Workforce Optimization: Getting More for Less

Every team manager dreams of getting their business to a place of true workforce optimization,  where decision-makers have the tools they need to make the most out of limited resources, hours, and employees. This can only happen when an organization is working at peak performance. However, focusing on the strategy and discipline that leads to workforce optimization often falls by the wayside when considering the myriad risks and issues that emerge on a day-to-day basis. Often, we are so busy putting out emerging fires that we find it hard as managers to get the time to take a step back and build a system that prevents fires, and so many managers find it difficult to find specific ways to address the symptoms that lead to inconsistent utilization rates on a per-employee basis.

One way to improve workforce optimization is to rely on resource management software that has been designed to increase productivity by limiting time-wasting tasks and streamlining the overall workflow of how each resource is managed. Here are four areas that can benefit from software-supported workforce optimization.

Communication

Facilitating communication between employees is paramount for workforce optimization. Providing a platform for employees to share information and progress with each other results in a streamlined process that helps delegate tasks, monitor progress, and provide real-time updates.

Kantata resource management software is purpose-built to provide professional services organizations with a single centralized communication hub for employees to refer to throughout a project. Rather than losing track of critical communication in chains of emails and memos, team members can refer back to Kantata to see what information has been shared, what tasks are outstanding, and any other relevant teamwide updates. 

Collaboration

In addition to communication, collaboration is another pillar of workforce optimization. Once task-related information has been shared, there needs to be a place for employees to collaborate and problem-solve together. This can be especially difficult when trying to organize collaboration between departments.

Kantata team collaboration software allows employees to view the project lifecycle as a whole, getting an overview of who is responsible for each and every part of the project. This makes it easy for employees to see who they need to connect with and who they need to support during different stages of the project. As a result, less time is spent trying to hunt down fellow teammates and more time is spent working on the project in the context of the bigger picture.

Integration

Another way to facilitate workforce optimization is by implementing cross-platform integration for all software solutions regularly used by a business. When working on a project, employees utilize a number of tools and software programs from start to finish to both execute tasks and keep track of the work being done. Because of this, efficiency can start to break down when employees are forced to manually import and export data and other assets across programs. Finding a platform that prioritizes integration with some of the most common tools of the industry allows team members to focus on the project at hand, not how the tools interact.

For example, Kantata is designed to not only integrate business software applications but to continually adopt new integrations and customize data exports and imports as needed. With both pre-built integrations that can be tailored to your exact needs, and the ability to build your own service-specific integrations, Kantata is ready to facilitate workforce optimization within your organization.

Workflow

One of the biggest time wasters over the course of a project can be managing workflows across tasks. As tasks are completed, who is responsible for handing off a task to the next team member? How do we keep track of who is doing what and how far along they are in the process? Managing this relay race and eliminating downtime between tasks is another great way to promote workforce optimization.

Kantata operations management software allows managers to create processes and workflows that automatically alert the next team member to newly finished and assigned tasks through tools like Gantt charts. If one team member has finished designing a webpage, then the team member in charge of implementing that webpage is instantly alerted that they are now in charge of the next task in the project timeline. Automating this process helps to eliminate downtime during a task hand-off while also freeing up managers to focus on overall project health and progress. 

Ready to Make the Most Out of Your Workforce?

Kantata makes workforce optimization simple by providing a suite of tools that facilitate productivity and team communication while limiting project downtime.