Workforce Management Trend Survey: Sponsored by

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT
TREND SURVEY
2014 2015
sponsored by
CONTENTS
Executive Summary.......................................................................................... 3
Section I: Risk Management............................................................................. 4
Section II: Organizational Performance and Efficiency...................................... 9
Section III: Combating Worker Fatigue........................................................... 14
Conclusion..................................................................................................... 17
About............................................................................................................. 18
Appendix: Demographic Information............................................................. 19
Workforce Management Trend Survey 2014-2015
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Employers have long relied on workforce management
processes to deploy, measure, and improve the effectiveness
of their labor pool.Those same functions are now playing a
bigger role in recruitment and retention. As the goals for these
processes evolve, so do the enabling technologies. For instance,
while time and attendance practices remain the cornerstone
of workforce management, leave administration and time-off
policy design are emerging as focal points.
For the past five years WorkForce Software LLC, in
conjunction with Workforce magazine, has endeavored
to identify, document and analyze these advances in
workforce management practices through an annual
market survey. This years study examines the results
of the most recent survey, while also drawing upon
findings from previous surveys, when applicable, to
illustrate the evolution underway.
This years survey explored three specific areas of
workforce management:
Risk management, with an emphasis

on labor compliance.
Organizational performance and efficiency,

with a focus on labor analytics capabilities
Employee fatigue, both assessing the business

costs and exploring the potential remedies
Size categories include:
Small: fewer than 1,000 employees
Midsize: 1,000-2,499 employees
Large: more than 2,500 employees
SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS
Organizations especially midsize and large

employers view a decline in morale as the
greatest risk of noncompliance with labor laws.
Operations departments are taking more direct

ownership over workforce management systems
and practices, signaling a shift in how these tools
are used.
Nearly 8 in 10 organizations (77 percent) use

specific scheduling practices to help new hires
become more effective more quickly.
Roughly two-thirds (63 percent) of organizations

offer more generous leave programs than are
required by law, signaling raised expectations
about work-life balance from employees.
Employee fatigue is widely seen as an obstacle to

performance fully three-quarters of respondents
say it has a moderate-to-major impact yet there
is no single formula for addressing it.
PARTICIPANTS
For more detailed information, see Appendix.

Our current survey data represents responses from
930 HR professionals at organizations spanning a
broad range of industries, geographic distribution and
company size. Management level and more senior
professionals comprised 78 percent of respondents.
In general, survey results show the entire set of
respondents; where noted we have also examined
how an organizations size or industry impacts
workforce management programs and strategies.
SECTION I:
RISK MANAGEMENT
EMPLOYEE MORALE TOPS THE LIST
OF NONCOMPLIANCE CONCERNS
The role that workforce management processes play

in maintaining compliance with labor regulations
such as wage and hour laws remains essential,
especially as fines and lawsuits alleging noncompliance
are increasing from year to year. For example, U.S.
federal lawsuits filed under the Fair Labor Standards
Act (FLSA) have increased for seven consecutive years,
according to research by the law firm Seyfarth Shaw
LLP.1 In 2014, more than 8,000 such cases were filed,
representing a 5 percent jump over the prior year and
part of a long and steady climb. The Department of
Labor (DOL) has also been increasingly vigilant, and
has pursued a number of high profile businesses. In
2014, the DOL found LinkedIn in violation of recordkeeping provisions related to the FLSA, a finding
which cost LinkedIn nearly $6 million in unpaid
wages and damages.2 Yet despite operating in a more
aggressive enforcement environment than in years
past, employers ranked several risks as greater concerns
than fines and penalties (Figure 1). Notably, the largest
area of compliance concern (69 percent) is damage
to employee morale a striking result and further
evidence that workforce management functions are
steadily being viewed through an employee-first lens.
FIGURE 1
HOW CONCERNED IS YOUR ORGANIZATION WITH THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF

NONCOMPLIANCE WITH LABOR POLICY REGULATIONS IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS?
Decline in
employee morale
69%
Brand equity/
damaged reputation
67%
Fines and
penalties
66%
Litigation
65%
Process audits and

corrective steps
64%
Increased attrition
62%
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
QUESTION:
If you were to evaluate a new workforce

management solution today, which
function would be your primary focus?
Balancing mandated compliance with
value-added service.
From respondent comments on the Workforce
Management Trends Survey (201415)
1
2
Seyfarth Shaw LLP (2014). http://www.wagehourlitigation.com/files/2014/05/FLSA-Cases-20141.pdf.

