The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario’s transformative Workday journey with Smart Test
The goals
The results
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“Smart Test helps us catch unintended changes and flag security domain differences that our process may have overlooked. This proactive approach enhances our security measures and ensures compliance with audit requirements.”
About IMCO
Founded in 2017, The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) manages $77.4 billion of assets, exclusively dedicated to delivering comprehensive and value-added investment management and advisory services to public-sector clients within Ontario.
Transforming HR operations with Workday
IMCO embarked on a transformative journey by implementing Workday in January 2019. The decision to adopt the platform was driven by the organisation's vision to embrace a scalable solution that could seamessly accommodate future growth. Liliya Ovcharova, Product Manager of HR Solutions at IMCO, sheds light on the company’s rationale for selecting Workday.
Liliya explains, “We wanted to be set up for future growth in the cloud, so a native cloud application was crucial. We were planning on utilising finance, HR and planning functionality together, and having them integrated into one platform was a significant selling point for us.”
She underscores the importance of transitioning from manual processes, stating, “We basically were running off spreadsheets and had to use one of the founder companies’ payroll systems. Converting to Workday seems to have been the right choice given that we’ve grown dramatically since we implemented it."
IMCO’s transition to Workday positioned the business well for unforeseen challenges, as Liliya reflects, “We were set up perfectly for the pandemic. We didn’t feel a glitch switching over to remote work.” Initially implementing core modules such as HCM, Compensation, Recruiting, Absence Management and Financials, IMCO subsequently added Advanced Compensation, Talent and Performance, and Learning. "We have grown our platform functionality further over the last few years to take full advantage of Workday’s offerings," adds Liliya.
Kainos as a Workday testing partner was a strategic decision
IMCO’s journey with Workday involved a meticulous approach to implementation, enhancement, and maintenance, with a keen focus on efficiency and resource optimisation. Manual testing was deemed impractical due to its time-intensive, disruptive nature. Liliya emphasises, “Testing manually is time-consuming. Doing it once helps you understand the platform well, but doing it repeatedly can become burdensome; it can be perceived as a hindrance by both the business and the tech teams.”
To streamline its testing processes, IMCO recognised the need for automation and invested in Kainos Smart Test, Workday’s preferred testing solution, in 2019. Liliya explains, “We implemented Workday within six months. Subsequently, we started working on increasing our penetration into the system functionality and implementing Kainos Smart Test, along with an Absence module later on. Initially, our primary focus was on testing HCM and Recruiting.”
IMCO’s stringent auditing requirements also played a pivotal role in their decision to leverage automation for Workday testing. “We are heavily audited by both internal and external audits, so using Kainos Smart Test as an automated test partner was a strategic move for us.”
Benefits of Smart Test
The benefits of Smart Test, a Built on Workday solution, go beyond time savings by offering valuable insights into system changes and security vulnerabilities. Liliya adds, “Smart Test helps us catch unintended changes and flag security domain differences that our process may have overlooked. This proactive approach enhances our security measures and ensures compliance with audit requirements.”
In IMCO's highy regulated sector, compliance and adherence to industry standards are paramount. Liliya emphasises, “Workday is heavily audited and Smart Test plays a pivotal role in ensuring that we meet regulatory requirements and maintain data integrity.”
Furthermore, Smart Test enables IMCO to stay ahead of the curve by adopting leading-edge functionality and continuously improving HR operations. Liliya elaborates, “Workday encourages us to adopt innovative features and functionalities. With Smart Test, we can efficiently test and implement these changes, keeping our systems up-to-date and aligned with industry best practices.”
A solid return on investment
Implementing Smart Test has proven to be a wise investment for IMCO, yielding significant returns in terms of both time and efficiency. Liliya notes, “Smart Test has a good return on investment. The coverage is extensive, we couldn’t find any other competitive product that could match the depth of functionality offered by Smart Test, especially in areas like Advanced Compensation.”
Smart Test’s comprehensive coverage and functionality have played a crucial role in streamlining testing processes across various modules for IMCO within a short timeframe. Liliya highlights, “We heavily rely on Smart Test for testing different modules. It allows us to accomplish in a day what would take a manual team of ten a month. Its automation capabilities have significantly reduced the time and effort required for testing, allowing us to focus on other critical tasks.”
Smart Test has become an indispensable tool for IMCO, empowering the company to maximise the value of its Workday investment, enhance operational efficiency and drive continuous improvement in HR operations.