Insights

Empowering your workforce: Leveraging Workday for skills development and innovation

Michael Perry, Senior Manager, Workday HCM

Organizations face increasing pressure to adapt and innovate in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. Conversations with HR and technology leaders across various industries over the past year have revealed several common themes, such as the need to capture skills, identify organizational gaps, and leverage technology to upskill and reskill employees. This is crucial for organizations to remain competitive and achieve their strategic goals.

The increased investment in artificial intelligence (AI) presents a promising opportunity for organizations to tackle these challenges. However, the question remains:

Where should companies start, and how can Workday’s HCM platform facilitate a collaborative process?

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The role of technology

Technology professionals are well-versed in the benefits of agile development cycles, which prioritize speed, iteration, and real-time feedback. This shift away from traditional long design cycles, embracing faster development, resulting in minimum viable products that get real-time feedback from end users. HR leaders should adopt a similar approach when addressing skills gaps.

Instead of getting caught in the quagmire of lengthy analysis paralysis, HR professionals can expedite the process by swiftly gathering and analyzing relevant data using advanced tools like Workday HCM. Tools such as Skills Cloud, powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, provide valuable insights into the workforce's skills landscape. Rapid implementation of these tools enables HR analytics teams to track and report on skills development accurately, thereby empowering HR leaders to make informed decisions and address skill gaps effectively.

The more data collected and analyzed, the more precise and actionable insights will be. A larger data pool allows for more accurate recommendations and a deeper understanding of the workforce's skills landscape. This data-driven approach enables HR leaders to identify critical skill gaps, prioritize development initiatives, and ensure employees have the necessary skills to drive organizational success.

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Workday as a catalyst for transformation

Workday offers several tools that help HR leaders, people managers, and Learning and Development (Workday L&D) teams to upskill and reskill employees, closing the skills gap. Tools like development plans, talent reviews, and Workday Learning enable coaching in areas of need. These features, integrated with skills assessments, allow regular checkpoints between employees and managers, supporting talent management and talent development. By tagging content in Workday to skills and development goals, employees can quickly access relevant resources, accelerating their professional development. While the journey to close the skills gap can be long, using Workday HRMS to measure and manage your workforce becomes significantly more manageable.

Overview of key benefits of using Workday:

• Skills gap identification: Accurately identify skills gaps within your workforce to inform targeted development initiatives.
• Upskilling and reskilling: Leverage Workday's tools to create personalized development plans and provide employees with the necessary resources to acquire new skills.
• Talent management: Optimize your talent management processes by aligning skills development with organizational goals.
• Enhanced efficiency: Streamline HR and L&D operations, reducing administrative burdens and improving productivity.
• Data-driven insights: Gain valuable insights into your workforce through advanced analytics and reporting.

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Leveraging generative AI for innovation

Generative AI can be a powerful tool for automating tasks, generating insights, and driving innovation. Organizations can streamline processes, improve decision-making, and unlock new growth opportunities by integrating generative AI into Workday applications.

As companies embrace Cloud SaaS solutions like Workday, the benefits of generative AI and custom application development in HRMS and finance will continue to grow. These innovations, from skills development and employee engagement to productivity enhancements, are not just driving value. Still, strategic value for HR and finance organizations across industries gives leaders the confidence that they are on the right track.

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Workday Extend: Expanding your capabilities

Building on workforce transformation efforts, Workday empowers customers with Workday Extend, a tool that allows them to create custom applications on the Workday platform. This capability puts the power in your hands, enabling you to design applications that serve various purposes, from workforce planning to job mapping and track employee mobility for talent management. With the introduction of Built on Workday, the ecosystem is expanding, enabling partners to contribute apps across the suite and further extending capabilities for HR innovation.

Key benefits of Workday Extend:

• Customization: Create applications tailored to your specific needs and goals.
• Efficiency: Streamline processes and automate tasks to improve operational efficiency.
• Innovation: Leverage generative AI to drive innovation and gain a competitive edge.
• Scalability: Easily adapt your applications as your business grows and evolves.
• Cost-effectiveness: Develop solutions quickly and efficiently, reducing development time and costs.

This year's Rising event significantly focused on AI and generative AI capabilities. Combined with low/no-code development, the Workday ecosystem democratizes the development process, enabling HR and finance teams to quickly build and deploy applications that address business challenges. This rapid innovation helps deliver cost-effective solutions and increases the ROI of investing in HR and L&D technology. For example, one use case leverages generative AI to automate the review of absence data, ensuring compliance with company policies and freeing time for more strategic tasks.

By addressing the skills gap, implementing Workday L&D solutions, and leveraging generative AI, HR leaders are poised to lead their organizations through a true workforce transformation. The future of HR technology is bright, and it lies in combining AI, digital transformation, and Cloud SaaS to enable scalable, intelligent, and adaptive solutions that enhance HR strategy and drive workforce management into the next era of innovation. This future is not just promising but exciting and full of possibilities.

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Conclusion

Workday offers a comprehensive solution for organizations seeking to transform their HR and L&D functions. By leveraging Workday's capabilities, organizations can address skills gaps, upskill their workforce, and drive innovation. With the power of cloud SaaS and the potential of generative AI, the future of HR and L&D is brighter than ever. Connect with an expert to learn how UST and Workday can transform your HR functions.