We have done our best to keep these freeze periods as short as possible, and we appreciate your support and patience with this effort.  Should you have an urgent business need during a freeze period, please have your Vice President reach out to the Workday leadership team: Beth Schmidt, LaKami Bryant, John Kott, and Myranda Miller, and we will evaluate to see if an alternative is possible. 

All employees should pay close attention to items in blue, other items primarily pertain to managers. 

After almost two years of planning, design, and preparation Lawson is being phased out as Cook Children’s launches Workday in July.

The transition to Workday is a big undertaking that involves collaboration across departments and teams within departments. Every employee will be impacted when Workday goes live next month. You can expect a new look when viewing paychecks, making changes to benefit selections, viewing and updating your personal information, expense report capture, engagement, and much more. Employees in HR, Finance and Supply Chain expect a greater impact because their day-to-day operations will occur in Workday.

 “This is an important and highly visible change and the project team has been working diligently to ensure a smooth and accurate transition from Lawson to Workday,” said LaKami, VP Revenue Cycle and Enterprise Applications. “The features and functionality within Workday will elevate the employee experience and allow us to interact in a whole new way.”

LaKami explained that Workday offers a mobile app, integrated capabilities, dashboards that displays real-time data, with new releases coming every quarter. “What set Workday apart was their ongoing research and development to enhance system features and functionality by listening to their customers to enhance the employee experience and workflows within departments,” she said.

“Workday is intuitive, easy to navigate, and overall user friendly. Managers will receive birthday and work anniversary reminders for their team right on their home page, which is something I find very helpful.” “Our initial go-live is just the beginning. Phase II will bring us more ways to interact and communicate with features like; Help and Journeys.”

 “This is a major go-live. Even though Workday is intuitive, it is still a big change and we expect questions. Please use one of the “How to” Zoom sessions, reach out to a super user, at the elbow support team and we will help step you through the system.

LaKami started at Cook Children’s in 1997 in the Health Information Management Department. She transitioned IT and has held various roles over her 26-year career at Cook Children’s. She’s an eager learner who enjoys working with others to problem solve and implement solutions that improve the employee, patient, and member experience. Two main strategies in her toolkit are conversations and connections.

Today, LaKami’s areas of responsibility include; Enterprise Resource Planning, Information Services Applications, Enterprise Content Management, Health Plan IT, Epic Revenue Cycle and the Data Integrations team. “I couldn’t ask for a better team to work with.”, she said

I’ve learned how to connect the right people to problem solve and identify solutions. We are most successful when we collaborate, listen, and understand that we contribute to each other’s success and the success of the organization.”

More about LaKami Bryant

Born in San Angelo, LaKami grew up wanting to be a military police officer and was heading down that path when God sent her in a different direction. She attended Tarrant Community College and the University of Texas at Arlington before finishing her BS in Business online through the University of Phoenix. LaKami has three adult sons and seven grandchildren who call her Gigi. She enjoys spending time with her grandkids and supporting her husband’s motorcycle ministry. 

We have done our best to keep these freeze periods as short as possible, and we appreciate your support and patience with this effort.  Should you have an urgent business need during a freeze period, please have your Vice President reach out to the Workday leadership team: Beth Schmidt, LaKami Bryant, John Kott, and Myranda Miller, and we will evaluate to see if an alternative is possible. 

All employees should pay close attention to items in blue, other items primarily pertain to managers. 

You might be wondering about specific topics as we gear up to launch Workday at Cook Children’s just a few weeks from now. Check out these Top 10 FAQs from employees and managers!

Employee Self-Service:

Q: Is Kronos going away?

A: No, timekeeping and absences will continue to be managed in Kronos.

Q: Can I still access Timeclock and Paycheck Adjustment forms in Workday, as I did in Lawson?

A: Yes, there will be an employee dashboard with links to those electronic forms and the Occupational Health portal.

Q: How far back will I be able to see payslips in Workday?

A: 7 years per the retention policy.

Q: Can I print payslips from Workday?

A: Yes, you can export to a PDF and print.

Q: Will mileage and toll reimbursements be managed in Workday?

A: Yes, you will enter travel and expense reimbursements in Workday. There are step-by-step tip sheets to aid you if needed.

