Configurations, Optimizations, Enhancements…OH MY!
“OH MY!” is right when your company doesn’t have the right personnel or resources to handle complex Workday functions or manage custom Workday BPs.
But, when it comes to getting the most value out of your Workday experience, Surety Systems understands just what kind of knowledge, leadership, and guidance is needed to manage complex configuration options and support new functionality as your organization changes over time…
Keep reading to learn how our team of senior-level Workday consultants helped a pair of clients resolve issues across their Workday environments, configure their solutions to meet their evolving business needs, and maximize their technological investment.
Stepping into a “Utility Player” Role
Companies often waste a lot of money supporting their system with extra, unnecessary personnel. And, without the right support system from the start of an implementation project, it gets both expensive and difficult to optimize new functionality in the system, create security groups according to evolving business process needs, and navigate configuration changes across the organization.
Fortunately, our team of consultants understood the assignment as a Workday configuration guide for this client — assess current Workday data and tenant performance, determine the best method of optimization, and adapt their roles to fill changing project needs over time.
Our consultants started on what they thought was an optimization project, but they quickly pivoted their initial plans to gain more clarity on the project roadmap, understand critical business processes as they’re related to existing systems, and document the current state of their Workday application.
They went from focusing strictly on Workday system optimization to changing their game plan to analyze everything from Workday Security to Compensation, Advanced Compensation, Recruiting, and more, and becoming a “utility player” of sorts.
And, while they are comfortable in the roles they are brought on to fill, our consultants tackle any challenge head on, including filling project needs they may not have all the information for initially or essentially becoming a project manager to support internal teams and optimize operations across the board.
Navigating Subsidiary Issues
Our other client, a subsidiary of a larger company located in France, went live with the full Workday HCM suite, but suffered from a lack of control across their U.S. location. With all core Workday operations controlled in France, our client needed an intermediary to step into a director role and combat a very chaotic environment.
“This wasn’t an optimization project, this was a survival project.”
Because of a not-so-good initial implementation and a widespread lack of control over payroll and taxing processes, our client’s Workday security was at risk and in need of a team of consultants who could provide a certain level of “crisis support” to get them back on track.
This took an entirely different mindset from our consultants. Instead of focusing on one specific area of the client’s Workday software, our consultants were challenged with helping the internal team outline business process definitions across domains in different countries, handle multiple condition rules between systems, and combat the current crisis condition of their Workday ecosystem.
And, our team did so with flying colors, as expected.
Putting the “Fun” in “Fun-Tech”
“Fun-tech” is a description that should follow the name of everyone you have working to configure, optimize, or enhance your Workday solutions. With both functional and technical experience, fun-tech consultants, like the ones on this project, can essentially “do it all.”
Clients, like this one, often need help managing and maintaining more than one area of their Workday software, but it’s pretty difficult to find only one person that has the right skills, knowledge, and availability for the job.
This is where our team of fun-tech consultants come in to help.
From optimizing Workday operations to improve tenant performance to navigating integrations with Workday EIBs and Cloud Connector tools, conducting training for your internal Workday community, and connecting important business operations across Workday applications, our team of consultants handled both the functional and technical sides of the job, without skipping a beat.
Bringing Business Processes Back to Life
It’s no secret that when our consultants were first brought on to help, our client was struggling…big time. The internal Workday team didn’t understand what they needed out of their Workday solutions, had little to no documentation for any integrations across systems, and didn’t have the right kind of support to reconfigure their less-than-optimal system.
With an out-of-the-box, standup implementation and a lack of understanding of what they actually needed from their Workday solutions, this client needed someone who not only understood the ins and outs of their Workday system, but could also help them bring their business processes back to life (and optimize them in the process.)
Our team of consultants quickly understood the state of the client’s Workday system on a granular level and made it their mission to get their Workday team back in tip-top shape.
Building a Better Future
Our consultants understand that while Workday is a user-friendly solution, it is not intuitive enough for employees to just “get it” without having prior experience operating within the Workday ecosystem.
The client initially thought they would be “A-OK” hiring and operating with employees that had little-to-no Workday experience, but when our team of consultants were brought on, they realized they were far off on that assumption. With no Workday knowledge or experience on your internal team, finding the best ways to navigate current state conditions and leverage the right resources for internal Workday operations can be pretty difficult.
By the end of their time on project with the client, our team of consultants had convinced company executives to bring other HRIS personnel on the team for additional support. The internal team went from about half of a person working directly on Workday operations to five employees specifically focused on optimizing and enhancing their Workday system.
With guidance from our expert Workday consultants, the client realized they couldn’t get the maximum value out of their system without the right kind of internal and external support to handle the complexity of their system and conduct configuration and optimization efforts in the most efficient way possible.
Understanding the “Why” for Independent Boutique Consulting Firms
Choosing the right firm and consultants for your project needs can often be a make-or-break factor in your success, providing trustworthy guidance, support, and troubleshooting for any issues that arise (or not, if you don’t take the proper steps to choose the right one for you.)
When working with a larger implementation partner, your expectation is that the person you’re working with on the project is only working on your project, when most of the time, they’re working on one (or more) projects with other clients.
And, too often, companies don’t even know what to look for when it comes to finding the right consultants for their organizational and project needs, leading to miscommunication across project teams, inefficient project plans, and a lack of understanding between the client and consultant.
But, with a client-side consulting firm like Surety Systems, clients are guaranteed to bring on the kind of consultants who actually meet their needs, are dedicated to your project, and will do whatever it takes to lead their project teams to success, no matter what.
Your project. Your priorities. Our expertise. That’s the name of the game with our team.
How Can Our Team Help?
Whether you need help reconfiguring your Workday system after a rocky implementation, adding or constraining user roles according to a certain role or security group (i.e., location or supervisory organization), or teaching new hires how to operate Workday operations, Surety Systems is here to help.
At Surety, our consultants know Workday like the back of their hand…
Our team of senior-level Workday consultants understands that any Workday configuration, implementation, or integration project requires the right people and resources for the job, and we guarantee that every single time. No matter what.
Getting Started with Us
Interested in learning more about all Workday has to offer? Ready to get started on your Workday journey, but just don’t know where to begin?
Contact us today to learn where our expert Workday consultants can fit in your organization!
