What is workforce management (WFM)?

While these concepts have overlapping features and workforce management terms, the difference between HR and WFM is that HR (human resources) primarily focuses on optimizing employee service and the overall employee experience, creating a positive work environment. While WFM also touches on employee satisfaction, it mainly focuses on optimizing operations through data collection and the proper allocation of employees.

A workforce manager’s main responsibility is overseeing a company’s productivity and ensuring that employees, budgets, and more are effectively utilized.

Workforce management software, sometimes known as WFM software, is a technology that assists an organization in managing its employees, optimizing operations, reducing labor costs, facilitating workforce planning, improving the customer experience, and more.

Workforce management examples might look like implementing a workforce analytics platform to improve staffing in a call center. The platform could use data on peak contact times and resolution times to forecast staffing needs at certain times of the day.

This workforce forecasting capability means that managers can schedule support representatives at the right times, ensuring they can meet the needs of both customers and employees.