Daniela Kister

One of the tools that truly can make a difference is AI-powered workload prediction and workforce scheduling software. A well-developed solution employing a proprietary algorithm that not only takes universal factors into consideration, but also a business’ individual parameters, as well as external factors, can achieve astounding results.

Workforce management software is certainly a valuable tool for any organization. Those businesses that deal with fluctuating demand will benefit the most from AI-powered software, as the superior prediction models generated by AI truly improve business operations — for business owners, customers, and employees.

It is understandable that for many businesses the challenge lies in accurately “anticipating what’s next” – and then being able to implement real-time adjustments (…) So how does one actually make its business operations “data-driven and dynamic”? As daunting as big words like “artificial intelligence”, “algorithm”, and “predictive modeling” may seem, their application is less intimidating than one would think.

If each team member’s work time is matched to their ability and availability, productivity will be high and your customers will feel well taken care of. And what’s more, by ensuring that everyone’s preferences are taken into consideration, your employees will feel valued and function as a harmonious team.

Particularly service businesses can benefit greatly from the power of AI. While most business owners and managers have some sort of idea how their upcoming customer demand will fluctuate, few truly know and none are fully prepared when things suddenly deviate from past performance.

Currently, the vast majority of businesses are still using shift scheduling software for time and attendance that merely repeats past schedules. While that may work for some professions, if you are running a service-oriented business with unpredictable, fluctuating workload, this approach is fundamentally flawed.

As a business owner or manager, have you considered that each employee’s contributions could be optimized through improved shift scheduling? Their talents and energy could be used to greater potential if you truly understood their unique needs and had the right scheduling tools available.

Many business decision makers use a form of judgment-based forecasting. They use their own subjective knowledge to set work schedules based on experience, intuition, and past behavior. While this method can prove effective in some situations, there are typically busy or slow periods that don’t align with one’s intuition and seem unpredictable.

While we’re all beaming with excitement over uncertainty and overtime in the world of sports, when it comes to your business operations, uncertainty and overtime are the last thing you want to face.

Negative employee interactions are often caused by a mismatch between the service to be rendered and the employees available to provide it. While staff members must of course be trained in positive customer interaction, even experienced staff members can leave customers with negative impressions when their skill set or capacity for workload is not adequately matched to the job requirement.

Rather than falling behind by duplicating last week’s schedule, jump ahead to the labor optimization tools that can predict tomorrow’s needs and match workforce to workload-providing certain forecasts in uncertain times.