Workday HCM | HR tools product overview

Workday HCM is a cloud-based human resource management software system that unifies a wide range of HR functionality into a single system. The software provides benefits, talent management, payroll, time tracking, compensation, workforce planning and recruiting.

Workday human capital management (HCM) enables companies to design and implement a variety of different compensation plans within a single company; to administer both U.S. and Canadian payrolls; and to use big data and analytics for HR research and reporting.

Workday talent management analytics enable HR to identify areas in the company where there are gaps between workforce capacity needs and the ability to fill them, or similar gaps in areas of talent capability. These analytics tie together talent succession pools, recruiting pipelines and internal employee movements to stay on track of workforce goals.

The Workday product includes retention recommendations in its Talent Insights application. These prescribe promotions, coaching and other moves that the company can make to retain valuable employees. It also pinpoints which employees are most likely to leave the company.

Workday also features a learning management module, which is available for a subscription fee. This module will recognize employees and provide them with personalized learning experiences. The learning software will know an individual's job, applications for positions, location and career interests, as well as note people who were working on the same project.

Part of Workday's appeal is that it addresses specific industry needs. For example, for higher education institutions, Workday HCM offers software that covers the entire student lifecycle, from recruiting, admissions, curriculum management and student records, to academic advising, financial aid and student financials. The cloud-based software's analytics enable institutions to track and trend student performance and institutional financial performance.

Workday also offers tailored software for professional services organizations to assist them in planning and placing the right talent in the right customer projects. The software provides project managers, HR and others with a single data repository for viewing project progress and resource utilization.

Another approach to talent management and analytics unique to Workday is that it unifies Workday Financial Management and Workday HCM. This finance-HR combination enables HR and other managers to assess from an HR standpoint why revenue might be down.

Workday offers live training on its products as well as its Virtual Classroom, which enables companies to learn from and interact with its live instructors remotely, without the expense and time associated with travel.

Workday uses a single code line and continuous development model, which means its software is continuously being enhanced, so all customers are on the same release of the software and get the benefit of the new enhancements immediately. Software updates are issued weekly, and major features and enhancements are delivered twice each year. The current release of the software is Workday 23.

Because Workday HCM is cloud-based, operating system compatibility issues are strictly limited to the type of browser that's used to access the software in the cloud. Workday supports Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari and Opera Browser. Workday also runs on iOS and Android mobile platforms.

Workday sells and deploys Workday HCM directly and offers consultants and consulting partners to help deploy Workday applications.

Although Workday doesn't offer a free trial version, companies can test and preview new features in Workday's Preview Tenant. Workday HCM is available via subscription; subscription terms are based on the size of the organization and the functionality in use.

About the author:
Mary E. Shacklett is president of Transworld Data, a technology analytics, market research and consulting firm. Previously, Mary was senior vice president of marketing and technology for TCCU, Inc., vice president of product research and software development at Summit Information Systems, and vice president of strategic planning and technology at FSI International.

Mary has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Wisconsin and a master's degree from the University of Southern California. Email her at [email protected].

Email us at [email protected].