Today, the words "Machine Learning" and "Artificial Intelligence" often conjure images of all-powerful robots replacing human workers. However, this perception couldn't be further from the truth.
Instead, the true power of these technologies lies in their ability to augment and empower your workforce: maximising their potential, driving overall productivity, and ultimately making their lives easier.
Across a business, every employee needs to be in the right place at the right time for things to run as smoothly as possible. Unfortunately, traditional workforce management processes can hinder businesses from reaching peak performance, as they are often time-consuming, rigid and inefficient; none of which are acceptable for dynamic, modern businesses.
However, there is good news. Advanced analytics, AI and Machine Learning have empowered businesses of all shapes and sizes by providing them with actionable insights in real time, allowing them to adapt to any number of challenges. The results speak for themselves. IBM revealed that businesses leveraging these technologies for workforce planning outperformed those that weren’t by 37%, and that number is only set to rise over the remainder of the decade.
That said, don’t forget about the value your team adds to the process. They need to have a wide range of skills, be agile and ready to quickly adapt. While the pay-off of these projects is significant if executed properly, they are challenging to build and deliver - without cohesions between the data specialists, project managers and engineers, you won’t realise the project’s full potential.
Effective workforce management involves striking a delicate balance between demand and the minimum number of employees required to meet that demand. Take a retail brand as an example. Enriching footfall data with external factors like economic events and local competitors allows that business to build models that improve the workforce management process on the shop floor. Similarly, leveraging data on delivery types and historical times allows for a more nuanced understanding of the warehouse's operational requirements that more traditional approaches can’t replicate.
Furthermore, a future-focused view of workforce requirements enables you to build robust rota schedules well in advance, eliminating last-minute shifts that disrupt your staff's work-life balance and lower productivity. By creating a more predictable and attractive workplace, you can both attract top talent and retain employees who are happy working for you.
Want to learn how Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence can supercharge your workforce? Read our complimentary e-Book!