Nextiva / Blog / Customer Experience

Customer Experience (CX) Customer Experience August 1, 2024

10 Best Workforce Management Tools for 2024

workforce-management-tools-hero
Workforce management tools help businesses manage staff and optimize internal processes. Find the right WFM systems for your business in our guide.
Alex Doan
Author

Alex Doan

workforce-management-tools-hero
What are workforce management tools?

Workforce management software helps businesses manage all aspects of their workforce in one place. It streamlines tasks like scheduling, payroll, and human resource (HR) functions, aiming to improve productivity and reduce operational costs.

The right workforce management solutions can take your business from mid to fire — no cap. It enhances employee productivity, minimizes errors, reduces labor costs, and streamlines onboarding and recruiting efforts while centralizing HR functions like payroll and benefits.

We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the 10 best workforce management software to improve organizational efficiency and deliver positive customer support interactions.

WFM ToolBest ForFeaturesStarting Price
NextivaOverall workforce managementAttendance and time tracking
Real-time performance dashboards
Employee forecasting and scheduling
$129 per agent per month
monday.comProject managementKanban boards for visual workflow management
Customizable templates for different industries and use cases
Customizable performance reports
$9 per seat per month
BambooHRPayroll integrationEmployee database and reporting
Payroll, time, and benefits
Hiring and onboarding
$108 per month
WorkdayReporting and analyticsRecruiting and onboarding
Interview scheduling and hiring assistance
AI-powered scheduling and demand forecasting
$99 per user per month
ADP Workforce NowAutomated time and attendance trackingFlexible and mobile time collection
Seamless payroll integration
Learning management
$62 per month
RipplingRemote team managementEmployee onboarding
Global workforce system
Custom workflows
$8 per user per month
UKG ProEmployee self-serviceTime and attendance tracking
Scheduling tools
Workforce planning
$27 per employee per month
Five9Contact center workforce managementMultichannel forecasting
Automated preference scheduling
Agent adherence tools
$175 per month 
ZendeskMeasuring agent productivityAI forecasting
Custom reporting
Automatic scheduling
$55 per agent per month + $25 per month add-on
Zoho PeopleEmployee onboardingEmployee management
Attendance tracker and timesheets
Shift scheduling
$1.25 per user per month

1. Nextiva

Best overall workforce management tool

Screenshot of Nextiva workforce management system

Nextiva provides a unified platform with workforce management tools that enhance both customer and employee satisfaction. The platform offers advanced workforce management with features like flexible intraday work scheduling, shift bidding, and real-time operational insights, allowing supervisors to adapt to demand shifts and streamline business communication processes. 

Nextiva enhances customer satisfaction and operational efficiency in contact centers by centralizing call data analysis and supporting seamless collaboration. Additional features include real-time call transcription, employee performance insights, customizable dashboards, AI-powered agent scoring, and seamless integration with Google Data Studio for advanced reporting. 

Features 

Nextiva is packed with features that enhance workforce management and workforce engagement management. Here are a few key features:

  • Attendance and time tracking help management teams track employee time and attendance and coordinate leave and absences for in-house and remote teams.
  • Real-time performance dashboards through Nextiva Voice Analytics provide customizable dashboards that display reports, metrics, and even gamification leaderboards.
  • Employee forecasting and scheduling with staggered call routing optimize agent availability, ensure swift adaptation to unexpected changes in demand, and help teams meet service level agreements (SLAs).

Related: Benefits & Best Practices of Workforce Engagement Management

Pricing

Nextiva offers flexible and transparent pricing for small and midsize businesses and enterprises.

PROSCONS
Single platform
Modern and future-proof software
Advanced capabilities
Limited live support
Best used for U.S.-based companies

2. monday.com

Best for project management

Screenshot of monday.com workforce management system

The cloud-based work management platform from monday.com is ideal for small and medium-sized businesses. It serves as a comprehensive solution for managers and employees by centralizing work, processes, tools, and files in one accessible location. Its workforce management features help set goals and objectives, manage projects and processes, and oversee tasks to ensure productivity and goal attainment across teams.

Features 

Features for monday.com’s WFM tools include:

  • Kanban boards for visual workflow management allow teams to track work progress, prioritize tasks, and manage workflow stages effectively by organizing tasks into visual columns.
  • Customizable templates for different industries and use cases utilize pre-designed templates tailored to specific industries or use cases.
  • Customizable performance reports create tailored reports that analyze and present key performance metrics and insights relevant to workforce productivity and operational efficiency.

