For consultants committed to a Workday career, achieving a Workday Certification can be transformative. The path to certification can be winding but worthwhile as certified consultants often enjoy greater earning potential and more job opportunities.
Healthcare IT Leaders is a certified Workday Staffing Partner, and we field a lot of questions about certification from prospective consultants. Read on for our tips and advice on how and why to become Workday Certified.
Why should I become Certified Workday Consultant?
For any individual that wants to work as a consultant within the Workday services ecosystem, Workday certifications are important qualifications.
Workday certification, achieved through coursework and testing, confirms a higher level of proficiency with Workday solutions and a knowledge of Workday best practices required to optimize results for customers. Workday certification is also a prerequisite for any implementation or systems integration work that involves access to the Workday tenant.
From a career perspective, Workday certifications can increase consultants’ marketability and earning potential. Achieving and maintaining certifications also demonstrates a commitment to ongoing learning and skills development, critical for staying current as the Workday platform evolves.
Do I need to work with a Workday Services Partner or Workday Staffing Partner?
The short answer is yes. Workday has cultivated a select network of approved Services and Staffing partners to ensure a high-quality consulting experience for its clients. Consultants must work through a partner to hold and maintain their certifications.
What Workday Certifications are available and how do I choose?
As of this writing, there are over 100 certifications available through the Workday services catalog. The baseline or “Entry” certifications, as they are called, mostly align to the various Workday solutions, and broadly cover the following areas:
- HCM
- Payroll
- Financial
- Reporting and Analytics
- Adaptive Platform and Planning
- Integration
- Project Management
After achieving an entry certification, there are additional “Specialty” certifications available for most learning paths. As just one example, the entry HCM certification can be augmented with specialty certifications in Compensation, Talent, Benefits, People Experience, and other specialized HCM topics.
Choosing a certification path or paths is up to the individual, but our general advice is to ‘go deep rather than broad.’ Developing a mastery of a single Workday product or solution can increase your marketability as an expert consultant.
What is the time commitment and cost required for Workday Certification?
An entry certification will typically require completion of multiple instructor-led courses as well as independent learning. Courses vary in length (2 – 7 days) and must be taken in a prescribed path. As an example, a consultant seeking HCM certification, must first take HCM Essential Concepts, followed by HCM Applied Concepts, and then HCM Services Practical.
Coursework is followed by a proctored certification exam. The total time for courses, studying, test-prep, exams, retakes (if needed), and more can vary from a few weeks to a few months or more.
The costs for an instructor-led course range from $800 to $2,000, and additional expenses to consider are exam fees and study materials.
While it represents a substantial investment, the returns often rapidly eclipse these costs, and compound significantly over the duration of one’s career.
What should I know about Workday Certification exams?
Certification culminates in a final test of 2 to 4 hours, and requires a range from 70% to 80% correct for a passing score. The test can cost $150 to $250 per attempt, and must be taken on site at a specified testing center or online via remote proctoring.
Here are some tips to maximize success:
- Leverage Workday resources: Use official Workday training materials and courses, and join the Workday community to connect with others and seek mentorship.
- Know the exam format: A certification exam will test both your theoretical knowledge and practical problem-solving skills. Use official Workday practice exams to aid your preparation.
- Trust the process: The exams are challenging, but if you invest the time and effort in the requisite coursework and draw on your practical Workday experience, you should do well.
As a certified Workday Staffing Partner, Healthcare IT Leaders is a direct resource for helping IT consultants and professionals in the healthcare space harness the value of a Workday Certification.
Contact us today to learn more about how Healthcare IT Leaders can provide the right level of Workday certification support.