U.S. Department of Labor (2014). LinkedIn to pay nearly $6M in unpaid overtime wages and damages to 359 employees following U.S. Labor Department investigation.
This concern about employee perceptions and morale

is even more acute when isolating the results of
midsize (80 percent) and large companies (75 percent)
(Figure 2). Employers have reason to be concerned
about morale: Independent research has shown that
nearly 70 percent of workers report dissatisfaction with
their jobs3, continuing the drop in employee morale
from highs last seen in 2008.4
Brand equity came in as the second biggest concern,

and that makes sense when considering new
research on the linkages between brand strength and
profitability. Positive brand reputation has been shown
to have a direct impact on stock prices, leading to
higher profits for companies that have a positive brand
image.5 Additionally, research suggests that job seekers
are more likely to take an offer from a company with a
positive brand reputation, leading to better recruitment
for companies that are viewed favorably by the public.6
Organizations are still as concerned as ever about being
an employer of choice, and maintaining a positive
brand reputation creates a virtuous cycle that helps
attract and retain top talent.
Against that backdrop, every opportunity to improve

employee engagement is an important one, and
demonstrating fair, transparent and compliant
practices is one way to strengthen the employeremployee relationship.
FIGURE 2
WHAT ARE THE TOP THREE NONCOMPLIANCE CONCERNS AT YOUR ORGANIZATION?
60%
Brand equity/
damaged reputation
Employee morale is a top concern

for labor law compliance among
both midsize (80 percent) and
large (75 percent) organizations.
76%
RESPONSES BY COMPANY SIZE
79%
63%
Decline in
employee morale
80%
75%
61%
Fines and
penalties
68%
66%
10
Small
3
4
5
6
20
30
Midsize
40
50
60
70
80
Large
Stebner, B. (2013), Workplace morale heads down: 70% of Americans negative about their jobs, Gallup study shows. New York Daily News.
Baker, B (2013). Employee morale still on the decline, but benefits education can help. Reuters.
Engardio, P. and Arndt, M. (2007). What price reputation? Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine.
Cable, D. and Turban, D. (2003). The value of organizational reputation in the recruitment context: a brand-equity perspective. University of Missouri.
FOR MANY, LABOR COMPLIANCE REMAINS A TOUGH TASK
This is the second survey where we have asked

respondents to compare the level of effort required
to support labor compliance this year versus the prior
one, and the numbers largely bear out what we saw
last year. Approximately one-third (32 percent) of
organizations report that managing labor compliance
has gotten somewhat or much harder over the
past year, whereas only 8 percent have noticed an
improvement (Figure 3). This is a slightly improved
picture over last year, when only 3 percent reported
improvements, but the data still portrays the function
as growing more arduous rather than less.
When questioned further as to why their job has
become more difficult, respondents discussed several
broad themes: keeping up with health care reform,
responding to tighter regulations, dealing with
company size changes and working with fewer
resources. Although U.S. state and federal legislatures
passed 30 percent fewer compliance bills in 2013
than they did in 20127, new domestic legislation is
merely one facet of the compliance picture. New
employer obligations are cropping up at the local level,
for instance, and court rulings can augment existing
laws. One commenter noted both of these dynamics,
citing that a local sick leave regulation took effect,
[as well as] changes in state and federal protected
leave, when describing the sources of increased work.
Similarly, current laws and new legislation do not
always easily coexist. As one respondent said, Different
state regulations often conflict with different federal
regulations, while according to another, It has
become very labor intensive to sift through the various
executive orders and other regulations to determine
what needs to be changed or implemented, and then
actually implementing [those changes].
FIGURE 3
HOW HAS YOUR JOB OF MANAGING LABOR

