Workday Translations less haste work SMART!

Not so long ago, companies looking to roll out their HR and/or Finance systems in new languages faced complicated and drawn-out projects to do so driven by a number of frustrating and seemingly irrelevant technical prerequisites (particularly where the languages required the introduction of a new character set not supported by the database). What on the face of it would seem like a simple, relatively inexpensive and, dare we say, quick win could often turn out to be a technically complex, lengthy and ultimately costly project involving hardware, operating system and/or database upgrades. The advent of cloud-based HR and Finance systems like Workday has of course changed this by removing these technical constraints from the end user. It means that language need not be the barrier that it once was (from a technical stand point at least) allowing the deployment of enterprise HR and Finance systems in local languages far more quickly and cost effectively. The pace at which it is now possible to implement changes of this kind is very welcome, but there remain of course some potential pitfalls. In this blog, we consider five steps that should help avoid some of these and ensure that the language element of your Workday deployment is a success.

Step 1 Define a language strategy

Whether you are implementing from scratch or are looking to roll out an existing Workday deployment to a new group of users with a particular set of language requirements, defining a strategy or approach is a good place to start. Your strategy can be as short or as long as you feel is necessary but it should set out to answer the usual who, what, where, why, when and how questions. Also make sure your key project and required local stakeholders sign up to it this will help ensure that there are no surprises at go-live.

Step 2 Make a plan

It is obvious I know, but it is really important if you want things to run smoothly. Consider when it makes sense to get content translated in the context of the system build and test cycles for your project (configuration in the base language should be locked down or, at the very least, in a mature state). Think also about the potential difficulties that might arise from loading translated content into Workday tenants that the untranslated content didn 't come from and try to keep tenant moves in general to a minimum. Consider provision in the plan for translated content to be reviewed both before and after it is loaded into the system. Also make provision for any language/translation related issues arising from the project 's validation/test cycles to be resolved and re-tested.

Step 3 Assess Workday 's language support/coverage

Look at the target languages in the context of the system. Also, look for potential gaps in Workday 's support for each language in the context of the target solution and assess the options available for addressing them. After all, how can you implement a system in Slovak (for example) if Workday doesn 't yet support the language?!

Step 4 Research the services provided by translation vendors

It may not always be necessary to use the services of a translation vendor but, when it is, look for a vendor that doesn 't charge for the translation of duplicate phrases or passages of text or for the re-translation of the same phrases or passages across multiple cycles of translation. Look also for a vendor that can accommodate the inclusion and preservation of corrections arising from the implementation 's validation/testing activities. To help manage large volumes of translations and, in particular, help identify the language that an item of configuration should be translated into, consider adding a reference to the country or language requirement to the translatable object 's Description or Reference ID.

Step 5 Test test test!

Translations/languages can be a challenge to test for obvious reasons, so bake this into your testing strategy from the outset. Identify testers in your target user groups with the required language skills. Consider de-coupling the validation of non-tenanted (Workday delivered) translations from tenanted (customer defined/translation vendor delivered) translations as this will also make it easier to identify the source of any potential issues. Consider spreadsheet-based validation of translation vendor delivered translations. This can be tricky to do but can help yield better results when you come to test the translations in the system itself.