News
PRESIDENT HATCH: WORKDAY IS LIVE
President Hatch emailed this message to faculty and staff on July 2:
Dear Faculty and Staff,
As an institution, we have long anticipated a time when our manual processes would be transformed to enhance our work. I am pleased to report that this day has arrived. Workday is now available, and faculty and staff will begin using it to maintain personal information, view directories, complete expense reports, hire colleagues and more.
The Transition Guide contains details about accessing the system and downloading a mobile application for Apple and Android devices. The guide also includes process comparisons, a glossary of roles and a launch checklist.
If you have questions, most answers can be found in the step-by-step resources directly in the new system. Questions that remain may be directed to your school or department’s “Power User.” Additionally, a Workday hotline (x5100) and open labs are available to support our campus community during this transition. More information about each of these options is included in the Transition Guide.
I would like to thank Executive Vice President Hof Milam, the dedicated project team and numerous colleagues across campus who have brought this technological advancement to fruition. Workday will significantly improve the service level provided to Wake Forest, while enhancing the ways we collaborate.
Sincerely,
Nathan O. Hatch
President
WAKE FOREST GOES FOR THE GOLD
The University has received the “Gold Tenant,” which is the version of Workday that has been configured to meet campus needs. After this tenant is thoroughly tested, it will move into production, enabling all faculty and staff to begin using Workday July 2. As this date approaches, you may view a countdown showing how many days, hours, minutes, and seconds remain until this technological advancement is live.
WORKDAY@WAKE AT 2018 TECHXPLORATION
More than 200 faculty and staff members attended the March 21 TechXploration, which showcased technology initiatives underway across Wake Forest. This was the second consecutive year Workday was featured, and this year’s focus was on an interactive demonstration of expense reports in the new system. Additionally, the Workday@Wake team shared information about upcoming training opportunities for faculty and staff.
CAMPUS TRAINING DATES ANNOUNCED
Instructor-led Workday training will be offered May 14 – September 29, 2018, with several opportunities to attend each class. Additionally, on-demand material will be available May 7, 2018. Milestones leading up to and during the training period are identified on a timeline posted to the Learning section of the website.
CAMPUS ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS COMPLETE
The University completed a series of 12 Campus Engagement Sessions to demonstrate Workday to individuals who will directly interact with key processes. Colleagues who were identified to represent schools and departments across campus provided feedback about the system configuration. The Project Team will be communicating resolutions to outstanding inquiries, as well as posting new “Frequently Asked Questions” to the Learning section of the website.
SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO SERIES
A weekly video series explores how Workday will benefit Wake Forest, through the diverse perspectives of the Steering Committee. Each Wednesday, a new clip is posted to the @workdayatwake Twitter account, as well as the video archive on the website. Topics range from the current state of administrative technology to the future with Workday.
Follow us on Twitter to watch and share these videos, as new content is published.
CAMPUS ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS BEGIN
The Campus Engagement Sessions began July 26, with the first installment focusing on staff and student time entry. Individuals who will directly interact with this process received a demo of how this portion of the system has been configured.
Additional sessions will be offered through September to demonstrate areas including:
- Accounting journals
- Cash receipts
- Requisitions, purchase orders, and supplier invoices
- Human Capital Management
- Spend authorizations
- Student employment
- Finance and budget reporting
UNIT TESTING UNDERWAY
Although the “Testing” phase is scheduled to begin in January 2018, preliminary work is underway to ensure the system is functioning accurately and efficiently. Individuals are carefully looking at desktop and mobile experiences, as they progress through more than 3,600 test cases.
The number of test cases for each functional area is listed below:
- Human Capital Management (HCM): 2,623
- Finance: 765
- Payroll: 212
- Budget & Planning: 22
WORKDAY COMMUNITY VOICES:
WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY TAKES STUDIED APPROACH
TO TECHNOLOGY MAKEOVER
Continuing their focus on best practices throughout higher education, Workday recently published an article about Wake Forest in their Community Voices blog. This piece features an interview with Chief Information Officer Mur Muchane and chronicles the University’s inclusive approach to exploring technology solutions. The following is an excerpt:
When thinking about selecting the right finance and HR system for the school, Muchane teamed up with campus colleagues and first conducted a thorough assessment of the university’s entire technology infrastructure. Then, armed with facts, and supported by the executive vice president and the provost, he and his campus colleagues were able to build consensus and select a provider based on both the current and future needs of the university.
WORKDAY@TECHXPLORATION
More than 250 members of the campus community who attended TechXploration on April 18 received a first-hand look at Workday. Interacting across a range of devices, attendees viewed sample:
- Organizational charts
- Financial dashboards
- Benefit elections
- Time off requests
The annual TechXploration event showcases how technologies are being leveraged in teaching, learning, research, engagement, and creative endeavors at Wake Forest. This year’s event provided a forum for participants to ask Workday-related questions and provide feedback to the project team.
LAUNCH DATE CONFIRMED FOR JULY 2018
The Steering Committee has announced that Wake Forest will launch Workday as the University’s financial, human capital management, budget and planning software in July 2018. The launch date was confirmed after valuable due diligence and input from dedicated team members collaborating on the Workday project. This was an important decision that considered multiple factors including providing the time necessary to thoughtfully implement the functionality and to prepare the campus community to fully utilize the technology that will transform many administrative processes.
WAKE FOREST PREPARES TO LAUNCH WORKDAY
Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues,
After a thorough assessment process that included your input, the University selected Workday to replace Banner as our financial, human capital management, budget and planning software. This will be a key year for Wake, as we collectively work toward implementation of this solution that will significantly enhance the service level provided to the Wake Forest community and replace a range of expensive-to-maintain and difficult-to-use standalone systems. Workday is scheduled to launch by mid-2018, led by Executive Vice President Hof Milam, along with the dedicated efforts of a project team representing multiple academic and administrative campus areas.
Significant work has taken place already. We are currently in the “architect” phase of the project, in which we have begun to upload and review Wake Forest data within Workday. Next steps will include several more uploads, development of end-user reports, and testing the system. Importantly, we will continue to deliver “in-time” training to all users.
In the coming months, additional information will be communicated and resources will be made available to you in community forums and online. You are invited to share your ideas or submit questions to workday@nullwfu.edu. Thank you for your collaboration as we upgrade our administrative technology to better support you.
Sincerely,
Nathan O. Hatch, President
“This will be a key year for Wake, as we collectively work toward implementation of this solution that will significantly enhance the service level provided to the Wake Forest community and replace a range of expensive-to-maintain and difficult-to-use standalone systems.“
–President Nathan O. Hatch