In today’s fast-paced business world, effective workforce management (WFM) isn’t just an option, it’s a necessity. As businesses grapple with rising labor costs, complex scheduling needs, and the challenge of extracting meaningful insights from mountains of data, the need for streamlined and compliant WFM solutions has never been greater. This toolkit will equip you with the strategies and tools you need to take control of your workforce, optimize labor costs, boost productivity, and stay compliant.

So, what’s inside of this toolkit? Download For Full Access

    • Productivity & Compliance Power-Ups
      • Efficient Time & Attendance Tracking, Strategic Scheduling, etc.
    • Labor Cost Control Command Center
      • Understanding the Landscape of Labor Costs, Forecasting & Budgeting, Labor Optimization Strategies, etc.
    • Analytics & Insights: Your Workforce Management Crystal Ball
      • Data-Driven Decision-Making Checklist, Actionable Insights, etc. 

Self-Assessment: Are You Prepared for Evolving Workplace Compliance?

Staying ahead of compliance is vital. If you haven’t integrated compliance into your workforce management, it’s time to start. Reflect on these questions to gauge your readiness.

  • Time Tracking: Can I precisely track and document the hours my employees work?
  • Scheduling: If required by law, does my business adhere to requirements for providing advance notice of schedules and shift changes?
  • Labor Regulations: Do I fully comprehend local labor regulations applicable to all my staff?
  • Break Enforcement: Can I effortlessly monitor and ensure compliance with statutory breaks and rest periods?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, it might be time to consider a workforce management tool that can help you maintain compliance.

Productivity & Compliance Power-Ups

In the dynamic landscape of modern business, optimizing productivity and ensuring compliance aren’t just goals—they’re necessities. Paycor equips you with tools and insights to master essential workforce management practices and gain the power to elevate efficiency, empower your employees, and foster a workplace culture that thrives.

Paycor scheduling features make creating and managing schedules a breeze.

  • Automate & Optimize Scheduling: Automate scheduling with templates or drag-and-drop functionality. Set shifts to repeat daily or weekly so you can maximize efficiencies and increase productivity.
  • Time-Off Management within Schedule: Time off requests are seamlessly integrated into scheduling, providing real-time visibility to view, approve, or deny time off requests when building a schedule.
  • Proactive Communication: Keep everyone in the loop with instant communication through group chats, updates, alerts, and reminders.
  • Predictive Work Scheduling: Build compliant, employee-friendly schedules by setting advance notice requirements and any other relevant Fair Workweek rules and get notified when rules are violated. If a violation occurs, penalties can be automatically processed through payroll.
  • Mobile Innovation: The Paycor Mobile App puts the power of scheduling in your employees’ hands, allowing them to view schedules, trade or swap shifts, request time off, and more, all from their smartphones.

Labor Cost Control Command Center

Taking command of labor costs is essential for any business striving for financial success. This section empowers you to understand the complex landscape of labor expenses, leverage powerful tools for forecasting and budgeting, and implement strategies to optimize your workforce. From calculating key metrics to uncovering hidden costs, you’ll gain the insights and control needed to achieve a healthy bottom line while fostering a productive and engaged workforce.

Understanding the Landscape of Labor Costs

Labor costs are often a significant portion of a business’s expenses. To optimize these costs, you need a clear understanding of the key metrics and potential hidden costs.

  • Key Metrics: Understand essential metrics such as labor cost percentage, overtime costs, absenteeism rates, and turnover rates.
  • Benchmarking: Compare your labor costs against industry standards to identify areas for improvement.
  • Hidden Costs: Uncover the often-overlooked costs associated with absenteeism and turnover.

How Paycor Helps

Paycor’s tools provide the insights you need to take control of your labor costs.

  • Time & Attendance: Manage time off, track hours worked, and stay on top of labor distribution with automated and accurate timekeeping.
  • Scheduling: Organize your teams, communicate information in real-time, and improve productivity
  • Reporting & Analytics: Analyze compensation data, benchmark against industry standards, and identify potential pay disparities.

Forecasting & Budgeting

The struggle to balance workforce scheduling and labor costs without compromising your customers’ experience is never-ending. Accurate forecasting and budgeting are essential for effective labor cost control, helping frontline leaders save time and lower expenses.

  • Labor Demand Forecasting: Enables you to predict staffing needs based on historical data, sales forecasts, and other factors.
  • Budget Alignment: Helps ensure your labor costs match your strategic goals and financial situation.

Labor Forecasting Checklist:

Business Objectives

  • What are the company’s short-term and long-term goals?
  • How does the labor strategy support these objectives?

Historical Analysis

  • Review past labor trends and costs
  • Analyze seasonality and fluctuations in demand
  • Identify patterns in overtime, absenteeism, and turnover

Industry Benchmarking

  • Research industry standards for labor costs and metrics
  • Compare your business to competitors and similar organizations
  • Identify areas for potential improvement and cost reduction

Forecasting Methods

  • Choose a forecasting method: qualitative, quantitative, or time series analysis
  • Consider using multiple methods for more accurate predictions
  • Adjust the forecast based on business changes and new data

Labor Metrics

  • Track key metrics: labor cost percentage, overtime, absenteeism, turnover
  • Analyze the impact of these metrics on the overall budget
  • Set targets for metric improvement

Ongoing Analysis

  • Regularly review and update the labor forecast
  • Compare actual costs to the forecast for discrepancies
  • Adjust strategies based on new insights and trends

How Paycor Helps

Paycor simplifies forecasting and budgeting with powerful tools and features.

• Labor Forecasting: Leverage key business metrics such as sales, foot traffic, or transaction volume, and transform them into powerful insights that drive decision making while reducing labor waste.

• Budgeting Tools: Create and manage budgets by day or week, by hours or cost, and get notified when a budget goes over. Compare actual worked hours to remaining scheduled hours, enabling managers to adjust future shifts in the same week to keep the budget balanced with minimal last-minute employee disruptions.

Labor Optimization Strategies

Implementing flexible work arrangements can help reduce overtime and boost morale. When employees can plan ahead and know what to expect week after week it removes scheduling guesswork, reducing turnover and building a more loyal workforce.

  • Automation and Technology: Embrace automation to minimize manual processes and reduce administrative overhead.
  • Strategic Staffing: Use a mix of full- and part-time employees to match staffing levels with fluctuating demand.
  • Flexible Work Arrangements: Implement flexible work options such as remote work or compressed workweeks, to reduce overtime and boost employee satisfaction. These arrangements can also help attract and retain top talent in today’s competitive labor market.

To continue reading, download Paycor’s Beyond the Clock Toolkit to Labor Cost, Optimization, Employee Productivity & Compliance