Workday Reporting: Drive Better Decisions with HCM and Payroll Data

Data is everywhere. The companies that win are using the data they already have to make better decisions. Data-driven organizations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, 6 times as likely to retain them, and 19 times more likely to be profitable, according to research by McKinsey. 

Companies using Workday have a built-in advantage. The platform includes comprehensive reporting capabilities — what Workday calls Core Reporting and Analytics. This isn't a separate product you need to buy. It's a core part of Workday. When you implement Workday HCM or Financial Management, you get instant access to over 5,000 prebuilt reports and 175+ dashboards. All your data updates in real time, right within your daily workflows. 

What types of reports are available in Workday? 

Workday gives you multiple reporting tools for different business needs and user skill levels. Each tool serves a specific purpose, from quick answers to deep analysis. Here's what you can use: 

• Standard reports – Workday’s pre-built reports for HR, payroll, and finance work right away and are customizable. Need a headcount report? Payroll summary? Financial statement? There's likely a standard report ready to go. 

• Custom reports – If a standard report doesn’t fit your needs, you can build your own with Workday's Report Writer. The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy. Custom reports work well for unique metrics, special compliance needs, or company-specific KPIs. 

• Dashboards and worklets – Workday includes over 175 dashboards that show your key metrics at a glance. Charts and graphs update in real time while worklets sit on your homepage, giving you one-click access to the reports you use most. 

• Discovery boards – Need to dig into data without IT’s help? Discovery boards let you explore. Just drag and drop data to create charts, spot trends, and answer questions as they come up.  

Key benefits of Workday's reporting capabilities 

Workday helps teams turn raw data into insights they can act on. These capabilities make the difference between just having data and actually using it to make better decisions: 

• Real-time data for immediate decisions – With Workday, there’s no waiting for overnight updates; every report uses live data. When a manager approves a pay increase or processes a termination, it shows up in reports instantly. You can respond to issues faster and forecast more accurately. 

• Drill-down capabilities – Go from summary data to specific details with one click. This means less time gathering data and more time solving problems. 

• Role-based security – Workday ensures that people see only what they should. The system filters data based on each person's role and responsibilities. Managers see their team's data, HR sees broader metrics, and employees see their own information. 

• Built-in compliance tools – Compliance features help you meet EEO, ACA, and wage requirements. The system tracks who accessed what data and when, reducing penalty risks and simplifying compliance reporting. 

• Scalability and transparency – Whether you have 100 employees or 100,000, Workday can scale with you. Plus, employee self-service saves HR teams hours each week on routine inquiries while also building trust through transparency. 

Turning HR data into strategic workforce insights 

Workday's reporting capabilities turn HR data into insights that drive better workforce decisions. These tools help you see patterns, predict problems, and make changes before issues impact your business: 

• Understanding workforce dynamics – Track employee movement in real time. See which departments people leave, how long they stayed, and whether certain managers have higher turnover. This helps you spot problems early and fix them before they grow. 

• Aligning talent with business goals – Workday shows you who has the skills you need and who's ready to move up. When business priorities change, you can quickly find the right internal candidates. You can also prove how your talent programs support company goals. 

• Optimizing recruitment – Find out which job boards bring quality hires who stay, and see where your hiring process slows down. Organizations using Workday improved their recruitment processes by 38% and increased internal mobility by 33%. Use this data to hire better people faster. 

• Measuring inclusive workplaces – Track diversity across hiring, promotions, and pay, and see where different groups might face barriers. When you can show real progress on diversity goals, getting support for DEI programs is easier. 

• Ensuring compliance – Workday automatically handles EEO reports, ACA filings, and OSHA documentation, and the system keeps audit trails of who accessed what. As a result, your team spends less time on compliance paperwork and more time on strategic work. 

Transforming payroll from compliance risk to strategic asset 

Payroll errors hurt trust, create compliance problems, and waste time. But with a proactive service partner like OneSource Virtual (OSV), Workday's reporting tools become even more powerful. Your payroll team can stop firefighting and start adding strategic value: 

• Preventing errors with proactive partnership – While Workday's reports can help you catch discrepancies before payday, it’s common to find errors during regular processing and transaction handling. The right partner will flag these errors and share them with you instead of just passing them through the system. That’s OSV’s approach. As an in-tenant partner, we can see what you see and alert you immediately when we find issues. Your team receives actionable insights to resolve issues quickly, spending less time hunting for errors and more time on strategic analysis. 

• Mastering multi-state compliance – Complying with payroll taxes across multiple states is complex. While Workday automates the calculations, timely and accurate filing is also crucial. Our proprietary tax engine and multi-state expertise help ensure you're filing on time and correctly the first time, giving you peace of mind without the audit-season scramble. 

• Unlocking strategic insights – Payroll is one of your biggest expenses, but most companies struggle to extract value from this data. With the right partner, you gain a single source of accessible, accurate information that reveals cost-saving opportunities and operational improvements. 

• Empowering employees while reducing burden – OSV's Workday Helpdesk and financial well-being solutions give employees 24/7 access to pay information. Fewer questions for HR means more time for strategic work, with transparency that builds trust across your organization. 

How can you maximize Workday reporting for strategic impact? 

Getting the most from Workday's reporting capabilities takes planning and the right approach. Here's how to turn your reports into tools that drive business results: 

• Start with business questions, not technology – What decisions do you need to make? What problems need solving? Answer these questions first, then build the reports for them. When reports solve real business problems, people are more likely to use them. 

• Build a reporting center of excellence – Create a team that owns your reporting strategy. Include people from HR, payroll, finance, and IT. This team sets standards, trains users, and ensures reports stay useful over time. 

• Invest in optimization – While you concentrate on optimizing your reports, OSV handles the transactional tasks that eat up your day. We also reduce integrations and eliminate outside systems that create data silos and break points. This gives you clean data and more time for strategic optimization work. 

• Layer security thoughtfully – Adjust your security settings so managers see enough to make decisions, but not so much that privacy suffers. If you work with outside vendors, make sure they can work within your existing security parameters rather than setting up new access points. Document your strategy and review it annually. 

• Create feedback loops – Reports without action are just numbers. Assign owners to key metrics. When turnover spikes, someone investigates. When overtime trends up, someone responds. This shows the value of data-driven decisions. 

• Partner for continuous innovation – Because Workday adds new features regularly, keeping up takes time. A Workday-exclusive partner like OSV gives you the bandwidth to explore these updates by handling your transactional tasks and helping you maintain data accuracy. Less time on routine tasks means more time for strategic improvements. 

Partner with OSV to unlock your Workday reporting potential 

Workday's reporting tools provide a strong foundation for HR and payroll excellence. But getting the most from Workday takes expertise and time that many teams don't have. That's where OSV makes the difference. 

We're the only partner that works directly inside your Workday tenant, eliminating the obstacles that prevent accurate, real-time reporting. No more data silos from external systems, no more integration breakpoints, no more time lost to manual processes. When your data flows seamlessly and accurately, your reports become tools you can actually trust. 

Ready to stop fighting fires and start driving strategy? Talk to an OSV expert today. We'll show you how our in-tenant service, proactive approach, and Workday expertise let your team focus on what matters most.