Year: 2025

Due to their dynamic environment, professional services firms are forced to adapt to new markets, customer demands, and even legislation. To stay ahead, companies require timely financial insights, effective resource allocation, and flexible scenario planning. Workday Adaptive Planning provides a complete solution tailored to the specific needs of the professional services sector, allowing companies to make informed decisions confidently. Find out how Workday Adaptive Planning empowers professional services firms here. The Requirement for Adaptive Planning in Professional Services Unlike product-based organizations, professional service firms operate on employees, project delivery, and new services. There are key challenges, including workforce optimization, and service line profitability analysis, amongst others, that require dynamic financial planning and modeling of resources needed within the health facility. The application of the current paper and spreadsheet-based methods is normally insufficient to provide incredible speed , precision, and flexibility necessary to make accurate business decisions. This is eliminated through Workday Adaptive Planning, which provides an integrated, self-optimizing, and social planning environment. Major Workday Adaptive Planning Capabilities 1. Core Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Centralized Modeling, Reporting, and Analytics: One source of truth for financial planning in Adaptive Planning. General Ledger (GL) Integration: Integrates with multiple data sources, such as ERPs like NetSuite, Intacct, SAP, Sage, and MIP. Scalability with Elastic Hypercube Technology: Possibility to add any number of new dimensions, versions of dimensions or new scenarios without any changes in resources used for processing. User Friendliness: The application’s interface; they don’t require the assistance of an IT professional in order to use it apparently due to a drag and drop interface. 2. Versioning and Forecasting Budget options: Include multiple scenes and forecasts within conditions. Data Locking: Post approvals, the budgets remain locked whereas snapshots are taken for views and report generation. Granularity: Planning on the monthly, quarterly or annual basis with real-time data transferring from sources. 3. Active Dashboards Real-Time Data Updates: Planning models are updated in real-time and as such, updates are reflected on the dashboard and reports. Adaptive’s tools: Inclusion of conditional formatting among its visualization features enhances the user’s ability to distinguish trends and stray values. Accessibility of user specific views: Users can modify home pages including the most used reports or datasets. Workday Adaptive Planning Use Cases in Professional Services 1. Workforce Planning and Talent Strategy Shared Challenges: It remains challenging to predict workforce demand because project timelines can always be adjusted. This implies that there is either inadequate use of employees or overworking them to the extent of causing force strain. The potential of employers to have very little real-time oversight into the gaps in skills and hiring measures. How Adaptive Planning Helps: A plate management tool for employees, taxes, wages, benefits, and other cost controlling factors in human resource management. Resource Management – cursed to allocate printers among teams to use and control of how efficiently the resource is used. Headcount Planning: Efficiency of evaluating departments or teams to determine if there are any staff shortage or a staffing problem in the team. Assumption Based Planning: This strategy uses driver-based planning in order to automatically generate scenarios of resource generation and prediction. 2. Project and Service Line Profitability Analysis Common Challenges: Difficulty in accurately charging costs against various service lines or projects. Inconsistent monitoring of billable and non-billable hours, leading to revenue leakage. Gaps in visibility into profit margins across client engagements. How Adaptive Planning Helps: Project-Level Forecasting: Monitors active projects, resource assignments, and financial impact. Utilization Analysis: Pinpoints over/underutilized consultants and team members. Scenario Planning: Analyzes project workload distribution, billable hours, and financial viability. Qualitative Analysis: Measures customer satisfaction, SLAs, and project success metrics. 3. Client and Engagement-Level Planning Typical Challenges: Client needs variability and contract types impacting revenue predictability. Difficulty in matching staffing levels with client demand. Challenges in running retainer versus time-and-material engagements efficiently. How Adaptive Planning Benefits: Revenue Forecasting: Generates forecasts based on project milestones, retainers, or time-based billing models. Client Profitability Analysis: Measures revenue contribution and cost allocation at the client level. Engagement Strategy Optimization: Leverages real-time financial information and scenario planning to optimize client engagement models. 