Q: Will we still need to submit the actual physical receipts for reimbursements?

A: No, you can take pictures of the receipts in the Workday mobile app, and upload with your expense report.

Q: When can we use the Workday Mobile App?

A: July 1. More info will go out to the system with directions for multi-factor authentication, which is also required to use the app.

Q: Can I enter expense reports into different cost centers that I work with?

A: Yes, you can submit under different cost centers and the report will automatically route to that cost center’s approver.

Q: Where will we find the link to Workday at go live on July 1?

A: You will find a link to Workday on CookNet, just as it was for Lawson.

Q: What are some common tasks an employee may do in Workday?

A: View your paychecks, check your benefits, update address and contact info, view PTO balance, enter expense reports, update direct deposit data, order supplies (as an approved department orderer).

Manager-Self Service:

Q: Will we order supplies in Workday now?

A: Yes, all supplies formerly ordered in Lawson will now be ordered in Workday. For step-by-step directions, watch this video https://cookchildrens.certpointsystems.com/lms/basicportal/cookchildrens/en-US/learner/courses/7deb6e76-9939-4af5-9185-d77baf248352 available in ULearn.

Q: Can we delegate tasks such as expense reports to our executive secretaries?

A: Yes, leaders can identify which tasks can be delegated to specific staff. The delegation will then need to be approved by the department leader.

Q: Can you set up Workday notifications to route to your Outlook email?

A: Yes, you can edit your settings to do this in Workday.

Q: Will consultants, contractors and students also be tracked in Workday?

A: No, at this time only Cook employees will be tracked in Workday.

Q: When I schedule an interview in Workday, will it send the applicant a notification?

A: Yes, it will send them an email communication with the date/time. Any changes to the appointment in Workday will generate a new communication. It will not send an appointment to your Outlook calendar.

Q: Are there any big differences in the hiring process with Workday?

A: No, the process is largely the same, but now occurring in Workday. You will notice simpler navigation of the tools though!

Q: Will Corrective Actions be in Workday and not on paper?

A: Yes, they will now be documented in Workday. Please see the list of training dates HR provided to go over this workflow.

Q: Will Job Descriptions be on the same site?

A: No, we will be using an app called JDXpert that integrates with Workday. The Job Descriptions are the same, but will be in a new location.

Q: Will I still be able to access reports in Workday as I did in Lawson?

A: Yes. If you frequently manage/run reports you may want to sign up for the Workday Reporting course here https://cookchildrens.certpointsystems.com/lms/basicportal/cookchildrens/en-US/learner/courses/814552cc-80b9-463d-bc1d-2636d11b5751 in ULearn.

Q: Will annual reviews be done in Workday?

A: Yes, starting FY24 the review process will begin to transition into Workday. Be watching for more training as we get closer to launching that process.

Employees can expect a different look to open enrollment this year because Cook Children’s will be utilizing the new Workday platform for the process.

The period for open enrollment – when you’re able to make updates to your elections for health savings accounts and other benefits – always occurs in August. Cook Children’s has used a third-party vendor for this annual process in the past. But we’re moving to Workday as our tool for electing 2023-2024 benefits, which will start Oct. 1.  

Open enrollment is one example of the changes coming to Cook Children’s after Workday goes into effect July 1, replacing Lawson and other platforms. Workday will also change the way we view our paychecks, submit expense reports and much more. Human Resources (HR), Finance and Supply Chain areas will be especially impacted by the new business processes.

Beth Schmidt, Vice President HR, encourages all employees to take advantage of the training courses available on ULearn. “Workday is going to be a significant change for every single employee in this organization. Everybody gets a paycheck, so everybody's going to have to interact with Workday,” she said.

For perspective, here’s some history … More than five years ago, leaders at Cook Children’s began talking about switching to a new performance management system. Their discussion widened to include the possibility of an entire HR software suite that could encompass Supply Chain and Finance too. Cook Children’s needed to either install a major upgrade of Lawson or go a different route. Workday won out.

“Workday is a much more intuitive system. It's logical. It's built like people work and think,” Beth said. “And that's one of the things that was attractive about Workday is that it feels much more user-friendly, much more interactive.”

