Better Time Tracking, Scheduling and Expense Reporting

A workforce management (WFM) solution is software designed to help human resources teams streamline time tracking, scheduling and labor allocation across their organization. It centralizes key workforce functions such as attendance tracking, employee scheduling, absence management and compliance with labor laws. WFM solutions also often integrate with payroll processing and onboarding tools to improve operational efficiency.

These systems provide real-time data, AI-powered insights and mobile app access to support decision-making and reduce labor costs. For HR leaders, the benefits of workforce management software include more accurate timesheets, improved employee satisfaction and increased productivity by enabling the right people to be in the right place at the right time.

The four key pieces of workforce management are time and attendance, employee scheduling, leave management and labor forecasting. Time and attendance functions allow businesses to track employee time accurately, reduce errors in timesheets and ensure compliance with pay rules. Scheduling tools enable shift coverage based on availability, job roles and business needs—helping to improve employee experience and increase employee productivity.

Leave management centralizes the process for requesting and approving time off, reducing manual HR processes and improving visibility for managers. Labor forecasting uses historical data and real-time metrics to project future staffing needs, allowing HR leaders to make more informed decisions. Together, these components form the foundation of a workforce management system, whether used in large enterprises or small businesses and they support better retention, self-service access via mobile devices and scalability within an all-in-one HCM software solution.

Workforce management (WFM) focuses on the daily operations related to managing employee time, attendance, schedules and productivity. WFM software helps track time, forecast labor needs and send notifications that support accurate staffing and compliance. These tools are typically user-friendly and optimized for roles that need real-time data, like frontline managers or HR specialists in industries, such as healthcare or retail.

Human resources (HR), or human capital management (HCM), covers the broader employee lifecycle—from recruiting and onboarding to performance management, compensation and offboarding. HR systems are built to support long-term strategy around employee engagement, retention and organizational structure. While WFM tools are a subset of an HCM platform, their focus is operational, not strategic. Both work together, often through an all-in-one provider, to give HR teams better control over workforce processes, staffing and system pricing.

HR leads workforce planning by analyzing staffing needs, aligning talent strategies with business goals and coordinating resources to meet future demand. This involves assessing current workforce capacity, identifying skill gaps and developing plans to address shortages or surpluses across departments. HR uses workforce management tools to support this process with data from time & attendance systems, turnover metrics and employee lifecycle records.

Through workforce planning, HR ensures the right number of employees are available at the right time, with the right skills. By using forecasting and scheduling insights from workforce management software, HR teams can make informed staffing decisions and reduce operational inefficiencies. This process is key to improving productivity and minimizing disruptions in both short- and long-term staffing strategies.