At Vision 2019, CEO Mike Morini (left to right), Meghan Rees of MLSE and Shilpi Narang of Workplace by Facebook
At Vision 2019, CEO Mike Morini (left to right), Meghan Rees of MLSE and Shilpi Narang of Workplace by Facebook

WorkForce Software is unleashing a slew of enhancements that reinforce its laser focus on workforce management, while strengthening its presence in key verticals like healthcare, manufacturing, and retail.

The Livonia, MI-based vendor, which is in the midst of a multi-year makeover, unveiled enhancements including UI improvement, easy access to workforce data, as well as dynamic scheduling capabilities at its recent user conference in Denver with more than 300 customers and prospects.

Since 2016, Mike Morini, CEO of WorkForce, has been rebuilding the company by investing heavily in customer successes in the Cloud through an enlarged partner ecosystem and support infrastructure. Last year saw continuous improvement in support reduction time, while nearly 1,000 consultants have been trained on WorkForce products, compared with 200 in 2016. Morini said a few years ago there were a handful of documented customer successes. Today, there are more than 135 including some that cite hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings after running WorkForce.

Following the 2016 acquisition of Workplace Systems for its scheduling applications, WorkForce continued with a stream of new products and platform enhancements (six in 2018), while laying the groundwork for global expansion now reaching more than 1,100 customers and 3.4 million users in over 60 countries. That has resulted in a steady increase in its annual recurring revenues to reach $70 million in 2018. ARR now account for 70% of its revenues, more than doubling its contributions over the past few years.

After adding scores of developers and new data centers, WorkForce has honed in on product enhancements that amplify its key differentiators in such areas as rules engine for employee time off calculation for different countries, scheduling and forecasting for target industries, as well as open integration and device independent user experience that incorporates the latest advances from proactive notifications to conversational UI.

These improvements are critical for WorkForce to not just sustain its momentum (24% sales growth in the first quarter of 2019), but also to ensure lasting impact on its current installed base and future pipeline by increasing its wallet share among key accounts. Morini said WorkForce won 155 new logos in 2018, tripling that of what it secured in 2015.

Denise Broady, chief operating officer of WorkForce, said big accounts – including retail pharmacies, manufacturing, and healthcare – have been buying more licenses from the vendor because of their need to standardize on a modern workforce management platform to replace legacy systems that have seen diminishing returns.

Making its products ubiquitous and easily accessible will be equally important as WorkForce battles intense competition from heavyweights such as Kronos, which in January 2019 entered into a reseller agreement with SAP. WorkForce has also maintained SAP as a reseller for a number of years. That pits WorkForce against a rival 10 times its size as both try to win mind and market shares among SAP’s 35,000+ ERP and HCM customers.

Among WorkForce’s 1,100 customers, about 20% are indirect accounts including some that have been won through its reseller agreement with SAP.

Over the past few years, WorkForce has been working in overdrive to keep these SAP customers engaged, a task that has been complicated by SAP’s shifting HCM priorities, as well as the involvement of different implementation partners – at times impacting WorkForce’s ability to stay close to these customers during the partner implementation process to guarantee the best outcome. Morini added that he expects these relationships to improve along with a burgeoning ecosystem consisting of partners like Accenture, Deloitte, IBM and others.

David Pereles, managing director of Accenture, is bullish about its new reseller agreement with WorkForce as it ramps up additional resources to help the integrator better support joint customers such as Fieldcore, a GE division that employs 12,000 mostly field service technicians for repair and maintenance of GE power equipment. Fieldcore now runs SAP SuccessFactors for Core HR and WorkForce for workforce management.

The 20-year-old WorkForce has been transitioning from a software provider dependent on a number of on-premise applications to one that excels in Cloud-first and mobile-based solutions. Since 2017, 60% of its R&D spend has been spent on re-platforming its products for a new generation of users by incorporating into the WorkForce Suite dynamic scheduling, intuitive data access (Tableau for better reporting, for example) as well as innovative technologies like machine learning, voice interface and social media-infused team collaboration, said John Williams, chief technology officer of WorkForce.

In a tight labor market, Williams said the imperative is to make workforce management relevant and engaging. For instance, long-time customer Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has embarked on a pilot program working with Workforce and Workplace by Facebook to boost employee engagement. Leveraging the apps from the social media giant, MLSE aims to make pre-shift meetings more collaborative and engaging as in the use of chatbot for making shift changes by line managers in a crowded and noisy stadium, for example.