Some current processes are clunky (as Beth puts it) because they’re done manually. The quarterly turnover report, for instance, takes a week or longer to assemble. Beth says her team in HR will be able to create the same report at the touch of a button in Workday. Managers can go to the Workday dashboard to directly access information they need for job transfers or promotions.

“Rather than asking HR or IT to do something, our managers are going to be able to do much more reporting on their own rather than waiting for HR or IT to run a report for them,” Beth pointed out.

Workday is designed for storing and accessing data in a more management-driven model, she said. Another advantage? Cloud storage means that information on Workday is always up to date.

Preparations to get Workday up and running have been underway in her department for about two years now. While all the various aspects might not initially be perfect, Beth said, the implementation team will make any tweaks necessary. “We’re going to make it right.”

In her 29-year career at Cook Children’s, Beth has always seen major decisions made with employees in mind. Leaders showed that same sensitivity in picking Workday; they consider it the best platform for Cook Children’s and our workforce, she said. “Always in the forefront of our thinking is how is this going to impact our staff? We never want to do anything we don't think is ultimately in their long-term best interest.”

Listening Skills and Problem Solving

Beth, who started at Cook Children’s in 1994, recounted that she interviewed for Employee Relations manager shortly after passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act. “I was one of the few candidates who could answer questions about the new law,” she said. “I think I got the job just because I read a lot.”

The area of Employee Relations appealed to Beth because it involves resolving issues usually between the organization and one or more people. Beth said she enjoys trying to come to some sort of resolution acceptable to all the parties.

Over the years she worked her way to assistant vice president overseeing about 75 employees in Compensation, Human Resource Information System, Benefits, Talent Acquisition, Employee Relations, Occupational Health and Employee Wellbeing.  In October 2022 she began her current role as vice president.  

She’s a good fit for HR because she asks lots of questions. And she’s a good listener. “Sometimes you have to make a decision based on the information you have,” she said. “I tend to like the ‘why’ and the story, which I think is important to understand and make as good a decision as we possibly can make.”

More about Beth Schmidt

During her teen years in Amarillo, Beth’s first health care experience was when she volunteered as a candy striper assigned to the hospital gift shop. Give her the administrative side of things.  She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Texas Tech University and her Master of Business Administration from West Texas A&M. She likes to read novels, travel and meet new people. She’s a wife, the mother of two adult daughters and grandmother to a 4-year-old grandson and a granddaughter to be born in October.

The Human Resources (HR) department at Cook Children’s will be able to make more strategic workforce decisions thanks to the robust data capabilities that Workday offers.

Merridth Simpson, AVP, Human Resources Operations, says Workday delivers tools that can sort and report data in sophisticated ways to help Cook Children’s attract, develop and retain top talent in an ever-changing job market.   

“When I think about our current landscape as far as attracting talent, what I know is that we’re going to continue to battle for talent in ways we’ve never seen before,” Merridth said. “Workday helps surface the data-driven insights we’ll need to recruit and retain a highly diverse and engaged workforce. Add to that our need to adapt business processes quickly as we continue to grow, and it makes a platform like Workday a real necessity.”

The Workday platform is replacing Lawson at Cook Children’s starting July 1. Every employee should expect a new look to paychecks, a simpler procedure for submitting expense reports, and the convenience of a mobile app. Our switch to Workday will particularly impact the operations in HR, Finance and Supply Chain.

Merridth describes Workday as an intuitive and easy transition for those who are already accustomed to using other apps on their phones. “A lot of our employees have grown up with Amazon, Facebook, Netflix and other on-demand services. There’s no reason why the tools we use at work can’t provide the same level of quality and service that we’ve grown accustomed to at home.”  

Before coming to Cook Children’s in February 2023, Merridth worked in a similar role at Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas during the launch of Workday at Methodist Health System. She has seen implementation firsthand. What features of Workday stand out to her?

• The mobile app, downloaded to a phone and available 24/7. The app is especially helpful for employees who don’t sit at a computer. Managers too, can complete important tasks anywhere, anytime using the app.
• Data analytics. The ability to report on hundreds of different data points, using real-time information.
•  It’s cloud-based, which means it’s highly flexible and we won’t outgrow it.

