Workforce management has become a herculean task as HR processes grow, modernize, and evolve. The best workforce management software will include features that address everything from employee scheduling, attendance tracking, leave management, onboarding, benefits administration, call center optimization, HRIS, time tracking, and payroll systems—just to name a few!
In this article, I will outline some of the best, most reliable workforce management solutions to help you with everything from employee engagement to time & attendance. I will also outline what each workforce HR software solution does best so that you can determine if it’s right for you.
What Is Workforce Management Software?
Workforce management software (sometimes called a WMS, and sometimes called WFM software, depending on who you ask) is any digital tool designed to support the day-to-day operations of a workforce. This will most likely include many common human resource management tasks, such as timesheets, labor management forecasting, performance management, absence management, task management, and payroll software.
Some WMSs might be jacks-of-all-trades and cover all of the above to varying degrees. Others might specialize in a few professional services only, or in some cases, just one of them.
Best Workforce Management Software List
Here’s a shortlist of the best workforce management software—find overviews of each below:
- Remote - Best global workforce management for international teams
- SwipedOn Pocket - Best location-based workforce management software
- Oracle Workforce Management - Best mobile workforce management software
- Fuse Workforce Management - Best self-service scheduling
- BlueYonder Workforce Management - Best remote workforce management software
- Aspect Workforce Management - Best workforce management dashboard
- SAP SuccessFactors - Best healthcare workforce management software
- SumTotal Workforce Management - Best workforce learning app
- Paylocity - Best for employee performance management
- Calabrio Workforce Management - Best call center workforce management software
WFM Software Comparison Criteria
Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria:
- User Interface (UI): Workforce management needs the UI functionality to support ease-of-use for HR departments as well as intuitive employee self-service when necessary. Therefore, the interface should update in real-time, streamline navigation, and display aesthetic and modern workflows.
- Usability: Large scale WMS training often incurs additional labor costs so it’s important for any software to be easy for a mobile workforce and/or HR management to figure out. Training should be timely, thorough, and accessible, and ongoing customer service assistance should be adequately provided.
- Integrations: Workforce management software is usually just one cog in a larger SaaS machine so it must be able to integrate (plug-in or API) with popular apps for staffing, task lifecycle automation, budgeting, employee time and clock in tools, scheduling software, and artificial intelligence. Does the software connect with a good variety of third-party apps and services easily?
- Value for $: Workforce management software pricing should be fair, flexible, and transparent for the needs of large enterprises as well as small businesses. Bonus: Does the cost include a mobile app, contact center support, and other perks?
WFM Tools Key Features
- Multi-platform support, including mobile – Workforces may use their own device or have a platform preference so WMS must be OS and device agnostic.
- Real time scheduling and time clock access anywhere – Time management and time keeping on-the-go is increasingly crucial to the mobile, remote, and hybrid workforce of today.
- Automated reporting for crucial metrics – Managers will need ROI metrics and KPIs readily available to save time as they navigate large-scale or remote workforces.
- Remote management oversight – Managers should be empowered to check on, reach out to, and follow up with agents at every level of the company.
- Talent acquisition and ongoing training – The bottom line is that your workforce is an asset to you and you should plan to spend resources in order to develop, train, and promote them.
People Managing People is reader-supported. We may earn a commission when you click through links on our site — learn more about how we aim to stay transparent.
Overviews Of The 10 Best Workforce Management Software
Here’s a brief description of each of the workforce management solutions on my list showing what it does best, plus screenshots to showcase some of the features.
Remote - Best global workforce management for international teams
Remote’s dashboard comes with a clean and modern interface.
Pros
- Contractor payments in 170+ countries
- EOR availability in 40+ countries (80 planned by end of 2021)
- Localized contracts, benefits packages, and IP protection
- Visa, immigration, and equity incentive planning support
- GDPR and SOC2 compliant
- 24/7 customer and employee support
Cons
- PEO capabilities not yet available (expected end of 2021)
- Existing integrations limited to ATS and payroll platforms
- No iOS or Android app available
SwipedOn Pocket - Best location-based workforce management software
Users can get real-time insights into employee sign-ins, as well as allow for visitor sign-ins.
