Workforce Asset Management Book of Knowledge

Foreword

WHEN WORKFORCE ASSET MANAGEMENT BOOK of Knowledge (the WAMBOK) passed my desk I knew the time for dramatic change was finally upon the industry. The WAMBOK exposes a painfully obvious, yet historically elusive management reality: People management cannot be left to the front-line manager, the HR policy edict, or to the mechanical processes of an automated system alone. When it comes to managing people, systems do not simply replace managers, and managers cannot suffice for what systems must handle in today's highly regulated, competitive, and complex workplace. Old models for aligning the workforce are breaking down because people have changed, technology has matured, and management strategy has not kept abreast.

Workforce Asset Management (WAM) has entered the arena as the convergence of functions within four areas of management: human resources, operations, finance, and information technology. Our industries often do not realize how much workforce management (WFM) impacts daily activities and functions. From adhering to compliance regulations, scheduling, and compensating to benchmarking, analyzing, and improving, WFM decisions have an enormous impact on the financial and nonfinancial success of an organization. The WAMBOK addresses these issues from a variety of perspectives. No place else can you find the convergence of so many expert minds—technologists, researchers, academics, practitioners, and policy advocates.

For years, workforce management has been pigeonholed ...