4. Financial Budgeting and Forecasting Typical Challenges: Static yearly budgets become outdated in a matter of weeks due to market changes. Failure to integrate financial plans with operating data. Inability to handle fluctuations in cash flow and capital deployment. How Adaptive Planning Assists: Rolling Forecasts: Allows continuous budget revisions in response to changing market conditions. Variance Analysis: Compares actuals to budget with automated variance emphasis. GL Data Integration: Pulls actuals from ERPs for variance analysis and forecasting. EVOCS: Your Partner for a Successful Implementation For Workday Adaptive Planning to produce the best results, Evocs brings structured solutions that will ensure smooth implementation. This makes us equipped to dismantle information barriers and ensure proper and efficient information transfer between applications. Knowing that your business technology infrastructure and the data supporting it are disparate across different systems , we help create the bridges that link all those islands together and keep business lines of operation smooth. Our experience assists organizations: Streamline data flow between ERP, CRM, HR, and financial planning systems. This will ensure that there is no inconsistency with the data and no more manual transfer of data from one system to another. Creating an implementation plan for Workday Adaptive Planning based on business needs regarding ROI optimization. Below are the details of how Evocs can help you out in its various capacities: Creating an implementation plan for Workday Adaptive Planning based on business needs regarding ROI optimization. Are you interested in knowing how you can benefit from EVOCS? Contact EVOCS for a Road Mapping Session. Conclusion Workday Adaptive Planning offers professional services firms a versatile platform to manage the complexity of project-based businesses. Organizations derive real-time insights to achieve maximum profit and make better strategic decisions by implementing workforce analysis coupled with scenario development beneath financial planning. The advanced forecasting mechanisms, structured reporting, and seamless data integration make Adaptive Planning the most competent forecasting solution for companies to respond to

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Financials Separate Payments for Customer Refunds in Settlement Runs Availability: Set Up Required Why this matters: Provides better finance experience for the users due to refunding in one application instead of several and there is no need for workarounds. This allows for handling of charges to different customers when making refund payments during the settlement run. Renaming and grouping the refund setting on the customer and sponsor profiles Due to different customers’ groups’ nature, employees should apply selective approaches on how to treat and respond to customer refunds. Manually Close and Reopen Requisition Lines Availability: Automatically Available Why this matters: Exactly why this matters is a flexible ability to put an end to specific requisition lines but leave the other ones open. It minimizes the opening and possible sourcing of functions that are irrelevant to its duties. This change adds two more specific functions namely Close Lines and Reopen Lines under requisition. Assign Match Status for Intercompany Journal Lines Availability: Set Up Required How this relates: It also helps in targeting by making some journal lines available or unavailable. New tasks are Mass Update Match Status and Update Match Status. That is, the handling of such control through intercompany accounts enhances procedural control over journal entries. HCM Manager Insights Hub Enhancements Availability: Automatically Available Why this matters: Takes care of the hiring and staffing needs as all the managers would be centralized so that they can closely work along with them. This also includes integrating buttons relating to important aspects of staffing such as ‘Add new job,’ ‘End job.’ Adds new feature of In-Progress Hire Events card. It allows the possibility to get the ability of View Org Chart on team view. Enhanced Offboarding Experience Availability: Automatically Available Why it matters: Helps bring resonance to a self-service resignation process by adding structure. Changes labels for the fields related to resignation. Adding the Worker Info panel during resignation. Now it is possible to look for specific tasks in the area of ​​resignation and indicate the logos of tenants. Edit To Do Task Functionality Availability: Automatically Available Why this matters: This is good because it would enable individual modifications on the To Do items for adequate management. Allows the edit by using the standalone task/related action. The abilities include update of task status, the instructions for the task, and other related documents. Adaptive Planning Add Reports on Dashboards Availability: Automatically Available Why this matters : This allows to augment the utility of the dashboard as it incorporates matrix reports along with visuals. Can accommodate up to one million cells in the matrix reports. Combined with LD Player, it allows for line notes, filters, and downloads. Respects existing security settings. Version-Specific Overrides for Linked Accounts Availability: Automatically Available Planning flexibility becomes higher because version-level control provides better management of account links. Users can enable override by selecting from the available plan versions. The system enables data entry together with importing capabilities as well as predictive forecasting functions. The system enables custom filters that help users implement override control. Shared Scenarios Availability: Automatically Available This system enables cross-team scenario collaboration together with enhanced tracking needs. Specific collaborators and team groups can access content sharing through this system. Track submission status in real time. Automatic notifications for updates. Absence Effective Dating for Service Dates Availability: Automatically Available Why this matters: It supports valid and reliable reporting as well as increases correct eligibility determination by incorporation of effective dates. A better way is to track changes to the service date more accurately. According to the new metric, it lowers the likelihood of further influencing the downstream eligibility calculation. Useful for rehires and validations. Change Job / Assign Work Schedule Impacts Availability: Set Up Required Why this matters: Sets invalid time off after the eligibility of an employee is terminated due to a change in