WorkCyte story archive
New to ISU or need to catch up on the WorkCyte project? Visit Inside's archive of stories following project developments since Iowa State chose the Workday system in 2016.
Central offices and improved service delivery (ISD) experts who perform the university's finance and human resources work will be the first to get their hands on the Workday system when it goes live Monday, July 1.
The rest of campus will get access to Workday early Tuesday via a link emailed from the WorkCyte team. A link also will be on user Okta dashboards, the "Sign Ons" drop-down menu on the ISU homepage, the sign ons page and ISU's online alphabetical index ("Workday").
"This is an exciting time. We have been preparing for go-live for quite a while," said Kumari Henry, change manager in information technology services (ITS). "We are hard at work to make sure support is readily available to campus."
What should I do first?
Once logged in, a list of go-live activities -- for example, checking personal information in the worker profile -- will be available on the Workday landing page. As an exercise on the new system, employees planning to take time off to extend Thursday's Independence Day holiday into the weekend can view their available leave balance and request vacation time via the "Absence" application.
Help is available
Employees should prepare in advance if they haven't already. Links to several resources are on the WorkCyte website, including:
- Online training courses
- Job aids with step-by-step instructions to help with Workday basics and common transactions
- User lab sessions that offer hands-on navigation experience with the Workday system
If job aids and training aren't enough, employees can:
- Contact members of the ISD team that serves their units
- Email the finance service team (finance_delivery@iastate.edu) for financial transactions in Workday
- Email the HR service team (hr_delivery@iastate.edu) for human resources transactions in Workday
- Contact the ITS solution center (294-4000, solution@iastate.edu) for technical difficulties, such as trouble logging in or accessing the system
The HR and finance email addresses will be activated on July 1. Inquiries and requests will be routed to the service team assigned to the sender's unit. Senders will receive acknowledgement emails in response to their submissions.
"A support dashboard on the WorkCyte website will provide self-help options and links to PIT crews, improved service delivery teams and the solution center -- all at the click of a button to simplify your life during go-live," Henry said. "Enjoy the journey, don't forget to breathe if you get stuck, make use of the dashboard and take it one step at a time. Once you get the hang of Workday, you'll wonder how you got along without it."
Timekeeping transition
Nonexempt employees -- including merit, student and temporary staff -- received information from university human resources (UHR) on June 24 about tracking work hours during the Workday transition. Instructions and recommendations were sent to managers and timekeepers last week.
"The Workday Project Team wants to ensure that there is a cutover strategy with the transition from current timekeeping methods -- whether paper or electronic -- to collecting time in Workday for nonexempt employees who are required to track their hours worked," interim vice president for UHR Kristi Darr wrote in a June 20 memo to administrative officers.
Timekeeping training and related job aids are available for employees and managers.
