Healthcare organizations rely on many complex systems, including Workday—a popular enterprise resource planning (ERP) system—and UKG Pro Workforce Management (WFM), to manage their operations, personnel, and finances. On their own, these systems offer incredible benefits. A hospital’s Workday implementation serves as a central command center, coordinating everything from medical supply inventory to billing cycles. Meanwhile, UKG Pro WFM helps solve many challenges associated with scheduling clinical staff across 24/7 operations.
However, many of the benefits of these systems—and some of the obstacles to unlocking those benefits—lie in how they communicate. So, how do you integrate these powerhouse platforms? Here’s what you need to know.
How Disconnected Systems Create Challenges
When integrating disparate systems like UKG and Workday, it’s important to understand the types of data you’re dealing with. ERP systems like Workday house a lot: financial, operational, and workforce data all exist within a healthcare organization’s ERP. With UKG, however, there are four primary types of data you’re dealing with: employee information, business structure, accrual balances, and payroll data (which is typically integrated back into your ERP).
Misalignment in business structure data—such as organizational hierarchy, facility information, cost centers, departments, job titles, and more—is often the root of integration challenges, making this a key area for Workday and UKG alignment.
Without that alignment, organizations often face problems like:
- Reporting challenges. Misaligned data increases the manual effort required to fix issues while increasing the risk of errors, and makes it harder to get accurate enterprise-wide views of labor costs and productivity.
- Scheduling issues. From organizational structure to position, unit, and location management, discrepancies can lead to scheduling inefficiencies and coverage gaps, making it difficult to maintain accurate staffing plans.
- Functional misalignment. If operational views of people and data within UKG don’t align with your ERP’s financial structures, it can create barriers to accurate resource tracking and utilization.
The Benefits of UKG and Workday Integration
A well-implemented UKG and Workday integration unlocks benefits beyond what either system can achieve on its own. From streamlined operations and better data accuracy to improved decision-making and resource optimization, seamless integration enables hospitals and health systems to better manage floating staff, perform cross-facility scheduling, and forecast labor costs more accurately.
Even better? Integration makes it easier to operationalize these systems, which turns their potential benefits into compounding advantages as you optimize each system and their connection to each other.
RELATED: Workday Accounting Center: What Every Healthcare CFO Needs to Know
Key Considerations for Success
Many healthcare organizations view Workday and UKG integration as a purely technical challenge, but successful integration requires thinking beyond technology. This isn’t a one-time project—it’s a long-term strategic initiative that requires planning, process changes, and ongoing adjustment.
If you’re implementing a new ERP or WFM system, and you already have the existing alternative:
- Focus on alignment from the start. It’s not just about having the talent to implement the new system; you’ll also need people on the other side of the solution to handle integration.
- Choose your vendor wisely. Working with different vendors to implement Workday versus UKG Pro WFM can cause issues, especially when these vendors don’t have experience with the other solution. Instead, consider partnering with a vendor who has expertise in both.
- Don’t forget about optimization. If you already have one system fully implemented, there can be resistance to modifying something that is already working. However, optimization plays a key role in system adoption and maintenance over the long term.
If you already have both systems but aren’t seeing the benefits of integration:
- Map your manual processes. Document where your teams are spending extra effort on workarounds and data entry, and use this to prioritize which integration points will deliver the most value.
- Identify failure points. Look at where your current integration attempts have broken down or created new challenges. This insight is crucial for avoiding similar issues as you move forward with improvements.
- Assess potential impacts. Consider what changes would be needed in both Workday and UKG to achieve better integration. Remember that modifications to either system can have ripple effects on existing workflows, so it’s essential to understand these as early as possible.
RELATED: 5 Ways to Optimize UKG Pro Workforce Management for Healthcare
Looking Ahead
Planning a UKG Pro WFM and Workday integration can be challenging, but it’s an essential step in your organization’s digital transformation. As healthcare evolves, having systems that work together goes beyond convenience—it’s about creating a foundation for future innovation and growth.
At Healthcare IT Leaders, we understand the complexities of healthcare technology integration. Our team brings deep expertise in both Workday and UKG Pro WFM, helping healthcare organizations like yours bridge the gap between these critical platforms, whether you’re implementing a new system or looking to optimize your existing integration.
Ready to learn more about how Healthcare IT Leaders can help you unlock the full potential of your ERP and WFM systems? Contact us today to get started.