the job or a change in the work schedule. New services engineered as part of the planned processes. It is useful in ensuring that special requests for time off are not approved in order to effectively help staff members take necessary time off when convenient. Start and End Times on Absence Tables Availability: Set Up Required Its relevance can be explained by the fact that specifying time in detail facilitates better integration and accuracy in creating a schedule. Extend the possibility of the absences’ recognition with start and end times. Updated reports and validations for tracking. Supports hourly-based accrual plans. Benefits Purge Dependents and Beneficiaries for Active Workers Availability: Set Up Required Why this matters: Protects the privacy of the employees because one can easily delete the PII belonging to the active workforce. Can now delete this data for current (not fired) employees only. Find information about getting free samples and templates for various business reports, as well as placing a service request for professional expert’s help. Action is irreversible. Mobile Benefits UI Re Architecture Availability: Automatically Available Why this matters: Through this, it enhances the ease of accessing and also the appearance of the mobile app. Helps in supporting the screen readers and has support for Dynamic Text feature. Enables multilingual experience. Cleaner and more modern UI. Compensation Administrator Security for Compensation Availability: Automatically Available Why this matters: Protects key compensation data by the position hierarchy implemented in the organization. This filters the bonus, stock, and one-time pay for reference to the authorized security groups to prohibit wrongful utilization. Pertains to the compensation history and summary views of parts of TSA. This involves more detailed access, that is, domain-level permissions. Total Rewards Template Conversion Availability: Set Up Required Why this matters: As this document reiterates, the changes being proposed are much simpler for organisations to adopt if the new template format of Total Reward Statement is to be implemented. Converts legacy templates to 2024R1+ format. Extends the set of available options adding branding and logo, as well as an icon. This will help in the deletion of old parts that may not be of any relevance in the most recent

Finding the right person for a job can feel like a real uphill battle. Anyone who’s been involved in hiring knows the drill. You’re bombarded with applications, many of which are completely irrelevant. Manually reviewing it is not only time-consuming but also prone to human error. But what if technology could step into shoulder some of this burden? That’s the promise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recruitment. AI offers a set of tools that can streamline the hiring process. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at how AI addresses these recruitment challenges, explore the tools and benefits it offers, and consider why it’s becoming an indispensable part of the modern workplace. AI-Powered Tools: The New Recruiter’s Toolkit Gone are the days when recruiters had to manually sift through stacks of resumes or spend hours coordinating interviews. Thanks to AI recruitment tools, hiring has entered a new era of efficiency and precision. Imagine having a virtual assistant that can automatically screen resumes, engage candidates, and even schedule interviews seamlessly. This is the reality of recruitment automation. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) Enhanced by AI At the heart of AI-powered recruitment lies the Applicant Tracking System (ATS), a tool that has been supercharged with artificial intelligence. Modern ATS platforms features like resume screening software to parse and analyze resumes, identifying top candidates based on keywords, skills, and qualifications. With AI sourcing tools, recruiters can also find hidden gems among passive candidates—those who aren’t actively job-hunting but are perfect for the role. The talent intelligence generated by these systems provides actionable insights, helping companies make informed decisions faster. AI Chatbots: 24/7 Candidate Engagement Communication is a critical part of the hiring process, and this is where AI chatbots shine. These virtual assistants can answer candidates’ queries instantly, guide them through the application process, and even conduct initial screening interviews. Available round the clock, chatbots ensure candidates feel engaged and valued, enhancing the overall hiring experience. Imagine a candidate applying at 2 AM and getting instant confirmation and answers to their preliminary questions. This level of responsiveness is only possible thanks to AI chatbots. Predictive Analytics and Skills Matching What if you could predict which candidate is most likely to succeed in a specific role? That’s what predictive analytics brings to the table. By analyzing historical data and assessing factors like experience, education, and skills, AI can forecast how well a candidate will perform. Skills matching is another standout feature. AI tools compare a candidate’s abilities to job requirements, ensuring only the most suitable individuals move forward in the hiring pipeline. This eliminates guesswork and significantly improves hiring accuracy. The Perks of AI: Faster Hiring, Fairer Decisions When it comes to hiring, everyone wants the same thing: a quick, cost-effective, and fair process that delivers the best candidates. This is where AI in recruitment steps up, offering advantages that traditional methods often struggle to deliver. So, what’s in it for you? Let’s explore the key benefits of AI in recruitment and how it’s changing the way we hire. Faster Hiring: Reducing Time to Fill Roles One of the standout perks of using AI is the speed it brings to the hiring