COMPLIANCE CHANGED SINCE LAST YEAR?
8%
32%
Much/
Somewhat Harder
About the Same
Much/
Somewhat Easier
60%
Additionally, nearly 1 in 5 respondents (19 percent)

represents a multinational employer, many of
which have operations in a number of countries.
This footprint can substantially complicate labor
compliance, because each region will have its own
pace of labor law reform. One respondent observed
that, In Peru, the government has issued many laws
about labor: pensions (AFP), payments (CTS) [and]
inclusion. Given all of these dimensions, it is not
surprising that compliance teams spend on average 10
hours of every working week tracking and analyzing
new regulatory developments, according to a 2014
Thomson Reuters survey.8
[The method of manager alert] depends on the

issue [we use] mostly email but if [the] issue
is critical, face-to-face meetings may occur.
From respondent comments on the Workforce Management
Trends Survey (201415)
7
8
Ruggles, M. and Brown, C. (2013). New compliance obligations for 2014: fewer new laws, but important changes for employers. Littler Mendelson P.C.
English, S. and Hammond, S. (2014). Cost of compliance. Thomson Reuters Accelus.
[An] increased frequency in changing regulations

[is] making it hard to keep abreast.
With so many respondents stating that compliance

work has gotten harder during the past year, the
question becomes: What specific activities are
causing this workload increase? One area that
stands out is the time required to handle leave
of absence cases. Figure 4 shows that for nearly
one-third of companies (31 percent), furnishing
evidence for leave-of-absence compliance can
take hours, and for almost 1 in 6 organizations
(16 percent) the same request can take days.
FIGURE 4
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE ON AVERAGE TO FURNISH EVIDENCE OF

WAGE/HOUR OR LEAVE OF ABSENCE COMPLIANCE AT YOUR ORGANIZATION?
32%
16%
Hours
Not Sure
Days
21%
The stakes for providing accurate compliance

records are also quite high. In addition to
providing employees with timely documentation,
HR professionals may be required to furnish
case records for onsite Department of Labor
investigators for example, in situations where
the companys pay practices are being examined.
The ability to quickly and efficiently access such
records can affect business perceptions and risk
in very concrete ways, yet another factor that
contributes to the intensity of compliance work
and the need for precision.
Minutes
31%
For 16 percent of companies, furnishing evidence

of leave of absence compliance can take days.
Compliance work may also be difficult because

workforce management functions cross many
departments, as we saw again when asking about
system ownership and use.
HR works cross-functionally with several other

teams (legal, finance and management) to plan and
implement HR programs.
WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT OWNERSHIP
Workforce management practices affect every

employee in the organization along with other
members of the labor pool, such as contingent and
casual staff and despite this broad reach (or perhaps
because of it) do not always squarely fit within one
departments control. The most common approach is
to seat workforce management processes and systems
within HR, and for the third consecutive year more
than half of respondents (55 percent) stated that
the human resources department was the primary
owner (Figure 5). However, a new path is emerging.
HR ownership has receded to pre-2013 levels, and
more employers are asking operations departments
to take the lead with time, attendance, absence
and scheduling practices. Operations departments
typically play a wide role in the day-to-day handling
of the business, and are often accountable for finding
ways to achieve specific performance or profitability
targets goals which can be directly supported via
the right staffing and absence strategies.9 As such,
the increased role of operations professionals may
signal growing recognition that effective workforce
management improves business outcomes.
FIGURE 5
WHICH FUNCTION PRIMARILY OWNS WORKFORCE

MANAGEMENT AT YOUR ORGANIZATION?
68%
HR
55%
18%
Operations
29%
5%
Payroll
5%
3%
Finance
5%
10
2013
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2014
The majority of organizations house workforce

management within HR (55 percent), but a growing
number ask operations (29 percent) to take the lead.
Goldberg, B. Explaining the role of operations. People, Processes, and Profit.

SECTION II:
ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE AND EFFICIENCY

ENABLING MANAGER COMMUNICATION
We asked several questions related to technology,

including how management was alerted to
workforce issues, to what degree workforce
management functions were automated and
whether organizations were moving their systems
into the cloud. Consistent with previous years,
we found that while many organizations are still
heavily reliant on manual systems, a steady shift
toward automation is taking place.
As organizations improve their technology
foundation, they can provide more tools and
support to their line managers. One prime example
is configuring a system to send automated alerts
when there is a task or issue (e.g. a time-entry
error) that requires a managers attention. We asked
what methods were employed today and found
that a solid majority take advantage of proactive
methods such as email, social media, text or online
messaging, often within the application itself
(Figure 6). Interestingly, despite the buzz around
embedded social functionality within enterprise
applications, the survey results showed that email
remains king. Fully half of all respondents use email
alerts to keep managers abreast of potential issues,
and no other automated communication reached
even the 10 percent mark. Given that checking
email is a standard routine for managers in a
wide range of industries, alerts sent via that route
leverage existing communication channels rather
than trying to forge new ones, such as using social
media or texting in a business setting.
FIGURE 6
AT YOUR ORGANIZATION, HOW ARE MANAGERS

