What We Do
Workday Deployments
Whether you are going live on Workday for the first time or expanding your existing environment with additional modules, our Catalyst deployment framework delivers full-lifecycle implementations on a fixed-bid, fixed-time basis, with clear accountability, rigorous governance, and a white-glove experience at every stage.
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The Catalyst Approach
Catalyst is our structured Workday deployment methodology, purpose-built to reduce risk, accelerate time-to-value, and give your organization a Workday environment that actually fits how you work. We leverage best practice configuration as the starting point so you spend less time on basics and more time on design decisions that matter for your organization.
Where competitors often focus on limited out-of-the-box functionality, we believe in striking the right balance between Workday best practices and tactical configuration tailoring for your highest-priority, highest-impact business requirements. No two organizations are identical, and our approach reflects that.
Every Catalyst engagement is anchored by a dedicated Client Partner, a seasoned Project Manager, and Area Leads who oversee best practice and scalable solutions throughout the engagement. And because Catalyst is structured as a fixed-bid, fixed-time engagement, you know what you are committing to before the work begins.
Project Methodology
Six Stages. One Continuous Thread.
Most deployments fail not because the technology is wrong, but because scope creeps quietly, ownership blurs, and no one catches it until go-live is at risk. Catalyst is built around the opposite: a fixed-bid, fixed-time structure where every stage has a defined outcome, a defined owner, and a clear entry point into the next. You always know where you are, what comes next, and who is responsible for getting you there.
Plan
Confirm scope, finalize SKUs, establish project teams, build the project plan, and lock integration requirements. Both sides align on tools, meeting cadences, and any change management planning before a single config is touched.
- Workday fundamentals training for your team
- Project schedule and design workbooks provided
- Integration requirements documented collaboratively
- Change management add-on scoped with your team if applicable
Architect & Configure
All application configurations are built in Workday based on validated requirements. Our Area Leads run collaborative design workshops with your team, so your people understand what is being built and why before it is finalized.
- Design workshops led by your functional Area Leads
- Configuration built and validated with your SMEs
- Unit testing of all configured elements
- End-to-end test scenario design completed together
Test
Your team leads end-to-end testing with our architects alongside them at every step. We provide test scenarios, scorecards, and daily defect support so your team builds confidence in the system as they validate it.
- Workday-delivered test scenarios and scorecards provided
- Daily defect triage and resolution support
- Payroll parallel testing cycles supported (if applicable)
- Your team signs off when they are confident and ready
Deploy
Final data migration is completed and your organization goes live on a Production environment with all configured features and integrations active. We run knowledge transfer sessions so your admin team is empowered to own the tenant from day one.
- Final data migration and production validation
- Admin enablement and hands-on knowledge transfer
- Cutover support with our team on standby
- Immediate post-launch stabilization support
Post Go-Live Conversion
With the system live, we work alongside your HR and Payroll teams to load catch-up transaction data during the defined conversion window, ensuring all records are complete and verified before the first full live cycle runs.
- Catch-up transaction data loaded with your team
- Record validation against legacy systems
- Your Workday admin supported through their first critical payroll, financial, benefits, etc. processing cycles
Hypercare & Stabilization
A dedicated stabilization period immediately following go-live. Your team focuses on learning, adopting, and operating in the new system. Our architects focus on ensuring everything performs exactly as designed.
- Dedicated architect support for live environment issues
- Ticket-based support through our help desk portal
- Optional seamless transition to our AMS program for long term enhancements and roadmapping
Accountability by Design
Clear Roles. No Gray Areas.
One of the most common causes of deployment delays is unclear ownership. Catalyst defines responsibilities explicitly, on both sides, before the project ever kicks off.
Client Team
Our Team
Integration Delivery
Integrations Built Right the First Time
We build integrations using Workday-delivered tooling (Studio, Core Connectors, etc.) or custom solutions where required. Every integration begins as a standard template baseline. Where client availability allows during the bid process, we conduct more robust discovery to refine scope earlier, but regardless of pre-sales engagement depth, we always provide a dedicated minimum 4-week assessment period before exiting Plan Stage. This ensures integration requirements are fully understood, scoped accurately, and locked before a single configuration is touched.
Weekly integration review meetings run from Plan through completion, keeping third-party vendors in sync and ensuring nothing surprises the go-live.
- Inbound and outbound integration delivery
- Weekly integrations tracking meetings
- Third-party vendor coordination
- Knowledge transfer for Client-owned maintenance
- Payroll-critical integrations prioritized before Parallel Testing
Integration Ownership
Our goal is to put your team in the driver's seat. We build every integration with the intent of making it understandable and maintainable by your people, not just our consultants. Through requirements sessions, test execution, and hands-on knowledge transfer, we equip your team to own integration outcomes, troubleshoot issues, and confidently evaluate changes as your business evolves after go-live.
Quality Assurance
A Testing Framework Built Around Your Business
Testing is woven through every stage of a Catalyst deployment. The Client leads testing; our team provides the tools, scenarios, and support to keep it moving.
Unit Testing
Our architects unit test all configured elements before anything reaches the client team. This ensures what your SMEs see at E2E is already validated and working as designed.
End-to-End Testing
We provide Workday-delivered test scenarios and automated scorecards. Clients modify scenarios to match their business needs before E2E commences. All integrations are tested within this cycle.
