspective since leaders lacked insight

into the current state of their workforce

and difficulty determining whether they

were under or overstaffed.

Since adopting a workforce manage-

ment solution, managers have acquired

visibility into their employees and process

assets as they have access to real-time and

automated data, analytics and forecasting.

They no longer have to guess the correct

number of employees that are required to

cover any given shift. They are also able

to see information about their workforce

organization-wide and can make deci-

sions as the needs of the business and its

employees change. With this new level of

workforce insight, public sector leaders

were more empowered than ever when

it came to managing staff, trend analysis

and scheduling. In areas such as long-

term care for instance, when staff are re-

quired during peak times in the summer

and around the holidays, being able to

plan based on historical patterns is an ad-

vantage. The process of making forecasts

and changing schedules takes less time

and is now more accurate.

In 2013, the number of unexplained em-

ployee absences decreased by 92 per cent

compared to what it was in 2011. With a

consolidated view of work volume, pat-

terns and workforce analysis, managers

are now able to see where there might be

gaps so they can effectively schedule em-

ployees to work. This creates better work-

place efficiencies and allows the Region to

be more flexible and agile in how it utiliz-

es its resources. Especially in emergency

service and long-term care service areas,

being able to see trends has made a sig-

nificant difference and improvement into

how the Region manages its workforce.

Establishing Accountability

and Obtaining Buy-in

Transitioning to a workforce manage-

ment solution and adopting a mindset

where accountability and workplace at-

tendance mattered were not easy steps

for the Region.

According to a recent study we conduct-

ed at Kronos, 57 percent of Canadian or-

ganizations said workforce management

responsibility was shared between two

or more groups. That was the case for the

Region where buy-in was required from

the executive and operational levels. The

Region knew that in order to be successful

with its workforce management solution

it needed involvement and understand-

ing from employees at every level of the

organization.

One of the challengeswithhaving several

groups responsible for workforce manage-

ment is that it can be difficult to manage

from a governance point of view. Ques-

tions such as who-is-in-charge-of-what and

where-does-the-accountability-ultimately-

reside rise to the surface. Realizing the

importance of staff awareness, the Region

held several focus groups to introduce a

culture shift that would address workforce

accountability, attendance, and address di-

rectly the issue of which groups would be

responsible for what. Focus groups for its

employees also encouraged acceptance of

the new workforce management tools.

Like many organizations, the Region em-

ploys a number of baby boomer-aged staff.

As these individuals are nearing retire-

ment and as more tech-savvy millennials

are entering the workforce, this new group

of workers is seeking to take advantage of

technology to work remotely. With more

organizations embracing a work at any-

time, from anywhere and on an endless va-

riety of devices, it’s important for managers

to have accurate insight into staffing levels

and where skills gaps may exist so they

can fill them. The Region uses workforce

management and analytics capabilities

for its salaried, hourly, casual, temporary

and part-time staff to ensure it maintains a

cohesive view of its workforce at all times

and in a consolidated manner. Workforce

management technology allows managers

to reduce the amount of administration

time that might have been spent poring

through manual spreadsheets in the past.

While it has already seen the benefits of

using a workforce management solution in

its organization, the Region knows it must

look ahead. In addition to encouraging its

culture shift in the workplace so employ-

ees realize the importance of attendance

awareness and increased accountability,

the Region must also sustain and improve

how it manages scheduling in the future.

Through the integration of workforce

data into other business systems, manage-

ment is able to proactively deal with situ-

ations such as excessive overtime and ab-

sence issues before they become a reality.

By having accurate data, analytics and fore-

casting capabilities in place, public sector

leaders can more efficiently and effectively

fulfill staffing requirements, workflow and

overall workforce management. The role

of technology and workforce management

software has never been more important

as more organizations are using this data

to improve decision-making and optimize

the workforce.

piros

aleologos

is the Canadian

vice president and general manager for

Kronos

(www.kronos.ca)

With more organizations embracing a work

from anytime, anywhere and on any device

environment, it’s important for managers to

have accurate insight into staffing levels and

where skills gaps may exist so they can fill

them.