process. By automating repetitive tasks like screening resumes and scheduling interviews, AI drastically cuts down the time to hire. Instead of waiting weeks (or even months) to fill a position, recruiters can now identify and engage top talent in record time. This efficiency doesn’t just save effort—it ensures companies can keep operations running smoothly without long gaps in their teams. Reduced Hiring Costs: Saving Resources Hiring isn’t just time-consuming—it can be expensive. Beyond speed, AI can also lead to significantly reduced hiring costs. By automating repetitive tasks, companies can reduce the need for manual labor, lowering administrative expenses. Additionally, by improving the quality of hires through better candidate matching, AI can minimize the costs associated with employee turnover. Making the right hire the first time saves a lot of time and money in the long run. Mitigating Unconscious Bias: A Step Toward Fairness Perhaps one of the most compelling benefits of AI in recruitment is its potential to mitigate unconscious bias in hiring. Human recruiters, despite their best intentions, can be influenced by unconscious biases based on factors like gender, race, age, or background. AI algorithms, when designed and implemented correctly, can evaluate candidates based purely on their skills, experience, and qualifications, leading to more objective hiring decisions. This fosters diversity and inclusion in recruitment by creating a more level playing field for all applicants. It’s about giving everyone a fair shot based on what they can bring to the table. Objective Hiring: Data-Driven Decisions AI thrives on data, which allows it to make decisions based on concrete evidence rather than subjective opinions. This objective hiring approach ensures that every candidate is evaluated fairly and consistently. For employers, it’s a win-win: they get the best person for the job while ensuring transparency in the decision-making process. Improved Candidate Experience Let’s not forget the candidates themselves. AI-powered tools, like chatbots and automated updates, keep applicants informed and engaged throughout the hiring journey. A smooth, well-communicated process creates an improved candidate experience, leaving a positive impression on potential hires—even those who don’t get the job. The Downside: Ethical Considerations and Potential Pitfalls As with any groundbreaking technology, revolutionizing recruitment with AI comes with its share of challenges. While the benefits of AI in recruitment are undeniable, it’s crucial to shine a light on the potential downsides to ensure that its use remains fair, transparent, and ethical. Here, we’ll explore some critical concerns, from algorithmic bias to data privacy in recruitment, and how organizations can address them responsibly. 1. Algorithmic Bias: A Flaw in the Code? One of the main ethical considerations of AI in recruitment is bias in AI algorithms. AI is designed to make hiring fairer and objective. However, it can accidentally carry over biases from the data it was trained on. For example, if past hiring data shows a preference for

In today’s fast-paced job market, finding the perfect candidate can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Enter AI-powered resume matching, a surprise element for HR professionals. But what exactly is AI-powered resume matching, and why is it revolutionizing the recruitment process? In this blog, we will delve into the ins and outs of AI-powered resume matching, exploring how it works, its benefits, and why it’s becoming an indispensable tool for HR professionals. This guide will provide valuable insights into the future of hiring, powered by AI. The Ins and Outs of AI-Powered Resume Matching Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral part of various industries, and HR is no exception. AI is being utilized to streamline tasks, enhance decision-making, and improve efficiency in recruitment and employee management. AI-powered resume matching is an advanced technology that maximizes artificial intelligence to streamline the recruitment process. Imagine having a super-smart assistant who can read through thousands of resumes in minutes and pick out the perfect candidates for your job openings. That’s precisely what AI-powered resume matching does. It uses sophisticated algorithms to analyze and compare resumes with job descriptions, ensuring the best matches are identified quickly and efficiently. Why Resume Matching is the Key to Hiring Success? Effective resume matching is crucial for several reasons. First, it saves time and effort for HR professionals, allowing them to focus on more strategic tasks rather than sifting through countless resumes. Second, it improves the quality of hires by ensuring that candidates who best meet the job requirements are prioritized. Third, it enhances the candidate experience by providing quicker responses and more relevant job matches. Resume matching is a critical component of the recruitment process. Finding the right candidate among hundreds of applications can be daunting and time-consuming. AI-powered resume matching helps recruiters quickly identify top candidates, ensuring a better fit for the role and the organization. This technology uses advanced algorithms to compare resumes against job descriptions, highlighting the most suitable candidates. Uncovering the Magic: How AI-Powered Resume Matching Works AI-powered resume matching uses advanced technology to streamline the hiring process. At its core, it makes the most of AI technology to read, understand, and evaluate resumes much faster than any human can. The system scans through hundreds or even thousands of resumes, picking out the most relevant information that matches the job description. Key Algorithms and Processes The magic behind AI-powered resume matching lies in its algorithms. Here