Pricing

A free plan is available through monday.com, but only for up to two users. For pricing tiers for three seats or more, there are four plans to choose from:

  • Basic: $9 per seat per month, billed annually
  • Standard: $12 per seat per month, billed annually
  • Pro: $19 per seat per month, billed annually
  • Enterprise: Contact sales
PROSCONS
24/7 support
200+ board and automation templates
Great customer support
3-user minimum across paid plans
Integrations unavailable for the basic plan
Confusing pricing

3. BambooHR

Best for payroll integration

Screenshot of BambooHR workforce management system

BambooHR offers an integrated HR platform that includes payroll, time tracking, benefits, applicant tracking, onboarding, data management, reporting, and employee engagement tools. This makes it ideal for small and medium-sized businesses and HR departments with limited staff. 

The software streamlines hiring, onboarding, and payroll processes, eliminating data duplication and manual approvals while providing real-time data, analytics, and feedback tools to enhance employee experience and decision-making. It emphasizes data accuracy, security, and coordination to improve operational efficiency across HR functions.

Features 

Check out these key features of BambooHR:

  • Employee databases and reporting centralize employee information and generate reports to provide insights into workforce demographics, performance metrics, and compliance.
  • Payroll, time tracking, and benefits management automate payroll processing, track employee hours, and manage benefits administration to ensure accurate compensation and compliance with labor regulations.
  • Hiring and onboarding tools streamline the recruitment process, from job posting and applicant tracking to seamless onboarding, ensuring a smooth transition for new hires into the organization.

Pricing

BambooHR offers two plans, Essentials and Advantage. Both plans charge a flat rate for companies with up to 20 employees and offer add-on rates for additional employees. BambooHR also offers several add-ons for features, such as payroll, admin, performance management, and more. These require a custom quote.

  • Essentials: $108 per month for 20 employees + $5.40 per month per each additional employee
  • Advantage: $180 per month for 20 employees + $9 per month per each additional employee
PROSCONS
Includes employee wellness features
User-friendly interface
Customizable integrations
Pricing requires a custom quote
Customer support
Difficulties with the org chart

4. Workday

Best for reporting and analytics

Screenshot of Workday workforce management system

Workday’s cloud-based human capital management (HCM) platform consolidates all HR functions into a single user interface. Key features include comprehensive time tracking, payroll management, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, compensation administration, advanced analytics, and workforce management tools like scheduling and leave management. The platform also integrates AI-powered features for scheduling, demand forecasting, and labor optimization, enhancing efficiency across global workforces. 

Features 

Workda’s workforce management features include:

  • Recruiting and onboarding tools streamline the process of attracting, assessing, and integrating new employees into the organization.
  • Interview scheduling and hiring assistance automates interview scheduling and provides tools for evaluating candidates.
  • AI-powered scheduling and demand forecasting utilize AI to optimize employee scheduling based on anticipated demand, ensuring the right staffing levels at all times.

Pricing

Workday provides a free option limited to two seats and plans for businesses of different sizes. For paid subscriptions, some reports say that pricing starts at $99 per user per month. To get a custom quote for your business,  you’ll need to contact Workday.

PROSCONS
Enhances talent acquisition processes
Highly customizable
Integration capabilities with third-party apps
Undisclosed pricing
Minimal reporting capabilitiesInability to delete inbox items
Unclear error messages

5. ADP Workforce Now

Best for automated time and attendance tracking

Screenshot of ADP workforce management system

ADP Workforce Now is a cloud-based HR and payroll software tailored for medium to large businesses. It offers essential workforce management tools like time and attendance tracking, scheduling, leave management, payroll processing, and recruitment via ZipRecruiter integration. It also includes reporting and analytics capabilities, along with custom implementation services. 

Features 

ADP Workforce Now includes features such as:

  • Flexible and mobile time collection allows employees to record their work hours conveniently using mobile devices or other flexible methods.
  • Seamless payroll integration ensures that the data collected from time tracking and other workforce management activities seamlessly integrates with the payroll system.
  • Learning management provides access to pre-packaged compliance and development courses, custom training creation and upload options, and employee self-enrollment.

Pricing

ADP doesn’t include its pricing with tiers on the website, but users report a starting price of $62 per month. To get custom pricing for any of the tiers (Select, Plus, Premium), contact ADP. 

PROSCONS
Customizable dashboards
Automated time and attendance tracking
Integrates with third-party HR apps
No transparent pricing
Support issues
User experience

6. Rippling

Best for remote team management

Screenshot of Rippling workforce management system

Rippling is a cloud-based payroll and HR management platform that helps businesses with HR, IT, and financial tasks from a single dashboard. It includes an applicant tracking system (ATS) and enables organizations to manage employee onboarding, tax filing, time tracking, and benefits administration. It offers a user-friendly design, global data protection compliance, high customization, reporting and analytics tools, and integrations with third-party apps. 

Features 

Ripplings features include, but aren’t limited to:

  • Employee onboarding includes tools that help onboard employees and contractors in minutes.
  • The Global workforce system enables teams to manage HR, IT, and Finance in one place.
  • Custom workflows with automation help streamline manual tasks and processes.