PRIMARILY ALTERTED ABOUT WORKFORCE ISSUES?
Email
50%
4%
9%
No Automated Alerts
1%
Phone
9%
Online Message
Other
10%
Social
17%
Text
QUESTION:

management solution today, which function
would be your primary focus?
How to identify my best people
to best reward them.
From respondent comments on the Workforce
Management Trends Survey (201415)
In the open comments, many respondents noted that

minor workforce issues are handled differently than
significant concerns. When there are larger doubts
stemming from workforce management data, the
common practice is sharing that information with
the direct manager via a face-to-face meeting. This
type of distinction is laudable and shows that most
organizations use software where its appropriate, but
retain the human touch for sensitive workforce issues.
ATTRACTING AND ENABLING NEW TALENT
Workforce management applications are one of the

first systems an employee interacts with upon joining
a company, so we asked how employers are using
those systems to maximize the results of an employees
critical first 90 days. The first question that we asked in
this vein was whether specific scheduling techniques
were employed to help new employees get acquainted
with their role and hone the skills needed to execute
at a high level (Figure 7). The results found widespread
use of one or more techniques, though on-the-job
training with a senior mentor is the most popular by
a significant margin. Structuring time to take learning
courses was the second most popular scheduling
technique, used by nearly half (49 percent) of all
respondents. In comparison, only 11 percent of those
surveyed had neither a scheduling strategy in place nor
a desire to establish one to benefit new hires.
FIGURE 7
HOW DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION USE

SCHEDULING TO TRAIN AND EQUIP NEW HIRES?
Pairing senior
workers with them
59%
Structuring
learning courses
in their schedule
49%
Rotating through
different shifts
and positions
27%
We dont, but we
would like to
13%
We dont and
we have no
current interest
11%
Other
6%
10
20
30
40
50
60
10
Time-off policies are also frequently designed to both

attract and retain quality workers, though the nature
of time off is also affected by other factors, which we
will describe later. Nearly two-thirds of all employers
offer more generous leave policies than the law
requires (Figure 8), suggesting that employers need to
go above and beyond to attract the best candidates.
However, while roughly a third of respondents said
that time-off policy design was affected by retention
or recruitment goals (Figure 9), those ranked as
the second and fourth most influential objectives,
respectively. Interestingly, 53 percent of respondents
indicated that their time-off policies would be most
likely to change if it improved productivity. These
findings illustrate that organizations are using every
workforce management tool at their disposal to
improve top- and bottom-line results.
FIGURE 8
DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION OFFER LEAVE POLICIES

MORE GENEROUS THAN THOSE REQUIRED BY LAW?
63%
Yes, more generous

than the law requires
No, not at this time
37%
FIGURE 9
WHAT WOULD PROMPT YOUR ORGANIZATION

TO CHANGE THE TIME-OFF PACKAGE?
Could prove it
would improve
productivity
53%
Could prove it
would improve
retention
40%
Could prove it
would reduce
absenteeism
36%
Could prove it
would attract
better candidates
32%
None of
the above
25%
Other
8%
10
20
30
40
50
60
11
Workforce management professionals may

appreciate that their field is now being viewed in
performance and productivity terms. However, these
objectives must be carefully balanced with employee
engagement and morale. When we asked further
about leave policies and examined the specific types
of additional leave (beyond the standard sick and
vacation days, for example), the results revealed some
potentially troubling contrasts (Figure 10). First,
bereavement leave is very common, available to
employees in 85 percent of responding organizations,
yet leave for other life events is only available in a
slim majority (55 percent) of workplaces represented.
The implications of granting time off for mourning,
yet not for celebrating other situations the birth
or adoption of a child, for example could affect
both employee morale and the bottom line, as
unscheduled time off (if the employee takes leave
anyway) is an issue at many organizations.10 Another
contrast, perhaps more surprising, is that leave for
mental health issues lags behind leave for physical
health issues by a significant margin, 47 percent to
71 percent, respectively. Again, this type of imbalance
could be negatively viewed by employees, especially
if it stands in direct contrast to a published list of
company values.
approach to labor analytics, thus reinforcing the

