Mill Creek Residential Trust Case Study
Introduction
MCRT was live with Workday® but poor scoping and implementation of the solution done by a Workday® partner left the company with a system that met almost none of their unique needs, causing downstream issues for all MCRT departments relying on Workday® data.
Client Background
MCRT, or Mill Creek Residential Trust, is a firm that develops, builds, acquires, and operates high-quality apartment communities in the largest cities across America. Their team of multifamily experts have participated in the development of over 275,000 apartment homes and have executed over $25 billion in transactions over the last three decades. Their goal is simple: to build relationships and places in which people thrive.
The MCRT project speaks to our ability to build a trusted partnering relationship. We were able to quickly add value in a very short amount of time through our audit. We were able to mobilize the skills needed when enhancements were possible. We were able to minimize costs where appropriate for their Workday objectives and also for their company. We are truly a natural extension of MCRT’s IT and HRIS that does what’s in the best interest of MCRT. ”
HRIS Director
The Problem
This client reached out to Syssero for a comprehensive audit after going live with Workday® because general system performance did not meet their expectations. The purpose of our audit was to determine what the key issues were that lead to the solution not meeting MCRT’s needs and what users were most impacted. The Syssero audit revealed several issues ranging from core system reconfiguration & integration redevelopment, to the requiring of business process enhancements and system module expansion.
Following the audit, it was determined that the critical issues impacting MCRT’s tenant were more extensive than the initial request. To summarize, there were end-to-end problems beginning with security setup in domains within the system, affecting both business processes and reporting. These issues then led directly to process inefficiency due to incorrect configuration, resulting in the end users’ inability to complete critical tasks within the system.
Since these mission-critical tasks could not be completed correctly, there were downstream problems with basic reporting, user adoption, and ultimately integrations with other systems that relied on Workday® for accurate data.
After thoroughly explaining the scope to MCRT, they expressed a desire for Syssero to take over for the previous Workday® partner immediately.
Weeks following Workday® implementation, my HR team encountered enormous system setup problems, which caused delays in processing and questions about our choice of solution. At that point, the IT introduced Syssero. It was the best decision Mill Creek could have made.”
HRIS Director
Manufacturing Industry Client
The Solution
The first step to solving MCRT’s pain points was turning the Syssero audit into a project outline that prioritized each issue & its resolution tasks and provided a repeatable process to use post-project completion. We also created a plan to maximize long-term value for MCRT by identifying opportunities to expand existing or active additional modules & domains within the Workday® solution.
After providing a list of domains & business processes that were available for activation within Workday®, we identified the required business processes for the Talent & Performance module and outlined what additional domains & processes would further improve the accuracy of reporting.
At this point, it became clear that system clean-up impacted all modules within the system, ranging from Benefits & Talent to Reporting & Integrations. Due to the complexity of this undertaking, we took great care to provide MCRT a process clear enough for them to repeat if needed, which involves working from the initial System Domain Security Configuration. Once the incorrectly set up domains were identified & reconfigured, they immediately began to improve system performance and visibility for end-users and system support users.
Following this, Syssero moved on to Business Process redevelopment. This step involved reviewing & correcting or adding new conditional & validation rules to crucial business processes, as well as adding/removing any necessary steps to improve the process. These rules allowed the business processes to be automatically routed to the proper security groups and the reconfiguration of the process steps also removed unnecessary steps while adding any new steps that were either not previously visible or properly configured. This all worked together to improve the end-user experience while also improving business process efficiency and data accuracy.
We then targeted both internal data & how MCRT was able to review it and external data accuracy & delivery by redeveloping integration issues. To maximize the value MCRT would get out of Workday®, Syssero created suits of reports, based on specific components or themes, called Dashboards. The Dashboards provide key reporting metrics on the health of the company ranging from employee headcount to staffing to compensation & benefit reporting. Lastly, once MCRT was able to review key metrics, we improved the accuracy of our critical reporting items externally by enhancing the current integrations.
Syssero’s consulting team has been phenomenal. Their results were immediate, their ‘A Team’ of consultants were highly professional, and their work continues to pay dividends.”
HRIS Director
Manufacturing Industry Client
Before Syssero
- End-to-End Configuration Issues
- Critical Process Inefficiency
- Inability For Users To Complete Tasks
- Poor Reporting & Use Adoption
After Syssero
- System-Wide Reconfiguration
- Business Process Redevelopment
- Custom Reporting Dashboards
- Repeatable Clean-Up Processes
The Results
Though the clean-up, reconfiguration, and redevelopment were labor-intensive and could have been avoided by the previous partner correctly addressing MCRT’s unique needs, the results of Syssero’s efforts were immediate and far-reaching.
Our work ultimately improved MCRT’s internal & external data accuracy & integrity, which allowed them to focus on long-term system goals and on maximizing the value of Workday® while making necessary enhancements easy to identify.