As LMU progresses towards the June 27 introduction of Workday for all of the university’s HR and financial processes, LMU This Week will continue to spotlight key features and capabilities of Workday.
This month, we’re taking a deeper look at what’s changing with some key financial actions (spend authorizations, expense reports and reimbursement requests, and punch-outs) and HR processes (including paperless HR, time entry, and time off).
Online Purchasing with Amazon, Office Depot, and CDW
One of Workday’s most useful features is the ability for all authorized individuals to purchase office-related supplies directly online with the retailer – without the need for P-cards or expense reports.
In Workday, individuals will have the ability to purchase supplies directly through an approved vendor’s website, with the order automatically applied to their department’s budget code. Current approved vendors are Office Depot (for office supplies), CDW (for tech accessories), and Amazon (for smaller specialized needs).
Employees will simply create a requisition in Workday by selecting “Connect to a Supplier’s Website,” then they can purchase goods just like they would in a normal online shopping experience. Once the individual has completed their online purchase, it will be routed back through Workday for budget approval before the order is finalized.
Through these new supplier-website integrations, individuals will save the time and effort previously required with P-cards and expense reports, and departments will have greater visibility into their area’s finances, with expenses hitting their budget code in real time, rather than the risk created by delayed expense reports.
Paperless HR
With Workday, there is no more paper! Previously, HR processes required a variety of paper forms, ranging from PAFs, AAFs, supplemental pay to tax and direct deposit forms. Workday centralizes everything digitally – also making information visible to the manager and employee, for greater transparency and self-empowerment.
Time Entry
In Workday, exempt (salaried) employees will no longer have to submit timesheets. Non-exempt employees (hourly, including student workers) will still need to enter hours, but will have a variety of options to do so: hours can be submitted via web clock, micro-edit, or on a mobile device.
Individuals with multiple assignments (i.e., a student worker with two on-campus jobs) will enter all hours worked on a single timesheet.
Time Off
Exempt (salaried) employees will enter time off on their absence calendar. Vacation will require manager’s approval, while sick and most other time off (such as bereavement and jury duty) can simply be entered on their absence calendar, which will be visible to the manager.
Entering time off on their absence calendar will work the same for non-exempt employees (hourly, including student workers).
If an individual needs to request a leave of absence, they can simply select “request leave of absence” and Workday will route the request to HR for consultation and potential approval.
Spend Authorizations
Workday will dramatically increase visibility of department budgets, including the ability to see expected expenses before they hit. For example, if an employee has an upcoming business trip and has submitted a spend authorization, their department can see the anticipated spend and make more accurate budget projections.
Any university employee can initiate a spend authorization request for themselves (however, only department finance specialists can initiate on another’s behalf). If the request includes a cash advance, it can only be submitted within the three weeks before travel – if no cash advance is anticipated, the spend authorization can be submitted at any time.
Expense Reports and Reimbursement Requests
After June 27, Concur will be replaced with Workday, and expense reports will be submitted directly through the Workday dashboard. Any employee can create an expense report (similar to spend authorizations, only department finance specialists can create a report on another’s behalf).
It is strongly recommended to set up direct deposit for employee reimbursements, as opposed to paper check. Upon an individual’s first login into Workday, they’ll be prompted to choose their preferred payment election for future reimbursements, which can be a separate payment election than their regular pay slips.
Check back next month, when LMU This Week highlights benefit elections, pay and direct deposits, federal tax withholding, and payroll changes in our April Workday Spotlight. You can also stay informed of the upcoming Workday roll-out by visiting lmu.edu/workday or emailing workday@lmu.edu.
