How AI Can Help Overcome Workforce Management Challenges

Managing a workforce has never been easy. Unfortunately, this has only become much more complicated in the past couple of years with the rise of hybrid digital work models and the gig economy. Compounding these challenges is growing employee turnover as more people continue to leave their jobs in search of higher wages, benefits and flexibility.

To solve these problems and enable smarter workforce management, companies are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) today. This is because the benefits that AI can bring to a modern organization are far-reaching, making it worthwhile. In fact, thanks to recent advancements in AI technology, AI now not only reduces manual effort, but also actively engages the modern workforce.

The Role of AI in Modern Workforce Management

Over the past two years, organizations around the world have become aware of the growing digital needs of running a business. Modern workers are no longer content with the status quo. They are increasingly supportive of accelerated digital transformation initiatives that allow them to work remotely and improve and enhance employee experiences.

The 2022 Gartner CIO and Technology Leaders Survey also found that 48% of CIOs have already deployed artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) solutions or plan to do so within the next twelve month.

Artificial intelligence plays a key role in ensuring these results. And one of the main benefits of integrating AI into workforce management tools is that it can automate a wide range of tasks and activities such as planning, budgeting, compliance, payroll, employee development, etc.

AI also allows organizations to leverage employee data for a variety of purposes, from analytics to reporting to predicting future needs. A fascinating example is using AI to match the skills of your current employees with potential ongoing projects.

AI plays an important role in keeping employees engaged at work, especially when working remotely. Organizations can also leverage AI-powered data analytics to create personalized hiring and training plans, provide real-time performance feedback, and support other workforce management processes .

Here are some of the ways AI is helping organizations overcome modern workforce management challenges.

1. Accurate determination of resource requirements

In any organization, managers and leaders rarely have time to focus on creating accurate schedules for employees, which leads to several challenges. This results in over-allocation and under-allocation of tasks and activities, leading to issues such as burnout, wasted working hours, or delays in completing tasks, all of which could have been easily avoided with careful planning.

Overcoming these challenges requires strategic planning that considers labor demands for each task or activity. It is also essential to assess the effect of unplanned holidays on the schedule. It gets easier with a workforce management solution that leverages artificial intelligence.

These solutions can accurately analyze existing resource demands while considering future needs to create truly flexible schedules. As a result, managers can create schedules that improve resource allocation and utilization, allowing employees to work faster while reducing stress.

2. Improve skill utilization

Employees generally have a variety of skills. To make the most of the talent of their employees, managers must ensure optimal use of their skills. However, traditional resource management methods often fail to properly leverage employee skills and time to get the job done.

Here, AI-powered predictive analytics solutions can enable managers to determine the most efficient allocation of resources between tasks and activities based on skill and time requirements. When paired with a professional services automation tool, managers can easily avoid situations like miscalculating resource requirements based on hunches and gut decisions.

3. Optimize resourcing costs

For any organization, it is essential to keep costs to a minimum in order to maximize the profitability of any project. Unfortunately, resources and time are two of the biggest cost elements of any project. Therefore, managers must strike a balance between the availability of resources for a project and the time required to complete it. This requires a thorough understanding of contracts, skills, availability and other factors.

An AI-powered professional services automation solution makes it easier...