That is not how automation is going to work. A CEO is not going to spend tons and tons of money on a metal version of a minimum wage worker to walk around and do the tasks exactly as the worker does them now. They’re not going to get a metal man to flip burgers on the grill--they’re going to get a grill that flips the burgers itself, add the condiments according to inputs, and wraps the burger. They’re not going to stick a metal man in a normal truck cab to make a self-driving cargo truck, the entire cab will be reworked to accommodate the automation and lack of driver.

It takes the complexity out of the entire argument. Instead of showing how increased automation and AI usage will reshape the workforce in the future, it’s metal humans working the same jobs we do now. It’s essentially playing “immigrants are taking our jobs!” style fears, except instead of immigrants it’s robots. And that is simply not the issue with automation. It’s not that a metal man will take your job, it’s that your job may be rendered obsolete or even just reworked in a way where your skillset is no longer valuable.

It also ignores how the automation interfaces with the customer: take a major area of automation, self-checkout areas. Most automation simply puts the very basics in the hands of the customer (in this case, scanning and bagging) and the complex stuff that one might be trained for in a less technological setting is done by the machine. There’s no robo cashier standing behind a register, the entire register has been reworked. A robo doctor wouldn’t be a metal dude taking your vitals just like a normal one, it’s be some kind of interface that the customer interacts with to take their own vitals and then processes that data to reach a conclusion.

As robots, automation and artificial intelligence perform more tasks and there is massive disruption of jobs, experts say a wider array of education and skills-building programs will be created to meet new demands. 

There are two uncertainties: Will well-prepared workers be able to keep up in the race with AI tools? And will market capitalism survive?

Read our large-scale canvassing of technologists, scholars, practitioners, strategic thinkers and education leaders asking them to weigh in on the likely future of workplace training, conducted with Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center in the summer of 2016.

Workforce management is a set of processes that focus on improving and optimizing the productivity of employees in a business. This is a holistic approach that covers every operational area of business. From employee management to operations management, this includes every single operation on a day-to-day and hour-to-hour basis.

Besides the customization, a few common features must be present in any workforce automation app to ensure effective management. The common features of the architecture of a workforce automation app are explained here.

1. Workforce Management

The most prominent must-have feature of a workforce automation app should be effective workforce management. On average, 70 percent of a business’s total operating cost is spent on employee salary and benefits.

In such a scenario, a company has to ensure that its employees’ productivity is at its best and they are not wasting their time and skill on mundane tasks. A capable workforce automation system ensures proper workforce management along with reduced labor costs as less human intervention and micro-management will be required.

2. Data Collection

A workforce automation app collects data from each and every business operation and utilizes it for scheduling and forecasting. The data is derived from everyday operations such as employee attendance data, employee timing data, human resource management data, and business operations data.

The abundance of data collection points at various levels of operations allows the app to gather vital information about the processes and suggest and execute a plan of action accordingly.

3. Scheduling and Forecasting

This is another core feature of a workforce automation app. This includes basic schedule building and timetables for specific operations. For multisite operations, the app can calculate the same and share the data with other departments for hassle-free management.

The software examines and compares past data and other relevant factors to calculate current staffing needs. This is more than just guesswork as the app uses current and past data and calculates the number of employees required for a particular project along with the estimated time frame. In short, the app must have scheduling features such as scheduling optimizations, defining positions and departments, multisite support, and automatic scheduling.

Forecasting is also an important feature that is closely related to scheduling. The data used for scheduling is also used for forecasting future needs. This can be history-based forecasting, user-controlled forecasting, and predictive algorithms.

4. Employee Management

Employee management is a vast area that covers aspects such as to request scheduling, change/exchange of shifts, automated employee training, etc. These operations require covering almost every facet of relevant employee data such as timing, compensation, benefits, rewards, performances, etc.

Nonetheless, these features require tracking and attendance tools including clocking and in and out monitoring. Some advanced features such as biometrics and compliance management are also available.

These features minimize human intervention and add more security to the processes. Insights gained by these metrics help decision-makers draft policies that are in-line with their business objectives and company vision.

5. Analytics

Employee analytics is more than just statistics as many companies are implementing workforce management software that can gather data about the employees to know their true potential. Managers can further assign tasks to the employees whom they see fit for the job.

Workforce management software must also be capable of data analytics that includes organizing and characterizing sophisticated employee data.

The data is utilized for presenting detailed employee performance as well. Such data is helpful for HR managers and decision-makers for predictive and prescriptive analysis along with evaluating employee potential and tenure. Human resource departments in the companies go through a lot of troubles due to tons of manual work.

As a result, they are also turning to data collection and management to deal with matters such as turnover, overtime, and headcount. Employing data analysis helps in making well informed and effective decisions.

For instance, managers may notice a high employee turnover rate in a department. There might be several reasons for the problem such as management issues, low employee engagement, etc. Here, analytics can be of great help as it can precisely address the pain points and the company will have more time for developing a solution.

6. Information Security

Employee analytics can also add a great deal of security to the employee database as these are usually an easy target for hackers. Companies that rely on paper files and offline/online data storage mediums are always vulnerable to data theft. A workforce automation software should come with tight security measures such as data encryption and multi-factor authentication to keep employee information safe.

workforce automation applications save time for both the employees and the company. It results in better management of the workforce and resources along with reduced costs. This can create an ideal and agile working environment where efforts can be focused on more urgent issues whenever necessary.