Because of her involvement with the move to Workday at Methodist, Merridth arrived with tips and experience to help prepare for our changeover. She frequently asks “Did you check for this?” type questions. Merridth gives assurance that Cook Children’s is in good shape as the July 1 finish line approaches. She points out it’s been a huge effort by the HR, Finance and Supply Chain teams.  

“I try to encourage everybody that there's light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “I know what you're going through. It’s a heavy lift but we need innovative technologies in all aspects of our operations, including finance and HR systems, and I think we have a lot to look forward to with Workday.”

Reputation, Values and Welcome

A long list of factors drew Merridth to Cook Children’s. Our Pinky Promise: Everything for the Child. Our values -- kindness, collaboration, imagination, generosity, respect and safety. Our reputation for excellence in health care. She feels welcomed by her new co-workers.

She emphatically makes the case that each of the roughly 9,400 employees across our system contributes to patient care, even though not all are hands-on clinical caregivers.  “I love that we talk about connecting the dots. Our job as leaders is to make sure that our staff know at any given time how they're touching the patient, based on their role.”

Merridth enjoyed visiting the cookouts at various Cook Children’s locations during Employee Appreciation Month in May. She finds people fascinating. “Everyone has a story. And if I don’t know you, then I'm curious what your story is.”

Her approach to HR, she explains, is like solving a puzzle. The various skills and abilities of each employee – the puzzle pieces, in other words – sometimes need to be moved around before they fit together in ways that best support our Promise.      

“I'm always trying to figure out how to leverage the best of what everybody brings to the table, and creating inclusive environments where people feel valued for who they are so they can contribute at their maximum potential.”

More about Merridth Simpson

A North Carolina native, Merridth has lived in Texas since 1991. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Relations and Business along with several HR certifications. She is the youngest of 10 children and her hobbies include traveling with her husband (they will celebrate 30 years of marriage this year), visits with their three adult children, and outdoor sports (especially running, swimming and snowmobiling).  

As we phase out Lawson and prepare to launch Workday in July, we must halt certain activities temporarily so that we can get the data transitioned from one system to the other. The dates for which each activity is halted is called a Freeze Date.  It is important that you familiarize yourself with these dates so that you can plan accordingly for your upcoming activities.

We have done our best to keep these freeze periods as short as possible, and we appreciate your support and patience with this effort.  Should you have an urgent business need during a freeze period, please have your Vice President reach out to the Workday leadership team: Beth Schmidt, LaKami Bryant, John Kott, and Myranda Miller. 

For most items, you can still submit requests during this timeframe, but we cannot record the changes until we are live in Workday.

First, starting June 5, employees will no longer be able to make self-service changes to their information in Lawson. You can still view your information in Lawson, even after Workday goes live. But if the need arises for urgent changes involving W4s or direct deposits between June 5-30, the link to the forms can be located on the CookNet Payroll Department home page.  Please complete the form and either scan to the CPayroll mailbox or fax to 682-885-1313.   For any questions, you should contact Cook Children’s Payroll.

Second, a freeze in changes to benefits will be in place June 10-30. For current employees, there will be no impact unless you have a Qualifying Life Event (for example: changes to household such as marriage, birth of a child or death in the family) that makes you eligible for a special enrollment period outside of annual open enrollment.

Per federal regulation, benefit elections may not be changed until the next plan year’s open enrollment, except for instances of a Qualifying Life Event. A full list of exceptions can be found in the Benefits Guide, but the more common changes are mentioned above.

If you have a qualifying event during the blackout period, contact Cook Children’s Benefits for assistance. For new hires, the last day for enrollment in Empyrean is June 9.

Every employee at Cook Children’s will see some changes in July when Workday replaces Lawson. The biggest changes impact the roles of Finance, Human Resources and Supply Chain. 

Workday will be a big change for all of the financial teams including Payroll, Accounts Payable, Grants, and the various Finance teams.  While change is always hard, we believe Workday will improve processes and efficiency, and put better and more timely data in the hands of the business.

The switch to Workday at Cook Children’s this summer brings an end to the paper trail of interoffice mail and original receipts for submitting expense reports.  You’ll be able to use your phone to take a picture of receipts and upload those directly into Workday. Workday reads the receipts and fills in as many fields as possible.

“Completing the expense report will be easy,” said Myranda Miller, Corporate Controller, Finance Vice President. “Once you submit, it will automatically route for the required approvals, and you will be able to see the status all the way through the process.” 

