another year in HRIS
I walked into my kitchen, saw the notifications, and realized two things:
• I’m another year older
• It’s release season. again.
not another release
You’re going to see a lot of posts about releases on LinkedIn.
So instead of another “how-to,” I’ll just give you the playbook I’ve used for the last eight years.
Workday releases are something we’re supposed to “get right” every year. Or at least we think we are.
The funny part is, I’ve worked at companies that didn’t even know what a release was. One company had a full-time release manager. I also once worked for a CIO who genuinely thought the only changes that ever happened in Workday were during release cycles. I had to explain that I do some fairly dangerous things in the system every single day. LOL.
As I’ve built teams and worked as a senior advisor, I’ve seen just about every version of release management. I’ve also seen teams avoid releases entirely because the process feels overwhelming.
That’s usually where things become too much.
so where the heck do we start?
let’s get to business HRIS Gang 👠
the basics
timelines & reports
1. timeline
Testing window
→ Feb 7 – March 13
Production delivery
→ March 14: production updates with automatic features
2. run the what’s new report in preview
Only review the functional areas you actually use.
I like a good Excel spreadsheet (I’m old school) with separate tabs for each functional area. It keeps things clean and prevents people from spiraling over modules they don’t even own.
3. scan for risks
Run standard reports to catch issues early.
Focus on:
• Business process errors
• “Do not use” fields
That’s usually where you’ll catch the red flags.
And don’t forget to run test files and a mock payroll. One time we didn’t do this and, yes, there was a payroll error. WHOOPS.
don’t put too many chefs in the kitchen
This is where I bring teams in with very straightforward asks.
I have functional leads open Sandbox and Preview side by side, run the same steps, and compare behavior for regression testing. They’re validating that what works today still works after the release.
I give them a hard deadline of Feb 28 to wrap this up.
You do not want to be testing in March.
store test cases + get sign-off
• Keep documentation and proof of testing
• Get department head and functional leader sign-off
CYA, my friends
I rarely send employee communications seriously. Maybe twice in my career. It’s not that serious unless you’re adopting a ton of features, which most teams don’t right away.
my recommendation
Releases are not a free-for-all. They’re a moment to step back, look at roadmaps, and decide what you actually want to adopt. I use this time as part of my HRIS roadmap planning.
But I’ve also worked at companies where we never adopted anything because we were constantly stuck in fire drills.
Pro tip: Don’t open Pandora’s box during releases. Be curious, yes. Use it to shape your 2026 roadmap. But new features still need to be prioritized like any other request.
I’ve seen too many teams dedicate time and resources to releases while never fixing the truly critical issues.
And if your audit reports are lighting up with more errors than you can realistically work through. Call my friends over at HRBench. They make great fire fighters so you don’t have to be one.
I’m thankful to be part of this incredible community. I never knew starting in HRIS at 21 would lead to opportunities like this. You all light my soul on fire.
I love feedback, so let me know what resonated and what didn’t below.
Stay tuned, gang 🔥
your HRIS BFF 👠
If you haven’t explored HRBench yet, you’re missing out. They’re building tools for the same HR leaders this community was created for. 😉
Want a closer look? You can reach them at [email protected] or visit hrbench.com to book a demo.