Workday Exploration Environment Guide
Overview
The Workday Exploration Environment is a sandbox environment for all Carilion employees hired before January 27, 2025 to explore Workday and practice initiating tasks and business processes. Please note that if you are a student, temp worker, traveler, or contractor you will not have access to the Exploration Environment.
This guide focuses on tasks all employees can do, often called Employee Self-Service tasks. This guide also provides managers, or individuals with at least one direct report, the opportunity to practice tasks related to supervising and leading your team.
Please keep the following in mind while you play in the Workday Exploration Environment:
- As a sandbox/practice environment, any tasks you complete or changes you make will neither be saved nor carried over into the go-live production environment on October 1, 2025.
- While most of the system features and configuration are complete, changes to the system could occur before Go-Live based on business need, testing, and/or feedback. These changes will not be reflected in this sandbox.
- You may have additional security roles based on your position that determine what you can view and do in Workday. Security assignments are still being finalized, so your access in this sandbox may differ from what you can view/do in October.
What can you do in the sandbox?
Try some quests! These 5 - 10-minute adventures to various parts of Workday let you see the types of actions you can take. There are quests for everyone and some specific to Supervisory Org Managers. None of the changes you make in the Exploration Environment impact your "real" data when we go live, so venture forth! You may even end up with a treasure*.
When can I get in?
Now! You can log in with single sign on to start building your comfort with Workday. We will close the Exploration Environment on September 26 as we make final preparations to move into the Workday production environment for October 1 Go Live.
Data in the Sandbox
The data in the sandbox was sourced from Lawson and reflects information as of January 27, 2025. Any hires, job changes, terminations, retirements, and other updates are only current through that date. This also affects supervisory organization assignments, meaning who reports to whom.
Do not use this environment to validate the accuracy of employee information. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- Reporting relationships
- Newly created departments
- Transfers
- Name changes
This information will be updated both before and after Go-Live. Stay tuned for more information about how to report data inaccuracies post Go-Live.
Although the data is a static snapshot at a moment in time, it is actual Carilion data and must be handled with the same security and privacy standards applied to current systems.
Other notes:
- Pay slips/statements are not in this environment.
- Most integrations with external systems are turned off. Examples of integrations include, but are not limited to:
- UKG
- Epic
- Employee Center
- Outlook
- Insurance carriers
- Banking systems
Before You Begin
Check out the Workday Quick Start Guide and watch the Getting Started with Workday video before you log into the Exploration Environment for the first time. If you are a manager, check out the What is a Sup Org Manager? video.
*Does this journey end in treasure?
- Yes, everyone who tries the Exploration Environment is enriched because they feel more comfortable with the system when we go live.
- Also, complete the Exploration Environment Treasure Hunt and enter to win a $100 gift card to Barnes & Noble. On September 29, we will choose 3 random winners from all the entries that score 80% or higher. Print this copy of the Treasure Hunt questions to easily find the answers in more than one exploration session. Transfer your final answers to the Exploration Environment Treasure Hunt form for submission.
- All prizes are subject to taxation.
