If you’ve ever had to make a simple location change for a worker in Workday, you already understand the problem Change Job Templates solve.
While they have been around for a while, Workday is going to require Change Job Templates for all customers as part of the 2026 R2 update. If Change Job Templates are not created, users may be unable to access the Change Job or Start Job Change tasks until they create a template. Workday customers need to be prepared for this change, so we created this step-by-step “How To” guide.
What’s Changing – Change Job Task vs. Change Job Template
In the traditional Change Job process, every type of job change like a promotion, a location update, or manager reassignment kicked off the exact same process. You’d see every field, every option, all at once – regardless of what you were actually trying to do.
For HR admins, that’s part of the job. For a manager kicking off the occasional task, it’s overwhelming and can predictably result in updates to the wrong fields. HR ends up owning transactions that should have been handled in self-service.
Change Job Templates solve this by limiting what each initiator sees to only what’s relevant for their specific transaction.
A Change Job Template is a customized change job initiation screen that allows admins to enable specific sections and fields for the initiator. This allows for greater flexibility on which sections and fields are available to the initiator – or rather, which fields are deemed irrelevant to the task and should be hidden from the initiator. By only allowing updates to certain fields, initiators can focus on the task at hand without accidentally introducing manual errors.
How to Prepare
For clients with existing Change Job Templates, confirm a template exists for each job change scenario/reason. Once Change Job Templates are set up, your organization will need to make time to test the validation rules on the change job business process and its subprocesses to ensure they are working as expected.
How does this affect the Change Job task?
While the Change Job task still exists, the Start Job Change task will be used to initiate the change job template and provides an enhanced UI interface with customizable sections, fields, and subprocesses. There is also an option to pick and choose specific initiating security groups for each template.
Difference between Change Job Task and Start Job Change Task
The first thing to know: both tasks are expected to remain in use. Here’s how they differ:
Change Job Task
Change Job is the old task. It still exists, still works the same way, but now needs one template mapped to it that shows all applicable fields — essentially replicating what it always did, just within the new template framework.
Start Job Change Task
Start Job Change is a task that may sound newer to some. This is where templates really shine — you create purpose-built templates for specific scenarios, so each one only shows what’s relevant. Common examples include:
How to Set Up a Change Job Template
What type of setup is required?
- Update the Change Job business process security policy – add the applicable groups to the Start Job Change initiation action section
- Start Configuration by accessing the Maintain Change Job Templates task. Security to this is linked to the Set up: Staffing domain.
- Click the “+” symbol and begin building your Change Job Templates
- Create a change job template based on the change job business process reasons. To locate your change job reasons in the tenant, here are the instructions:
- In the search bar type in Maintain Event Categories and Reasons
- Search for Change Job > Click OK
- From here you will see each Reason Category and corresponding Reason
How does each field function within the template?
- Template Order – Decide in what order the templates will display within the drop-down list of the Start Job Change Task
- Select Reason for Template – Choose which reasons should map to the change job template. A reason will be selected by the initiator of the start change job task. You can map one or multiple reasons to a change job template.
- Template Help Text – Decide if you would like help text to display to the user when they are selecting a change job template.
- Select Initiating Actions – This will determine which task can be used to access the template. For example, if you choose Start Job Change this template will only be accessible via the Start Job Change task.
- Initiating Action Examples:
Start Job Change
- Can be mapped to multiple change job templates
- Remember multiple change job reasons can be assigned to one Start Job Change template. Same rules apply for the other initiating actions listed in this slide
Change Job
- Can only be mapped to one change job template
- Add all applicable sections/fields to this template
- Will function the same as it does today but will go through a template
- Typically used by administrators
Request Transfer
- Can only be mapped to one change job template
- Utilized in recruiting when an internal employee is moved from one manager to another
Change Location
- Can be mapped to multiple change job templates (if needed)
- Change Location task and Start Job Change can be used to change a location for a worker. Determine if it’s more intuitive to use Start Job Change instead of Change Location.
Mass Action
- Initiate the Change Job business process in bulk with a mass action workbook
- You can add up to 1,000 workers
- With Mass Action change job template, it is not possible to update both supervisory orgs and organization assignments in the same workbook
Change Contingent Worker Details
- Can be mapped to multiple change job templates (if needed)
- Select Condition Rules – Determine whether or not this template should be accessible based on a certain set of criteria. For example, you can create a condition rule that only allows a change job template to be accessible based on the company the worker is assigned to.
- Select Security Groups – Decide which security groups have access to the template. If you leave this blank then all security groups on the Start Job Change security policy will have access to it.
- Enable Enhanced UI for this Template – The Enhanced UI for Change Job Templates improves the user experience because it provides additional context on what each field drives. This added guidance helps initiators make more informed decisions as they complete the task, reducing errors, and improving data accuracy. The Enhanced UI for templates will be made required and auto-checked as part of this release.
- Apply this Template to Review and Approve Steps – You have the option to apply the Enhanced UI for Review steps and Approval steps.
Additional Tips
Review Validation Rules and Compensation Plan Eligibility Rules:
Extensive testing will be required to evaluate how validation rules on the Change Job Business Process and Compensation Plan Eligibility Rules behave with the Change Job Templates.
Template-To-Reason Alignment:
If needed, multiple change job reasons can be tied to a single template.
The Change Job initiation action can only be associated with one Change Job Template.
Depending on the amount of change reasons you have for each change job category, you can assign one or multiple change job reasons to a single template. If you include multiple change job reasons on a single template, once the change job process is initiated, you will have the option to select the specific reason.
Recruiting Will Be Affected
A Change Job Template must be configured for the Request Transfer initiating action. Without this, candidates may become stuck when the worker is moving from one manager to another.
To test this process, you can apply as an internal candidate to a job requisition that has a different supervisory org than the one the internal candidate is currently reporting to. Afterwards, you will move them to Ready for Hire. From here, you will notice how Workday tags the change job transaction as a Transfer and utilizes the Request Transfer Change Job Template.
Next Steps
Change Job Templates are becoming an essential part of how job changes are initiated and completed in Workday. Taking the time now to design, map, and test your templates will ensure admins and managers have a guided and intuitive experience.
In addition, this will ensure your organization maintains data accuracy, security, and compliance. Proactive configuration today will help avoid user frustration, process breakdowns, and will set your tenant up for a smooth transition ahead of 2026R2. Talk with your Client Partner today about opening a ticket to begin planning your Change Job Template experience!