connection between using technology to make labor
data readily accessible to supervisors and managers
and the opportunity to make cost-efficient, precise
labor decisions.
FIGURE 10
WHAT TYPES OF TIME-OFF BENEFITS DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION OFFER?
Physical
Health
71%
Religious
Holidays
57%
Parental
Obligations
56%
Life
Event
55%
Mental
Health
47%
Volunteering/
Charitable Work
29%
Other
15%
USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES
The survey also asked how employers plan to

enhance their workforce management technologies
in the future. When asked about the most important
component of a future solution, respondents
overwhelmingly listed labor analytics, by a nearly
two-to-one margin over the runner-up: time and
attendance (Figure 11). These results are largely
consistent with responses from last year, and reveal
a strong desire to make better use of labor data for
business planning. When we asked about current
practices, less than half (47 percent) of respondents
said that they currently used labor analytics to drive
business value. That figure closely corresponded with
the number of organizations that have an automated
85%
Bereavement
20
40
60
80
100
FIGURE 11
IF YOU WERE TO EVALUATE A NEW WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT

SOLUTION TODAY, WHICH FUNCTION WOULD BE YOUR PRIMARY FOCUS?
8%
43%
Labor Analytics
Time and Attendance
Absence and
Leave Management
13%
Staff Scheduling
Other
13%
23%
10 SHRM (2008). Examining paid leave in the workplace: helping your organization attract and retain talented employees.
12
QUESTION:
management solution today, which function
would be your primary focus?
We also asked our participants about cloud adoption at

their organization, recognizing that cloud technology
allows some distinct benefits over other means of software
delivery.11 Almost half of respondents (48 percent)
reported that cloud delivery for new HR software
and systems is a high-to-medium priority (Figure 12).
Industries where cloud delivery trended as a high priority
include retail/hospitality (61 percent) and finance/
insurance (59 percent) (Figure 13).
FIGURE 12
HOW CRITICAL IS CLOUD DELIVERY FOR NEW HR

SOFTWARE/SYSTEMS PURCHASES AT YOUR ORGANIZATION?
47%
High/
Medium Priority
Getting staff from willing compliance to creative

excitement, i.e. motivation and meaningful work.
FIGURE 13
CLOUD DELIVERY FOR NEW HR SOFTWARE/SYSTEMS

PURCHASES IS A PRIORITY AT MY ORGANIZATION
Finance/
insurance
62%
Low Priority
Not a Priority
Retail/
hospitality
32%
61%
21%
Health care
48%
Our research suggests that many organizations are still

in the early stages of cloud adoption, as the majority (51
percent) said they had moved less than a quarter of their
HR systems to the cloud (Figure 14).Yet the migration
is underway, and nearly 1 in 4 organizations (22 percent)
have moved substantial portions of their systems into the
cloud. Some organizations continue to have concerns
about the cloud; however, independent research has
shown that those perceived challenges diminish as an
organization gains cloud maturity. Security is an oftencited concern among beginner cloud adopters, but it
decreases as a concern with continued cloud usage.12
Manufacturing and professional services firms show the
fastest pace of cloud adoption, with 1 in 5 organizations
in both sectors reporting that more than half of their
systems are in the cloud today.
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
FIGURE 14
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF YOUR HR SYSTEMS

HAVE YOU MOVED TO THE CLOUD?
51%
Less than 25%

26-100%
Not Sure
27%
22%
11 RightScale (2014). State of the cloud report.

13
SECTION III:
COMBATING WORKER FATIGUE

Concern about employee fatigue has been a longstanding hallmark of this survey, and for the fifth straight
year, participant responses demonstrated that this issue
remains a top concern. Employee fatigue leads to lost
productivity, which can cost an organization millions
of dollars. A well-cited 2007 study by the Journal of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that
worker fatigue cost employers an estimated $136.4
billion (USD) in lost productivity time.13 More recent
research from 2012 shows that the cost of worker
fatigue from sleep deprivation alone was $37.5 million
a year, which included costs associated with worker
accidents and injuries.14 During the past five years,
the number of respondents who feel employees are
becoming more fatigued has remained relatively flat, yet
the perceived impact on organizational performance has
grown. In the current survey, 75 percent reported that
fatigue has a moderate to major impact, up from
71 percent in 2013 (Figure 15).
13

