Rescuing a Stalled Workday Transformation

Sector: Waste Management & Environment

Project Scope: Full Platform (HCM, Financials, UK Payroll, Time & Absence)

Methodology: Workday Launch

The Challenge: A Programme at a Standstill

A rapidly scaling waste management organisation reached a critical juncture in its digital transformation. Despite adopting the Workday Launch methodology, the programme had stalled.

• Missed Milestones: Planned Go-Lives across Financials, Payroll, and Time & Absence were missed.

• Technical Debt: While HCM had technically "launched," it was limited to "skinny" Business Processes (BPs) with zero employee self-service, leaving the business with heavy manual overhead.

• Capability Gaps: The client-side team lacked the specific Workday experience required to manage a complex SI (System Integrator) partner and complex delivery.

• Strained Governance: Relationships with the implementation partner had deteriorated due to a lack of clear design strategy and requirements, leading to frustration on both sides.

The Intervention: A Diagnostic & Recovery Roadmap

Engaged to provide strong leadership and programme recovery, the first 30 days focused on a deep-seated diagnostic to identify blockers and rebuild the delivery foundation.

1. Strategic Alignment & Diagnostic

We conducted a comprehensive audit of the status quo, evaluating the clarity of requirements, the realism of the existing project plan, and the specific capability gaps within the internal team.

2. Strengthening Governance

We dismantled the ineffective oversight structures and reintroduced a robust Programme Governance Framework. This included:

• Establishing a high-functioning SteerCo.

• Defining clear Roles and Responsibilities (RACI) to eliminate decision paralysis.

3. Injecting Expertise

Recognising that Workday requires a specific "language," we built a business case to augment the internal team with external Workday specialists. We strategically placed experts in Functional, Technical, and Testing roles to bridge the gap between the business requirements and the partner’s configuration.

4. Cultural Turnaround

Technical recovery is impossible without team cohesion. We focused on fostering a "One Team" spirit, ensuring every member understood their impact on the critical path and felt empowered to flag risks early.

The Result: A Successful Multi-Module Go-Live

The turnaround was rapid. By clarifying the design strategy and stabilising the team, we restored the confidence of the Workday partner and the internal stakeholders.

• Full Suite Deployment: Successfully achieved a technical Go-Live for HCM, Financials, Time & Attendance, and UK Payroll against the revised plan.

• Process Maturity: Moved beyond "skinny BPs" to deliver deep functional configuration that supports a scaling business.

• Sustainable Capability: Left the organization with a strengthened internal team and a repeatable governance model for future phases.

"By refocusing on the fundamentals of governance and bringing in the right Workday expertise at the right time, we transformed a failing project into a benchmark for multi-module deployment."