Workday TouchPoints: Employee Personal Information, Workday, and WSU

It’s critical that an accurate record of employees’ personal information be maintained in Workday. This data is essential to both individual employees, and WSU as an institution. In this Workday TouchPoints post, we’ll dive deeper into the types of Personal Information that is maintained in Workday, as well as how this data impacts WSU’s business operations, state and federal compliance, and strategic initiatives.

What is Personal Information?

Employee Personal Information, which is primarily maintained in Workday, captures a broad range of data, including:

  • Legal and Preferred Names
  • Address and contact information
  • Demographic information, including gender, race, and ethnicity
  • Educational and degree information
  • Veteran status
  • Disability status

An employee’s Personal Information is confidential, visible only to university staff who have the appropriate security roles and require access to this data to perform essential tasks.

How is this information used within Workday?

The Personal Information provided in Workday plays a role in a variety of processes that directly impact employees, and inaccurate or outdated Personal Information can result in errors or delays to any of the processes or services below:

  • The accurate calculation of payroll taxes
  • Benefits plan eligibility
  • Determination of region-based compensation
  • Remote work contracts

Employee’s contact information and addresses are also used to ensure important documents related to payroll or their employment are mailed to the proper address. 

When an employee is hired, their Personal Information at the time of onboarding is entered into Workday. Employees are then encouraged to regularly review and update this information as changes occur.

Why is accurate employee Personal Information important to WSU?

The accurate self-reporting of certain employee Personal Information supports compliance, research, and strategic initiatives that are key to the growth and advancement of the university. This includes:

  • Reporting and research conducted by the Office of Strategy, Planning, and Analysis (OSPA), which provides official data to university leadership for the purpose of planning and the evaluation of WSU’s progress toward its strategic initiatives and accreditation needs. For example, the reporting of highest degree and degree granting institution on a public website is required for NWCCU accreditation.
    • Learn more about the OSPA here.

Compliance and Civil Rights offers the following statement regarding the collection of employee Personal Information:

“Employees’ self-identification of their demographic information is entirely voluntary yet essential to WSU’s programs, services, and employment opportunities. WSU is a federal and state contractor, meaning we receive funds from the federal government and the State of Washington in the form of financial aid, research funds, and various other grants. Employee demographic information allows us to satisfy the requirements of the law, draw professionals who provide services that advance WSU’s core missions and engage students in world-opening discourse, fund indispensable research and innovation, and foster sincere belonging across campuses, countries, cultures, and communities. Essentially, collecting this data allows WSU, as well as state and federal agencies, to assess whether our recruitment, retention, and other employee processes are effective at ensuring equal employment opportunity.”

Taking action to ensure your Personal Information is available and accurate

WSU relies on employees to provide and maintain their Personal Information in Workday. Most Personal Information can be updated by employee self-service, with changes going into effect immediately in the system. Guidance for updating Personal Information in Workday can be found in this reference guide.

Questions about how Personal Information is used in Workday, or about how to update or add this information, can be submitted via the Workday Service Desk.

Employees with questions about how their data is used to support compliance at WSU should reach out to Compliance and Civil Rights. Questions about the use of this data for institutional research and strategic planning may be directed to the OSPA.

This post is part of the Workday TouchPoints series, which focuses on the ways Workday connects systems, information, and people across WSU.