A step-by-step guide to getting real value from your WFM platform, from setup to daily operations.
You’ve chosen a workforce management platform. Maybe it’s already installed, or you’re about to roll it out. Either way, the question is the same: how do you actually use it to get results?
Too many companies invest in workforce management software and then only use a fraction of its capabilities. Time tracking gets set up, but scheduling stays manual. Absence requests move to the app, but payroll still requires a spreadsheet export. The result: you’re paying for a full platform but only getting partial value.
This guide walks you through the practical steps of using workforce management software effectively, from initial configuration to day-to-day operations. Whether you’re onboarding for the first time or optimising an existing setup, these steps will help you unlock the full potential of your system.
See Suivo’s full feature set on the Workforce Management Solutions page.
Quick Navigation
- Step 1: Configure Your Organisation Structure
- Step 2: Set Up Time Registration
- Step 3: Build Your Scheduling Workflow
- Step 4: Digitise Absence and Leave Management
- Step 5: Connect Payroll and ERP Systems
- Step 6: Activate Compliance Automation
- Step 7: Use Dashboards and Reports
- Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Frequently Asked Questions
Step 1: Configure Your Organisation Structure
Before anything else, your WFM platform needs to reflect how your company actually operates. This means setting up:
- Departments and teams, group employees by function, region, or project
- Locations and sites, define your worksites, offices, depots, or client locations
- Roles and permissions, determine who can approve leave, view reports, or edit schedules
- Cost centres, link employees and hours to the right project or budget line
Getting this foundation right means every piece of data that flows through the system, hours, absences, costs, is automatically categorised and reportable. Skip this step, and you’ll spend months cleaning up data later.
Step 2: Set Up Time Registration
Time tracking is usually the first module companies activate, and the one with the most immediate impact on payroll accuracy and admin reduction.
Choose your registration method
Most platforms offer multiple ways to capture working hours. Pick the methods that match your workforce:
| Method | Best For |
| Mobile app check-in/out | Field workers, technicians, drivers, anyone on the move |
| Site terminal or badge reader | Construction sites, warehouses, fixed locations with high foot traffic |
| Vehicle-based registration | Fleets where workers clock in when the vehicle ignition starts |
| Desktop or web portal | Office-based staff, planners, and admin teams |
The key is making registration as effortless as possible for workers. If it takes more than a few seconds, adoption drops.
Define your time rules
Configure how your system handles overtime thresholds and calculation rules, break deduction policies, travel time versus on-site time, and rounding rules for clock-in/out times. These rules should mirror your payroll provider’s expectations so validated hours flow through without manual correction.
Step 3: Build Your Scheduling Workflow
Once time tracking is running, the next step is connecting it to scheduling. A good WFM platform lets planners assign workers to jobs, shifts, or sites visually, and then automatically tracks whether reality matches the plan.
Here’s how to set it up effectively:
1. Create your job or shift templates. Define recurring patterns so planners don’t start from scratch every week.
2. Assign workers based on skills, location, and availability. The system should flag conflicts like double-bookings or workers already on leave.
3. Publish and communicate. Workers should see their schedule in the mobile app with push notifications for changes.
4. Track planned vs. actual. Compare scheduled hours against registered hours to identify gaps, late starts, or overtime trends.
💡 Tip: Start with one team or department before rolling out scheduling company-wide. This lets you refine templates and rules before scaling.
Step 4: Digitise Absence and Leave Management
If your employees still request holidays via email, phone, or paper forms, this step alone will save hours of admin every week.
A proper absence management setup includes:
- Self-service requests, employees submit leave requests directly from the mobile app
- Approval workflows, supervisors approve or reject with one tap, with automatic notifications to HR
- Centralised calendar, planners and HR see all absences in one view, with instant impact on scheduling
- Balance tracking, remaining holiday days, sick leave, and special leave calculated automatically
- Payroll sync, approved absences flow directly into payroll without re-entry
The goal is a single source of truth: one system where the employee, the supervisor, the planner, and HR all see the same information, in real time.