Pricing

Rippling doesn’t list their pricing tiers but they do mention a starting price: Custom quotes start at $8 per user per month. To get a quote, you must contact Rippling’s sales team so they can assess your business needs.

PROSCONS
Highly customizable
Specific features for remote workforces 
Comprehensive HR tools
No transparent pricing tiers
Recruiting features are challenging to learn
Lacks flexibility around permissions

7. UKG Pro

Best for employee self-service

Screenshot of UKG Pro workforce management system

UKG Pro is a platform designed for enterprises. It helps businesses manage all aspects of HR, payroll, talent, and scheduling. UKG Pro provides AI-powered recommendations and automation to enhance the employee experience. It offers workforce management capabilities, such as global HR management, employee self-service, accurate payroll, talent development, time and attendance tracking, and flexible scheduling.

Features 

UKG Pro offers a suite of features with its WFM systems. Here are a few notable ones.

  • Time and attendance tools help teams track and monitor employee time, attendance, activities, and exceptions.
  • Scheduling tools provide real-time visibility into workforce scheduling to optimize coverage. 
  • Workforce planning predicts and analyzes gaps in the workforce to ensure proper planning.

Pricing

UKG doesn’t list pricing tiers on its website, but some users report a starting price of $27 per employee per month. For a custom quote that fits individual business needs, you’ll need to contact UKG’s sales team.

PROSCONS
Comprehensive features
User-friendly interface
Integration capabilities
Non-transparent pricing
Limited customization
Challenging onboarding process

8. Five9

Best for contact center workforce management

Screenshot of Five9 workforce management system

Five9’s call center workforce management tools help businesses accurately forecast contact center demand and schedule the right number of agents. It keeps agents engaged with self-service scheduling, mobile access, and CRM integration, while tracking schedule compliance in real time. Key features include automatic or agent-bid scheduling, multi-skill and multichannel forecasting, and multiple notification channels for schedule changes to make contact center management more manageable.

Features 

Some of Five9’s WFM features include:

  • Multichannel forecasting uses algorithms to predict and schedule agents with the right skills to optimize coverage.
  • Automated preference scheduling allows for schedule bidding, flexible start and stop times, and optimization of lunches, breaks, meetings, and coaching sessions.
  • Agent adherence tools provide historical and real-time adherence monitoring with out-of-adherence alerts and views for agents and supervisors.

Pricing

Five9 offers a variety of pricing options. These subscription tiers include: 

  • Digital: $175 per month 
  • Core: $175 per month
  • Premium: $235 per month
  • Optimum: $290 per month
  • Ultimate: $325 per month
PROSCONS
Easy scheduling and forecasting
Real-time reporting and analytics
Various pricing options
High learning curve for new users
Limited customization
Support quality

See how Five9 stacks up against Nextiva

9. Zendesk

Best for measuring agent productivity

Screenshot of Zendesk workforce management system

Zendesk offers WFM software, formerly known as Tymeshift. The system uses AI to predict and forecast staffing needs based on historical data. Automatic agent scheduling creates schedules for each team member. Real-time activity tracking and analytics optimize agent performance and give them more schedule visibility.

Features 

A few features of Zendesk’s WFM software include these helpful tools:

  • AI forecasting uses intelligent tools to forecast staffing needs.
  • Custom reporting helps teams create reporting dashboards that provide real-time insights into performance and operations.
  • Automatic scheduling uses the forecast results to automatically create optimized staff schedules.

Pricing

Zendesk’s pricing tiers are for the customer support suite, with the workforce management tools as a $25 add-on.

  • Suite Team: $55 per agent per month, billed annually
  • Suite Growth: $89 per agent per month, billed annually
  • Suite Professional: $115 per agent per month, billed annually
PROSCONS
AI-powered features
Scorecards
Reporting and analytics
No Auto QA
No gamification tools
No performance coaching

10. Zoho People

Best for employee onboarding

Screenshot of Zoho People workforce management system

Zoho’s workforce management software, Zoho People, helps businesses track employee attendance and manage time-off requests with features like mobile check-in and location restrictions. It centralizes employee data with access controls and provides advanced reporting and trend analysis analytics. To increase employee engagement, it also features a learning management system and performance feedback tools.

Features 

Here are a few key features of Zoho People’s workforce management system:

  • Employee management features include secure data management and employee privacy, customizable databases, and self-service portals with mobile access.
  • Attendance trackers and timesheets track work hours and manage employee attendance with reports, regularized attendance, and on-site and remote employee check-ins.
  • Shift scheduling helps teams manage multiple rosters, define shifts, and automate shift rotations from a single dashboard.