SwipedOn Pocket users can add custom screening questions, which allows for daily health and wellness checks as employees sign in, and administrators can be alerted if any answers raise concerns. With a very clean, modern user interface, SwipedOn Pocket is simple and easy to use.
Plans start from $49 a month. The tool also offers a free 14-day free trial (no credit card required), and free demos with experts on their team.
Pros
- Accurate, real-time data showing employee movements
- Verified employee sign in to specific locations with Proximity
- Perform wellness checks with screening questions during employee sign in
Cons
- Does not currently offer the ability to sign in remotely
- Proximity works by iPad beacon distance, not geo-location services
- Not compatible with older mobile devices
Oracle Workforce Management - Best mobile workforce management software
Users can access a snapshot of the whole team schedule, unifying even remote departments.
Like all things Oracle, the platform comes with a bit of a learning curve but is well worth investing time into to unlock the potential of the full feature set. You’ll have access to assets like self-service compensation charts for employees, profitability and cost management dashboards, and easy incident reporting. Oracle offers many first-party digital solutions that, wholly integrated, can handle most of your business needs without leaving the platform.
Oracle Workforce Management costs from $13/user/month for a minimum of 1000 employees. They offer a free demo.
Pros
- Robust insights on people management metrics
- Automatic tax updates and IRS reporting for payroll processing
- Learning cloud for talent management and learning outcomes
Cons
- Few customizations allowed, must work within configuration
- Sluggish when pulling certain reports
- Can be difficult to alter benefits across departments
Fuse Workforce Management - Best self-service scheduling
Users are empowered to log-in and request schedule modifications and swaps in the app.
Fuse WM helps you manage the entire employee lifecycle with their cloud-based HR services. You can leverage administrative process automation, ready-to-go hiring and training workflow templates, and applicant tracking tools to keep things running smoothly. They also offer built-in notifications and alerts that flag issues around potential employee scheduling conflicts.
Fuse Workforce Management costs from $18/user/month and offers a free demo.
Pros
- Variety of detailed, highly customizable reports
- Centralized timeclock, timesheets, and payroll
- Very customization-friendly program
Cons
- Steep learning curve for onboarding
- Open enrollment process can be challenging to follow
- Attendance points system not automatic, must be manually run
BlueYonder Workforce Management - Best remote workforce management software
Remote workforce management will benefit from their single source of scheduling truth.
While most of the WMS on this list can handle remote teams to some degree, BlueYonder Workforce Management does it especially well. They prioritize multi-source analytics on an all-in-one dashboard, extreme user friendliness for onboarding remote teams, and an excellent data and document management solution built right in to the platform.
BlueYonder Workforce Management offers customized pricing upon request.
Pros
- Handles high volumes of transactions well
- Employee portal for personal information, payroll, benefits
- Strong digital fulfillment features
- Good Microsoft Teams integration
Cons
- Integration and label printing require expert set-up
- Unstable Google app version
- Some interface pages are quite clutter/text-heavy
Aspect Workforce Management - Best workforce management dashboard
Aspect’s dashboard unifies scheduling, incentives, incoming request, and satisfaction scores.
The dashboard color system might be a bit abrasive but the extensive knowledge base it samples is smart, actionable, and unique. You can launch and track engagement and performance challenges; view awards and other reward systems; and pick and choose which data widgets you want to display where. Whether you want to track shift swapping instances or signed in time, they have a way to do it.
Aspect Workforce Management offers customized pricing upon request. They offer a free demo.
Pros
- Real-time agent availability tracking
- Easy bulk scheduling and quick changes for scheduling
- Can test proposed schedules against forecasts
- Ability to schedule breaks according to call volume
Cons
- Mobile app interface is a bit outdated
- No way to batch-delete request from inbox
- Poor integration with non-aspect phone systems like Avaya and Cisco
SAP SuccessFactors - Best healthcare workforce management software
Employees can take special advantage of the internal training metrics for career progress.
SAP SuccessFactor can connect natively to a whole host of first-party SAP digital product offerings, like financial planning systems, accounting, supplier management, and core HR and payroll. This is ideal for customer-centric healthcare solutions that could benefit from streamlined vendor management for the sake of data security, if nothing else.
