Smarter tools, stronger teams: What’s new in Dayforce Workforce Management

The question many of today’s operations leaders and frontline managers are asking is: How do we keep pace without burning ourselves out — or our teams? Here’s a hint: The answer is often the tools we use. A lot of organisations are still fighting with disconnected systems that create more friction than clarity. When time is lost toggling between platforms and data doesn’t line up, you’re not just losing efficiency. You’re potentially losing trust, opportunity, and insight. 

At Dayforce, we’ve spent years partnering with some of the world’s most complex and dynamic organisations. What we’ve learned is simple: workforce management can’t be treated as a silo. When it’s unified with HR, pay, talent, and analytics, it becomes a catalyst for better decisions, stronger performance, and more empowered people.  

Want to learn more from your WFM peers and a team of industry experts? Join us for our Dayforce Spotlight Series virtual event, Compliance-Ready, People-first Workforce Management on Thursday, July 31, 2025, at 1 p.m. ET.

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Here’s a look at what’s new — and what’s evolving — in Dayforce Workforce Management.  

Faster, better decisions with the Workforce Insights Dashboard 

Data is everywhere. But without the right tools, it’s just noise. 

The Dayforce Workforce Insights dashboard helps bring structure to that noise, transforming workforce data into actionable insights. Designed with input from real-world operators, the dashboard includes pre-built and configurable metrics to help you identify outliers and act quickly on what matters most.  
Whether the goal is to reduce churn, improve shift coverage, or boost location-level productivity, these insights are designed to help managers stay one step ahead. And because they come from a single data model, organisations can get a trusted, single view of their people data without jumping between systems or chasing reports. 

“Dayforce is really clever in identifying trends week-over-week… it understands our trade patterns and can help find efficiencies in scheduling hour by hour.” 

—Lauren Dent, People System Manager, Costa Coffee 

Next-gen time and attendance 

Dayforce Workforce Management goes far beyond tracking hours. It’s designed to help optimise labour spend, support compliance, and improve employee experience at scale. 

With real-time time and attendance tracking, data is captured as it happens, helping to reduce errors and lighten the payroll processing load. Many other systems calculate only gross pay in real time — the Dayforce platform can also do it for net pay. And with mobile and web capture options, employees can clock in and out easily, feeling confident that their hours are accurate. Features like geo-fencing, attestation, and shift surveys also help support compliance and give visibility into the actual shift experience. 

“Having real-time access to Dayforce data has enabled us to reduce our labour spend by 4%, which is equivalent to approximately $1.2 million annualised.” 

—Matthew Parker, CEO, Motivate  

But tracking time is only part of the equation. What happens before a shift starts often matters just as much. With automated tools to help with vacation requests, shift bidding, and exception alerts, organisations can reduce manual effort and improve visibility across locations. Employees can see how their actual hours compare to their scheduled time, set availability, receive real-time updates, and sign off electronically, helping make scheduling an empowering experience for everyone. When schedules fit people’s lives, those people are more likely to show up, engage, and stay. 

ML-powered demand forecasting 

Labour planning has traditionally involved a fair amount of educated guesswork. But in today’s environment, that’s often not enough. Missed shifts, under-staffing, or unanticipated spikes in demand can directly impact service quality, compliance, and cost. 

Dayforce machine learning-based labour demand forecasting helps you predict business demand with greater precision. By analysing historical trends, current conditions, holidays, special events, and even weather data, the system can forecast staffing needs to help you ensure you always have the right people in the right places at the right times. Compared to traditional statistical models, machine learning (ML) forecasting adapts faster, considers a wider range of variables, and is built to help handle the complexity of real-world business conditions.  

Over time, these models are designed to learn, improve, and deliver more accurate predictions with less manual effort. This allows managers to better align staffing to real demand, not just assumptions. The result? Smarter schedules, improved service levels, and reduced labour cost waste. And it’s not just a time-saver. It’s a stress-reducer. With more accurate forecasts, managers can help reduce  last-minute scrambles and focus on coaching teams, supporting operations, and growing the business. 

What it all means for workforce leaders 

Today’s workforce leaders are balancing more than ever: labour costs, compliance risks, engagement goals, and business growth. It’s a lot to carry. That’s why Dayforce brings workforce management, HR, pay, talent, and analytics into one intelligent people platform. When these systems work together, organisations can not only help reduce complexity, but also better unlock capacity.  

More than a set of features, Dayforce represents a philosophy: that great work starts with great experiences for everyone. We design with empathy, listening closely to the pain points of frontline workers and operations leaders alike. We believe in removing barriers, simplifying processes, and creating tools that help people focus on doing the work they’re meant to do. Because workforce management isn’t just about tracking time or cutting costs. It’s about empowering people to show up, do their best work, and feel respected along the way. It’s about making work life better.  

And that’s not just what we believe. It’s what we build for. 

Explore how Dayforce can transform your workforce management