This is a daunting challenge for today’s colleges and universities.  In an environment where many of the costs of providing a college education- such as labor, fuel and physical plant maintenance - are continually on the rise, colleges are challenged to find new and innovative ways to maintain their costs without sacrificing the quality of their education.  When examining these costs, there are not many that a college can control - with one exception - labor.  Labor costs – compounded by rising healthcare and retirement benefit costs represent one of the largest components of a college’s overall fixed costs.  It also therefore represents one of the most significant opportunities for cost savings.  In looking at labor costs, the obvious answer is to reduce costs through staff reduction – but this would lead to a direct reduction in the availability and quality of college services delivered.  However, today’s technology has provided us with a more compelling solution.  Workforce Management solutions can help colleges and universities reduce labor costs without the need to reduce staff or cut back on work hours.  Technology such as time and attendance, workforce scheduling, absence management and labor planning empowers today’s colleges and universities to unlock the productivity of their workforce – helping them take control of their labor costs all while increasing their operational efficiency.

Now colleges can ensure that their workforce is efficiently deployed, that their pay rules are applied in a fair, consistent and accurate manner and that their business processes are streamlined and efficient.  All of this can help to reduce labor costs – in many cases from 3% -7% without the need to reduce services or staff.  This in turn will help reduce the pressure of rising tuition costs and continue to make a college education accessible and affordable.