Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workday Erp topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Workday financials on track for August 1 go‑live; county plans phased ERP rollout and support model
Summary
County IT and Auditor-Controller teams told the Board that phase 1 (financials) of the Workday ERP is on schedule for an August 1 go‑live, with Workday Learning already available for training. The board heard the planned support model, estimated project costs to date (~$17M) and that phase 2 (HR/payroll) will require renewed planning and contract
County information-technology and finance leaders told the Board on April 14 that the county’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) conversion to Workday will deploy phase 1 (financials) on August 1, with training tenants and Workday Learning rolling out immediately for department users.
Audit-Controller Betsy Schafer, CIO Chris Churgwin and project lead Kyle Slattery said the county has prioritized a phased rollout: phase 1 covers finance modules, phase 2 will include human-resources and payroll functions, and a later phase will add budgeting and analytics tools. County staff paused phase 2 earlier to concentrate resources on finishing phase 1 after prior schedule slips; the steering committee and an ad hoc board subcommittee have tracked progress and accountability.
Key points: - August 1 target: Project leads said phase 1 remains on track for August 1 and that a training tenant was released last week to begin user training and practice. - Training moved forward: Workday Learning was accelerated out of the HR/payroll phase to give users a county-wide learning platform before full human-resources modules are activated. - Costs to date: The county reported roughly $17 million expended on the ERP effort since mid‑2022 (implementation services, licensing and staff reimbursement). Fiscal-year 2025–26 budget materials include about $5.1 million to complete phase 1 and to begin ongoing support staffing. - Ongoing support model: The steering committee and project subgroups proposed a mix of county (auditor-controller and IT) support staff and vendor resources for go‑live support and years of optimization. Project leads said support roles have been filled in IT and the auditor-controller’s office and will be re-evaluated once phase 1 experience is gained. - Phase 2 planning: Because funds and staffing used to complete phase 1 were drawn from the original multi‑phase plan, county leadership said phase 2 (HR/payroll) needs a new implementation plan and contract effort; the steering committee will review recommendations and timing.
Why it matters: Workday consolidates finance, HR, payroll and analytics into a single cloud platform. Successful implementation is expected to standardize processes, reduce legacy-system complexity and open future options (including analytics and AI), but the software requires a sustained operational support commitment and additional one‑time and ongoing spending.
Process assurance: Project leaders said they had formed governance checkpoints: technology governance for any >$50,000 IT purchases, a 13‑member technology governance committee for larger tech investments, and an active steering committee that includes the auditor-controller, HR director, CIO and CEO staff. An ad hoc board committee (supervisors who met with the steering committee) has been meeting to monitor timelines and accountability.
Next steps: county staff will continue training and cutover preparations into July, operate the support structure for go‑live and return to the steering committee with a recommended plan, timeline and budget for phase 2 work that will bring payroll and human-resources modules into Workday.
Ending: County leaders requested continued board patience while they finalize the recommended timeline and costs for phase 2; they recommended close post‑go‑live monitoring and a willingness to adjust the support model based on the county’s experience after August 1.
