One of the primary functions of government is to provide certain services and programs to its citizens. That has become an increasingly difficult task today with tight budgets and ever-rising demand for more stuff all while the unemployment rate remains at 5.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. One way federal, state, and local governments can reduce costs and increase overall efficiency is through proper workforce management systems.
The government workforce itself is one of their biggest aspects, and unfortunately, many departments at every level are not taking care of their needs in the best way possible. In fact, many agencies are wasting valuable money and time resources by using outdated procedures and equipment, according to the government news source FederalTimes.com.
Rock Regan is the director of the public sector practice group at the workforce management company Kronos and wrote about the opportunity to alleviate wasteful government spending in a piece for the site. He believes the first step in the process is turning to available automated solutions.
“A significant percentage of federal and government agencies and departments continue to rely on manual, paper-based methods to manage critical processes such as timekeeping and payroll,” Regan wrote. “Not only are these methods extremely time-consuming and error-prone, but they also contribute to increased labor costs and inflated payroll.”
About 90% of firms use some type of freelance or contract talent. Still, private business typically have a majority of full-time employees and maybe one or two contracted or contingent worker sections. Government agencies, on the other hand, are filled with a vast variety of workers, including those who work full-time and part-time or as salaried civil servants and contractors.
Not only do automated systems handle the sorting and management of these aspects, they also can assist managers and people in leadership roles make more accurate decisions on whether or not more/less people need to be scheduled for a specific job, estimate the time and monetary cost of an upcoming project, or improve their ability to negotiate contracts by having the most extensive data available to them.
Another great reason for automated workforce systems in the government sector, according to Regan, is their ability to track and record virtually all functions. Transparency is one the most sought-after features in government, and having a central database that can be audited and analyzed in real-time makes those efforts even more successful.
“Accurate, timely, and auditable data on who, where, and what the workforce is accomplishing is essential to managing this unique environment to the highest level of efficiency,” Regan wrote.