Step 5: Connect Payroll and ERP Systems
This is where a WFM platform goes from useful to indispensable. By connecting your workforce data to your payroll provider (SD Worx, Partena, Acerta) or ERP system (SAP, Dynamics), you eliminate the manual handoff that causes most payroll errors.
What to connect:
- Validated hours, approved timesheets exported directly in your payroll provider’s format
- Absence data, holidays, sick days, and special leave synced to payroll and HR records
- Project codes, hours linked to cost centres or WBS elements for billing and reporting
- Employee master data, new hires and leavers synced between systems to avoid gaps
⚠️ Important: Integration setup is a one-time effort that pays off permanently. Don’t defer it, the longer you export manually, the more errors accumulate.
Step 6: Activate Compliance Automation
For Belgian companies, this step is increasingly non-negotiable. The NSSO requires digital site-level presence reporting (CIAW), and this is expanding into full Check-in-and-Out-at-Work (CIAO) by 2027.
A CIAO-ready WFM platform handles this automatically:
- Workers check in at a site via app, badge, or vehicle
- Entry and exit times are captured with site codes and employee IDs
- Data is transmitted to the NSSO in real time via web services
- Audit-proof logs are stored and accessible from a central dashboard
If your system requires manual uploads to be compliant, it’s already outdated. The standard is automatic, real-time, zero-touch compliance.
Step 7: Use Dashboards and Reports
Once data is flowing through your WFM platform, the real strategic value unlocks through reporting. Set up dashboards that answer the questions your leadership asks most:
- HR: How much overtime are we running? What’s the absenteeism rate by department?
- Operations: Are we staffed correctly per site? Where are the scheduling gaps?
- Finance: What are our labour costs per project? How do actual hours compare to budget?
- Compliance: Are all CIAO registrations complete? Are there anomalies or missed check-ins?
Schedule automated report delivery to key stakeholders so insights reach the right people without anyone having to pull data manually.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
| Mistake | How to Avoid It |
| Only using time tracking, ignoring scheduling and absences | Roll out modules incrementally, but plan the full scope from the start |
| Not configuring overtime and break rules correctly | Mirror your payroll provider’s rules exactly in the WFM system |
| Skipping the payroll integration | Prioritise integration during onboarding, it’s the biggest time-saver |
| Rolling out to everyone at once | Pilot with one team, refine, then scale |
| Not training field workers on the mobile app | Run brief hands-on sessions; choose a platform with an intuitive, low-friction app |
| Treating compliance as a separate project | Build CIAO/NSSO reporting into your WFM setup from day one |
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to start using workforce management software?
Most mid-size companies can have time tracking and basic scheduling running within 1–2 weeks. Full deployment including payroll integration, compliance automation, and reporting typically takes 4–8 weeks, depending on complexity.
Do employees need training to use a WFM app?
Minimal training if the app is well-designed. The best platforms require just a short onboarding session for field workers. Planners and HR may need a more structured walkthrough of scheduling and reporting features.
Can I use workforce management software for both office and field staff?
Yes. Good platforms support multiple registration methods, desktop for office teams, mobile app for field workers, and hardware terminals for fixed sites. The data all flows into the same system.
What’s the difference between using a WFM tool and using spreadsheets?
Spreadsheets can’t work in real time, automate compliance, integrate with payroll, or provide mobile access for field teams. A WFM platform does all of this, and typically reduces admin time by 50–70% compared to manual processes.
How does Suivo handle workforce management?
Suivo combines time tracking, scheduling, absence management, and CIAO compliance in one platform, connected to fleet and asset tracking. It integrates with major payroll providers and ERPs, and works on mobile, offline, and via hardware terminals. See pricing and features.
Ready to get more from your workforce management platform?Book a free expert session and see how Suivo helps you set up time tracking, scheduling, and compliance in one connected system.
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