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Campus Operations

Next Workday phase is here

Phase II prioritizes talent optimization, grant management, supplier portal and budget/adaptive planning tools.

Key takeaways: 

  • Workday Phase II launched in March. 
  • Phase II includes four functional areas: talent optimization, grant effort certification, supplier portal and budget/adaptive planning tools. 
  • Phase II will prioritize talent optimization, the biggest functional scope of work. 
  • Employees should watch the Early Bird for Phase II news and updates. 

WorkdayWorkday launched in January, enabling many new functionalities and reimagining how University business is conducted. While the project team continues to fine-tune some Phase I activities, the work to fully transition even more core Human Resources and Finance business processes is progressing.  

Metropolitan State University of Denver is excited for the next phase of the Workday project. Workday Phase II officially kicked off last month, and the Workday Project Team again is fully engaged in planning. Workday Phase II will bring about even more efficiency and further enable supervisors to lead their teams more thoughtfully and empower all employees to do their best work. 

What does Phase II include? 

Phase II will focus on implementing additional tools and resources to better align our talent strategy with MSU Denver’s strategic goals. Workday Phase II will focus on the following functional areas:   

  • Prioritizing talent optimization for employee development;   
  • Enhancing effort certification for grant management;  
  • Implementing a new supplier portal; and  
  • Incorporating more robust budgeting and adaptive planning tools.  

Prioritizing talent optimization 

Each functional area will transform how work is conducted and make us more agile and efficient, but the largest scope of work involves talent optimization. Therefore, talent optimization will be the focus and priority for Phase II as it directly aligns with MSU Denver’s strategic goal to become one of Colorado’s most desired places of employment.  

Talent optimization is directly connected to our CADRE values and encompasses performance management, which includes performance reviews/evaluations and performance-improvement plans, as well as succession planning, allowing our employees to showcase their career progression.  

Enhancing our talent-optimization practices will allow us to expand Workday’s capabilities and further enhance the employee experience by empowering employees to drive their careers forward and develop their work potential.

What’s the Phase II timeline? 

Workday Phase II is expected to continue throughout the spring and summer. Some aspects of the work will be implemented before others, but as work progresses, employees will be kept informed. 

Currently, the Phase II Workday Project Team is validating scopes of work and reviewing key concepts in preparation for testing, buildout/programming and eventually implementation. Stay tuned for more details. 

What can employees expect? 

As with Phase I, employees will be kept informed of Phase II progress, updates and expected large-scale changes. Training resources and other engagement opportunities are also planned, including the ability for employees to share feedback. Employees should watch the Early Bird to stay informed about Workday Phase II.  

As the University continues its pursuit to enable organizational efficiencies and empower its staff with even more tools to better support our community, the Workday Project Team would like to thank employees for their continued support of this transformative work.