are the key processes involved: Data Collection: The system gathers data from resumes and job descriptions. This includes details like skills, experience, education, and other relevant qualifications. Parsing Resumes: The AI breaks down resumes into readable data points, such as skills, experience, education, and more. Natural Language Processing (NLP): NLP technology allows the AI to understand and interpret the language used in resumes and job descriptions. It’s like having a translator that speaks both “resume” and “job requirement” fluently. Algorithmic Matching: Advanced algorithms compare the information from resumes to the job requirements. These algorithms consider various factors, such as keyword matches, skill relevance, and experience levels. Keyword Matching: It looks for keywords that match the job description. For example, if the job requires “project management” skills, the AI will prioritize resumes mentioning this. Scoring and Ranking: The AI assigns scores to each resume based on how well they match the job description. The highest-scoring resumes are ranked at the top, making it easier for recruiters to identify the best candidates. Learning and Improving: Over time, the AI learns from previous matches, continuously improving its accuracy and efficiency. The Unmatched Benefits of AI-Powered Resume Matching Efficiency: Gone are the days of sifting through endless piles of resumes. AI can scan and evaluate thousands of resumes in a fraction of the time it takes a human recruiter. This speed not only saves time but also accelerates the hiring process. Accuracy: AI reduces human biases and errors in the resume screening process. By focusing purely on data and qualifications, AI ensures that the most qualified candidates are highlighted, regardless of their background. Cost-Effectiveness: By automating the initial screening process, companies can reduce recruitment costs. Less time spent on manual resume reviews means lower administrative expenses. Improved Candidate Experience: Faster response times and more accurate matching mean that candidates are more likely to find jobs that fit their skills and interests. This leads to higher job satisfaction and lower turnover rates. Scalability: Whether you’re hiring for one position or a hundred, AI-powered resume matching can handle the workload. It scales effortlessly to meet the needs of growing companies. AI-powered resume matching is revolutionizing the recruitment process by bringing efficiency, accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and improved candidate experiences to the forefront. It’s the perfect blend of technology and HR expertise, making hiring smarter and more streamlined. So, next time you find yourself drowning in a sea of resumes, just remember: there’s an AI for that! Enhancing Candidate Experience One of the standout benefits of AI-powered resume matching is its ability to greatly enhance the candidate experience. Let’s dive into how AI achieves this: Personalized Job Recommendations AI algorithms analyze each candidate’s resume, comparing skills, experiences, and preferences with available job openings. This sophisticated matching process ensures that candidates receive job recommendations that truly align with their qualifications and career aspirations. Imagine receiving job suggestions that are a perfect fit for you—no more sifting through irrelevant job postings Faster and More Responsive Communication AI-powered systems can significantly speed up the recruitment process. From instant acknowledgment of application receipt to timely updates on application status, candidates no longer have to endure long periods of silence. This responsiveness not only keeps candidates informed but also boosts their confidence in the hiring process. Quick and clear communication makes candidates feel valued and respected, improving their overall experience. By focusing on personalized job recommendations and faster, more responsive communication, AI is transforming the candidate experience. This technology ensures that candidates feel engaged and valued throughout the hiring process, ultimately leading to a more positive

How did the pandemic change the course of the Future of Work? The post pandemic landscape has had a significant impact on the workforce in several ways. Many companies have shifted to remote work, with employees working from home due to lockdowns and social distancing measures. This has required companies to adapt their technology and management practices to accommodate remote work. In workplaces where employees cannot work remotely, the pandemic has led to changes in the physical workspace, with measures such as social distancing, increased sanitation, and the use of personal protective equipment. The pandemic has also caused economic disruption, with many businesses shutting down temporarily or permanently, and many workers experiencing job losses, reduced hours, or reduced pay. Significant impact on mental health, with many workers experiencing stress and anxiety due to the uncertainty and disruption caused by the pandemic which has blurred the boundaries between work and home life. Overall, the pandemic has accelerated trends that were already underway, such as the use of technology and remote work, and has required companies and workers to adapt quickly to new ways of working. The future of work is likely to be influenced by many factors. These include: Remote work and distributed teams: The pandemic has shown that remote work can be effective, and many companies are likely to continue to embrace remote work and distributed teams as a way to access talent and reduce costs. Hybrid work arrangements: Many companies are likely to adopt hybrid work arrangements, where employees work both remotely and in the office, in order to balance the benefits of remote work with the benefits of in-person