You might think that workforce productivity software (also known as workforce management software) will help your organization save money through greater efficiency, but how can you know for sure? Use this guide to help steer your decision and make a business case for your leadership team to adopt workforce productivity software.
What Is Workforce Productivity Software?
Workforce productivity software is a group of intertwined programs designed to help workers complete their tasks more efficiently. These applications may include:
- Time-tracking tools
- Shared documents and resources
- Detailed project tracking
- Scheduling tools for remote, hybrid, and in-office workers
- Business analytics
- Integrated messaging and communication apps
Subjectively, productivity software increases collaboration, improves organization, and can automate mundane tasks to free employee time for higher-value billable work.
What Is Workforce Productivity Software ROI?
Workforce Productivity software ROI (or return on investment) is a way to objectively measure the business value of the technology you’re implementing. If your workforce productivity software yields a positive ROI, that means it brought in more money than it cost to purchase & install. If it yields a negative ROI, the software costs you more money than it was worth.
The ROI of workforce productivity software takes a wide range of factors into account, such as:
- The time savings for your employees and leadership
- The gaps it fills (as opposed to hiring additional team members or purchasing multiple software applications to accomplish your goals)
- The time saved during training and onboarding due to a reduced learning curve
- The extra value it brings to your clients (this is especially true for organizations in the professional services sector)
- Its ability to sustain and scale with your organization
Measuring the ROI of your workforce productivity software is crucial to determine how effective the technology is, its contribution to your overall goals, and whether the information provided helps you make better business decisions that could also save your organization money.
How to Calculate the ROI of Your Workforce Productivity Software
A ballpark ROI of your workforce productivity software can be calculated using this simple formula:
Expected annual revenue increase + expected annual cost savings
Cost of the software
Let’s say a financial services firm wants to implement workforce productivity software to better its cost/profitability modeling, improve client billing, and improve staff efficiency. The software vendor estimates the following:
- Cost of the software: $40,000
- Expected annual cost savings: $20,000
- Expected annual revenue increase: $60,000
Using this information, the financial services firm can reasonably estimate $40,000 in annual savings due to the software, which has an ROI of 150%. This means that for every dollar that’s spent on the productivity software, the company is earning $1.50, or a profit of $0.50.
While this is a simple way to come to an estimate, your actual ROI will also depend on other variables, such as:
- Training costs
- Cost of ongoing maintenance/updates
- Cost of any equipment upgrades needed to run the software effectively
- Whether your staff adopts the workforce productivity software into their daily workflows
How to Maximize Your Workforce Productivity Software ROI
While the workforce productivity software ROI calculation pulls in fixed numbers, there are ways that you can ensure you get the most out of your workforce productivity software once it has been implemented. To maximize your ROI, you should:
- Make sure the software you’re looking to implement will seamlessly integrate with your current applications and workflows
- Establish your goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) in advance to accurately measure your ROI
- Ensure team members are properly trained on how to use the software to make their jobs easier
- Encourage excitement around the new software to increase the likelihood of quick adoption
- Provide team members with a dedicated resource they can refer to or contact when they have questions about the software or problems with functionality
Looking to Increase Your Profitability With Workforce Productivity Software? Start Here.
Workforce productivity software offers a host of benefits for organizations of all sizes and industries. When evaluating software, it’s important to identify the features that will have the largest impact on your bottom line.
coAmplifi provides a cost-effective all-in-one workforce management solution that improves productivity, communication, employee retention, compliance, remote workforce management, and more in one place. Schedule your demo now!
