One of the things I like most about Workday HCM is its configurability, which allows organizations to tailor business processes, workflows, and reporting to meet their specific needs. I also appreciate its robust security framework, which provides granular control over access to sensitive employee information and helps ensure that users only have access to the data and tasks relevant to their roles. Overall, the combination of flexibility and strong security makes Workday a powerful solution for managing HR processes. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Although Workday is highly configurable, that flexibility can sometimes come with a lot of complexity, making certain configurations and troubleshooting more challenging than expected. Some functionality can also feel rigid, particularly when business requirements do not align with Workday's standard processes or supported configuration options. In these situations, finding a suitable solution can require workarounds or changes to existing processes, which can be frustrating for both administrators and end users. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like that Workday HCM is able to create useful tools to target directly at audiences of ours. It helps deliver onboarding plans for new hires in a consistent and scalable way as the company grows, and brings the right content and communications to people as they join. The system organizes employee data well, allows employees to update their personal information, elect benefits, submit and track goals, and complete performance reviews. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

We have an insane amount of custom fields that are not in use, audiences that are not maintained, and BPs have not been managed well. I think we've identified it as more of an internal issue with how we've used Workday. The setup was probably hard. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I use workday recruiting and find the customizations useful. Love that it’s one single tool that works across all HR functions. It has good integration capabilities. Support is good. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

However, we often have to supplement with other third party tools to get the job done. We’re a security company with a strict legal team. Hiredscore wasn’t approved so we use in house tools instead. The sourcing/candidate sourcing is lacking and recruiters are regularly frustrated. Workday partners with clear for IDV, but Clear is not a good tool. They regularly miss fraudulent bad actors and are very USA focused. Paradox scheduling isn’t good. It can’t handle complex requests which was a deal breaker. The limitation of only being able to put 50 people in a pool was also a dealbreaker. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Workday's single, unified data model is the biggest win. HR, payroll, benefits, talent, and reporting all live on one platform, so there's no reconciling data across systems. The configurability is strong too: business processes, security groups, and calculated fields let us tailor the system without custom code. The twice-yearly release cadence keeps things fresh, and Workday Community makes it easy to find answers and learn from other customers. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The learning curve for administrators is steep. Business process configuration, security, and condition rules are powerful but can be hard to troubleshoot, and a small change can have ripple effects. Reporting is flexible but not always intuitive, especially calculated fields and prism/advanced reporting. Semi-annual releases also mean constant regression testing and change management. Finally, some native UI and self-service experiences feel dated compared to what employees expect, and certain enhancements take a long time to land via the Ideas process. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like best about Workday HCM is its flexibility and ability to support complex HR processes across multiple functional areas in one centralized system. The configurable business processes, robust reporting capabilities, and EIB functionality make it possible to manage large amounts of employee data and support a wide range of business needs. I also appreciate how the different modules work together, providing a more connected view of the employee lifecycle and opportunities to streamline HR operations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I dislike most about Workday HCM is that some routine administrative tasks can be more complicated and time-consuming than necessary. Navigating security restrictions, troubleshooting configuration issues, and completing tasks that require multiple steps or manual work can create inefficiencies for HRIS teams. Greater flexibility in system access, a more intuitive user experience, and simpler configuration and reporting processes would make the platform easier to manage and more efficient to use. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I appreciate how Workday HCM allows us to manage all aspects of the employee lifecycle, especially for managing workforce numbers, compensation details, and maintaining data hygiene at scale. The ability to use a standard method for managing and understanding our people data is crucial for making key and informed decisions. Transitioning from localized systems to Workday's uniform and central system has been particularly helpful. Workday HCM helps us normalize data from different local systems, which previously measured things like attrition, headcount, salaries, and bonus payments differently, and this significantly improves our reporting accuracy and speed. The initial configuration of Workday HCM was easy, which was a plus, although adoption varied across countries. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I'm not entirely satisfied with the AI agent in Workday HCM. It feels pretty shallow and I wish it could identify technical problems with configurations better so that it could work hand-in-hand with AMS providers for solving complex issues. Another thing is the way flex credits are set up—I think it would be better if individual contributors could use the AI agent without consuming a credit. Maybe keep the credit usage for admins or leaders. It just makes more sense that way. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The “single line of code”. The fact that information across every facet of a worker is available. The object based platform lends itself to superior reporting. It is also incredibly easy to put Workday Data as the source of truth with regards to worker data, and integrations can be generally speaking easy to build. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

HR Administrator Experience

Service center representatives cannot access Case, and implementers have access to certain tasks that service center representatives do not.

