Many higher education institutions have either recently implemented Workday, are planning to implement it, or are evaluating whether to. The decision is not an easy one. The business case is not always straightforward. The implementation and operating costs are considerable. But many CIOs also say it is a worthwhile investment.
On April 21st, 2022, the Higher Ed Technology Professionals Meetup group met to learn from other CIOs who decided to proceed with Workday, those researching the options, and even those who went in a different direction. Our intent was to enable an open, honest, and balanced discussion among Higher Ed CIOs. Our hope is that the conversation leads to ongoing sharing of knowledge, advice, and resources among the group for the benefit of Higher Ed overall.
You can find a recording of the discussion below:
Key Takeaways
- Workday is generally considered more expensive than other options, but there may be a business case worth pursuing for many schools, including replacing auxiliary software required to support legacy systems, shedding technical debt, reducing complicated architecture in on-campus data centers, and removing manual processes.
- Backfilling staff can help with efficiency and avoiding burnout, but it can be cost prohibitive for some. A heroic effort with the addition of help from implementation partners and outside resources can help accomplish a successful implementation.
- Additional efforts and resources committed to change management are paramount. This is an opportunity to reimagine business processes, not just technology. A project manager with experience in Workday (not from the implementation partner) can represent the university’s best interests.
- Go live is not the end of the project! Manage expectations that not all of the ideal features will be implemented from the get-go.
- Retention of talent after investing resources into the implementation of and training for Workday is vital to maintaining your institution’s knowledge base.
On behalf of the Meetup organizational team, we would like to especially thank Steve McDevitt, Chief Information Officer at Saint Anselm College; Mark Albert, CIO at DeSales University; Kirk Bay, Executive Director of Application Services at Mercer University; and Ben Rapin, Chief Technology Officer at Grand Valley State University for helping put together this event. We wouldn’t be able to run our virtual Meetups without the help and support from our wonderful team of volunteers.
If you’d like to join our next virtual event, consider visiting our Meetup page to learn more. It could be a fantastic networking and learning opportunity to meet other technology professionals at colleges and universities and share your expertise. We are also looking for feedback on the next event’s topic, so please feel free to reach out to us if you’re interested in a specific topic.
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You can also provide general feedback, inquire about additional free resources, submit a topic you’d like us to cover, tell us about a feature you’d like to see, or request the best staff for your project.