collaboration. Technology-driven work: Technology will continue to play a key role in the future of work, with more companies using automation, AI, and machine learning to streamline processes and improve efficiency. Upskilling and reskilling: As technology and automation continue to transform the workforce, companies and workers will need to invest in upskilling and reskilling to ensure they have the skills required for the future of work. Well-being and flexibility: Companies are likely to prioritize the well-being and flexibility of their employees, recognizing the importance of work-life balance and the need to support employees’ mental health and well-being. Diversity, equity, and inclusion: As companies become more distributed and diverse, there will be a growing focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, with companies striving to create inclusive cultures that support all employees. What will the office of the future look like? Since the way we work is changing, and the office of the future will look very different from the traditional 9-to-5, cubicle-bound workplace that many of us are used to, organizations need to adapt to the changing nature of work and prepare for the office of the future to stay competitive, attract top talent, and create a workplace that fosters innovation, creativity, and collaboration. Here are six steps that companies can take to prepare for the office of the future: Embrace flexible work arrangements: One of the defining features of the office of the future is that it will be more flexible, with employees working remotely, from home, or in co-working spaces. Companies need to start planning for this shift by investing in the technology and infrastructure needed to support remote work and exploring new ways of measuring productivity and performance. This could include investing in cloud-based software, communication tools, and collaboration platforms that enable remote workers to stay connected and productive. 2. Redesign the physical office space: The office of the future will require a more flexible and adaptable physical space that accommodates new ways of working, including hot-desking, shared spaces, and collaboration areas. Companies may need to redesign their physical office space to support these new work arrangements, investing in new furniture, layouts, and technology to enable a more mobile, flexible, and collaborative work environment. 3. Invest in technology: Technology will be a key enabler of the office of the future, and companies need to be prepared to invest in new tools and solutions to support their employees. This could include cloud-based software, collaboration tools, and automation technologies to help streamline processes and increase productivity. Companies should also invest in cybersecurity measures to ensure that remote workers can access the company’s systems securely. 4. Prioritize employee experience: The office of the future will be focused on the employee experience, with companies putting more emphasis on creating a workplace that fosters engagement, creativity, and innovation. This could involve investing in employee development programs, flexible work arrangements, and wellness initiatives that support the physical and mental wellbeing of employees. By prioritizing the employee experience, companies can attract and retain top talent and create a workplace that inspires and motivates its employees. 5. Embrace diversity and inclusion: As companies become more global, diverse, and dispersed, it will be important to prioritize diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This could involve developing new policies and practices to support a more diverse workforce, investing in training and development to build cultural competency, and creating an inclusive workplace culture that fosters creativity, innovation, and collaboration. By embracing diversity and inclusion, companies can tap into a wider pool of talent and benefit from a broader range of perspectives and ideas. 6. Emphasize data-driven decision making: In the office of the future, companies will need to be more data-driven, using real-time data and analytics to make better decisions and respond more quickly to changing market conditions. This could involve investing in data analytics tools, training employees to use data effectively, and creating a culture that values and prioritizes data-driven decision making. By leveraging data effectively, companies can gain a competitive edge and make better decisions based on real-time insights. The office of the future will require a new approach to work that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, employee experience, technology, diversity and inclusion, and data-driven decision making. By taking these steps, companies can prepare for the office of the future and create a workplace that is adaptable, innovative, and responsive to the changing needs of its employees

Workday Time Off consultants should prepare themselves for an influx of work. Late 2022, UKG announced the end of life for several legacy Kronos products including Kronos Workforce Central and Legacy Kronos 4500 Clocks. As a result, UKG will be encouraging their existing customers to move to Kronos Dimensions, their new cloud platform. Current Kronos users will have to go through additional implementation and an increased subscription fee. But wait, what and who are we even talking about? In 2020, Ultimate Software and Kronos announced that they would be merging to form UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group), a global HCM technology company that combines the strengths of both companies to offer a comprehensive suite of HCM solutions. Ultimate Software was founded in 1990 and initially offered on-site HR and payroll software. Kronos Incorporated was founded in 1977 and has been a leading provider of workforce