Learn how to reveal costs by employee, and to transform that data into major productivity gains
Easy Metrics Labor Forecasting: Say Goodbye to Over-staffing or Overtime
One of the biggest challenges in dynamic production environments is to forecast the number of employees needed for production. Today’s high pressure, on-demand production environment can have large swings in production demands. Errors in labor forecasting can cause you to miss shipments, pay overtime, pay for employees not needed, and upset employee morale. All adversely impact your business. Accurate workforce forecasting is crucial to obtain the most effective cost structure for your production.
ESSENTIAL FACTORS FOR FORECASTING LABOR REQUIREMENTS
1. Forecast of Work As Dictated by Sales
Most organizations forecast workflow by using data from their sales systems, which provide at least a day’s lead time on the work to be done. This is straightforward enough, and is simple to calculate based on incoming orders.
2. The Right Amount of Labor for the Job
The second factor is more challenging. Companies need to have well developed performance metrics that incorporate historical performance to accurately forecast their labor needs. We frequently see companies try to forecast labor requirements by using a simple performance metric like cases-per-hour. When the work is more complex than they had planned for, hefty overtime charges ensue.
3. Track Historical Performance to Establish Performance Targets
Your history helps pinpoint future labor requirements. Since Easy Metrics tracks all historical performance and helps you establish objective performance targets, the variability in the work required is accounted for. You simply upload your forecast work mix and Easy Metrics will tell you how much labor will be required to perform the work based on your company’s historical performance and the variances within the forecast work.
The end result is that you will have the right number of employees needed to finish the job and the most effective cost structure for your production. Easy Metrics simplifies the process of labor forecasting for workforce management. Call us to see a custom demo on how Easy Metrics can simplify your workforce forecasting.