In this edition of Interviewing the Experts, Focus on WD Managing Director, Joel Kirkland, is joined by two highly experienced professionals from within the Workday ecosystem.
Darryl Bannan, a qualified Accountant with a strong background in Oracle and Hyperion, joined Workday via Kainos in 2018, and has since delivered over a dozen Financials projects, mostly through the Workday Launch model.
Fergus Gallagher brings over two decades of experience working with HCM systems, from his PeopleSoft days through to Workday implementations since 2012, most recently collaborating with Darryl on a full platform project.
They discuss the key differences when implementing both HCM and Financials, how to approach a full platform deployment, and what happens post-go-live.
Joel: You’ve both recently worked together on a full platform implementation. Are there any specific challenges or differences when implementing both HCM and Financials together?
Darryl: From a finance perspective, the key challenge lies in designing the Foundation Data Model (FDM). When you're implementing the full platform, you need to engage HR much earlier to ensure their structural requirements—such as cost centres and organisations—are fully considered. On finance-only projects, we typically have the freedom to design FDM purely around finance needs, but that’s not the case on full platform.
Fergus: You do end up relinquishing some of your design autonomy as HCM—particularly around cost centres and locations, which finance would typically own in a full platform project. But working with Darryl made this seamless. We knew the shared touchpoints and collaborated closely to deliver the right solution.
These data models are really intrinsic to the success of a Workday implementation. Clean, strong structures support high-quality reporting, and that’s one of the biggest assets Workday offers.
Darryl: Having the HR structure in place also makes approval processes much easier on the finance side—things like expense approvals and requisitions benefit from having the supervisory org built in. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, and the approval chains are much stronger.
Fergus: And it transforms the relationship between HR and finance. Historically, they’ve often clashed over things like headcount. When you’re both working from the same data, in the same system, those conversations become far more collaborative.
Joel: Let’s talk Workday Launch specifically—how should organisations approach a full platform Launch project?
Darryl: The main thing is understanding what’s realistic. You’re going live in as little as 26 weeks, which means you need to shift mindset. You won’t get everything on day one, and that’s okay. It’s more important to get live with the essentials than to spend 18 months in design and test.
Good is good enough. Going live is just the start of your Workday journey, not the finish line.
Fergus: Completely agree. You’re aiming to get to a stable, secure go-live state. That means focusing on clean, accurate data and prioritising payroll and security. Not everything needs to come across straight away—just the right things to get you live safely.
Darryl: It’s also really important to engage Workday experts early. When you’re reading your Statement of Work (SOW), it might list four business processes—but that might not mean much to someone new to Workday. An experienced consultant can translate that into real-world functionality and help manage expectations.
Fergus: And they act as the middleman between the business and the SI. That’s invaluable when you’re working at speed. Even the terminology—like ‘supervisory organisation’—doesn’t always resonate, so you need someone who can explain it in language the business understands.
Having someone who speaks both languages—Workday and business—makes the whole process smoother and much less stressful.
Joel: Why do you think customers are choosing Launch over Your Way?
Darryl: Speed is the big one. You get live quicker and start seeing return on investment sooner. Long projects are at risk of scope creep, team turnover and changing requirements. With Launch, you cut through all of that and start building value from day one.
Fergus: It also reduces fatigue. With Your Way, teams can burn out before go-live even arrives. Launch is a more focused, more energised process. And once Workday is in place, it can become part of the organisation’s long-term future model.
Joel: Once a client is live, what comes next?
Darryl: It’s all about stabilisation and optimisation. The first four to six weeks are focused on bedding the system in and dealing with early issues. Once that’s done, you look at your roadmap and start enhancing your Workday platform.
You’ve moved into your Workday house—now it’s time to put the furniture where you want it and build the extension.
Fergus: That’s when you start streamlining processes, improving user experience, and getting feedback from the business. Sometimes, you make design decisions based on legacy systems—Workday gives you the chance to reassess those and make improvements.
Darryl: Reporting is a huge opportunity post-go-live. Once users are confident, they’ll start asking more of the system. And if you’ve got the right support in place, you can start making those changes quickly.
Joel: Final thoughts—what advice would you give to any organisation about to embark on a full platform Launch?
Fergus: Know what you're aiming for, and keep it realistic. Focus on clean data and strong processes. Then work with the business to enhance and optimise once you’re live.
Darryl: Bring in experienced Workday professionals early—people who can guide you, challenge assumptions, and help you interpret what's in your SOW. It’ll save you time, money, and a lot of stress in the long run.
Implementing Workday? Need to bring in an experienced Workday professional? Focus on WD are 100% dedicated to the Workday ecosystem, and we know the market inside out. Our established network of Workday pros could be at your fingertips. Get in touch today to start a conversation about how we can partner with you to ensure your Workday implementation is a success.
Prefer to watch instead of read? Check out the video of this episode here.
