Challenges.
The University of Findlay (UF)—with its national reputation for providing quality, distinctive academic programs and academic experiences—had utilized the same enterprise resource planning system since 1985, relying on manual controls without reliable reporting capabilities. The university realized a significant need to modernize its systems and processes.
Why Workday.
Workday was viewed as the best partner to assist UF in updating its business processes and reporting needs, improving data integrity and analytics, and providing parents and students with a modern, user-friendly experience.
Benefits and results.
Process automation/functional efficiency.
Findlay has simplified its IT environment and reduced manual and transactional administration via automation and configurable workflows. By eliminating paper-based processes and providing modern system capabilities, functional users now work more efficiently and spend more time on strategic activities. Key improvements include a reduction in payroll, period close, accounts payable, and procurement cycle times, as well as efficiency gains during open enrollment.
50%
reduction in payroll cycle time and monthly close
60%
reduction in procurement cycle time
User experience.
With Workday, Findlay has delivered an intuitive interface and experience to faculty and staff as well as student employees. The university benefits from having standardized processes across all departments via a single system. Self-service is now available to end-users, enabling them to initiate processes or gain direct access to their information with less reliance on IT, HR, or the business office. Future plans include Workday Student, which will allow both students and parents to benefit from the same user experience.
Standardized business processes across the university
Single user experience throughout employee lifecycle
Time spent by HR on IPEDS reporting decreased by 60%
Controls and decisions support.
Before Workday, Findlay relied on manual controls and didn’t have reliable reporting capabilities to support the needs of HR and the business office. Findlay is now equipped with the tools to automate and drive strategic data-driven decisions related to procurement spend, compliance, budget management/forecasting, and cost center accountability, and can better enhance student-centric experiences and interactions.
Significant reduction in unbudgeted spend
Automated 98% of key controls
Reduced time spent preparing financial statements by 67%