When Workday came on the scene in 2005, it set forth to revolutionize the enterprise software market. And it did just that. It offers systems that are way faster than those clunky, fragmented legacy programs and that give you the agility to pivot whenever you need to.
Still, as user-friendly as Workday’s interface is, we’re talking systems that are, of course, intricate and involved. When you set something in motion in Workday, you’re activating a myriad of elaborate behind-the-scenes machinations, many of them running simultaneously. That speaks to the importance of Workday implementation partners, teams that will work with you to get your system up and running and optimized just for you.
Just What are Workday Implementation Partners?
Workday hand-picked what has become a global community of services partners that help organizations deploy their systems and continually adopt new capabilities. These systems integrators and regional firms know Workday products through and through.
Take Mercer, for example. The international leader in talent, health, investments, and retirement has been a Workday partner for seven years. Operating in more than 130 countries, Mercer blends robust HR consulting and business know-how with Workday advisory and deployment service capabilities.
What Makes Workday Different from Conventional Systems?
With Workday, application modification is easy because its platform is just a single line of code. That’s counter to traditional ERP systems, which are constructed on a sizeable relational database that you own and must maintain. What’s more, implementations are pricey and time-consuming.
What About When It Comes to Workday Implementation?
The key difference when it comes to Workday implementation is that, rather than hiring a big team of technical consultants to put in place your requirements and hope for the best, you’ll work in tandem with your Workday implementation partners and become educated about the system that way.
But to be sure, you do need someone to help you with implementation beyond your already overburdened IT team, which will still play a role, to some degree, depending on whether you’re migrating from a traditional ERP to Workday.
How Do I Pick My Implementation Partner?
You already know that all Workday partners are qualified to do the work, so when you’re surveying your field of potential candidates, you can focus on other factors, such as:
- Are they a good cultural fit? You must be able to work with your partner. Ask yourself whether you have the same values and whether they appear to be listening to your questions or considering your business needs.
- Do they know your field? While there is such a thing as best practices, you want a partner that can discuss your business, including your rivals.
- Do they understand your business strategy? Technology in a vacuum reaps nothing. You want to make sure your prospective partner is in tune with your business and workforce strategies.
- Can you trust them? It’s important that feel like they can say something if they feel like you’re about to make a poor decision about something. Such a partner has your bests interests at heart.
- Can they manage the work? Project management is not tantamount to implementation methodology. You want to make sure your candidate has the right methods, yes, but also the proper project management tools.
Now that you know the importance of Workday implementation partners, you can go about picking one that’s the right fit for you. All in all, we’re partial to Mercer for its overall expertise and breadth of experience with all manner of clients.