Building a Workday Resource and Staffing Plan for Healthcare
It’s no secret that more and more healthcare organizations are turning to Workday for their human capital management (HCM) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) needs. The innovative, cloud-based platform is a popular choice for major hospitals and health systems looking to replace outdated technology, reduce costs, and drive efficiency, and—for healthcare organizations exploring the transition to Workday—this can be an incredible opportunity to streamline operations and focus on delivering quality patient care.
That being said, the switch to Workday isn’t an easy one. Major software transformations can be incredibly costly, time-intensive, and labor-intensive, which is why having a clear understanding of the process—and the resources required to make it successful—is so important.
If you want to make your Workday journey a success, here’s why you need to start with a comprehensive Workday resource plan and how to create one for your healthcare organization:
What is a Workday resource plan?
A Workday staffing and resource plan is a document outlining the specific roles, responsibilities, and hours required for the completion of each phase of your Workday implementation project.
Ideally, your Workday resource plan should include both internal resource estimates as well as estimates provided by your system integrator—the Workday Professional Services or Workday Certified Implementation firm you’ve decided to partner with for this project. Not only does this ensure that all of your resource estimates are correct, but your system integrator can also identify and highlight any areas where you will need additional support.
This is a critical step in ensuring that your Workday healthcare implementation is successful, as many organizations underestimate the need for support in areas like:
- Legacy system management. During a Workday implementation project, your IT staff typically carries a dual load—not only are they playing a key role in the implementation itself, but they are also responsible for maintaining your legacy solutions. Without additional support, this can lead to resource constraints, project delays, and increased risk of errors or system failures.
- Functional & operational support. There are day-to-day business functions that need to continue during your Workday implementation—including supply chain management, finance, and human resources—all of which are performed by non-technical staff within your health system. As subject matter experts on your current software systems, these staff members will need to spend a significant amount of time on the Workday implementation as well, which means support for these areas is necessary.
- Project management. Your Workday implementation project is a complex organism with multiple workstreams—each requiring its own lead with specialized expertise—as well as unique tasks and milestones. With this in mind, you’ll want to tap experienced Workday program and project leaders who can help ensure your project’s success.
- Integrations & data management. Healthcare organizations need Workday to integrate with core clinical and business systems, and it’s important to make sure that data from legacy systems is accurately migrated. While your system integrator can provide some support in this area, integration work and data migration from your legacy systems into Workday is your responsibility—which means hiring the talent needed to support these functions should be part of your Workday resource plan.
- Change management & training. Successful change management requires a dedicated team of experts with a background in communication, training, and stakeholder engagement. Rather than worrying about change management after go-live, it’s best for organizations to utilize change management throughout the implementation lifecycle to ensure that employees are informed, prepared, trained, and supported during the entire process.
- Post-implementation & optimization. While a successful go-live is a massive accomplishment, it’s not the end of your implementation journey. Ongoing support and optimization ensure that your new Workday system meets your evolving needs—and drives long-term value for your healthcare organization.
How to build an effective Workday resource plan
Before you create a Workday staffing and resource plan for your healthcare organization, it’s important to start by choosing the right partners.
Not only does your system integrator provide specialized expertise to facilitate the implementation process, but—alongside your chosen staffing partner—they can also help you develop a comprehensive resource plan to help mitigate risk, support critical business functions, and ensure a smooth transition.
If you want to create a comprehensive Workday resource plan for your healthcare organization, it’s important to consider the following:
- Assess project scope & requirements. It’s critical to have a clear understanding of the phases of your Workday healthcare implementation—from project initiation to go-live and beyond—so you can determine the staffing and resource requirements necessary to make the transition successful. Your project plan should include all of the phases, tasks, dependencies, and milestones associated with your Workday implementation, and it should be developed in collaboration with experienced Workday consultants so you can accurately estimate the time and effort required for each activity.
- Identify necessary roles & skills. From there, you’ll want to outline the necessary roles and skills associated with each phase of your Workday implementation. Don’t forget to account for key business functions—including legacy system support as well as functional and operational requirements—as well as the Workday-specific skills and training that will be required during and after implementation.
- Audit your current resources. Now that you’ve identified your project demands, it’s time to conduct a thorough evaluation of your existing resources—including your internal teams’ workloads and availability—so you can determine whether or not they can realistically dedicate the required time and effort to the Workday implementation without compromising their existing responsibilities. Again, you’ll want to review the common areas where healthcare organizations typically benefit from outside support listed earlier in this blog post to make sure you don’t overlook the need for additional resources in these areas. Workday transitions are a lengthy and labor-intensive process, so it’s important to make sure your current staff is adequately prepared and supported.
- Highlight skills & resource gaps. Working with your system integrator, start identifying skills and resource gaps that may occur during each phase of implementation. This should include any roles or functions that require outside or interim support to fill any short-term gaps, as well as areas where specialized expertise—or ongoing support—will be beneficial. This is where partnering with a staffing firm like Healthcare IT Leaders can be incredibly beneficial, as a trusted staffing partner can offer experienced resources to fill technical, functional, project management, testing, and training roles as needed.
- Prepare for contingencies. The earlier you build your resource plan, the better. Not only does this give you time to accurately estimate and allocate resources for each phase of your Workday implementation, but it also allows you time to prepare for any unexpected contingencies. Remember, this is the beginning of a years-long journey. Resist the urge to underestimate the work effort investment required to make this project a success, and start with a realistic staffing and resource plan to ensure your project stays on track while legacy systems—and vital business functions—continue to operate smoothly throughout your Workday journey.
As an official Workday Staffing Partner, we know how important it is for healthcare organizations to keep operations running smoothly during their transition to Workday, which is why our clients trust us to provide Workday-certified project managers, analysts, and architects—as well as legacy and backfill support—to support their Workday journeys.