SAP SuccessFactors has solutions that start at $2.18/user and has software packages starting from $1000+/package. The tool offers a free trial.
Pros
- High quality reward and recognition
- Robust career path development tools
- Engaging onboarding portal
Cons
- Busy administrative scenes
- No AI for sourcing candidates
- Limitations to customized rating systems
SumTotal Workforce Management - Best workforce learning app
Track goals, development plan progress, learning activities, and social feedback.
SumTotal Workforce Management has a sophisticated system for training and learning management, prompting users who need to update or advance skill sets while keeping managers abreast of progress. They offer LMS solutions for finical services, healthcare, public sector training, and manufacturing training.
SumTotal Workforce Management offers customized pricing upon request.
Pros
- Gamification and self-motivated learning features
- Good integration with 3rd party applications
- Custom layouts for front page per user
Cons
- License cost is comparatively high
- SaaS status prevent some deeper forms of customization
- More standard report templates would be welcome
Paylocity - Best for employee performance management
Send and receive impressions from other employees in your organization.
Paylocity gamifies performance management, giving it a “social media” feel where users can pass kudos to one another for specific tasks, actions, or behaviors. They provide a built-in social hub to foster community in a way that breaks down departmental silos. Peer recognition and feedback survey tools help teams to feel engaged with the process of ongoing performance management.
Paylocity costs from $45/month plus an added $4/user/month. They offer a free demo.
Pros
- User-friendly, comprehensive PTO tracking
- Good employee onboarding and HRIS functions
- Strong mobile app with identical features to web
Cons
- Reporting is limited to canned reports
- Convoluted interface with some menu overkill
- Sluggish customer service team
Calabrio Workforce Management - Best call center workforce management software
Analyze text chat and audio calls from contact center agents for target phrases.
Calabrio Workforce Management is an agile and scalable digital workforce management platform that boasts key features such as quick-build forecasting reports, schedule building and distribution, mobile app self-service for agents, and gamification of success with badges and scorecards.
Calabrio Workforce Management offers customized pricing upon request.
Pros
- Well done audio and screen recording for call centers
- Copy schedule feature saves administration time
- Intuitive, digestible analytics system and visuals
Cons
- Slightly convoluted pathway to requesting time off
- File storage doesn’t automatically organize by time/date
- No What If function to test schedules/forecast before agent sees it
Best Workforce Management Software Summary
Other Workforce Management Software
Here’s a few more that didn’t make the top list.
- ADP Workforce Now – Best enterprise workforce management software
- Verint Workforce Management – Best contingent workforce management software
- Envoy – Best for hot-desking solutions
- When I work – Best free workforce management software
- WorkForce – Best set of RESTful and SOAP-based APIs
- Ceridian Dayforce – Best workforce management software for retail
- Paycom – Best workforce management mobile app
- Humanity – Best for transportation and delivery
- BambooHR – Best people data and analytics
- UKG – Best workforce management software for construction
- Humi – Best workforce management software for small call centers
- Trakstar – Best succession planning
- Lattice – Best career path and growth plans
- intelliHR – Best employee experience workflows
- 7Geese – Best OKR goal-setting
- Leapsome – Best automated feedback processes
- Ally – Best Slack integration
- Talldesk – Best call center as a service (CCaaS)
- Xerox Team Availability – Best for creatives and marketing
- OpenHRMS – Best open source workforce management software
Similar Software
Workforce management software is similar to these other tools if you’d like to check out the comparison articles on these:
- Staffing software
- Benefits administration software
- Performance management
- Employee management systems and similarly, talent management systems
Which Workforce Management Software Do You Recommend?
What do you think of the workforce management tools on this list? Do you currently use any workforce management systems? What core HR ERP would you add to this list? Let me know in the comments.
Don’t think getting software is quite right for your organization just yet but you still need help with payroll management? Here’s an article on how you can Keep Your Payroll On Time, All The Time.
For updates on our latest articles and podcasts from human resource experts, sign up for The People Managing People newsletter.
You can also share tool recommendations and best practices with other people and culture pros in our online community—get involved with our community here.
