Workday Financials Sneak Peeks from FST Change Leaders

Finance Strategic Transformation (FST) change leaders gave colleagues a glimpse of the first Workday Financials tenant prototype. Change leaders, members of  FST's Advisory Group, led sessions so more people, in addition to those who participated in Customer Confirmation Sessions (CCSs), could see the work so far in the system and to answer questions and gather feedback from colleagues. They then shared that information with the FST team. 

So far, 25 areas completed sessions, and a few others will do so soon. Change leaders made decisions about the session format and participants based on what would be most appropriate for their areas. For some, the choice to hold off on sharing until later in the process, when things are closer to being finalized, felt like the best option. 

Three preview videos were available that showed expense, requisition, and internal service delivery processes. Some sessions included all three, while others only the one or two most relevant to stakeholders in that area. The number of session participants varied widely based on the size of the school/unit or amount of people who will be most directly affected by implementation of the new system.

Here are some session participant comments. 

• 
  "Encouraging to see progress knowing we also have a good amount of time before go-live."
  
• "Refreshing to hear the honest answers of 'we don't know yet'."
• "It was a very informative session, and we appreciate the opportunity to chime in."

At the last Advisory Group meeting, a few change leaders shared thoughts about their sessions. 

UVA Engineering Director of Finance Ben Baer says, "The success of this transition depends on all of us. It was important to us that the stakeholders know they have a say in this new system. We shared with folks some of the items we’ve heard and gave them the opportunity to respond and question." 

Jen Starkey, the Miller Center business manager, initially had reservations about sharing sneak peeks so far ahead of Workday Financials go-live in July 2022. She worried that participants would react negatively to the transformation if not all of their questions could be answered yet. However, Starkey ended up be pleasantly surprised. 

Starkey says, "The feedback we received during and immediately following the session was that the processes seemed similar to current processes, with some changes that the attendees really liked. The overall consensus seemed to be that it will just be a matter of getting used to the new system and learning the new terminology."

The FST team is currently working on the second tenant build and readying for the next round of CCSs later this year, so there will be more to see soon. 

Learn more about FST Phase 3: Implementation here. You can search for your area's change leader(s), listed as Advisory Group members, on the FST governance page.