Workday Success Stories: Effort Certification sees dramatic improvement since launch
Since the launch of Workday in 2020, we’ve been keeping track of the ways our new system has changed how we work at WSU. As a testament to the hard work and perseverance of WSU staff and faculty, we are excited to launch a new series, Workday Success Stories. These stories highlight the measurable improvements made across different functional areas, university-wide.
To kick off this new series, we’re taking a look at how the Effort Certification process has evolved to improve compliance, reduce costs, increase transparency, and promote efficiency. We’ve compared pre-launch data from 2019 with recent reports on Effort Certification from FY22 to provide insight into these improvements.
Prior to the implementation of Workday, Effort Certification was a complex process that relied heavily on paper documentation and interdepartmental mail, along with burdensome data entry. Inconsistent workflows often resulted in the loss of forms, missing signatures, incorrect approvers, and missed deadlines.
Since implementing Workday, the Effort Certification process is now more transparent, efficient, and timely. Sponsored Programs Services (SPS) is able to communicate with departments and principal investigators (PIs) to ensure the correct routing of electronic certifications. Approvals can be obtained quickly, reducing manual data entry. The ability to delegate tasks and the availability of tools like the Effort Certification Work Area allows PIs and administrators to manage their tasks quickly and easily in a single, paperless system.
The chart below offers a look into how we’ve measured these improvements to Effort Certification in Workday:
| Metric | Pre-Workday Launch | 2 Years Post Go-Live | Change |
| Average Number of Days to Certify Effort Certification | Avg 139 Range 22-736 days | Avg 26 Range 0-413 days (data from FY22) | 81% decrease |
| Average Number of Unsigned Effort Certifications | 6170 | 429 as of 5/5/23 | 93% decrease |
| Paper Effort Certifications Printed (and mailed across the state of WA) FY18 | 11,255 | 0 *nearly 7000 electronic effort certifications were generated in FY22. | 100% decrease |
| Number of Effort Periods per Year | 4 | 3 | 25% decrease |
The Modernization team continues to collaborate with SPS, PIs, and grant administrators to improve the Effort Certification process in Workday. As our research portfolio continues to grow, Workday assists WSU to ensure the system maintains its state and federal compliance, including having a method to certify the appropriate charging of payroll expenses, as our research portfolio continues to grow.
Effort Certification is only one area where WSU employees using Workday have made great progress. We’ll continue to highlight different success stories across functional areas each month, leading up to the Elevating Cougs conference in October 2023.
Interested in hearing more Workday Success Stories in the future? Sign up for the Elevating Cougs newsletter, or visit the Elevating Cougs page on the Modernization website.