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The last few years have been challenging for manufacturing businesses with things like:

• rising materials and labor costs
• unpredictable geopolitical shifts
• complex supply chain risks
• trying to find and keep enough talent in the organization to stay on top of all those problems

The reality is, standing still is no longer an option. For manufacturers to succeed, technology has to be agile, efficient, and resilient. But there is a roadmap for success: embracing the trend of smart operations, starting with your payroll software for manufacturing.

What Are Smart Operations in Manufacturing?

In a nutshell, smart operations is about breaking down the traditional walls between the systems that run your factory floor and the software that runs the rest of your business. The goal is to create a continuous feedback loop. Real-time data from your equipment and sensors combines with business data. That gets analyzed by AI and fed back into your systems to automatically adjust production. This automation boosts efficiency and helps you make smarter decisions in real time.

Why Modern HR & Payroll are Essential for Smart Manufacturing Success

That smart, real-time decision making also applies to your human resources department and manufacturing payroll workflows. Let’s look at three key areas it could help.

Addressing the Labor Crisis 

In a survey by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), nearly 60% of manufacturers said that the inability to attract and retain employees was their top challenge in the third quarter of 2024. Worse yet, a study conducted by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute estimated that 1.9 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled over the next decade.

Smart HR and manufacturing payroll software help overcome this challenge by automating low-level, routine tasks. This frees up your employees to focus on improvements and higher-value work, leading to greater engagement and better retention.

Optimizing Labor Costs

Without accurate, unified data, manufacturing owners are flying blind trying to make smart, cost-effective decisions.

With that data at your fingertips you can:

• understand labor costs
• strategically allocate your resources
• optimize the blend of contingent and direct workers.

Enhanced Decision-Making

Modern HR and payroll technology is becoming so essential that a report from Gartner estimated that over 80% of large businesses employing hourly workers would invest in advanced workforce management software solutions in 2025.

Advanced AI-powered workforce management tools can:

• track employee skill sets
• deploy your workforce based on those skill sets
• efficiently plan upcoming production runs
• spot skill gaps before they turn into critical bottlenecks

Solving the Talent Gap with Smart HR and Payroll Solutions

Manufacturers need flexible, powerful solutions to manage the entire employee life cycle. Workforce Go is designed to be your trusted partner, delivering a simplified, people-centered experience that allows you to manage, engage, and inspire your workforce. Our comprehensive platform helps you:

• Attract and Onboard Skilled Workers: Streamline recruitment and quickly get new hires up to speed with onboarding checklists.
• Manage Time and Labor Effectively: Our solutions offer mobile workforce management for time tracking, payroll, and scheduling, giving you access to real-time data when you need it. You can react to supply chain bottlenecks on the fly by seeing who is available and who is approaching overtime, allowing you to make scheduling adjustments in the moment.
• Empower Your Employees: Workforce Go offers self-service access, allowing employees to manage their information, view pay records, request time off, and access training.
• Ensure Compliance and Accuracy: Our unified platform minimizes the risk of non-compliance by complying with laws for breaks, overtime, or union payrolls.
• Gain Valuable Insights: The platform provides valuable insights to increase productivity, reduce costs, and gain efficiency. It can help you proactively explore your data to understand how your compensation, hiring, and turnover rates compare to industry standards.

Manufacturing Payroll–And More

We know your industry needs are not one-size-fits-all. That is why Workforce Go integrates seamlessly and bidirectionally with leading ERPs like Sage 100 ERP, Sage 300 CRE, Sage Intacct, and Acumatica. This allows you to gain a unified experience with faster processing, more effective forecasting, and improved reporting capability.

You can choose features like:

• recruiting
• benefits management
• time and attendance
• advanced scheduling

and add more as your business grows. Because our solution is cloud-based, you benefit from mobile access, real-time data, and continual, hassle-free updates.

Making Modern Payroll More Accessible: The Payroll on Us Program

Our unique Payroll on Us Program offsets your payroll expenses by generating FICA tax savings. These immediate, recurring tax savings can help offset the cost of payroll and even reduce your overall ERP system Total Cost of Ownership. We help manufacturers see an average net FICA savings of $321 per employee per year.

Ready to Transform Your Operations?

The path to smart operations starts with ensuring your talent management systems are as modern, agile, and efficient as your production lines. Let Workforce Go be the expert team behind the scenes.

Schedule a Demo today to see how the right payroll software for manufacturing can transform your business.