management solutions for over 40 years. Let’s highlight a specific UKG product, Kronos Workforce Central which is a cloud-based workforce management software that helps businesses to manage their employees more effectively. It typically includes features such as: Time and attendance tracking: Kronos Workforce Central allows employees to enter the time they have worked and request time off, and managers to approve or reject time off requests, track attendance and approve time sheets. Scheduling: The scheduling feature allows managers to create and manage employee schedules, set labor standards and track schedule adherence. Absence management: Kronos Workforce Central helps businesses manage employee absences, including sick time, vacation time, and personal time. Payroll integration: Kronos Workforce Central integrates with payroll systems, which helps to reduce manual effort and improve accuracy. Compliance with labor laws and regulations: Kronos Workforce Central helps businesses to comply with labor laws and regulations, including overtime, sick time, and vacation time. Reporting and analytics: Kronos Workforce Central provides reporting and analytics tools that allow businesses to monitor compliance, analyze labor costs, and schedule adherence. Mobile access: Kronos Workforce Central is available on mobile devices, which allows employees to access the system from anywhere and enter their time worked, request time off, and view their schedules and time off balances. The goal of Kronos Workforce Central was to simplify the process of managing employees and improve the efficiency of human resources departments. By automating time and attendance tracking, scheduling, and absence management, Kronos Workforce Central helped businesses make informed decisions about their workforce and reduced manual effort. As part of the merger and with the push for a more comprehensive timekeeping tool, they are instead sunsetting this product and pushing Kronos Dimensions. What is Kronos Dimensions? Kronos Dimensions, a part of the Kronos Workforce Suite, is an across-the-board human capital management solution that can be used to manage employee data, scheduling, time and attendance tracking, and labor analytics. Although it can be used to replace a variety of different systems, depending on the specific needs of a business, we can see that the focus is solely on timekeeping. Some examples of systems that it could potentially replace include: manual timekeeping methods, such as paper time sheets or spreadsheets; standalone scheduling or time and attendance software; separate HR, payroll, and compliance management systems and; systems from different vendors that don’t integrate well with each other. It does offer a one-stop-shop for scheduling, time and attendance, compliance and analytics. It could also replace other similar solutions in the market that are less comprehensive, less flexible and less adaptable to the specific needs of a business. It provides real-time visibility into employee data, including skills, availability, and labor costs, and helps managers make more informed decisions about their workforce. It also includes features such as time and attendance tracking, scheduling, and compliance management. It is typically used by businesses of all sizes to automate timekeeping, reduce errors, and improve compliance with labor laws. Where does Workday come in and how does this impact Workday Time Off Consultants? While we don’t have knowledge of the specific cut-off date when the EOL (end of life) will be for Kronos Workforce Central and Legacy Kronos 4500 Clocks, it is important to note that end-of-life dates are generally announced well in advance, so that businesses have time to plan for and make the transition to a new product. This would be the perfect opportunity for companies to explore time tracking outside of the recommended tool Kronos Dimensions by instead reviewing companies like Workday that can provide more holistically. Workday Time Tracking is an application within the Workday ecosystem that allows companies to manage and track employee time and attendance. It provides real-time visibility into employee hours worked, time off requests, and other time-related data. It allows employees to log their time, request time off, and view their schedules and time off balances. Managers can approve time off requests, manage schedules, and track employee time and attendance. The feature integrates with payroll, ensuring accurate and efficient payroll processing. Overall, Workday Time Tracking provides a centralized and streamlined approach to managing employee time and attendance, improving accuracy and efficiency. The goal of Workday Time Tracking is to simplify the process of tracking employee time and attendance and reduce the time and effort required to manage the process. By automating time tracking and integrating with other systems, Workday Time Tracking helps businesses to make informed decisions about their workforce and improve overall efficiency. These features, combined with Workday’s commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction, have helped make Workday HCM one of the leading solutions in the market. Workday is a popular HRIS solution due to its ability to streamline HR operations and provide a comprehensive, user-friendly solution. Its key features include integration of HR processes, a user-friendly interface, customization options, real-time analytics, and a cloud-based platform. These features provide companies with efficient data management and analysis, allowing for informed decision-making and improved HR operations. Additionally, Workday covers a wide range of HR processes, including talent management, payroll, and time tracking, making it a one-stop solution for HR needs. These factors contribute to Workday’s popularity among

