Sailing the Ship: Labor Management, The Anchor and Compass

After last week’s workforce management blog, you are probably convinced onboarding is the most important aspect of managing your company’s workflow. You probably also think if you do nothing else for your employees but provide them with excellent training, then your days will run smooth. Well, I may burst your bubble this week because even just a day’s worth of smooth sailing requires continuous attention. I am now here to convince you that an adaptive, substantial labor management plan is both the anchor and compass of your business. 

• Securing your vessel with its foundation/ mission
• Holding your crew accountable, engaged with each other, and focused on the overall journey
• Keeping your ship on track/path to achieve your mission

Let’s go back to what workforce management is for just a moment. Workforce management are the processes used to optimize workflows from the individual to the company level. Management of the processes that keep your business functioning require continuous time and attention, and must be done on a day-to-day basis.

That day-to-day basis can be referred to as labor management.

The day-to-day couldn’t possibly be the same for every business, because sometimes at one business alone every day seems different. However, when you take out the special occurrences, the accidents, the surprises, the wins, and the losses three constants will remain: scheduling, time and labor costs, and policy enforcing. These constants make a functional, productive workflow—the integration of people, technology, and machinery—possible. In the smallest unit (most simplified form) of any functioning and successful business you will find people (the skipper and the crew), processes (knots and tactics), and policies (let’s just call this seamanship).

Watch out for the storm.

Imagine a company with people just showing up to work as they please; processes that are not structured and managed by the right number of people; people who are not paid for the correct hours worked, and policies that are not enforced. Now imagine what walking into or working for that company might look like.

I paint this picture to show what a company with poor labor management represents. If you weren’t able to envision this company for yourself, let me help you. Picture mass chaos, processes not functioning, distraught employees, compliance issues, hazards, and high turnover. If you’re still reading, this happening at your company is probably your worst nightmare.

Don’t get stuck in your anchor line.

If you’re like me you do not want even a slight version or aspect of a day like this happening at your company. Preventing your day-to-day from looking like this, relies on your labor management. How much time do you spend scheduling each week? Do you put in the extra- effort to listen when employees need or request time off? Do you  know your company workflow well enough to know the optimal number of people needed for specific days, at specific times—low and peak, during different seasons, or for special events? Do you have an error proof method for tracking time and labor? Are you aware of laws relevant to your business? Do you know if your employees are satisfied with their work? Do you not only have workplace policies but actively enforce them—ensuring employee/ customer well-being?

If any of these questions bring you stress or raise more questions, do not worry you are not alone. Those of us at HireLevel are here to help you with your labor management plan. From written workplace policies in a handbook to timekeeping and overtime compliance, we have the tools to make labor management easier. By outsourcing these services, your company can rest easy knowing that the foundation of your day-to-day business is in the capable, well-informed hands of an entire workforce management team rather than the overflowing hands of one person.

Follow our 4 Part Series: Sailing the Ship– Workforce Management to Change the Vessel

• Part 1: Workforce Management is the Mainstay
• Part 2: Onboarding and Training– Bring the crew aboard and train for longevity
• Part 4: Employee satisfaction–  It takes a focused crew to sail the ship

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