Workday Frequently Asked Questions
General Information
What is Workday?
Workday is a system that will allow Goucher to recruit new employees, store employee records, process hiring and benefits information and run payroll and all our critical accounting and business affairs processes. Unlike PowerCampus, Great Plains, Ultipro, and Interview Exchange, Workday is a single, unified, modern, secure, and mobile-ready system that will replace these disparate systems and provide a single interface to support all of these different business functions. These will soon be available in one place on the web and via mobile app.
How is Workday related to the institution’s strategic plan?
Investing in technology will allow Goucher to serve its students, faculty, and staff more efficiently, which is a key component of the College's strategic plan. Learn more about Goucher's strategic plan.
What am I able to do in Workday?
Here are some of the actions you can perform in Workday:
- View and update personal employee data including compensation and benefits packages
- Update banking information and view pay stub
- Manage time off work (e.g., vacation, sabbatical, FMLA)
- Submit time in/time out for daily work
- Submit and approve expense reports
- Manage procurement and supplier requests
- Manage new hire process from recruiting to onboarding
- Document and manage goal-setting, mid-term reviews, and performance reviews
- Use mobile app (offered but not required) to quickly manage processes (e.g., create expense reports, submit time off, and update personal information)
Can employees update their personal information in Workday?
Yes, employees can view and easily update much of their own personal information in Workday at any time, including preferred name, pronoun, gender identity, and more. Changes requiring legal documentation, such as a legal name change or change in citizenship status, can also be submitted through Workday for routing to Human Resources. Please view the related job aids on our Workday Training site . These types of job aids can be found in the “Workday Essentials for All Employees” section.
How will I be notified when actions need to be performed in Workday?
Workday functionality includes a personal inbox where notifications are received. Workday will notify users through email that they have a pending task to complete in Workday. Thus, users will not have to log into Workday daily to check if they have a task in their Workday inbox.
At what point can employees update their benefits?
Enrollment periods will remain the same. Employees are able to easily update and manage their benefits through Workday and will no longer need to fill out paper forms and submit them to HR. Employees can also see their entire compensation and benefits package.
How can I update my direct deposit for payroll?
You can easily review or update your current direct deposit using the ‘Update Payment Elections’ within your Workday profile. Use the job aid to add/edit/manage your payment elections for direct deposit.
Will the deadlines and timelines (e.g. pay periods) for pay remain the same?
Payroll periods and deadlines will remain the same.
How are expense reports submitted in Workday?
Expense reports are created and managed in Workday. The employee creates a report, indicates the business purpose, attaches a photo of the receipt, and includes a brief description. The expense report is sent electronically to the manager for approval. Please visit Workday Training to review the job aids related to expense reports under the section, Working With Money in Workday.
What can I do in the Workday Mobile App?
Employees who enter time can enter their time worked in the mobile app. Employees can view time off balances and submit absence/leave requests. Managers can approve time and leave requests. You can access your inbox, view your payslip, and complete other basic, self-service functionalities. For more advanced business processes, use the desktop version of Workday. The use of the Workday Mobile App is optional. Use the job aid to set up the Workday Mobile App.
What should I do if I'm having an issue with Workday?
Requesting An Absence
What types of paid absences are available for staff to request?
Full-time staff:
Vacation, sick, bereavement, community service, injury, jury duty, unpaid time off.
Part-time staff:
Maryland State sick, bereavement, community service, injury, jury duty.
I am a non-union staff member. How do I request, correct, or cancel an absence?
Use the job aid for instructions.
I am a service and maintenance union staff member. How do I request, correct, or cancel an absence?
Can I request, correct, and/or cancel an absence using the mobile app?
Yes. Use the job aid to download the mobile app.
I requested absences in UKG/UltiPro for dates that occurred after March 17, 2023. Do I need to request them in Workday too?
Non-exempt staff:
Absences that were requested and approved in UKG/UltiPro for dates after March 17, 2023 need to be re-entered in Workday.
