Preface

We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't exist yet, using technologies that haven't been invented, in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet.

—A statement from the popular YouTube video Did You Know? by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman

SO TRUE FOR MANY OF us as we examine our profession in the workplace. We are doing jobs we did not study for in school, working on technologies that did not exist just a few years ago that were designed to solve problems we did not even consider or have not yet considered.

How can you respond to such rapidly evolving and demanding times?

In an era of ever-changing workplace landscapes—technology, people, regulations, and so on—learning and adapting is a fundamental part of working. Learning means survival—a consumption of information that builds skills and enables achievement. Every successful creature seeks the competitive advantage.

How will you attain the skills and tools that translate over time?

Wisdom is the epitome of learning and the manifestation of effective adaptation. Wisdom is the ability to recognize which tools work and which do not, and the capacity to discern the proper course of action using these tools. Without it there is uncertainty, inaction, and risk. The tools that could make us miners of a new golden age may go unused or undervalued for lack of a better understanding of their potential.

In the modern workplace, many tools are at our disposal, but we lack wisdom about their usefulness and implementation. The tools have outgrown the tradesmen. The longer we wait to grab the tools, study them, practice using them, and demand more from them, the greater the distance between what we can be and what we are.

Who among you were born not simply to survive in the workplace, but to take the tools and compete, flourish, and lead?

Many want to learn to use the tools and use them wisely. Many are eager to apply their usefulness to the workplace. But who can teach us? Who has accomplished this? Who recognizes the requirements, and which practices and systems work well? We need proven resources in order to understand the specialized and complex needs of the modern workplace.

Workforce Asset Management (WAM) is a new term full of potential and promise—newfound to some, and yet others have been practicing and studying WAM techniques and processes for years, hidden from widespread recognition, standardization, and adoption. We may call our practice by different names—time and labor management, time and attendance, human capital or workforce management—but each is represented under WAM. For a topic so broad and encompassing, it can be difficult to distinguish what tools, issues, and areas might fall inside the WAM box. As all of us know, some tools and issues have just never fit nicely inside the box. The Workforce Asset Management Book of Knowledge (WAMBOK) is intended to recognize and address all of those out-of-and-across-the-box topics that both employers and employees face.

Why do we call it Workforce Asset Management? Because people and technology are assets. People are often referred to as the most important asset of an organization, and ideally, the people and the technology help each other and function in synchronicity. Organizations, like people, care about assets—they are expensive, important, unique, and a significant determinant of the organization's success; therefore, understanding how to use the tools to better manage people helps drive efficiency and satisfaction.

With the emergence of the Workforce Asset Management Professional (WAM-Pro) certification, the industry will identify its leaders. Employers will seek out these competitive and attractive individuals for their knowledge and experience. Individuals who can call themselves WAM-Pros will be empowered by their ability to attack time and labor management problems head-on with knowledgeable precision, all the while avoiding the common pitfalls of inexperience. The WAM-Pro will be the new standard of achievement and will denote the capacity to be a guide on how to select and deploy the tools at its disposal. The WAM-Pro certification is designed to test not only the individual's ability to understand the problems and issues of the workplace, but also the ability to apply appropriate and effective solutions.

With a focus on cutting-edge and provocative issues, the WAMBOK, along with training and the certification exam, is built to equip WAM-Pros with the tools and wisdom necessary to solve the top problems and issues in the workplace.

Because of the highly specialized nature of the topics covered by the WAMBOK, it is important to come together and assemble the perspectives of a number of thought leaders. This collection of voices will create a more complete picture of the many aspects of labor and technology management that WAM touches.

The WAMBOK is broken down into six units, which represent the backbone of core WAM issues. Beginning with the groundwork and then the framework, the WAMBOK defines WAM and explains how an organization builds and centers WAM initiatives into its current workforce environment.

The book is then divided into the four major areas of WAM: timekeeping; scheduling and labor management; analytics, data, and integration; and project implementation and support. In the first three units, the topics are covered by a group of authors, representing a broad arrangement of professionals: university academics and researchers who study WAM issues such as employer practices, fatigue management and schedule optimization, leaders of large and small companies, government representatives, lawyers and legal professionals who deal with wage and hour laws and regulations, and technologists and practitioners. These individuals are experienced advisers and researchers in their field and bring valuable commentary and discussion to the book. The last unit will cover the steps needed during requirements gathering, vendor selection, design review, implementation, and testing, and will also outline what is needed for ongoing training and support. Likewise, the guidance from a number of seasoned project leaders and technologists delineates how to put methods and models into practice.

Within the units, each chapter begins with learning objectives. These objectives are meant to give the reader an expectation of, and guide to, what the chapters cover. These learning objectives are an important resource for those readers who wish to take the corresponding WAM-Pro certification exam. In addition to the learning objectives, there are unit overviews at the beginning of each unit that apply what is discussed to the main competencies for the WAM-Pro and the role of the workforce management office (WMO). These overviews are a valuable tool for study and reference for practice out in the field. Key concepts will be called out and glossary terms will be boldfaced throughout the text to highlight important information and content. Graphs, tables, and charts provide quick visual representations of the text.

We invite you to use this book to chart the course for developing a new career path, creating an alternate systematic approach to the everyday problems you currently face, or to reach the top speeds necessary for moving your organization and career toward maturity.

A book of knowledge grows with time. With this particular edition, we have provided an accelerator. This is a compilation of knowledge and strategies that are scalable, easily adapted to unique situations, and referenceable long term. Providing the guidance, measurements, and inspiration for the first generation of WAM-Pros, the WAMBOK helps to close the knowledge gap.