Pricing

Zoho People offers pricing tiers as an add-on to regular subscription plans. The add-on pricing is as follows:

  • Essential HR: $1.25 per user per month, billed annually
  • Professional: $2 per user per month, billed annually
  • Premium: $3 per user per month, billed annually
  • Enterprise: $4.50 per user per month, billed annually
  • People Plus: $9 per user per month, billed annually
PROSCONS
Affordable pricing
Integrates with Zoho’s product ecosystem
User-friendly interface
Limited customization
Limited third-party integrations
Complicated advanced settings

Why You Need Workforce Management Tools

WFM tools can benefit businesses of all sizes in many different ways. Check out these top benefits of workforce management solutions.

A list highlighted by icons shows the key benefits of workforce management software.

Increase productivity and efficiency 

Workforce management software boosts productivity and efficiency by tracking utilization rates to ensure efficient staffing and automatically creating optimized schedules, saving managers time. Its task management features enhance employee focus and workload distribution, ensuring clearer expectations. This alignment allows employees to work on the right tasks at the right time, maximizing productivity. 

Automate manual tasks 

Workforce management software reduces HR workload by automating tasks such as timesheets and overtime tracking, thereby streamlining workflows and minimizing manual errors. It enhances compliance with labor regulations and increases efficiency by saving time through automation. 

Additionally, it improves the employee experience by offering greater transparency and flexibility in managing their schedules. These benefits collectively lead to a more efficient and effective workforce management system.

Enable data-driven strategic planning

Workforce management software enhances data-driven decision-making by analyzing historical and real-time data to inform strategies and optimize resource allocation. Based on data insights, it improves staffing levels and training, ensuring efficient use of resources. Additionally, it supports proactive planning, helping businesses anticipate future trends and prepare accordingly, leading to a more responsive and agile workforce.

Reduce operational costs

Workforce management software reduces costs by optimizing staffing levels with AI forecasting and utilization tracking, minimizing overtime, and automating scheduling tasks. This automation frees up HR staff for strategic work, potentially reducing headcount and increasing overall efficiency. By automating routine tasks like scheduling and time tracking, the software minimizes errors and allows HR to focus on higher-value activities such as employee engagement.

Boost the employee and customer experience

Implementing WFM tools can make experiences better for employees and customers alike. 

  • For customers, it offers personalized engagement using comprehensive data gathered through conversation analytics, AI-powered sentiment analysis to reduce churn, faster resolution times, and seamless CRM integration.
  • For employees, it features gamified productivity metrics, a unified platform to reduce app overload, automation tools to minimize burnout and reduce turnover rates, and streamlined onboarding with coaching tools and a single dashboard. 

Workforce Management Software Features to Consider

Here’s a breakdown of some key features to consider in workforce management software solutions:

How to Choose the Best WFM System for Your Business

Choosing the right workforce management system can be critical for optimizing your team’s efficiency and streamlining operations. Here are some key considerations to help you select the best fit for your business:

Optimize Your Workforce with Nextiva   

Managing employees has become increasingly complex due to changing markets, stricter regulations, and a more diverse and scattered workforce. Without integrated workforce management tools, companies may struggle to identify areas for improvement and align HR efforts with business goals, leading to financial losses. 

Nextiva offers an effective workforce management solution that integrates functions such as time tracking, absences, and payroll, simplifying tasks and providing valuable insights. Start boosting engagement and productivity for a more connected workforce today.

Better output with WFM.

Unlock your team’s full potential, optimize your resources, and revolutionize customer experiences with the power of Workforce Management.

Workforce management software FAQs

Still unsure about how workforce management software can benefit your business? Here are some answers to frequently asked questions.

What are the 5 R’s of workforce planning?

The 5 R’s of workforce planning are a framework for ensuring you have the right people in the right place, at the right time, with the right skills, for the right cost. They are:

Right People: Having the necessary skills and qualifications for the job
Right Place: Employees assigned to the appropriate location or task
Right Time: Ensuring adequate staffing during peak periods
Right Skills: Matching employee abilities to job requirements
Right Cost: Optimizing labor costs while maintaining productivity

What are KPIs in WFM?

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are measurable metrics used to track the effectiveness of your workforce management strategy. Common WFM KPIs include:

Labor costs: Total expenses associated with employee payroll and benefits.
Scheduling accuracy: How well employee schedules align with actual workload.
Employee productivity: Output or performance level per employee.
Absenteeism: Rate of employee absences.
Employee engagement: Level of employee satisfaction and motivation.

How much does workforce management software cost?

The cost of workforce management software depends on factors like features, deployment model, and number of users. Comprehensive systems with advanced functionalities and on-premise installations typically cost more, while cloud-based solutions often have lower upfront costs. Research and compare pricing models from different vendors to find a workforce management solution that fits your budget and needs.