Workday Basic Navigation

Workday User Guide for Employees: Workday Basics

Overview

This user guide will assist you with getting to know some of the basic features of Workday.

Contents

  1. Home Page
  2. Applications and Shortcuts
  3. Workday Search
  4. Notifications
  5. Workday Inbox & Archive
  6. Employee Profile
  7. Account Settings
  8. Errors and Alerts

Home Page

  1. Global Menu: Access Applications and create Shortcuts from any screen within Workday
  2. Return to Home: Click to return to the home page from any screen within Workday
  3. Toolbar: Access Notification, Workday Inbox, Worker Profile, and Account Settings
  4. Awaiting Your Action: Preview of your Workday Inbox tasks
  5. Timely Suggestions: Suggested tasks that automatically populate based on your role
  6. Recommended for You: Recommended information that automatically populates based on your role
  7. Applications: Access to tasks and reports grouped by topic (e.g., career, personal info, absence, etc.)
  8. Announcements: Important information from the School of Mines

Applications and Shortcuts

Applications are located on the main Home Page and within the Global Menu. They are also called “Worklets.” You can add and reorder the optional applications in both locations. Some Applications may be required, which means you cannot change them. You can also add Shortcuts to tasks you frequently need. Use the directions below to manage your Applications and Shortcuts.

Add Applications

  1. From the top-left of the screen, click the Menu icon.
  2. At the bottom of the menu, click Add Apps.
  3. Use the menu to locate the application.
  4. To the right of the application name, click the Add icon.

Edit Applications

  1. From the top-left of the screen, click the Menu icon.
  2. At the bottom of the menu, click Edit.
  3. To reorder Applications, click an Application then drag and drop it.
  4. To remove optional Applications, click the Remove icon .
  5. Changes save automatically. Click Back to Menu when you are done making changes.

Manage Shortcuts from the Global Menu

You can add up to 10 shortcuts, including tasks/reports within Workday and external links.

  1. From the top-left of the screen, click the Menu icon.
  2. Click the Shortcuts tab.
  3. At the bottom of the menu, click Add Shortcuts or Edit.
    • Adding Shortcuts: Use the menu to search for an item within Workday to add (e.g., time off).
    • Editing Shortcuts: To reorder shortcuts, click a title then drag and drop it. To remove shortcuts, click the Remove icon .
  4. Changes save automatically. Click Back to Menu when you are done making changes.

Workday Search

Workday makes it easy to search for people, tasks, reports, and business data using the Search field. Workday Search uses predictive test as you type and only finds exact matches. If you misspell the text, you will see no results. You can use partial search to quickly find what you are looking for. For example, if you are searching for My Emergency Contacts, you can use the search string “my em cont”.

Search results are grouped by categories. On the left sidebar, you can view Saved Categories and More Categories. Categories help you quickly view the number of results per category. You have the ability to determine the order of the categories and where they display based on information you frequently need.

Manage Search Categories

Only categories delivered by Workday are available to display. You cannot add or remove categories; however, you can change the order and location of categories. For example, which categories you would like to display in your Saved Categories and the More Category.

  1. You must be on a search results screen to edit your categories. Enter a search (e.g., “team”), then click Configure Search from the bottom-left of the screen.
  2. Move and reorder Categories using drag and drop.
  3. Click Manage Apps (the top-right of the menu).
  4. To reorder Applications, click an Application then drag and drop it.
  5. Click Save.

Notifications

Workday Notifications are located within the bell icon to the top-right of the screen. Notifications inform you of the status of processes you are part of. For example, if you have submitted a request then you receive a notification when it is approved.

You can filter notifications by using the Viewing and Sort By menus.

To mark a notification as read, click the Circle to the right of the notification title.

Workday Inbox & Archive

Your Workday Inbox includes an Actions tab and an Archive tab. Refer to the following Actions and Archive sections for more details:

Workday Inbox Actions

Your Workday Inbox includes tasks that require your timely action, such as approving requests or completing required documentation.

You can filter action items by using the Viewing and Sort By menus. To favorite a task, click the Star icon to the right of the task title.

Workday Inbox Archive

Your Workday Archive includes all business processes and tasks you have been part of. For example, when you submit a request for time off, then the request and related process history can be located in your Archive.

Tasks from the past 30 days display in the menu. To view tasks for other dates, click the More menu (drop-down arrow) and select View More Processes.

View the Status of a Process

  1. Navigate to your Workday Inbox.
  2. Click the Archive tab.
  3. Click a task from the left sidebar.
  4. Click the Process tab to review the Process History.

Employee Profile

Your Employee Profile contains all of your job information and personal details. Information is grouped into categories on the left side of the screen. When you click a category, the related
information displays on the right side of the screen. Worker profile details are visible to you and HR. Your manager can view certain details. Peers see a limited view of information based on security settings.

Worker Actions Menu

You and your superiors can take action on your record by clicking the “Actions” menu. This menu can display as an Actions icon or as an orange bar when you hover over an item. Refer to the screenshots below for examples:

Both options provide the same menu of choices. Most of the actions available through Related Actions are also available through the Search bar.

Team Organization Chart (Org Chart)

The Org Chart displays the reporting hierarchy for School of Mines. The Workday Org Chart is interactive. You can navigate by clicking the up and down arrows. Managers have an orange border on their box and Employees with no direct reports have a blue border on their box.

You can access the Org Chart multiple ways:

  • From Worker Profile: Click Team.
  • From Search: Enter Org Chart and select the report.

Account Settings

  1. Click the Worker Profile (top-right corner of the screen).
  2. Click My Account.
  3. Click Change Preferences.

School of Mines may have some required setting that you cannot change. Below is an example list of setting you may be able to change depending on your security access.

  • Display clock time zone
  • Search preference
  • Notification settings (notifications to your work email)

Note: You must log out and then back into workday for your preferences to take effect.

Errors and Alerts

Error and Alerts existing in Workday to help you enter the needed details for a process.

Errors

Error messages display in red. They identify a field or fields where information is missing, entered incorrectly, or in conflict with rules that your organization has configured. Errors prevent you from completing a task until that error is fixed. Click the message to view the Error details.

Alerts

Alerts notify you of potential conflicts on a page, but do not prevent you from completing the task. Alerts also display the location of missing or problematic information within the task or business process. Click the message to view the Alert details.

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