In this blog we consider the benefits of effective Workday integrations with other applications and the importance of regular infrastructure reviews.
You bought Workday because you liked the idea of having a single platform for all your HR applications. But like many customers, you’ve probably found Workday doesn’t offer everything you need.
So, you’ve invested separate ‘best of breed’ applications to give you the required functionality and implemented some sort of integration with Workday.
Integrating Workday with other HR applications is very common. But as your business grows and applications evolve, so does your HRIS landscape.
It’s essential, therefore, that you regularly conduct a Workday Infrastructure Review to ensure you continue to reap the benefits and maximise your return on investment.
The benefits of optimised Workday Integrations
Integrations between HRIS applications bring a host of benefits to your organisation.
Accurate, Secure and Compliant
Reducing dual entry of data across your applications improves data accuracy and drives efficiencies in HR.
For example, if a new hire in Workday is automatically sent to your Learning Management System, it removes the need for secondary HR data input.
Similarly – integrating HR and Payroll systems drives efficiencies in the monthly payroll processes, minimises risk and improves security which in turn helps to maintain compliance.
Additionally, regulatory compliance (e.g. GDPR) can be simplified with automated process and audit trails. Easily accessible reports on who’s taken mandatory training and automatic deactivation of account access on termination are other benefits of well-optimised integrations.
Single Source of Truth
Too often, organisations waste time questioning which data source they should trust. Mastering all data elements in one place enables you to make decisions on the same data.
Easy Access and Increased User Adoption
Single Sign-On (SSO) means users can log into Workday without the need to remember usernames and passwords. Employees can also access pay information such as bank details and pay history if you integrate Workday with your Payroll system.
Enriched data and automated processes lead to an improved user experience, which in turn increases Workday adoption.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Operating standalone HR applications make it difficult for HR to see the bigger picture. Having a holistic view of all data items allows you to spot trends, using these to develop HR strategy.
Conducting your ROI Analysis
To create a viable business case for the introduction of a new integration or optimising an existing one, it’s essential to consider the IT costs against the expected benefits.
Don’t just look at the implementation costs; the ongoing support costs of integrations also need to be considered. These costs will vary depending on the integration type:
- Workday Studio integrations offer more customisation, thus increasing the complexity. These require more effort to build.
- Cloud Connect integrations provide pre-built connectors to third party vendors.
- Enterprise Information Builder (EIB) is a simple export of data in/out of Workday. These are typically less expensive.
When performing your ROI analysis, be sure to review the business processes and look for gaps caused by disconnected applications or overlapping data sets.
Ask ‘What is the cost of dual data entry?’. Grab your stopwatch and record the time taken to perform a typical administrative activity. It may only be a few minutes, but this quickly multiplies if the task is repeated 25 times a month!
Typical Integration Challenges
Integrating two applications isn’t always straightforward.
It involves data mapping exercises to allow data to flow between the applications. Duplicate, outdated, inconsistent, incomplete or incorrect data seriously slow down this exercise. A well-maintained data dictionary, regular data audits and well-designed processes can help drive standards and quality across your applications.
Heavy customisation of applications will increase the complexity of the integration design. Similarly, understanding process flows between systems is simpler in large organisations if global processes are in place.
Finally, resourcing an integrations project is a common challenge for organisations. You will need significant time from a wide range of stakeholders, including application owners, process owners and HR. This, coupled with the technical knowledge required to design and build the integration, makes integration projects difficult to deliver without third party support.
Contact us to find out how Preos can help.
Image (C) Shutterstock | metamorworks