The mobile app will also enable leaders to approve invoices, and expense reports, and do many other tasks from anywhere with their smartphones.  

One key difference for leaders: You should know that an invoice will stay in holding indefinitely until it is approved or denied. Workday won’t escalate to the next approver after four days, like the current system. For that reason, it will be critical to set up a delegate when you are away from the office for an extended period.

Myranda said her department started preparing in 2020 for the transition to a new enterprise resource planning system.  Workday was selected as our partner of choice, and the full-scale implementation kicked off in January 2022. “We basically had to dissect all of our business processes and data; and then rebuild them in a new system, trying to adopt the new system’s methodology as much as possible, which changed the way we do some things,” she said.

 The staff in Finance will still handle the same functions as before. Workday will make their tasks more integrated and the data easier to retrieve. Another advantage? Workday continually updates its tools. New hires will find Workday intuitive and user-friendly, Myranda predicted.

“Right now it’s a pretty big learning curve for anybody who gets hired on in Finance and doesn’t already know Lawson,” she said. “In Workday it will be easier for people to get up to speed.”

Myranda came to Cook Children’s right out of Texas Christian University and has worked here twice for nine years in total. She oversees System Finance (Accounting), Accounts Payable, Payroll, Tax, and Treasury. She approaches the job in a spirit of servant leadership and collaboration with her colleagues.

“The fabulous mission and responsible leadership make Cook Children’s an ideal place to work.  The explosive growth and dynamic environment are exciting and keep me learning and growing.”

She anticipates Workday making many processes simpler and more efficient in the long run. “Change is always hard at first, and every system has its limitations; but I truly believe that on the whole, Workday is easier to use, has a lower learning curve, and will provide the business with better data.”

More about Myranda Miller

Myranda grew up in Fort Worth and earned her Master’s of Accountancy degree from TCU. She describes the traits that make a good fit for Finance: Servant spirit, logic, organization and attention to detail. When she’s not at the office, Myranda enjoys yoga, volleyball, concerts, and camping with her husband and two children.  Go Frogs!

The Supply Chain team at Cook Children’s keeps our facilities stocked with huge numbers of products -- from alcohol prep pads (2 million plus) to stethoscopes (more than 30,000) each year. 

Ordering, receiving and paying for all those products will soon be channeled through Workday, which is replacing Lawson in July.  Workday will impact every employee at Cook Children’s to some degree. But for those who work in Supply Chain, the implementation of Workday will vastly change the daily operations. 

John Kott, AVP Supply Chain, predicts Workday will make it easier for clinicians to put in requisitions for the supplies they need. Another benefit? Workday provides more ability for Supply Chain to anticipate snags that could disrupt a product’s flow from the vendors to delivery at Cook Children’s warehouses.

“You don't want to discover that you're out of a product when you're completely out of a product,” John said. “It's inevitable, especially in these current conditions, you're going to run out of things. But you want to know as far upstream as possible to mitigate, if possible. The sooner you can identify what's likely to become a problem, the more time there is to plan and react.”

Mitigation might mean come up with a new plan, another approach, or a substitution if a certain product isn’t available. It takes problem solving, flexibility and creativity.

At Cook Children’s, a staff of about 60 employees works in the department, which serves the medical centers in Fort Worth and Prosper as well as many of our clinics. Pharmaceuticals don’t fall under the responsibility of Supply Chain in our system.

John explained that the supply chain in health care settings puts products in the hands of the people who directly interact with patients. Bandages, sutures, disposable underpads …. the list stretches on. “It’s an important component,” he said. “If we don't have the right product that the caregiver needs to have at that moment in time in the right place, then it's going to interrupt that patient experience.” 

When a department at Cook Children’s places a requisition, the Supply Chain team processes the order and receives it in Fort Worth or Prosper. Employees verify it’s the correct item and the correct amount. “If we ordered two cases of a product, they check it and make sure we really got two cases,” John said.

The COVID-19 global pandemic interrupted the supply chain of many medical and non-medical products. Other interrupting factors can include trade sanctions, transportation labor shortages, and natural disasters. John remembers the difficulty for hospitals trying to obtain IV solutions after a hurricane a few years ago.