There is no good way to share cases between service teams in help. Because of the way Workday security works.

There is no integration between Teams and Workday for notifications and approvals, making it difficult for managers to receive timely updates or approve delegated tasks.

Workday notifications, including hard-coded Pacific Time alerts and delayed auto-disposition messages sent at 2 A.m., which negatively impact candidate experience.

Benefit plan setup, noting that configuring benefit plans requires multiple steps and is cumbersome, and questioned whether Oracle offers improvements compared to Workday.

Problems with the merge and duplicate framework for recruiting, including difficulties due to missing matching points like birthdays or social security numbers, leading to manual merges and duplicate records.

Candidate notes in the recruiting module are only visible to the recruiter who created them, limiting collaboration across recruiters when hiring for the same candidate.

Lack of documentation for delivered calculations and reserved pay component groups, making it difficult to use existing features effectively.

Challenges with custom objects, including their limited use as tasks and their role as a workaround for missing functionality.

Users cannot receive reports as attachments and must access them directly in Workday Integrations, which adds complexity to report retrieval.

Lack of transparency in knowledge article engagement metrics, noting that Workday provides limited analytics compared to other platforms, making it difficult to assess which articles are most useful.

Challenges with tracking API activity, stating that admins cannot see detailed sign-on history or what actions users take, which limits oversight and troubleshooting.

Lump Sum HSAfrom both admin and end user account.

Links between Emergency Contacts, Dependents, and Beneficiaries are not apparent and not visible in the system. When an associate changes one, the run the possibility of changing another.

Pricing transparency and contract clarity, including hidden monetization and unclear requirements for agreements like the Flex Credit Agreement.

End user experience

Participants described end user challenges, such as multiple candidate logins required across different companies.

Benefit quick links lack instructions or descriptions, making it difficult for users to understand how to access or use them.

Inconsistent navigation and terminology, such as multiple ways to complete tasks and varying labels like edit, modify, or manage, confuse both HR admins and end users.

Onboarding requires multiple sign-in methods, including non-SSO and SSO links, due to Workday limitations.

User experience in Workday Learning is often challenging, with tasks requiring multiple clicks and deep navigation.

Search function in Workday lags, causing users to accidentally select unintended items due to delayed updates.

Pain points with mobile versus desktop functionality, explaining that users often discover mobile limitations only when they attempt tasks that are unavailable on mobile.

Comp Grid Side Panel Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think Workday HCM is a really amazing product. The processes are easy to use, and everyone enjoys using them. I like having everything in one place, and I find it very secure and easy to use. Its reporting and analytics help solve business-related problems and make employees’ and managers’ lives easier every day. I especially value the reporting and dashboards because they’re easy to use and share. The onboarding and new hire processes were very easy and straightforward for me. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think Workday HCM’s integration with systems outside Workday could be improved. Connecting with IBM Watson X is difficult because the IBM agents don’t respect Workday security. Some of the MCP tools coming may improve this in the future. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like best about Workday HCM is having payroll in one place. Employee self-service is a big plus, because staff can update their details without contacting HR, which saves our team time. The approval workflows are quick for managers. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like best about Workday HCM is how it handles payroll alongside employee records, so the information stays consistent. Employee self-service is a real plus, because staff can update their own details without contacting HR, which reduces admin and keeps records accurate. The reporting is also useful: I can pull the data I need without relying on someone else to run it for me Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like how Workday HCM keeps everything in one place and makes it easy to use. It saves me time by providing quick access to PTO, benefits, payroll information, performance reviews, and personal information without having to contact HR. I appreciate being able to submit requests and track approvals directly in Workday. The ability to view the work organization chart helps me identify who to reach out to for help. Overall, Workday HCM helps manage HR tasks more efficiently by keeping approvals and information organized, allowing me to focus on other things. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The interface of Workday HCM can be a bit of a pain sometimes. Navigating through it isn't always straightforward, and it takes a few extra steps to find specific items, especially if they're not something I use all the time. The search function isn't the best either; it could definitely be more intuitive and give more relevant results. Adding a feature where you could talk to a mic instead of typing could make searches a lot easier. Plus, simplifying some of the menus and workflows would really help make the whole thing faster and easier to use. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.