Workday Gold

Keith Bitikofer

Join Keith Bitikofer in this insightful podcast as he shares his vast experience in IT, operations, and Workday solutions. With over 30 years of expertise across industries such as Higher Education, Manufacturing, Consulting, and Nonprofits, Keith dives deep into the challenges and opportunities that come with managing and supporting Workday systems. As a former project manager and director at a large global non-profit, Keith led the successful rollout and supported Workday’s HCM, Financials, Extend, and the global rollout with 40+ partners.  Tune in to explore best practices, leadership insights, and career coaching tips for IT professionals and Workday users, and learn how to thrive in an ever-evolving software landscape. Each episode will cover a chapter of his latest book Workday Gold: Software Support Model Edition, in hopes of giving more context and starting a conversation about successfully supporting Workday at your company. Keith is a partner and consultant at EMD. Keith also does business and life coaching, helping individuals navigate their personal growth journey. Contact Keith to schedule a discovery call for one-on-one coaching sessions and unlock your full potential in Workday and beyond! Visit https://keithbitikofer.com/coaching-packages/

  1. 6d ago

    #74: Organizing Workday Around How People Actually Work, with Kris Kelpe

    Send us Fan Mail What happens after Workday go-live is often more important than the implementation itself. In this part 2 episode with Kris Kelpe, Keith and Kris explore how organizations can improve Workday adoption through better operational design, report organization, dashboards, governance, and navigation strategies. They discuss the growing importance of techno-functional employees, practical ways to reduce support tickets, and how Workday Hubs and dashboards can work together to create smoother user experiences. If your organization struggles with navigation complexity, user adoption, or operational consistency, this episode is packed with practical ideas and real-world examples. Actionable Insights: Use report tags consistently to organize reporting by department or process area.Create “report of reports” dashboards to help users quickly find the reports they need.Use business-friendly language instead of Workday terminology whenever possible.Prototype dashboards quickly instead of waiting for a perfect long-term design.Give carefully selected techno-functional users ownership of maintaining dashboards.Reduce support tickets by organizing recurring tasks and documentation in departmental-specific dashboards.Use Hubs for broad navigation and dashboards for operational execution. TWO Presentation PDFs for "Content" Dashboard ideas and instructions: - Kris Kelpe's Presentation -  Keith's Presentation For information on all of Keith's books and his coaching services, visit KeithBitikofer.com and https://books2read.com/keith-bitikofer Connect with Keith and Kris Kelpe on LinkedIn at:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-bitikofer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinakelpe/ For more information about Legato Strategic Consulting: https://www.legatostrategic.com/

    32 min

  2. May 15

    #73: The Hidden Power of Workday Content Dashboards, with Kris Kelpe

    Send us Fan Mail What makes a Workday implementation truly successful? According to Kris Kelpe, sometimes the best go-live is the quiet one. In this episode of Workday Gold, Keith sits down with Kris to discuss how organizations can improve Workday adoption through better user experience design, content dashboards, and operational navigation strategies. They explore practical ways to help users find reports, complete processes, reduce confusion, and create smoother day-to-day operations using delivered Workday functionality. If your organization struggles with adoption, training fatigue, or operational consistency, this conversation offers practical ideas you can apply immediately. Actionable Insights: Create department-specific dashboards instead of relying on generic navigation.Organize reports and tasks in the sequence in which users actually perform their work.Use Workday bulletins and quick links to centralize policies, guides, and recurring tasks.Reduce “search fatigue” by simplifying security and report visibility.Think of dashboards as operational workspaces, not just reporting pages.Invest in user experience during implementation, not only after go-live.Even mature Workday customers can improve adoption by redesigning navigation and content organization.TWO Presentation PDFs for "Content" Dashboard ideas and instructions: - Kris Kelpe's Presentation -  Keith's Presentation For information on all of Keith's books and his coaching services, visit KeithBitikofer.com and https://books2read.com/keith-bitikofer Connect with Keith and Kris Kelpe on LinkedIn at:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-bitikofer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinakelpe/ For more information about Legato Strategic Consulting: https://www.legatostrategic.com/

    27 min

  3. May 8

    #72: Workday Learning, Sana, and the Next Chapter of Employee Development with Kermick Santos

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Workday Gold, Keith Bitikofer talks with Kermick Santos, Product Owner, HR Strategy and Transformation at Charles Schwab. Kermick shares his journey from software development on Wall Street into the Workday ecosystem, along with lessons learned from working across different company sizes, industries, and Workday roles. Keith and Kermick discuss Workday Skills Cloud, Talent Marketplace, Career Hub, Workday Learning, Sana Learn, AI agents, learning migration challenges, and career advice for Workday professionals. This conversation is especially valuable for anyone thinking about talent strategy, learning adoption, skills, AI-enabled support, or how to grow from hands-on Workday work into broader strategy and solution leadership. For information on all of Keith's books and his coaching services, visit KeithBitikofer.com and https://books2read.com/keith-bitikofer Connect with Keith and Kermick on LinkedIn at:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-bitikofer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kermick-santos-a0718a25/

    24 min

  4. May 1

    #71: AI in the Workday Ecosystem: From Curiosity to Action with Alan Shearer

    Send us Fan Mail Alan Shearer, cofounder of SparkMind AI Agency, returns to Workday Gold for Part 2, a focused conversation on AI in the Workday ecosystem. Host Keith Bitikofer and Alan trade stories from the front lines of client work, where the automation that felt like science fiction 18 months ago is already live. If you have been watching the AI announcements pile up and wondering where to start, this one is for you. Keith and Alan dig into the AI Lab model, breaking roles apart by task, the Incubane 147-task HRIS matrix, Flex Credits, and token-based pricing, and a practical prompt you can run on yourself to build a personal AI plan. Workday consultants, support professionals, HR and finance leaders, and anyone curious about what AI means for their day-to-day work will find something useful in this one. For information on all of Keith's books and his coaching services, visit KeithBitikofer.com and https://books2read.com/keith-bitikofer Connect with Keith and Alan on LinkedIn at:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-bitikofer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanshr/ For more information about Sparkmind AI Agency: sparkmindagency.ai or email Alan at info@sparkmindagency.ai Click here to access Alan's AI Displacement Risk Prompt