All these enhancements will go a long way for a vendor that has made a concerted effort to simplify workforce management (making work easy has been its tagline since 2016) for many organizations that are still hamstrung by spreadsheets, whiteboards in break rooms, punch-in time cards and other manual processes for managing time, attendance and scheduling of their most valuable assets.

A HR executive at investment firm Edward Jones, which has 45,000 employees and is rolling out WorkForce nationwide, said the biggest benefit of running WorkForce is not just automating the time-keeping function for its far-flung workers, but also meeting myriads of attendance, absence-related and scheduling rules and regulations across the 50 states in which it operates.

CustomerIndustryEmpl.RevenueCountryNew Product
Alaska AirlinesAerospace and Defense21561$7.93BUnited StatesAspect Workforce Optimization
American CenturyBanking and Financial Services1300$300.0MUSAAspect Workforce Optimization
Austrian PostGovernment20500$2.22BAustriaAspect Workforce Optimization
Blue Shield of CaliforniaHealthcare6800$13.40BUSAAspect Workforce Optimization
British GasOil, Gas and Chemicals29000$4.50BUnited KingdomAspect Workforce Optimization
Cellular OneMedia3000$600.0MUnited StatesAspect Workforce Optimization
CHARTER CommunicationsCommunications95000$42.00BUSAAspect Workforce Optimization
CitigroupBanking and Financial Services209000$70.81BUSAAspect Workforce Optimization
Citizens BankBanking and Financial Services18332$5.38BUSAAspect Workforce Optimization
Dish NetworkMedia16000$15.09BUSAAspect Workforce Optimization
Hilton Hotels ReservationsLeisure and Hospitality163000$3.47BUnited StatesAspect Workforce Optimization
Homeward ResidentialBanking and Financial Services1500$380.0MUSAAspect Workforce Optimization
IntuitProfessional Services8900$5.96BUSAAspect Workforce Optimization
M1 LimitedCommunications1509$783.0MSingaporeAspect Workforce Optimization
MonitronicsProfessional Services1350$550.0MUnited StatesAspect Workforce Optimization
PNC Financial ServicesBanking and Financial Services52906$16.42BUSAAspect Workforce Optimization
RCN CorporationMedia1500$700.0MUnited StatesAspect Workforce Optimization
Red Roof InnLeisure and Hospitality4500$500.0MUnited StatesAspect Workforce Optimization
RingConsumer Packaged Goods1300$200.0MUnited StatesAspect Workforce Optimization
RS ComponentsDistribution6400$1.91BUnited KingdomAspect Workforce Optimization
TranscomProfessional Services27411$714.0MSwedenAspect Workforce Optimization
UnionBank of the PhilippinesBanking and Financial Services2637$500.0MPhilippinesAspect Workforce Optimization
Valley Medical CenterHealthcare2000$500.0MUnited StatesAspect Workforce Optimization
VW Credit, IncBanking and Financial Services1500$200.0MUnited StatesAspect Workforce Optimization
Guitar CenterRetail10000$2.20BUSADayforce Workforce Management
Vita Group LimitedRetail1700$675.0MAustraliaEnto Workforce Mangement
Silverton CasinoProfessional Services750$100.0MUSAHotSchedules Workforce Management System
Associated BankBanking and Financial Services4370$1.14BUSAHRTMS Workforce Management
Children’s of AlabamaHealthcare4755$1.96BUSAInfor Workforce Management
Michaels StoresConsumer Packaged Goods13000$5.00BUSAInfor Workforce Management
Pixar Animation StudiosMedia1800$600.0MUSAInfor Workforce Management
City FurnitureRetail1000$300.0MUSAJDA Workforce Management
AcelityManufacturing5700$1.87BUSAKaba Workforce Management
Barnes & NobleRetail11092$3.89BUSAKaba Workforce Management
Best MarketConsumer Packaged Goods3237$300.0MUSAKronos Workforce Dimensions
BrookstoneRetail2000$500.0MUSAKronos Workforce Dimensions
HHS – Hospital Housekeeping SystemsHealthcare11000$600.0MUSAKronos Workforce Central
