Lighten the Load: Quick Wins to Make Workday More Intuitive
Workday is powerful, but it can also feel overwhelming if the system isn’t intentionally designed for clarity. We often hear people shrug off small issues with, “What’s the harm?” In reality, those “small” items pile up and create friction, confusion, and unnecessary support tickets.
Here are four simple adjustments that immediately lighten the mental load for your users with no extra Workday purchases required.
1. Clean Up Phantom Statuses
It’s surprisingly common for status lists to contain outdated or misleading options. Take Workday Student as an example: the Registration Status list sometimes includes statuses that look meaningful but aren’t functional.
A classic one? “Dropped.” It doesn’t trigger a real status change, yet it sits in the list like it matters.
For report writers, integration developers, and operational staff, phantom statuses create second-guessing and misinterpretation. Removing or correcting these entries cuts down cognitive strain and eliminates a preventable source of errors.
2. Don’t Rely on Workday Delivered Reports
Delivered reports are designed to be broadly applicable across industries. But higher ed isn’t “generic.” Every institution has unique needs, unique terminology, and unique processes.
The good news? You don’t need to rebuild reports from scratch.
Try this instead:
Copy a delivered report
Adjust field order
Add missing data
Remove distractions.
In minutes, you can turn something confusing into something truly helpful. Small refinements make reports easier to read, easier to trust, and easier to act on.
3. Customize Dashboards and Hubs
Delivered dashboards and hubs often include things your users don’t need and exclude things they desperately do.
With just a couple of hours of customization, you can:
Remove irrelevant tasks
Add institution-specific workflows
Surface documentation and videos
Build guided checklists for complex operational processes
A dashboard that mirrors how your institution actually operates reduces cognitive load and increases confidence. When Workday becomes intuitive, people stop hunting for what they need and start doing their work.
4. Be Thoughtful About Report Sharing
Sharing reports with “all authorized users” sounds harmless. But in reality, it can create confusion when someone finds a report through search and sees nothing returned.
If your institution has fully curated dashboards and hubs for every audience, this might not be an issue. But if users still rely on the search bar, empty results erode trust and cause frustration.
A quick review of sharing practices ensures users only encounter reports that are relevant and meaningful to them.
Small Fixes. Big Impact. Zero Cost.
Schools that address these four areas often see immediate improvements in clarity, satisfaction, and efficiency. They're small wins with big ripple effects and they don’t cost a dime.
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And if you'd like to brainstorm how to simplify Workday at your institution, you’re invited to schedule a free discovery call. We’d love to help you lighten the load for your users.
