Helping forecast workforce demand and human resource optimization
Dynamic business demands and global sourcing present unprecedented challenges in the volume and speed with which companies hire, train and invest in retaining workers. The IBM Research Services Advanced Workforce Analytics micropractice applies supply-chain modeling and other advanced optimization techniques to characterize human capacity, forecast human resource demand and optimize workforce management. The goal is to help clients reduce labor costs, retain critical skills, and hire and deploy a just-in-time workforce capable of quickly adapting to the changing needs of the global marketplace.
IBM Research Services' Advanced Workforce Analytics solutions are focused on helping real clients across industries improve their workforce management, while retaining the flexibility and agility necessary to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing global marketplace.
- For a call center operation, this may mean assessing current workforce deployment, forecasting future workload, and proposing optimal scheduling practices to reduce labor costs while retaining rapid response flexibility.
- For a manufacturing company, this may mean identifying and remedying skill gaps and creating a long-range plan to adapt to a changing marketplace.
- For almost any company competing in the rapidly changing global environment, this means applying supply chain modeling and mathematical algorithms to optimize human resource planning and management.
Specialties
- Learning addresses on-demand learning for employees who require just-in-time training and provides collaboration and expertise location capabilities to facilitate informal learning.
- Skills matching addresses the complexities of matching available human resources to open positions and automates workshift scheduling to minimize payroll costs while maintaining service levels and complying with labor regulations.
- Workforce capacity planning addresses skill shortages and excesses by comparing the supply of employees to forecasted demand and provides decision-making tools to create long-range strategies for aligning workforce capabilities to future business needs.
- Workforce demand forecasting addresses workforce demand based on revenue forecasting and projections of future work.
These specialties do not represent all the capabilities within this micropractice, but are among the many areas in which IBM Research Services can assist with collaboration. Business leaders with ideas or custom solutions in mind may contact IBM Research Services or schedule a Think Tank Session with IBM researchers.