Mackenzie HealthHealthCare2900$300.0MCanadaKronos Workforce Dimensions
MercyHealthcare44000$5.00BUSAKronos Workforce Central
Roche BrosRetail4600$389.0MUSAKronos Workforce Central
RWJUHEducation10100$1.50BUSAKronos Workforce Central
Southcoast HealthHealthcare7400$838.0MUSAKronos Workforce Central
University of Colorado BoulderEducation7800$1.60BUSAKronos Workforce Dimensions
Village Of RosemontLeisure and Hospitality4236$54.0MUSAKronos Workforce Central
Ward Transport & LogisticsTransportation1500$350.0MUSAKronos Workforce Central
1199SEIU FundsLeisure and Hospitality850$235.0MUSAKronos Workforce Dimensions
AAA WashingtonLeisure and Hospitality620$200.0MUSAKronos Workforce Central
Aaron RentsRetail11500$3.21BUSAKronos Workforce Dimensions
Academy Sports & OutdoorsRetail23000$4.70BUSAKronos Workforce Central
ActivisionMedia4000$7.00BUSAKronos Workforce Central
AirgasOil, Gas and Chemicals17000$5.50BUSAKronos Workforce Central
American WoodmarkConstruction and Real Estate6600$947.0MUSAKronos Workforce Central
Hologic, Inc.Manufacturing5300$2.83BUSAMotus Mobile Workforce
American SupportProfessional Services500$30.0MUSANICE IEX Workforce Management
AAA Oregon/IdahoNon Profit300$30.0MUnited StatesNICE Workforce Management
Algar Telecom S/A.Professional Services12000$1.28BBrazilNICE Workforce Management
American SupportProfessional Services500$30.0MUSANICE IEX Workforce Management
Carlson Wagonlit TravelProfessional Services18000$23.00BFranceNICE IEX Workforce Management
CitigroupBanking and Financial Services209000$70.81BUSANICE Workforce Management
FaneuilProfessional Services5500$250.0MUnited StatesNICE IEX Workforce Management
Jam Industries LtdProfessional Services400$43.0MCanadaNOVAtime Workforce Management
SanMar CorporationRetail4000$1.70BUSANOVAtime Workforce Management
Seyfarth Shaw L.L.P.Life Sciences1800$623.0MUSANOVAtime Workforce Management
The Professional GroupUtilities2000$1.30BUSANOVAtime Workforce Management
Federal GroupLeisure and Hospitality2500$650.0MAustraliaRITEQ Workforce Manager
Lorna JaneRetail1800$145.0MAustraliaRITEQ Workforce Manager
MercyCareNon Profit1000$68.0MAustraliaRITEQ Workforce Manager
SunnyfieldProfessional Services1700$72.0MAustraliaRITEQ Workforce Manager
UnitingCare QueenslandNon Profit18000$1.55BAustraliaRITEQ Workforce Manager
ConvergysProfessional Services130000$2.95BUSASumTotal Work
Arista Care Health ServicesHealthcare87$10.0MUSASmartLinx
P & O FerriesTransportation4000$1.00BUnited KingdomTeleopti WFM
P & O FerriesTransportation4000$1.00BUnited KingdomTeleopti WFM
Andersen CorporationManufacturing11000$3.00BUSATimeTrade Scheduling
Golden WonderRetail1000$250.0MUKTimeware Workforce Management
CompuComProfessional Services9388$1.12BUSAVerint Workforce Management
Belgravia Health & Leisure GroupLeisure and Hospitality4500$120.0MAustraliaWFS EmpLive Workforce Management Solution
Villa Maria Catholic HomesNon Profit2500$220.0MAustraliaWFS EmpLive Workforce Management Solution
Cook County GovernmentGovernment22000$600.0MUSAWorkForce EmpCenter
Goodwill of Central and Southern IndianaProfessional Services3500$156.4MUSAWorkForce Suite
Nebraska Furniture MartRetail5006$1.21BUSAWorkForce EmpCenter
Arizona Federal Credit UnionBanking and Financial Services402$47.0MUSAWorkForce Suite
Cook County GovernmentGovernment22000$600.0MUSAWorkForce EmpCenter
Cook County ILGovernment22000$2.57BUSAWorkForce Suite
Eversource EnergyUtilities7762$7.64BUSAWorkForce Suite
Extra Space StorageTransportation3209$800.0MUSAWorkForce Suite
Goodwill of Central and Southern IndianaProfessional Services3500$156.4MUSAWorkForce Suite
Morrison & FoersterLife Sciences2200$1.00BUSAWorkForce Suite
Nebraska Furniture MartRetail5006$1.21BUSAWorkForce EmpCenter
PCL Construction Group Inc.Construction and Real Estate5000$2.00BCanadaWorkForce EmpCenter