Washington State Employees Credit Union (WSECU) strives to be the credit union and employer of choice for area residents. And while the organisation’s modern banking options enable them to compete against national brands, WSECU wanted to prioritise their employees’ experience by streamlining administrative operations.
Because WSECU’s older legacy HR system was not fully connected with payroll, staff manually managed payroll and benefits including 401(k) allocations. Disconnected, paper-based workflows also supported recruiting, hiring, promotions, performance reviews and bonuses. Gretchen Bornstein, HR management system specialist at WSECU, says, “A manager would complete a form and then send it to one or more senior executives, who then sent the form back to HR or Payroll. People didn’t always work in the same location, so they might receive a form through email, print it, sign it, scan it and then email it to the next person on the approval list. We never knew where forms were, so we spent a lot of time on wild goose chases just trying to locate them.”
We can also customise Workday ourselves, which is especially important because I’m one of the few who manages it.
HR Management System Specialist
ROI pays dividends in just six months.
WSECU sought a payroll partner with a system they could use to consolidate data, automate administrative workflows and facilitate self-service processes for staff – and chose Workday. Not only did Workday meet their initial requirements, but Workday also helped WSECU boost operational agility and drive ongoing workforce optimisation so they could continue to improve accuracy, flexibility, transparency and employee experience. Within six months, the bank had simplified administrative processes supporting payroll, benefits, recruiting, timecards, performance reviews and holiday requests.
For example, to improve insights into costs, Bornstein has been modifying time-off categories. “In our old HR system, we couldn’t create new time-off categories”, she explains. “With Workday we can, and it takes me just under an hour. I’ve created time-off categories for inclement weather, vaccines, parenting leave – and I’ve removed ones that we no longer use. These kinds of changes are very noticeable to our employees and have a great impact on how we track our time and costs and provide a seamless work environment.”
Instead of two people spending three days on payroll, one person now completes it in two days.
HR Management System Specialist
Banking on efficient payroll.
Before WSECU deployed Workday, employees spent multiple days every month manually entering information into the legacy HR application. “Instead of two people spending three days on payroll, one person now completes it in two days”, Bornstein explains. “So we reduced the time needed to complete payroll by about a third since we deployed Workday, and there’s a lot less paper and frustration. We can also look at a process and know right away where a task is held up.”
Staff also spend less time on management and administrative workflows, including verifications. “Our employees, including our CEO, find that Workday is really easy to use, and it vastly increases our efficiency”, says Bornstein. “We’ve set up automatic alerts in Workday so that managers are notified when timecards need approvals. And our payroll lead runs audits that proactively catch issues that could impact someone, like getting only a partial paycheck because they forgot to enter hours on their timecard.”
Now that WSECU has reached our initial goals for administrative excellence, we’re taking advantage of our improved agility to drive further workforce optimisation.
HR Management System Specialist
Self-service options improve employee experience.
By consolidating their data and gaining automation capabilities, WSECU can create intuitive self-service workflows. “Today, if employees need to update their payroll deductions, like adding a dependant or changing their 401(k) withholdings, they can do it themselves in just a few minutes with Workday”, Bornstein says. “These kinds of self-service processes also save time for HR and administrative personnel. Data entry and filing are no longer huge projects because we’ve reduced paper forms by at least 75%.”
Customised processes that grow with the flow.
“Now that WSECU has reached our initial goals for administrative excellence, we’re taking advantage of our improved agility to drive further workforce optimisation – without having to add more third-party tools and services”, says Bornstein. “We can grow with Workday and customise it ourselves, which is especially important because I’m one of the few who manages it.”
And the credit union is looking at doing more with Workday Compensation and Workday Talent Optimisation. She adds, “There are many capabilities that we can use in different ways to save time and help optimise our workforce. I learn a lot about what we can do with Workday from the people and user groups in Workday Community.”