14

FIGURE 15
WHAT IMPACT DOES FATIGUE HAVE ON

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AT YOUR ORGANIZATION?
71%
Major/
Moderate
Impact
75%
22%
Minor Impact
18%
7%
No Significant
Impact
8%
10
2013
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2014
Chee, E., Ricci, J. A., Lorandeau, A. L., & Berger, J. (2007). Fatigue in the U.S. workforce: prevalence and implications for lost productive work time.
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 49(1):1-10.
Rosekind, M., Gregory, K., Mallis, M., Brandt, S., Seal, B. and Lerner, D. (2012). The cost of poor sleep: workplace productivity loss and associated costs.
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 52(1):91-98.
14
Data from this years survey shows how companies are

using a number of different strategies to keep their
employees alert. Figure 16 shows companies most
often use flextime (38 percent), adjusting scheduling
practices (32 percent) or telecommuting (38 percent)
to counteract fatigue. These practices were consistent
across industries, although the energy/utility sector
was more likely (38 percent) to use contingent labor
to combat worker fatigue. Several respondents also
offered unique ideas for addressing the fatigue issue,
such as providing an office sleep room, in-house
yoga or reviewing specific tasks to make them less
labor-intensive. However, there is more to be done
in the realm of mitigating fatigue, given that a third
of surveyed organizations (33 percent) do not have
any programs in place at all. Limited budgets may
tell the story. When asked, What are the barriers to
improving the conditions of employee fatigue at your
organization? 49 percent cited budgetary constraints
as a top concern, followed by understaffing
(45 percent) (Figure 17).
FIGURE 16
WHAT STRATEGIES DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION

USE TO MITIGATE EMPLOYEE FATIGUE?
Flextime
38%
None; my
organization does
not have programs
to address
employee fatigue
33%
Adjust
scheduling
practices
32%
Telecommuting/
work from home
28%
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
FIGURE 17
WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO IMPROVING THE CONDITIONS

OF EMPLOYEE FATIGUE AT YOUR ORGANIZATION?
42%
Budget
constraints
49%
39%
Understaffing
relative to
workload
45%
30%
Not a
management
priority
36%
32%
Poor understanding
of the impact of
employee fatigue
on the business
35%
10
2013
20
30
40
50
2014
15
There are clear financial benefits beyond accident

avoidance to mitigating employee fatigue. The
cost of fatigue-related absenteeism continues to
affect bottom-line profits. Organizations estimate an
average annual loss of productivity of 11 percent due
to unplanned absences. In addition, the average cost
to businesses for unplanned absences is equivalent to
74 percent of replaced worker salary.15 Our survey
results add credence to this connection between
fatigue and unplanned absence. In fact, absence
patterns were the most common (70 percent) sign
of fatigue risk among factors being monitored by
respondents (Figure 18) yet another example
of how employers continually use workforce
management data to operate more effectively.
FIGURE 18
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU CURRENTLY MONITOR TO WATCH

FOR SIGNS OF EMPLOYEE FATIGUE AND/OR UNPLANNED ATTRITION?
Absence Patterns
69%
Hours Worked
67%
Extended Leave
66%
Other
65%
Shift Changes
64%
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
15 Mollie Lombardi (2013). Total Workforce Management 2013: Absence Management. Aberdeen Group.
16
CONCLUSION
Workforce management systems and practices are continuing to play a
bigger role in securing top talent and improving business performance. On
the HR side, the majority of organizations are already designing scheduling
and time-off programs to cater to new hires and retain their best employees.
Most organizations offer leave policies more generous than those required
by law, which suggests that employees expect them to go above and beyond
what is simply required by law to stand out as an employer of choice. On
the operations side, those same policies are being scrutinized to understand
their effect on company profitability, and businesses have a big appetite
for better labor analytics tools to help inform company strategy. Critically,
these two drivers are closely interrelated, rather than being separate goals.
Organizations are starting to recognize the relationships between intricate
functions like labor compliance and employee morale, and many are testing
out new ways of strengthening the employer-employee bond particularly
at sensitive times, such as a leave of absence. When organizations get it right,
they are rewarded not only with improved morale, but also with a resulting
boost in productivity as a result of keeping employees informed, engaged,
and incented to remain part of the team.
17
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WorkForce Software enables organizations to fully automate time and
attendance processes, effectively manage employee absence and leave,
optimize staff scheduling, gain real-time visibility into labor costs, and
mitigate the risks associated with employee fatigue.
HUMAN CAPITAL MEDIA
The Human Capital Media (HCM) Research and Advisory Group is the
research division of Human Capital Media, publisher of Chief Learning Officer,
Talent Management and Workforce magazines. The Research and Advisory Group
specializes in partnered research solutions customizable and proprietary
deliverables that integrate seamlessly with existing sales and marketing programs.
Leveraging our access to senior-level decision-makers and proven HR industry
expertise, we undertake market and thought leadership research in the human
resources industry. Creating custom content and presenting thought leadership
research are all part of the Research and Advisory Groups focus.
If you have any questions, contact Sarah Kimmel, research director:
skimmel@humancapitalmedia.com.
18
APPENDIX:
DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
Total number of respondents: 930
Organizational level of respondents: 78.4 percent are manager level or

