Your patience is appreciated

It's go-time for hundreds of Iowa State employees who have been working for months -- and in some cases, years -- to prepare campus for the Workday system that replaces many legacy programs Iowa State has used for decades to do its finance and human resources work.

The work required a hefty lift by some employees, usually in addition to their regular job duties. Many WorkCyte team members will be working over the weekend and on the July 4 university holiday to assist with Workday's launch. That's why WorkCyte program and university leaders are asking for patience in the coming weeks to give colleagues room to learn and grow in the new Workday world.

"Just like ISU, Workday and [improved service delivery] are constantly improving and evolving. We know that not everything will be perfect from the start, but we are committed to continuous improvement," said Kristen Constant, interim vice president and chief information officer. "I hope that we can all be patient and kind to each other as we work through this major transition. So many people have worked to get us to this point, making many sacrifices to help improve ISU. We are excited to see this launch."

All hands on deck

Central offices and ISD specialists will be the first to get their hands on the Workday system when it goes live July 1, with campuswide access on July 2. The WorkCyte project team will have all hands on deck, with core members staffing a command center and ISD specialists working closely with their peers to learn best practices as the first transactions and questions unfold over the first couple weeks.

Pam Cain, interim senior vice president for operations and finance, said finance specialists will meet daily in a central space during the initial days of go-live.

"This allows the specialists to share their experiences and learn from one another during those critical first few weeks," Cain said.