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Integrations · LessonBy , ServiceNow Architect · Published · current release · integration

Workday integration

Keep HR data and onboarding in sync with Workday.

Quick answer

Drive HRSD from Workday as the HR system of record: sync workers in near real time and trigger onboarding/offboarding. Uses the Workday spoke over Workday's web services.

Key takeaways
  • Prerequisites
  • Step 1, Create the Workday ISU
  • Step 2, Connection & alias
  • Step 3, Field mapping
  • Step 4, Scheduled + event sync

Drive HRSD from Workday as the HR system of record: sync workers in near real time and trigger onboarding/offboarding. Uses the Workday spoke over Workday's web services.

Prerequisites

  • ServiceNow: admin, IntegrationHub, Workday spoke, and HR Service Delivery.
  • Workday: an Integration System User (ISU) with a security group granting the needed domains.
  • The Workday tenant, WSDL/REST endpoint, and (optionally) a report-as-a-service (RaaS) URL.

Step 1, Create the Workday ISU

  • In Workday, create an ISU and add it to an Integration System Security Group with access to Staffing/Personal Data.
  • Enable Do Not Allow UI Sessions and set a strong password; note the credentials.

Step 2, Connection & alias

  • Install the Workday spoke.
  • Create a Basic Auth credential (ISU@tenant) and a Connection to the Workday endpoint; attach to the spoke alias.

Step 3, Field mapping

Workday Worker              ServiceNow (sys_user / hr_profile)
Worker_ID               ->  employee_number
Legal_Name              ->  name
Primary_Work_Email      ->  email
Manager_Reference       ->  manager
Hire_Date               ->  u_hire_date
Termination_Date        ->  (drives deactivation)

Step 4, Scheduled + event sync

  • Build a flow that calls Get_Workers (or a RaaS report) on a schedule (e.g. every 15 min) filtered by last modified.
  • Upsert sys_user keyed on employee_number; create HR profiles for new hires.
  • For near real time, subscribe to Workday notifications/EIB that POST to a ServiceNow Scripted REST endpoint.

Step 5, Onboarding trigger

  • When a new worker with a future hire date appears, kick off the HRSD onboarding lifecycle case and its tasks.
  • On termination date, trigger offboarding and downstream de-provisioning (e.g. via SailPoint/Okta).

Step 6, Test & promote

  • Hire a test worker in Workday sandbox; confirm the user + onboarding case appear.
  • Terminate the worker; confirm offboarding fires.

Troubleshooting

  • Empty results: ISU security group missing a domain.
  • Duplicates: coalesce on employee_number.
  • SOAP faults: verify the Workday API version in the endpoint URL.
Keep Workday as the source of truth, ServiceNow consumes worker data and never writes it back.

Quick check

+0 XPStreak ×0
Question 1 of 2
What is the source of truth for employee data here?

Frequently asked questions

What does the term - Workday integration refer to in ServiceNow?
Drive HRSD from Workday as the HR system of record: sync workers in near real time and trigger onboarding/offboarding. Uses the Workday spoke over Workday's web services.
What else is worth knowing about - Workday integration?
ServiceNow: admin, IntegrationHub, Workday spoke, and HR Service Delivery. Workday: an Integration System User (ISU) with a security group granting the needed domains. The Workday tenant, WSDL/REST endpoint, and (optionally) a report-as-a-service (RaaS) URL.
What is the practical takeaway on - Workday integration?
Build a flow that calls Get_Workers (or a RaaS report) on a schedule (e.g. every 15 min) filtered by last modified. For near real time, subscribe to Workday notifications/EIB that POST to a ServiceNow Scripted REST endpoint.
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