Extend WFM to Frontline Employees

Workforce Management (WFM) is a specific component of Workforce Optimization (WFO). WFM focuses strictly on the operational logistics of staffing: forecasting demand, creating schedules, and tracking attendance. WFO is the broader “umbrella” strategy that takes those WFM schedules and adds layers of performance tracking, quality assurance, and data analytics to optimize how the work is actually being done.

WorkJam acts as the ultimate WFO/WEM layer, sitting on top of your existing WFM platform to deliver those schedules—along with communication, training, and task management directly to the frontline worker’s mobile device.

Workforce Engagement Management (WEM) is the modern evolution of WFO. While traditional WFO focused heavily on cost-cutting and treating employees as operational metrics, WEM shifts the focus entirely to the employee experience. Coined by Gartner, WEM operates on the proven philosophy that engaging, motivating, and empowering employees with flexible schedules, direct communication, and continuous learning is the most effective way to drive productivity, reduce turnover, and improve the customer experience.

The industry is shifting from Workforce Optimization to Workforce Engagement Management because the modern workforce demands more than just a schedule. High turnover rates and burnout are incredibly costly for businesses. WEM recognizes that a strategy focused solely on operational efficiency without considering employee well-being is unsustainable. By adding tools for motivation, gamification, two-way feedback, and flexible shift-swapping, WEM reduces attrition and turns employees into active brand ambassadors.

While WEM was originally conceptualized for contact centers, it is now an operational imperative for the frontline (retail, hospitality, manufacturing, and healthcare). For deskless workers, WEM means delivering everything they need through a single, mobile-first app. This includes giving them control over their schedules (like Open Shift Marketplaces), delivering in-the-moment microlearning, providing direct communication with HQ, and offering task management tools that make their daily jobs easier and more fulfilling.

• Reduced Turnover Costs: Engaged employees are significantly less likely to leave, saving companies massive recruitment and onboarding costs.
• Higher Productivity: When employees have easy access to digital tools, knowledge bases, and clear communication, they execute tasks faster and more accurately.
• Improved Customer Experience (CX): Happy, supported employees naturally provide better, more enthusiastic service to your customers.
• Operational Agility: WEM tools allow managers to fill shifts faster, cross-train employees seamlessly, and adapt to changing daily demands without relying on manual phone calls or paper schedules.

You don’t need to rip and replace your current scheduling software. WorkJam features bi-directional WFM integrations, meaning it links and syncs seamlessly with your existing system. It pulls schedule views, time-off requests, and time card management from your WFM and pushes them into a single, user-friendly digital workplace app. This eliminates the need for employees to log into clunky legacy portals, drastically increasing WFM adoption and schedule visibility.

Traditional WFM puts the entire burden of finding shift coverage on the manager. WEM solves this by empowering the employee. Through WorkJam’s Open Shift Marketplace, employees are given five different ways to swap shifts and claim open hours across different districts. By giving workers this flexibility, and pairing it with financial wellness tools like ExpressPay (Earned Wage Access), you drastically reduce last-minute call-outs and fill open shifts organically, saving managers hours of administrative phone calls.

Absolutely. In a disconnected system, scheduling and training are completely siloed. WorkJam merges them using a concept called “Learn & Earn.” By utilizing Site Coach (WorkJam’s microlearning tool), managers can ascribe specific skills to shifts. This allows you to “gate” your most critical open shifts, ensuring they can only be claimed by employees who have completed the required training or compliance modules. It incentivizes learning while guaranteeing your WFM system is staffing the most qualified workers.

Integrating WorkJam with your WFM system delivers immediate, measurable ROI by eliminating operational friction:

• Reduced Administrative Burden: Managers no longer waste shifts manually processing time-off requests, managing shift swaps, or chasing down attestation signatures.

• Higher Labor Utilization: The Open Shift Marketplace allows you to share labor across locations, maximizing the capacity of your existing workforce rather than over-hiring.

• Increased Compliance: Delivering schedules, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and safety audits in the same app ensures consistent execution from coast to coast.

• Improved Retention: Giving employees control over their schedules and early access to their earned wages directly combats frontline turnover.