His department keeps an updated spreadsheet of items that appear to be on the cusp of scarcity. The list constantly changes. It currently includes 8-ounce baby bottles, saline irrigation solution, trach tubes and about 100 other items of concern. “It gives us predictive analytics on what we think we're going to have an issue with in the coming days so we can do something about it sooner,” John said.

Employees in the Supply Chain department are always working to improve operations so our clinicians can be confident the supplies they need will be on hand. They want to minimize any administrative burden. They strategize to eliminate waste and they work to achieve cost savings that can be reinvested for patient care.

Workday Benefits for Supply Chain

For more than a year, the staff has been juggling their usual responsibilities while gearing up for the switch to Workday. Products will be ordered and received – and invoices paid – through the new platform. John says employees are excited about a more modern and integrated system than the version of Lawson we’ve used for many years.  

He knows that change of this magnitude will come with some challenges. Yet there’s a recognition that the end result will be positive once any initial bugs are fixed after the July launch. Further improvements will happen in the optimization phase. 

John expressed gratitude to everyone involved in the Workday transition. Along with Supply Chain, the Human Resources and Finance areas at Cook Children’s will also see big changes. He wants his colleagues to know that Workday will improve the efficiency and ease of obtaining the necessary bandages, stethoscopes etc.

“We take caring for kids very seriously. Again, we don't provide direct patient care. But we do put the products in the hands of those that heal, and we don't take that lightly. Everything we do is about placing children first and putting the right processes and people in place to do our best for the children.”

More about John Kott

He has a Bachelor’s in Finance, a Nursing Facility Administration license and a Master’s in Health Services Management. He came to Cook Children’s in 2022 from Norman Regional Health System in Norman, Okla., where he was the director of Supply Chain Management since 2015. The Mexia, Texas, native was attracted to the reputation for excellence at Cook Children’s and the opportunity to move back to his home state.

He enjoys hanging out with his wife and their two daughters. His hobbies include travel, exercise, and talking about sports.

Every employee will be impacted when Cook Children’s implements the Workday platform this July. Workday will change the way we view our paychecks, create expense reports, access tax documents and much more.

Communication and training are key to the successful launch of Workday just two months from now. In your department meetings. Managers are asked to encourage their staff to register for employee self-service training on ULearn. Remember the cutover or freeze dates listed above. Point out that Lawson is going away but we will continue to clock in and out, submit PTO, approve timecards and manage schedules in Kronos.

Again, the transition to Workday will impact everyone at Cook Children’s – although employees in Finance, Supply Chain and Human Resources will see the most change in their business processes. Thank you for your help keeping Workday updates a continuing conversation in your department.  

The switch from Lawson to Workday will impact all employees which is why we encourage everybody to  sign up for training. Registration is open for two Workday courses in ULearn – don’t forget to sign up!

• Employee Self-Service (ESS) – one hour. All staff will need this course and for most employees, this is the only training needed. This course will teach you how to use the Workday dashboard, review pay and benefits, change emergency contacts, etc. Classes began May 8. Multiple dates are available and you can choose a morning or afternoon session to best accommodate your schedule. 
• Manager Self-Service (MSS) -- two hours. This course is for any employee with direct reports and any employees who will submit and/or approve Supply or Employee requisitions (including personnel actions). This course will teache you how to view employee information, approve requests, delegate tasks, and other processes. Classes begin May 16. Multiple dates are available so please choose a morning or afternoon session to accommodate your schedule. Note: The content of the MSS course differs from the ESS course, which means that supervisors, managers and other leaders need to take both.

The steps for creating expense reports are part of the Employee Self-Service training available on ULearn. The training is designed to help our employees get ready for Cook Children’s transition to the Workday platform this summer. In addition to the online courses, resources called Job Aides will help explain what you need to know when Workday goes live in July.

Here’s the scoop on expense reports. The Workday mobile app allows employees to enter various types of expense reports, such as

• Travel and reimbursable business expenses
• Corporate card / “P-card” expenses
• Spend authorizations and travel advances

“We couldn’t be more excited to offer you a much-needed systematic expense reporting tool,” said Myranda Miller, CPA, Vice President, Corporate Controller, Finance. “You will be able to snap images of receipts on the go, and Workday will read them with OCR (optical character recognition) and pre-populate as many fields on your expense report as it can read! Once you submit your expense report, it will automatically route for the appropriate approvals within Workday, AND you will be able to see the progress along the way!”

