Growth is always a key objective for any ambitious company. At the same time, it can often come with its own set of challenges. Nowadays, medium to large organizations contains a multitude of different teams each of which must be carefully managed in order to achieve genuine success. For businesses to sustain growth in the long term and continue to expand their scope, they need to adopt the right innovation technological solutions to alleviate management issues and maintain internal efficiency. This is a niche that Workday fills adeptly.
Workday is a cloud-based software solution used primarily for finance management and human resource processes. By making it possible to unify enterprise resource management (ERP) and human capital management (HCM) functionalities in one platform, Workday enables growing businesses to easily manage employee data and handle processes like payroll, compensation, and talent management, to name just a few. All up, Workday is a revolutionary management tool that can help drive growing enterprises to achieve new levels of success.
It’s one thing to understand the potential of Workday, however, and another thing entirely to leverage the technology effectively. As is often the case with powerful software tools, implementation can be a sticking point.
So, what are the most common Workday implementation issues, how do they occur, and what can businesses do to overcome them?
What is Workday Implementation?
First, let’s outline what Workday implementation is about.
Workday implementation is the process of embedding Workday into the operations of a business and ensuring that all the platform’s key features are functioning optimally to benefit the organization.
Using the current conceptualization of Workday implantation, the process can be broken down into six essential stages:
- Preparation
Leadership figures work together to establish the scope, budget, and timeline of the project, and relevant responsibilities are distributed.
- Design
Management must create a framework for Workday, starting with a Workday tenant, a secure environment on the cloud. This will be the foundation upon which the organization defines and builds its processes with Workday.
- Configuration
Specific Workday modules are assigned to fit the requirements of the organization and the Workday tenant is configured to ensure sound integration.
- Testing
Designated teams will test Workday to detect any potential bugs in the system. This will comprise end-to-end testing and testing of individual modules.
- Deployment
Following a brief changeover period, the Workday tenant goes live.
- Maintenance
After the deployment has been carried out, support teams will monitor Workday and oversee any necessary changes to ensure smooth operation.
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Workday Implementation Issues
The sophistication of Workday means that there are a wide variety of pitfalls to be aware of during the implementation process. The following are some of the most common issues:
- Integration with existing processes
A common problem of Workday implementation is a conflict with existing internal processes. Organizations who attempt to use Workday may find that their way of doing things is not entirely congruent with Workday’s default configurations. That may require adjustments to be made in order to align the software with the organization’s needs, which can skew the implementation timeline.
To avoid making continual unplanned adjustments, it’s best to perform a thorough operational analysis in the preparation phase. This can help teams to determine what constitutes optimal operations so that they to foresee the need for such adjustments. This will help to keep the implementation process on track.
- Data migration
Migrating data to Workday from an existing system is a crucial part of the implementation process. Unfortunately, it is also a task in which mistakes can easily be made. Organizations often experience issues with inconsistent data as a result of outdated sources or simply as a consequence of human error. Though small, these issues can have major repercussions, so it’s important to avoid them where possible.
Before performing data migration, it’s important to perform an evaluation to best understand what data must be migrated and for what purpose. Curating data for inclusion in this way helps to eliminate the migration of outdated information. Furthermore, teams should be furnished with a strict and detailed plan, giving them clear processes to follow during the migration process. This will serve to keep errors and confusion to an absolute minimum.
- Adoption and onboarding
Setting up a platform like Workday is all very well, but the employee experience must be considered. Software platforms are just that – platforms. They provide a foundation for success, but that success is contingent upon employees’ ability to leverage the technology effectively. When organizations fail to implement Workday effectively, it’s often a result of poor onboarding, as HR employees are expected to get to grips with the software with little support along the way.
The obvious solution to the issue is to utilize a digital adoption solution to facilitate this digital transformation. These are software tools that can integrate with other applications, providing an overlay that offers contextual, real-time guidance during the learning process. Incorporating such a tool can drastically improve the user experience and streamline the adoption process to ensure smooth implementation.
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Concluding
Workday is one of the most potent software solutions available to growing businesses today, but the prospect of implementing it can be daunting. There are genuine pitfalls to be aware of before embarking on the process, however with proper planning, comprehensive onboarding, and a thoughtful approach to change management, successful Workday implementation is eminently possible.