higher
COMPANY SIZE
Less than 1,000 employees: 65 percent
1,000-2,499 employees: 11 percent
More than 2,500 employees: 24 percent
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
Mostly located in one country in one location: 45 percent
Mostly located in one country with multiple locations: 37 percent
Mostly located in one country with some global distribution: 9 percent
Highly distributed with multiple locations across the globe: 10 percent
INDUSTRY
Business/Professional Services: 19 percent
Energy and Utilities: 3 percent
Finance/Insurance: 6 percent
Health Care: 12 percent
Manufacturing: 12 percent
Public Sector/Education: 9 percent
Retail and Hospitality: 5 percent
Other: 33 percent
19

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WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT

Workforce Management Trend Survey 2014-2015

Risk management, with an emphasis

Organizational performance and efficiency,

Employee fatigue, both assessing the business

Size categories include:

Small: fewer than 1,000 employees

Midsize: 1,000-2,499 employees

Large: more than 2,500 employees

SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS

Organizations especially midsize and large

Operations departments are taking more direct

Nearly 8 in 10 organizations (77 percent) use

Roughly two-thirds (63 percent) of organizations

Employee fatigue is widely seen as an obstacle to

For more detailed information, see Appendix.

Workforce Management Trend Survey 2014-2015

The role that workforce management processes play

HOW CONCERNED IS YOUR ORGANIZATION WITH THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF

Process audits and

If you were to evaluate a new workforce

Seyfarth Shaw LLP (2014). http://www.wagehourlitigation.com/files/2014/05/FLSA-Cases-20141.pdf.

This concern about employee perceptions and morale

Brand equity came in as the second biggest concern,

Against that backdrop, every opportunity to improve

WHAT ARE THE TOP THREE NONCOMPLIANCE CONCERNS AT YOUR ORGANIZATION?

Employee morale is a top concern

RESPONSES BY COMPANY SIZE

FOR MANY, LABOR COMPLIANCE REMAINS A TOUGH TASK

This is the second survey where we have asked

HOW HAS YOUR JOB OF MANAGING LABOR

Additionally, nearly 1 in 5 respondents (19 percent)

[The method of manager alert] depends on the

[An] increased frequency in changing regulations

With so many respondents stating that compliance

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE ON AVERAGE TO FURNISH EVIDENCE OF

The stakes for providing accurate compliance

For 16 percent of companies, furnishing evidence

Compliance work may also be difficult because

Workforce Management Trend Survey 2014-2015

HR works cross-functionally with several other

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT OWNERSHIP

Workforce management practices affect every

WHICH FUNCTION PRIMARILY OWNS WORKFORCE

The majority of organizations house workforce

Goldberg, B. Explaining the role of operations. People, Processes, and Profit.

ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE AND EFFICIENCY

We asked several questions related to technology,

AT YOUR ORGANIZATION, HOW ARE MANAGERS

If you were to evaluate a new workforce

Workforce Management Trend Survey 2014-2015

In the open comments, many respondents noted that

Workforce management applications are one of the

HOW DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION USE

Workforce Management Trend Survey 2014-2015

Time-off policies are also frequently designed to both

DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION OFFER LEAVE POLICIES

Yes, more generous

WHAT WOULD PROMPT YOUR ORGANIZATION

Workforce Management Trend Survey 2014-2015

Workforce management professionals may

approach to labor analytics, thus reinforcing the