Payroll Parallel Testing
A 3-week and subsequent 2-week parallel test cycle. Client payroll and HR teams must be prepared to address data validation, error correction, and retesting throughout these windows.
Regression Testing
When Workday updates occur, only changes automatically required by Workday are included. Any additional functionality is out of scope and subject to change order.
Project Governance
Structured Oversight at Every Level
Catalyst governance protects your budget, timeline, and outcomes. Change is inevitable; what matters is how it's managed.
Meet Our Project Management OfficeChange Control
Business requirements evolve. Things that weren't fully known at the start of a project become clearer as design progresses, and that's expected. We build a scope allowance directly into every Catalyst engagement to absorb the natural fluidity of a deployment without disruption. Any unused portion of that allowance is credited back to the client. For anything that falls outside it, we have a transparent, straightforward change order process: both parties align on the change, approve it in writing, and document it before any additional work begins.
Monthly Steering Committee
Executive-level review of project status, accomplishments, upcoming milestones, risks requiring action, potential scope changes, and financials. Our Project Manager leads the readout.
Weekly Core Team Status
Assessment of recent accomplishments, issues, risks, and a two-week look-ahead to ensure work is properly resourced. Blockers are resolved or escalated on the spot.
Weekly Integrations Tracking
Dedicated meeting starting at Plan Stage running through integration completion. Third-party vendor progress is tracked and client-owned issues are escalated through the Client PM.
Stage Gate Sign-Off
A formal, executed sign-off document from both Project Managers is required at the end of every stage. No subsequent stage work commences without it. This is the backbone of Catalyst accountability.
Issue & Risk Tracking
Client and our team co-manage the issues log, project plan, and cutover plan. All meeting agendas, status reports, and presentations are archived by the Client.
How It Works
- We provide purpose-built data workbook templates
- Your team populates and reviews your data in a familiar format
- We map everything to Workday load templates
- Multiple iterative loads so you can validate along the way
- Final production load at the Deploy Stage
- Post go-live catch-up transactions handled seamlessly
Data Migration
Your Data, Moved With Confidence
We make data migration as straightforward as possible. Our architects provide structured templates that meet you where your data already lives, guide you through each review cycle, and load everything into Workday using native web services. By the time you reach go-live, your data has been validated multiple times and your team knows exactly what is in your system.
The process is iterative by design so that nothing is a surprise on day one. You get clear visibility at every step, and we stay hands-on throughout.
- Structured templates built for your existing data formats
- Multiple validation cycles before final load
- Native Workday web services used for all loads
- Post go-live catch-up support included
Full-Spectrum Expertise
Full Workday Platform Coverage. One Partner.
Our architects bring deep, hands-on expertise across the full Workday product suite. Whether you are deploying for the first time, adding modules to an existing tenant, or expanding into new Workday product areas, we have the certified specialists to configure it right.
Human Capital Management
- Core HCM & Organizations
- Recruiting & Onboarding
- Talent & Performance
- Learning
- Compensation
- Benefits Administration
- Absence Management
- Time Tracking
Payroll & Workforce
- Workday Payroll (US)
- Canadian Payroll
- Global Payroll Integration
- Workforce Planning
- Scheduling
Financial Management
- Financial Accounting
- Accounts Payable & Receivable
- Procurement
- Expenses
- Projects & Grants
- Revenue Management
- Banking & Settlements
Platform & Analytics
- Reporting & Analytics (PRISM)
- People Analytics & Peakon
- Adaptive Planning
- Workday Extend
- Integrations (Studio, Core Connectors)
- Security Configuration
- Business Process Framework
Optional Add-On
Change Management as an Add-On Service
Technology only delivers value when people use it confidently. For organizations that want dedicated change management support woven into the engagement, we offer it as a contracted add-on to the Catalyst deployment.
Strategy Defined at Plan Stage
The Client documents its training and change management strategy during Plan, before configuration begins, so adoption planning is never reactive.
Test Events as Training Capture
We encourage Client training teams to document end-to-end test events as they happen, turning testing into a natural source for training material creation.
Staff Augmentation for Change Work
When change management and communications require dedicated resources beyond the SOW scope, we can formally contract Staff Augmentation to fill the gap.
Knowledge Transfer at Deploy
Our architects conduct formal knowledge transfer at the Deploy stage so the Client's Workday admin team can independently maintain and update the tenant from day one.
What Comes Next
Seamless Transition to Managed Services
At the conclusion of Hypercare, clients have the option to transition directly into our Workday Managed Services (AMS) program. Because our AMS team is embedded throughout the deployment, they already know your tenant, your configuration decisions, and your team, so there is no re-onboarding curve.
AMS provides ongoing break/fix support, optimization, enhancements, and roadmap guidance so your Workday investment continues to grow beyond go-live. The transition is seamless by design.
- AMS team embedded during deployment, not introduced after
- No re-onboarding or knowledge gap at handoff
- Flexible support tiers to match your post-go-live needs
- Enhancements and roadmap guidance available from day one of AMS
Deployment to AMS
Go-live is not the finish line. It's the starting point. Our AMS program is built to ensure your Workday investment keeps delivering value as your business grows, changes, and evolves.
Because the same team that deployed your system supports it in AMS, you retain institutional knowledge and momentum from day one. No ramp-up, no handoff gaps, just a partner who already knows your business and is focused on what comes next.
Ready to Start Your Workday Deployment?
Let's scope your implementation and build a plan that fits your organization, timeline, and budget.