Changing HRIS systems is a big undertaking. It is guaranteed to be stressful, full of new challenges, and can lead to premature turnover on internal teams.

After selecting Workday as their new HR system, Computer Services, Inc. (CSI) began looking for ways to improve their deployment experience – from lightening the load on their HR team to driving end-user adoption across their entire company at Go-Live.

Pre-Deployment

CSI had previously implemented Workday Financials and Adaptive Planning. Drawing from their experience with past partners, CSI recognized the need for a fresh perspective and expert guidance.

The challenge was steep: a lean, newly formed HR team, a brand-new Chief People Officer, and the mandate to “get pay right on day one” while simultaneously redefining every core people process—from onboarding and payroll to performance, goals, reviews, and open enrollment.

“If you get it wrong, you could disrupt people’s paychecks — their livelihood. We had to get that right while overhauling talent practices,” Roxanne Martinez, CSI’s Chief People Officer, explained.

CSI engaged Commit early in the process, establishing a Client Advocacy relationship to bridge the intricate gap between understanding the vast functionalities of Workday and their specific organizational requirements and workflows.

While CSI understood what Workday does, they wanted to know how it would work for their business. Commit’s team got to work well before the implementation began, onboarding CSI’s HR and leadership teams to Workday’s full platform, uncovering capabilities, and aligning expectations.

The goal was clear: design processes for the business, not let the system dictate them.

Deploying with User Adoption in Mind

As the partnership evolved, Commit Consulting’s involvement expanded beyond initial advisory, morphing into a comprehensive Change Management initiative. This strategic shift underscored the importance of preparing the organization and its workforce for the impending change, mitigating potential resistance, and fostering a positive user experience.

“As a lean HR team, we simply didn’t have the capacity to create and maintain all the user guides, training materials, short videos, and communications needed to ensure a smooth transition for employees and leaders,” one of CSI’s HR Analysts explained. “Commit stepped in as an extension of our team, delivering high-quality, user-friendly resources that helped drive adoption and build confidence across the organization.”

“As a lean HR team, we simply didn’t have the capacity to create and maintain all the user guides, training materials, short videos, and communications needed to ensure a smooth transition for employees and leaders,” Nicole explained. “Commit stepped in as an extension of our team, delivering high-quality, user-friendly resources that helped drive adoption and build confidence across the organization.“

Leveraging our expertise, we created an array of resources designed to empower CSI’s employees with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the new system confidently, including:

Central to this initiative was the development and implementation of a Change Champion Network – a robust user support system that helps accelerate adoption and engagement with Workday among end-users.

The main goal is to solicit feedback, increase knowledge through communication, and provide input into change impacts. This network bridges the gap between employees, internal implementation team, and implementation partner.

Go-Live: The Quietest Week

The payoff came on January 1, 2025. Payroll ran, employees logged in, and processes worked. What could have been chaos was instead calm. By design, the go-live was a non-event.

Roxanne and her team had pre-emptively scheduled daily stand-ups to address issues and escalate break-fixes in real time—a due diligence step to ensure nothing slipped through the cracks. But as the week unfolded, there was simply no triage to do.

“By mid-week, we stopped the calls. It was quiet—in the best way,” Roxanne said. “Our CTO said it was one of the best implementations he’s seen.”

Thanks to Commit’s comprehensive training, Change Champion Network, and ready-to-deploy resources, employees navigated the system with confidence, and adoption rates exceeded expectations.

Post-Production and Beyond

The cross-functional support provided by Commit Consulting culminated in a significantly enhanced user adoption rate and a notable increase in employee confidence during deployment. CSI was fully invested in making Workday work for them, and their successful deployment can be attributed to the thorough preparation, robust training, and availability of comprehensive support materials provided by Commit.

“Commit brings the people and process lens so the technology actually fits our culture,” Roxanne said.

“I’m most proud of the way our employees have embraced Workday, and I credit much of that success to the thoughtful, strategic change management approach Commit brought to the table,” Nicole said. “Our partnership allowed us to focus on the bigger picture while knowing that the employee experience was in expert hands.”

Recognizing the importance of continued assistance and optimization, Commit’s engagement has extended beyond the initial deployment phase. We provide ongoing support and cyclical project management, ensuring that CSI fully leverages Workday’s vast capabilities and addresses any post-deployment challenges. This sustained commitment has solidified a long-term, strategic partnership between CSI and Commit Consulting.

“I will sing the praises of Commit all day, every day,” CSI’s HR Analyst said. “Everybody on the team is amazing…and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. Presenting Workday to our employees in an easy, effective way was so important.”

“I will sing the praises of Commit all day, every day,” Nicole said. “Everybody on the team is amazing…and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. And presenting Workday to the employees in an easy, effective way was so important.”

From Client Advocacy and Change Management to continued Post-Production AMS support and ongoing project work, Commit is proud to be supporting CSI’s implementation and continued adoption of Workday.