Why Workday Can Feel Overwhelming at the Start
Workday sits at the centre of HR and Finance for many large organisations. It powers core HR, recruiting, payroll, talent, and financial processes, which is why roles like Workday analyst, Workday consultant, and Workday admin are in such high demand.
From the outside, though, Workday can look like an ocean. There are multiple modules, countless configuration options, and a lot of jargon. Many people start by jumping between random courses and YouTube videos, learning a little bit about everything and not enough about anything in particular.
The truth is you don’t need to know “all of Workday” to become valuable. You need a clear foundation, a focused area of depth, and evidence that you understand how Workday supports real HR and Finance work.
Start With the Fundamentals, Not the Screens
The first step is to build a solid understanding of what Workday actually does and how it is structured. Before worrying about specific configuration pages, focus on big-picture questions:
- What problems does Workday solve for HR and Finance?
- How does it represent people, jobs, organisations, and processes?
- How do business users interact with the system day to day?
At this stage, it is helpful to think in terms of concepts rather than features:
- Workers, positions, jobs, and organisations as the core “objects”.
- Business processes as the flows that move transactions from request to approval.
- Security and roles as the guardrails around who can see and do what.
- Reports and dashboards as the windows into data.
A clear mental model makes everything else easier to place. When you later learn a specific configuration step, you will know why it matters.
Choose One Core Area to Focus On
Workday is broad, so trying to master everything at once leads to shallow knowledge. A better approach is to pick one core area as your primary focus for the first several months.
Common choices include:
- Core HCM / HR: organisations, positions, workers, job changes, and basic HR processes.
- Recruiting: job requisitions, candidates, pipelines, offers, and hiring.
- Reporting & Analytics: custom reports, dashboards, metrics, and data for HR and Finance.
- Integrations: moving data between Workday and other systems using APIs and tools.
- Finance: company structures, ledgers, cost centres, and financial processes.
Your background can guide this choice. For example, if you have HR experience, HCM or Recruiting might feel natural. If you enjoy data, reporting is a strong fit. If you have a technical or integration background, you might focus on integrations first.
Once you choose a focus area, let it drive your learning so you can go deeper than the average generalist.
Understand the Core Flows in Your Area
Every part of Workday has a few essential flows that everything else is built around. Understanding these “core loops” is more important than memorising every configuration option.
For example:
- In Core HR: the journey from hiring someone, moving them between roles or locations, and eventually ending employment.
- In Recruiting: moving from opening a requisition, attracting candidates, evaluating them, making offers, and hiring.
- In Reporting: turning a business question into a report that pulls from the right data sources with clear filters and fields.
Spend time studying and sketching out these flows. Ask:
- What steps does Workday show to the user?
- Which parts are controlled by business processes?
- Where does data come from and where does it go?
Being able to explain these flows clearly is what helps you speak confidently with HR and Finance stakeholders, not just other system specialists.
Move From Theory to Practice
Reading and watching can only take you so far. At some point, you need to work through real or realistic scenarios.
If you have access to a training or demo tenant, use it to:
- Configure simple business processes and see how they behave.
- Build basic custom reports using key fields and filters.
- Experiment with security roles and see how they change what users can see.
If you don’t yet have direct system access, you can still practise by designing on paper or in diagrams:
- Sketch the steps of a hire process and note which approvals and validations are needed.
- Draft a design for a headcount dashboard and list the fields and filters it would need.
- Map out how data should flow between Workday and another system in a given scenario.
The goal is to train yourself to think like someone who owns Workday processes, even before you are formally in that role.
Build a Simple Portfolio That Shows How You Think
Most candidates present only a CV and a list of courses. You can differentiate yourself by creating a small portfolio of Workday-related work.
This doesn’t require access to production systems. It can include:
- Short case studies describing how you would improve a process using Workday (for example, fixing a confusing hire flow or cleaning up reporting).
- Process diagrams that show how key HR or recruiting scenarios should work in Workday.
- Sample reporting designs with explanations of what questions they answer.
- Articles or posts that explain Workday concepts in simple language.
Collect these into a single document or page that you can share with recruiters and hiring managers. The purpose is to show your reasoning, not to reveal any confidential configuration details. It helps employers see that you understand both the tool and the business context.
Learn the Basics of HR and Finance Alongside Workday
Workday is built for HR and Finance teams, so learning some functional basics in parallel will make you much more effective.
On the HR side, it helps to understand:
- Headcount, turnover, and movement metrics.
- Recruiting funnel concepts like time to fill, source of hire, and pipeline stages.
- Performance, compensation cycles, and talent management.
On the Finance side, it is useful to know:
- Cost centres, companies, and basic financial structures.
- Budget versus actuals and how labour cost fits into that picture.
- The kinds of reports Finance teams rely on for decision-making.
The more you understand how HR and Finance think, the easier it becomes to design Workday solutions they will actually use.
Share Your Learning Journey Publicly
A practical way to accelerate your growth and visibility is to share what you are learning. This could be via LinkedIn posts, short articles, or simple write-ups.
You might:
- Explain a Workday concept in plain language each week.
- Share lessons from a course or a mock project.
- Break down a common problem and outline how Workday can help solve it.
You don’t need to claim expert status; you simply need to be consistent and honest. Over time, your name becomes associated with Workday topics, which helps when you start applying for roles.
Approach Interviews as Conversations About Problems
When you reach the interview stage, employers are usually trying to understand three things:
- Whether you understand Workday at a conceptual level.
- Whether you can think through real scenarios logically.
- Whether you have shown initiative beyond passive learning.
Prepare by:
- Practising how you would talk through designing or troubleshooting specific situations.
- Using your portfolio pieces as anchors for your stories.
- Being transparent about where you are strong and where you’re still growing.
Hiring managers often prefer someone with clear thinking and focus over someone who claims to “know everything” but cannot explain it simply.
A Simple Roadmap to Follow
If you had to start your Workday journey today, a realistic plan could look like this:
- First couple of months: learn the fundamentals and pick a core focus area.
- Next few months: go deeper on that area, understand its key flows, and practise with scenarios.
- Along the way: build a small portfolio and share some of your learning in public.
- After that: expand into neighbouring areas and continue turning learning into visible work.
This approach turns Workday from a vague, overwhelming topic into a structured, achievable path. With steady effort, you can move from being a beginner to someone who contributes real value to Workday projects and teams.