Remember, this exciting launch is just a few months out. Here are a few frequently asked questions:

What’s changing? The way you view your paycheck, update your information, change your benefit elections, view tax documents, refer a candidate for a job opening in the system, and much more.  

Is Lawson going away? Yes. But you will continue to clock in and out, submit PTO, approve timecards, and manage schedules in Kronos.

What about training? See the Workday schedule on ULearn to register for Employee Self-Service and Manager Self-Service courses. Morning and afternoon options are available on dates through May and June.

To learn more, check out these resources:

Workday Registration Opens for Online Training Courses (cookchildrensconnect.com)

Get Convenient Access with Workday Mobile App (cookchildrensconnect.com)

The Workday software platform is coming to Cook Children’s in July, replacing Lawson. The biggest changes involve our processes for Finance, Supply Chain and Human Resources. Think of it this way: Whatever you currently do in Lawson, you’ll do in Workday a few months from now.

Tell me more about MSS. It’s short for Manager Self-Service. A manager in Workday is anyone who supervises one or more direct reports. The MSS capabilities include these functions:

• My Team – a dashboard linking you to the most common actions and views related to your team
• Hiring – view open requisitions and go to links such as Create Position and Close Position  
• Compensation – see your team’s pay information
• Onboarding – provides information to all new hires and internal employees transferring into new positions

Actions that managers can take in Workday include approve, send back, save for later, delegate, submit, cancel and deny. In the recruiting process, managers can use Workday to create a requisition, schedule an interview with a candidate, request an offer, and set up onboarding. Tools in Workday also enable managers to view expenses on a dashboard and to make job changes such as promotions or transfers. 

“Our hiring managers will enjoy the convenience of having all their recruiting, finance, supply chain, etc. in one location,” said Suzanne Seider, director of Talent Acquisition at Cook Children’s.  “Currently, a manager who is recruiting a new person has work in both Position Manager and Lawson, and it can be confusing to know where to find some things.  Workday will give them a one-stop shop for all their recruiting needs!”

Manager Self-Service is distinct from Employee Self-Service (ESS), which impacts everyone and is highlighted in Manage Your Data with Workday’s Employee Self-Service (cookchildrensconnect.com).

Ongoing stories in the Connect Newsletter will help you know what to expect and how to prepare for this exciting launch. Here are a few other frequently asked questions:

Is Kronos going away? No. You will continue to clock in and out, submit PTO, approve timecards and manage schedules in Kronos.

How can we sign up for training? A schedule of online and in-person sessions is posted on ULearn. Training will be offered throughout May and June. The type of training you’ll need depends on your role.

To learn more, check out these resources:

Workday Registration Opens for Online Training Courses (cookchildrensconnect.com)

Get Convenient Access with Workday Mobile App (cookchildrensconnect.com)

Remember, the Workday platform is launching at Cook Children’s a few months from now, replacing Lawson. Every employee will be affected by the changeover. Benefits, purchase orders, inventory tracking, recruitment, job postings and much more will look different beginning in July. 

As with any new system, there will be a learning curve. That’s why it is important to go through the training. Registration is open for two types of virtual training. Click the course titles to open ULearn and view course dates:

• Employee Self-Service (ESS) – one hour. All staff will need this course and for most employees, this is the only training needed. This course teaches how to use the Workday dashboard, review pay and benefits, change emergency contacts, etc. Classes begin May 8. Multiple dates are available; choose a morning or afternoon session to accommodate your schedule. 
• Manager Self-Service (MSS) -- two hours. This course is for any staff with direct reports and any staff who will submit and/or approve Supply or Employee requisitions (including personnel actions). This course teaches how to view employee information, approve requests, delegate tasks, and other processes. Classes begin May 16. Multiple dates are available; choose a morning or afternoon session to accommodate your schedule. Note: The content of the MSS course differs from the ESS course, which means that managers need to take both.

The curriculum will vary according to each employee’s role and responsibilities. Instructor-led classes, computer-based training and virtual webinars will be provided for those who require specific training in Finance, Human Resources, and Supply Chain.

