Shaping the Future of Work at the VISION 2023: Essentials Conference

For the first time since the pandemic, this year’s VISION was hosted as a completely in-person experience. Over two days, attendees enjoyed the rhythms of Music City whilst coming together to share their ideas, learn best practices to adapt their organisations to support the future of work. Together, we took advantage of the many opportunities to collaborate, problem-solve, ask questions, and learn alongside those who shared a passion for transforming how we manage and communicate with an increasingly diverse global workforce. 

As we look toward the future and the growing population of digital natives in the workforce, we can anticipate a higher demand for mobile workplace technology. It has become clear organisations need to prioritise their ultimate competitive advantage—their people.   

WorkForce Software released its second annual Workforce Experience Gap study. Compared to the previous year, employers were more aware of their employees’ needs but struggled to take meaningful actions to address them. For example, 45% of employees reported that they would prefer to use a single mobile app to communicate and collaborate with team members and management, but only 14% of employees reported using a company-approved mobile app.     

The same holds true for roster flexibility. For deskless workers, roster control holds the same power and allure as remote and hybrid work do for the corporate employee. Our study showed that 39% of employees reported not receiving flexible rostering options, and 37% said they did not receive help from their managers when personal circumstances created scheduling conflicts.   

Awareness means very little when it’s not followed by action. This is precisely why we challenged ourselves as well as our partner and customer speakers to share information focused on what truly matters to organisations and to the work they are doing for their employees.  

Our Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer, Sandra Moran, reinforced the need for organisational action in her mainstage presentation. Acknowledging the challenges of the labour shortage, she explained that companies need to create a place where people want to work. Employees need a personal value proposition from their employer to feel valued and engaged.    

Sandra explained that matching what people want to do with how information is provided is crucial. Digital training and the use of mobile technology to manage and engage an increasingly digital-native workforce can prove more effective when adapting procedures and communicating information to employees. Likewise, allowing time for learning and adaptation is a necessity, and plans should be adjusted to accommodate this. When thinking enterprise-wide, scope increases with each iteration, so splitting up a desired end state into smaller, clearly achievable goals is important.  

At WorkForce Software, we have observed a significant surge in the number of organisations adopting digital technology to reinvent their approach to work in a meaningful way. Our customers, who represent some of the most prominent employers worldwide, are using our solutions to harness the power of data, analytics, and automation to revolutionise their workplace experiences.  

Here are just a few highlights from the customer stories shared at VISION 2023:  

• We learned about WestRock’s implementation journey as they pushed for process standardisation, site engagement across 300+ locations in a highly trade unionised environment, and essential insights on testing, data-driven decision-making, and program leadership. “Consolidating into the WorkForce Software solution was critical for our organisation.” — Jonathan Neff, Sr. Program Manager, Human Resources at WestRock  

• Central Group shared their HR Digital Transformation journey, highlighting the value of the WorkForce Software Time and Attendance solution for 45,000 frontline employees, representing 1.5 million time and attendance transactions in a month (which is expected to double next year). “We are revolutionising HR practices by adopting an employee-centric approach and leveraging emerging AI technologies.”  — Pascal Billaud, Chief People Officer at Central Group   

• We discovered how WorkForce Software streamlined and optimised Air Canada’s crew payroll processes, reducing errors and minimising manual work, all whilst boosting crew engagement. “When we were going through testing, we realised WorkForce Software is doing this right and the legacy system isn’t. We knew we were moving in the right direction.” — Brankica Segota, Senior Manager Crew Admin of Air Canada  

Our dedication to the future of work is evident through the expanding customer adoption of our solutions, something that would not be possible without the continued support of our partner ecosystem. WorkForce Software is the solution of choice for global employers with complex workforce requirements, supported by over a thousand certified implementation partner resources that strengthen our customer organisations in their digital transformation journeys. We are now the workforce solution partner for the leading global HCM solution providers and trusted systems integrators, including SAP, Oracle, Workday, EPI-USE, Accenture, IBM, GroupeX, and more.  

Our partner presentations were packed with remarkable moments. Here are a few examples:  

• Oracle VP of Strategic Solutions Matt Gale stressed the significance of prioritising employee well-being, urging leaders to focus on employees’ needs rather than preconceived ideas of what the workplace should be. “I asked my team what well-being means to them. I couldn’t do everything, but I listened to what matters to them and took action on it.” 
   
• Farhan Khan, Co-CEO of GroupeX, stressed the importance of digitisation protocols and using real-time workforce data as a tool for enhancing an organisation’s empowerment, efficiency, and optimisation. He also discussed how automation can help address systemic issues and shared best practices for improving engagement by strengthening visibility measures that allow employees to work flexibly. 
   
• We participated in an interactive session and open dialogue hosted by IBM to discuss ways to gain support for workforce transformation, identifying key value drivers that can be effectively communicated to leadership. “Put together, these benefits can produce 1% to 2% savings of payroll costs per year. Think about how quickly you can pay back that investment for initial implementation.” — Yanis Seheb, Business Development Manager at IBM    

By focusing on essential themes such as the balance of employee wants and business needs, productivity, engagement, and compliance, together we can navigate uncertainty, continue moving forward, and build a brighter future for our workforces. We are all taking a crucial step toward fostering resilient organisations that can adapt to constant change and transform both processes and employee experiences.    

Resiliency cannot be achieved without engaged employees, and it is our collective responsibility to create an adaptable workforce that drives business transformation. We are going to shape the future of work together.   

Nucleus Research recently honored WorkForce Software in their 2023 Workforce Management Technology Value Matrix. For the ninth year in a row, WorkForce Software has been recognized as the leader in efficiency, functionality, and usability of its solutions.