    33 min

  5. Apr 24

    #70: From PM to Founder, Lessons from the Journey with Alan Shearer

    Send us Fan Mail What does it really take to build a career in the Workday ecosystem? In this episode, Keith sits down with Alan Shearer to talk through a journey that began in consulting, was shaped by the 2008 financial crisis, and ultimately led to entrepreneurship and the launch of an AI-focused agency. Along the way, they unpack the decisions, risks, and mindset shifts that made the difference. They also explore what’s changing right now, especially with AI. From the growing gap between platform capabilities and external innovation to the importance of speed over perfection, this conversation offers practical insights for anyone thinking about their next step in the Workday space. For information on all of Keith's books and his coaching services, visit KeithBitikofer.com and https://books2read.com/keith-bitikofer Connect with Keith and Alan on LinkedIn at:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-bitikofer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanshr/ For more information about Sparkmind AI Agency: sparkmindagency.ai or email Alan at info@sparkmindagency.ai Click here to access Alan's AI Displacement Risk Prompt

    25 min

  6. Apr 17

    #69: From 4 Hours to Fully Automated: Real Orchestration Use Cases, with Ethan Jones

    Send us Fan Mail Workday Orchestrate is quickly becoming one of the most important tools in the Workday ecosystem, but many teams haven’t fully explored what it can do. In this episode, Keith sits down with Ethan Jones to walk through real-world use cases, including how his team automated a process that used to take four hours every week. They also dive into practical lessons learned, from using WQL to improve data handling, to debugging strategies, and how AI tools like the Deployment Agent and LLMs are changing how Workday work gets done. If you’re still relying heavily on Studio or manual processes, this conversation will give you a clear path forward. For information on all of Keith's books and his coaching services, visit KeithBitikofer.com and https://books2read.com/keith-bitikofer Connect with Keith and Ethan on LinkedIn at:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-bitikofer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanjones/

    28 min

  7. Apr 10

    What Your Employees Aren't Telling You: A Deep Dive into Workday Peakon with Rebecca Yoder-Shetler

    Send us Fan Mail Rebecca Yoder-Shetler came from behavioral health and education before becoming an HRIS program manager for a large Workday customer. That background, curious about why people do what they do and what they need to engage, made her a natural champion for Workday Peakon, the employee engagement survey module. They have been live on Peakon for three years, and Rebecca calls it her favorite Workday module by a wide margin. In this episode, Keith and Rebecca walk through how Peakon works, how to structure the rollout across levels of leadership, why anonymity is the make-or-break piece, and what three years of engagement data looks like after a reduction in force. If your organization owns the module but hasn't implemented it yet, or you're just wondering what Peakon actually does, this episode is for you! For information on all of Keith's books and his coaching services, visit KeithBitikofer.com and https://books2read.com/keith-bitikofer Connect with Keith and Rebecca on LinkedIn at:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-bitikofer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-yoder-shetler-280112261/

    39 min

  8. Apr 3

    Job Aids, Governance, and Getting People to Actually Adopt Workday, with Kendria Countee

    Send us Fan Mail Kendria Countee didn't start out as a consultant. She started as a Workday customer, walking into an optimization project that turned into a full system relaunch. That experience, including the governance work, change management, integrations, and hard-won lessons, eventually led her to found Abnorma Logic, a firm focused on helping organizations get real value from their Workday investment. In this conversation, Keith and Kendria dig into the challenges most Workday teams face: how to tell the difference between activity and actual progress, why job aids rarely get adopted without leadership support, what it feels like to spot organizational risks before leadership is ready to hear about them, and how cross-functional governance can make or break a team's ability to move forward. If you support Workday, lead a team that does, or are still waiting for the ROI your implementation promised, this one is worth your time. For information on all of Keith's books and his coaching services, visit KeithBitikofer.com and https://books2read.com/keith-bitikofer Connect with Keith and Kendria on LinkedIn at:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-bitikofer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendria-countee/ Also, check out the Workday Gold book series on the major book platforms.

    35 min
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5
out of 5
16 Ratings

About

Join Keith Bitikofer in this insightful podcast as he shares his vast experience in IT, operations, and Workday solutions. With over 30 years of expertise across industries such as Higher Education, Manufacturing, Consulting, and Nonprofits, Keith dives deep into the challenges and opportunities that come with managing and supporting Workday systems. As a former project manager and director at a large global non-profit, Keith led the successful rollout and supported Workday’s HCM, Financials, Extend, and the global rollout with 40+ partners.  Tune in to explore best practices, leadership insights, and career coaching tips for IT professionals and Workday users, and learn how to thrive in an ever-evolving software landscape. Each episode will cover a chapter of his latest book Workday Gold: Software Support Model Edition, in hopes of giving more context and starting a conversation about successfully supporting Workday at your company. Keith is a partner and consultant at EMD. Keith also does business and life coaching, helping individuals navigate their personal growth journey. Contact Keith to schedule a discovery call for one-on-one coaching sessions and unlock your full potential in Workday and beyond! Visit https://keithbitikofer.com/coaching-packages/

Information

  • Creator
    Keith Bitikofer
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    73
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Workday Gold
  • Show Website
    Workday Gold

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