Introduction to Workday Reporting & Analytics
6–8 minutes read
A Beginner's Guide to Understanding Workday Data
Modern organizations generate enormous amounts of workforce data. Employee information, organizational structures, positions, recruiting activity, staffing information and other business data can all help organizations make better decisions. But collecting data is only the beginning. Organizations also need ways to find, organize, analyze and present that information. This is where Workday Reporting & Analytics becomes important.
What Is Workday Reporting?
In simple terms, Workday Reporting allows users to retrieve and present business information stored in Workday.
Organizations may need answers to questions such as:
- How many employees work in a particular department?
- Which positions are currently open?
- How many employees joined during a specific period?
- What is the distribution of employees across locations?
A report can organize relevant information so that users can analyze it and make business decisions.
Standard Reports vs Custom Reports
One of the first concepts to understand is the difference between standard reports and custom reports. Standard reports are pre-existing reports provided within the Workday environment. Custom reports are designed to meet requirements that are specific to a business.
What Is a Data Source?
A Data Source determines the business data that a report can work with. Think of it as the starting point that tells the reporting system: "What type of business information are we reporting on?"
What Are Business Objects?
A Business Object represents a type of business information within Workday.
Examples can include information related to:
- Workers
- Positions
- Organizations
- Staffing
Business objects help organize the information that reports work with.
What Are Report Fields?
Report fields determine what information appears in your report. For example, an employee-related report might need fields such as Employee Name, Employee ID, Job Profile, Organization, Location, and Hire Date.