How dentsu achieved global salary review success and improved Workday user adoption by 145%
Facing challenges with low user adoption, fragmented processes, and limited Workday functionality, dentsu, in a 4-month partnership, successfully unified their global annual salary review on Workday. This led to increased user adoption, streamlined processes, and significantly improved reward operations, setting the stage for ongoing success.
The Challenge
dentsu’s annual salary review cycle was hindered by poor Workday capability and low user adoption, with 40% of the workforce opting out. Varying budget approaches and pay philosophies had resulted in a patchwork implementation and fragmented processes. The central team faced pressure and struggled with tracking progress through offline spreadsheets and multiple inbox tasks. Limited Workday capability and adoption among HR and managers required high levels of education and support.
The Solution
dentsu’s Global Reward Director, Kate Whelan, alongside other Global and Regional HR Leadership, aimed for a unified Annual Salary Review (ASR) via Workday, with Preos as the selected partner. The solution included:
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- Implementing a global, fair Workday salary review
- Enabling Leadership Incentives in Workday
- Meeting tight project deadlines
- Adhering to consistent reward principles globally
- Establishing global governance for budget visibility
- Boosting colleague retention
- Achieving 100% Workday adoption in selected markets
A global project board facilitated knowledge sharing and best practices, with design workshops across regions for early buy-in and issue resolution. The focus was on data accuracy, custom communications, change management, and region-specific training.
The Impact
The project was a resounding success, achieving the desired core outcomes and driving significant process and behavioural improvements across dentsu’s global reward operations.
Success was due to strong sponsor support, local leadership, and a strong partnership between dentsu and Preos, overcoming challenges through shared best practices.
About Dentsu
Operating in 145+ countries with 65,000+ professionals, dentsu is a leading global advertising and marketing network. Part of Japan’s largest advertising firm, dentsu Group, they help clients predict and plan for disruptive future opportunities and create new paths to growth in the sustainable economy. With 25+ acquisitions and teams worldwide, dentsu is on a journey to embed a ‘one dentsu’ strategy and culture. At the core is a globally competitive and equitable reward strategy pivotal for retaining top talent.
Key outcomes
| Before | After | |
| 19 countries using Workday ASR processes. | 53 countries using Workday ASR processes. | |
| 1,100 managers participating in ASR. | 2,700+ managers participating in ASR. | |
| Disparate timelines between ASR and incentive proposals. | Harmonised timelines for a simpler market, regional, and global approval framework. | |
| 10+ inbox tasks in Workday for disparate ASR processes. | 1 single global inbox task. | |
| Low engagement in training sessions and the training site. | 10x improvement in unique views of the training site and training attendance. Reduction in follow-up questions. | |
| Incentives managed offline and disparately. | Global Workday process introduced for manager incentive with a pathway to global consistency for the next cycle. | |
| Significant data discrepancies in Workday. | Dramatically improved data accuracy with over 12,000 elements updated in Workday before cycle launch, catalysing an internally led data cleanse initiative to sustain the momentum. |
Watch the webinar
Watch the Preos and dentsu webinar recording to see how they achieved remarkable results, from boosting data accuracy to enhancing productivity.
Contact us to see how Preos can support your organisation with Workday optimisation.