Exempt staff:
Absences that were requested and approved in UKG/UltiPro for dates after March 31, 2023 need to be re-entered in Workday.
Can I request absences for dates in Fiscal Year 2024?
Yes
How do I request an absence that is related to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
I am an exempt staff member. Under what circumstances, would I select ‘unpaid time off’?
- If you have exhausted your available ‘vacation time off,’ you may select ‘unpaid time off’ for a full day absence to handle personal affairs.
- If you have exhausted your available ‘sick time off,’ you may select ‘unpaid time off’ for a full day absence due to illness.
- You do not need to select ‘unpaid time off’ for FMLA absences
Absence Balances
How do I view my absence balances?
Use the job aid for instructions
I see an absence balance for Community Service Leave. What is that?
Goucher College’s Community Service Leave policy is available here. Follow the same request procedures for Community Service Leave, as you would for requesting vacation or sick leave.
What is the effective date of my absence balances in Workday?
Vacation and sick leave balances as of March 17, 2023 for non-exempt staff and as of March 31, 2023 for exempt staff were extracted from UKG/UltiPro and uploaded to Workday. Absence requests that were entered and approved in Workday since those dates are reflected in the current balances.
Will my absence balance reduce when the leave is requested, approved, or taken?
- Your absence balance will reduce when the time off is taken.
- You can go to ‘View Absence’ and change the effective date to see available balances as of a future date.
I am a non-exempt staff member. If I enter an absence on my timesheet (rather than by requesting an absence), will my leave balance adjust accordingly?
Yes
Supervisor Responsibilities
How do I approve an absence request for a direct report?
Use the job aid for instructions.
Can I approve my direct report’s absence request using the mobile app?
Yes
Can I correct or add an absence request on behalf of my direct report(s)?
Yes, see page 4 of the job aid for instructions.
What is my role if a direct report requests an absence related to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
Use the job aid to manage FMLA leave requests.
Summer Hours
As announced on April 3, 2023, Summer Hours will begin at 12:00pm noon on select Fridays between June 2 and July 28, 2023. June 16, 2023 is excluded.
I am a full-time, 100% full-time equivalency (FTE) staff member. When should I start my work day?
- Summer Hours are based on an 8 hour work day, with 4 hours of leave time for full-time, 100% FTE staff. Full-time staff should plan to work from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon on eligible Fridays.
- If you normally work 8 hours/day and start your work day before or after 8:00 a.m., you can work with your supervisor to adjust your schedule and/or end time so that you receive a half day of leave time.
Do I need to take action in Workday?
- If you requested or were approved for an absence for an eligible Friday afternoon, you will need to correct your absence request.
- If you are a non-exempt staff member, you will need to enter absence requests for ‘administrative leave.’
- If you are an exempt staff member, you will not need to enter an absence request for ‘administrative leave.’
I am a part-time staff member. Do Summer Hours apply to me?
If you are regularly scheduled to work on an eligible Friday afternoon, you are eligible to submit an absence request for ‘administrative leave’ for the number of hours that you would have normally been scheduled to work.
I am a 9/10/11 month staff member. Do Summer Hours apply to me?
If you are regularly scheduled to work on an eligible Friday afternoon, you are eligible for Summer Hours. If you are a non-exempt staff member, you will need to submit a request for ‘administrative leave’ in Workday.
I am a full-time staff member who works less than 40 hr/wk. Do Summer Hours apply to me?
Summer Hours are based on an 8 hour work day, with 4 hours of leave time, and will be pro-rated for employees scheduled to work less than 40 hours/week. For example, if you are a 75% full-time equivalency (FTE) and regularly work 6 hours/day, you would take 3 hours of leave time. You should adjust your leave time accordingly, based on your full-time equivalency (FTE). If you are a non-exempt staff member, you will need to submit a request for ‘administrative leave’ in Workday.