Cook Children’s is making other resources available too to help ensure a smooth transition to Workday. Look for step-by-step tip sheets coming soon and informative videos, like this one about the mobile app.

For a look back at our previous Workday communications, check out this archive of articles:

Coming Soon: New System for Accessing Employee Information (cookchildrensconnect.com)

Make Plans to Attend Workday Training (cookchildrensconnect.com)

Get Convenient Access with Workday Mobile App (cookchildrensconnect.com)

Manage Your Data with Workday’s Employee Self-Service (cookchildrensconnect.com)

The Workday app will give you instant access to:

• manage your personal information
• view your pay stub
• submit expense reports
• get notification reminders
• and more …

The app also provides extra features for managers. Manager-level features include adjusting employee roles, approving expense reports, managing payroll changes and browsing interactive reports and dashboards.  

Our transition to Workday will affect every employee at Cook Children’s beginning in July. Looking ahead, we want to tell you about important milestones to expect. We’ll encourage you to sign up for training. And we’ll answer your questions.  

Here are a few Q&As:

Remind me … What is Workday? Workday is a cloud-based software that specializes in functions for Finance, Supply Chain and Human Resources. Benefits, purchase orders, inventory tracking, expense reporting, recruitment and job postings all will look different.  Whatever you do now in Lawson, you’ll be doing on Workday.

What’s not changing? Workday will NOT replace Kronos or Strata. You will continue to clock in and out, submit PTO, approve timecards, and manage schedules in Kronos. Strata will continue to be the system in which we do our budgeting and department-level financial reporting, variance analysis, etc.

Tell me more about the mobile app! Workday Mobile app is available to all employees on any type of mobile device. It’s designed with the same look, feel and security model as the rest of Workday. Note: Not all Workday processes are available on the mobile app.

You can download it from your phone’s app store or with a QR code coming soon.

To help you get familiar with Workday, various opportunities for training will be offered throughout May and June. Look for a training schedule posted April 10 on ULearn.  

We have exciting news for you! Workday is headed to Cook Children’s! As Cook Children’s identifies more ways to elevate our Team Experience, we needed an integrated system with features and functionality to help take us to the next level.

You may ask, “What is Workday?”

Workday is a cloud-based application that will serve as an integrated system that will transform and manage Cook Children’s Human Resources, Finance and Supply Chain business processes.

You may wonder, “What does this mean for me?”

Complete with a clean, clutter-free design developed with you in mind, Workday will change how you access your employee information at Cook Children’s. It’s fully mobile, which means you can take care of important Cook Children’s matters anywhere from a device with an internet connection. The system will be accessible from your cell phone’s internet browser, or a Workday application that is available for Apple and Android devices.

In addition, you will be able to quickly and easily personalize your home screen as you would your smartphone. When you visit the Workday home screen, which you’ll conveniently access from the homepage of CookNet, you will be able to quickly access your personal work information and complete multiple tasks with a few clicks. Things such as:

• Compensation and Benefits Details
  • Requests for time off (PTO)
  • Pay
• Annual performance review system (today known as PACE)
• Absences
• Expenses
• Purchases
• Team directory
• Favorites
• And more

“I think our employees are going to love Workday because it will feel so familiar to them because of apps they are already using away from work,” said Keith Holtz, Chief Administrative Officer for Cook Children’s. “Workday makes it easy to change your personnel information, check your benefits, request time off, generate department reports and so much more. It looks and feels like most of your favorite websites. You can create the homepage to fit your needs.”

How big is this project?

Think of it this way: We are bringing together all of the components we currently manage in Lawson and several other systems into one universal integrated system. Workday is expected to truly impact the Team Experience in a big way.

During the initial stage of the 15-month project, many of our HR, Finance, IT/IS and Supply Chain team members are participating in numerous design and planning sessions. These vital sessions may last hours and take place over several days each week during the coming months. 

“This is a major undertaking like we have not seen at Cook Children’s since the EPIC project,” said Theresa Meadows, senior vice president and CIO at Cook Children’s. “We will have many departments involved with this project. These departments will collaborate to create this very important system that will impact us all.  This will allow us to modernize the Team Experience from the current tools we use today for Talent Management, Finance, and Supply Chain.