There is not a set time for companies to award compensation, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that most Workday customers conduct annual compensation reviews at the end of the calendar year. People expect compensation around the holidays and the New Year. And in my fifth year of leading Workday Advanced Compensation projects, I still see the same mistakes. Admittedly, I have been guilty of these mistakes. Sharing my perspective as an Advanced Compensation consultant who has completed over 10 implementations and 20 projects, my goal is to help you avoid some of them. About half of my experience is in client advocacy or post-production support, and that means I see the post-implementation struggles.  Let’s start with People. Choosing your team and consultants for implementation of Advanced Compensation (merit, bonus, stock) is the most important step towards a successful implementation. Thinking about choosing the right firm or partner; make sure you agree upon exactly which person(s) will be assigned to your contract before the work is started. It is important that the lead consultant on your project understands Compensation and its role in business, that they have implemented the module at least three times prior, and that they have led at least a couple of their projects. Everyone starts somewhere but I do not want to own the project where learning happens. As Workday continues to experience tremendous growth, we will continue to see fast hiring, training, promotions, and title inflation in the Workday job market, so the experience and talent depth on some Workday consulting teams is diluted. Right up there next to People is your Timeline. Plan to complete your implementation at least a month before your Compensation Review Process is initiated in Workday. Projects often run behind schedule and trust me that there will be enough stress about finalizing employee participation and budget in the final weeks. A good consultant can use Workday to help you calculate budget through Workday reports and tools such as the Bonus Accrual Estimator.  In your contract, specify that hypercare support begins approximately a week before the day of launch and ends shortly after compensation review has been finalized or compensation statements released (if applicable). Hypercare during a gap between the migration to Production and initiation of your compensation process is during downtime and useless to you as a client. You will need some support in making final changes, corrections, loading the budget, and launching the compensation review process which is why I recommend that hypercare begin about a week before you launch. Finally, it is with a heavy heart that I recommend you avoid BIRT (Business Intelligence and Reporting Tool) to create your Compensation Statements. It is hard for me to say this because I am a BIRT consultant and enjoy using the tool. Use BIRT for compensation statements and you are going to have a bad time. If you already have an internal team that knows and understands reporting and BIRT, this recommendation is not for you. For most Workday customers, BIRT is too costly and complicated. BIRT is a tool in Workday Studio that allows technical report developers to create pdf layouts that print when you run a report in Workday. It is commonly used to develop offer letters, paychecks, compensation statements, and other business documents. BIRT is not a tool that a report writer can learn on their own without some mishaps. Regarding compensation statements, problems often arise for these reasons: Testing: Compensation is complicated, and many different versions of the compensation statement are needed. If a condition rule or calc field is written incorrectly, it affects many statements. Testing compensation statements is very time consuming, and testing needs to happen before every compensation review cycle. To fully test, the pdfs need to be reviewed and not just the report that populates the data into your statement. If my client is small enough and has the staff, I will often recommend that every compensation statement is reviewed before it goes out. 3 tools that you can use to combat testing fatigue in this scenario are –  Methodically test at least one of every possible scenario and record the result.   Simply compensation statements, limiting the number of possible layouts & views.  Use a tool other than BIRT such as Word. Cost: The report and pdf design used to create compensation statements should be evergreen, meaning that they work year after year without minimal updates to the report or pdf layout. Only less than 10% of the time have I seen this result. Companies are typically using BIRT layouts that require many updates each year or the report incorrectly prints when used to print compensation statement history. BIRT is a free product but costly in terms of services and hours. Complexity: Corrections to compensation statements can be difficult. Imagine that you have already released compensation statements and notice a blank row in one employee’s statement. The BIRT developer is contacted, and it takes them a few hours to repair. Then the statement is fixed but a change in coding may affect other compensation statements; you can only be certain with more testing. A great alternative to BIRT generated compensation statements is to store PDFs in the Worker Document’s section of Workday. You can run Advanced Compensation in Workday, export Workday reports with awards to Excel, populate into Word, and then mass load PDFs into workday. This simple process enables easy corrections, customization, and allows the HR team to easily manage the process rather than relying on partnership with HRIS or IT. I hope that these very specific problem analyses and suggestions help you in your next Workday Compensation Review.  Stay tuned for our next article in 2 weeks. Click ‘Subscribe’ on your way out to receive it directly.