Greater profitability is imperative for businesses looking to succeed, but if it was simply a matter of asking employees to work harder or more efficiently, then all businesses would already be maximising their profits.
Instead, organisations must focus on creating a strong workplace culture to drive productivity, in turn increasing profitability. The right culture ensures employees feel truly trusted and valued, empowering them to work flexibly, improve their work-life balance and allowing them to come to work as their best selves. This, supported by the right People Operations technology, can convert a better culture into better business results, ultimately boosting those all-important profit numbers.
Increasing productivity through promoting role flexibility
To maximise productivity, businesses need a flexible workforce – one that can adapt to fluctuating demands, varied roles, and different work locations. A workforce that can flex and adjust to business needs is much more robust and agile – however, flexibility is not just about business benefits. Investing in employee training empowers workers to cover multiple roles, widening their career prospects and ensuring they feel listened to.
Achieving this level of flexibility, however, particularly in frontline sectors where demand can fluctuate at short notice, cannot be done effectively using manual methods. Aligning with customer demand, labour budgets and skills, and employee needs all must be carefully considered. Smart technology, such as AI-driven forecasting tools, can play an essential role in predicting this demand. The results from these applications directly feed into labour scheduling tools, enabling the optimal alignment of people, demand, labour budgets and employee needs.
Self-service mobile tools are another key example of how technology can enhance both flexibility, productivity and profitability. These tools enable employees to manage and swap their shifts on their own terms, promoting flexibility and autonomy. This not only leads to happier, more motivated workers but also reduces the time managers spend on lengthy administrative tasks, improving overall efficiency.
The correlation between cultural investment and productivity is clear. When employees feel empowered by flexible schedules, facilitated by the right technology, key determinants of profitability, from staff turnover and absenteeism to process efficiency, are effectively managed.
Automating tasks to drive more efficient processes
Employees who feel overwhelmed with manual tasks quickly become disengaged. For instance, a retail manager that is spending hours building labour schedules using manual tools may feel that they are wasting valuable time when they could be engaging in something more productive. The automation of routine tasks – like scheduling, payroll, and time tracking – frees managers from administrative burdens, enabling them to focus on higher-value activities. Not only this, replacing manual tasks with automated processes can also facilitate faster and more accurate completion.
People Operations solutions enable numerous routine people-related tasks to be automated, from time tracking, recruitment and leave management to labour planning, contract generation, and skills and benefits administration. The data gathered by these tools also enable real-time insight, which can then inform processes and activity, allowing managers to make more accurate decisions that can further improve performance and employee experience.
The adoption of technology to automate otherwise lengthy processes creates a win-win situation for employers: improved process efficiency benefits the business and profit margins, while enhanced job satisfaction fosters a more positive workplace culture.
Controlling costs through maximising retention and reducing absences
Creating a culture that prioritises employee retention will pay exponentially – both culturally and financially. The costs of recruitment can be substantial, particularly the cost of training, not to mention the impact on productivity, morale and team dynamics.
Leveraging technology and insight to foster a great workplace will, therefore, improve retention and reduce the associated costs. For example, accurate, timely pay is essential to a positive employee experience; when employers get payroll wrong, it won’t be long before employees look to alternative work. Workforce management (WFM) technology is one example of technology that can improve the employee experience in this regard. WFM helps ensure accurate payroll by accurately capturing worked hours and absences, helping to improve morale, reduce turnover and control costs.
Unplanned absences also damage performance and culture, leading to overtime costs, burnout, and reduced productivity. To make matters worse, absence often creates a domino effect, with the remaining employees becoming overworked and stressed. Self-service tools for managing absences empower staff and ease managerial burden. HR Service Delivery Knowledgebase solutions provide visibility to corporate policies and procedures. Analytics deliver insight into absence reasons and trends, allowing managers to address the root cause.
Culture first, profits follow
The conclusion is clear; when a strong company culture is authentically fostered, profits inevitably follow. However, without the right technology helping to drive cultural improvements, it is much more difficult to achieve ambitious business outcomes. Workforce management technology can convert a better culture into better business results, granting employees greater flexibility, freeing up managers’ valuable time, and driving more efficient processes.
Businesses that prioritise culture create an organisation that people want to join – with employees that are far more likely to stick around. When company culture and technology work together in tandem, considerable benefits are brought to the entire organisation, and increased profitability is just the beginning.
