Driving Workday transformation in a virtual world

DRIVING WORKDAY
TRANSFORMATION
IN A VIRTUAL WORLD

Copyright © 2020 Accenture All rights reserved.
The experience of a dynamic, interactive
physical meeting can’t simply be replicated
in a virtual environment.
It is necessary to think, structure, and act
differently.
Moreover, you need to find new ways of
forging trust and engagement despite
physical separation.
2

3Copyright © 2020 Accenture All rights reserved.
Collaborative
activities are
more engaging
than lectures
LEARN HOW TO THINK,
STRUCTURE, AND ACT
DIFFERENTLY
Before we talk about what’s different when conducting global design in a virtual world, let’s
consider what’s the same. As an organization with over 500K people with learning at the core
of our DNA, our learning experts and research reveals several basic truths about learning that
are as applicable in the virtual world as they are in physical gatherings:
Minds start to
wander after
six minutes
Well-structured
stories increase
engagement
Brains need to
reset every 20
minutes
Retention increases
by 25 percent when
people spend time to
think and reflect on
what they’ve learned

Copyright © 2020 Accenture All rights reserved. 4
The question is how to achieve these points virtually.
Our approach is to find a balance between large-team
sessions and breakout sessions with small teams, what
we call “pods.” There is a time for both, just as in the
physical world. For example, a large plenary session
with the entire global team is ideal for inspiration,
level-setting, and learning core concepts, as
well as gathering group feedback using
tools like Mentimeter and MURAL.
In contrast, small groups (fewer than
20 people) are much better for creating
ideas and collaborating on design
concepts that can be shared back
to the larger group for feedback.

Our teams used this approach to
conduct our own Workday global
design workshops virtually
instead of in-person. This
structure and these ways of
working served as the basis for
how we’ve conducted our entire
program. While every company is
different and will need to take its
own tailored approach to global
design, here’s how we did it:
ACCENTURE’S
OWN GLOBAL
WORKDAY
DESIGN
5

Because the participants were
global, we held half-day
sessions instead of full-day
sessions most every day. We
met from ~8 a.m. to noon (U.S.
Eastern Time) one week and
then 8 p.m. to midnight (U.S.
Eastern Time) the next week.
Shorter sessions allowed us to
maintain focus, and rotating the
time ensured that everyone
around the world was included.
We kicked off with a large-
group video conference
for leadership inspiration
and concept level-setting
and returned to these
groups periodically. For
these large-group
sessions, we used “mute
all” format for the plenary
topics so they wouldn’t
be distracted by mute/
unmute, etc.
We then broke the team
into small pods of 5–20
people. Individual pods
worked on end-to-end
experiences and design
elements (e.g., org
design, career
architecture, hire,
transitions (transfer and
exit), employee/ manager
insights (dashboards and
reporting), etc.).
SHORTER SESSIONS,
GREATER PARTICIPATION
INSPIRATION
FROM THE TOP
PODS SHARE
THE LOAD
ACCENTURE’S OWN GLOBAL
WORKDAY DESIGN

The global design group was
comprised of several hundred
people, not all of whom were part
of a pod. Many in the large group
were there to react to and
provide feedback on the designs
co-created by the pods. This
worked well and started us on
our change/buy-in journey.
Each pod included at least one or two
SMEs, as well as one representative
from each market who may or may not
have been an SME. This allowed us to
have local input and ensure the
solution was locally relevant. It also
provided the added benefit of not
being overly influenced by ‘this is how
we do it today’ while still having the
grounding in how we do it today via
the SME(s).
A WIDE NET FOR FEEDBACK INPUT FROM LOCAL EXPERTS
ACCENTURE’S OWN
GLOBAL WORKDAY DESIGN

The pod teams came back
frequently to the large global
design group to preview the
thinking, get feedback, and
iterate the process.
ITERATION ACROSS
GEOGRAPHIES
We made a Microsoft Teams chat
available for collaboration and
provided each person with a workbook
with a framework so they could engage
in a physical way as well. We used
Mentimeter several times a day to
proactively solicit feedback and
reactions to ideas and content.
CHANNELS FOR CLOSE
COLLABORATION
ACCENTURE’S OWN
GLOBAL WORKDAY DESIGN

Our teams told us while this format was different,
it was highly successful in our ability to be globally
inclusive while embracing the principles of agility.
At first, it was difficult, but as the team practiced this
way of working more and more, it became our norm.
9

Trust is vital to the success of any transformation.
Our experts share that trust leads to better performance
because we feel safe to share with each other, fail
together, and take risks together. However, in a virtual
setting, building trust and engagement among team
members is more challenging than when meeting
face-to-face. In a virtual world, how do you
pick up non-verbal cues, share agreement
or disagreement, and have those “water-
cooler conversations” that contribute to
a culture of trust and engagement?
HOW TO FORGE NEW
LEVELS OF TRUST
AND ENGAGEMENT
10

For our clients who are used to leading in-
person teams, working in the global virtual
world can be a steep learning curve. It requires
creating an interactive, safe environment that
encourages participation and dialogue among
participants over a sustained period. To help
our clients in this effort, we advise taking many
of the practices and activities that commonly
occur in the physical world and adapt them to
the virtual world. Here are a few examples:
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• Restate the rules
of engagement
• Review guiding
principles
• Align on
expectations
AFFIRM WORKING NORMS

• Begin each session with a virtual
ice-breaker or check-in
• Leverage energizers and tools such
as Mentimeter
• Gamify tasks where possible (e.g.,
Bingo), and reward participants for
their continued contribution
• Hold regular hands-on exercises in
Workday, and provide ongoing access
to Workday for continual exploration
CREATE INTERACTIVE
EXPERIENCES

• Periodically feature an HR or
business leadership spotlight
• Plan HR and/or business
leadership “drop-ins” to
pod working sessions
• Assign virtual “table leaders”
• Incorporate fun activities into
daily sessions, such as chair
yoga, attire games, etc.
BUILD COMMUNITY

By rapidly thinking, structuring,
and acting differently through forging
new levels of trust and engagement –
like we have at Accenture –
YOU TOO CAN
SUCCESSFULLY
ACHIEVE LARGE-SCALE,
TRANSFORMATION
POWERED BY WORKDAY
IN A VIRTUAL WORLD.

ABOUT ACCENTURE
Accenture and its logo are trademarks of Accenture.
Disclaimer
This document is intended for general informational purposes only and does not
take into account the reader’s specific circumstances, and may not reflect the
most current developments. Accenture disclaims, to the fullest extent permitted
by applicable law, any and all liability for the accuracy and completeness of the
information in this presentation and for any acts or omissions made based on
such information. Accenture does not provide legal, regulatory, audit, or tax
advice. Readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal
counsel or other licensed professionals.
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Accenture is a leading global professional services
company, providing a broad range of services and
solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology
and operations. Combining unmatched experience and
specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all
business functions—underpinned by the world’s largest
delivery network—Accenture works at the intersection
of business and technology to help clients improve
their performance and create sustainable value for their
stakeholders. With 505,000 people serving clients in
more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation
to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us
at www.accenture.com.

GLORIA SAMUELS
Senior Managing Director
COLIN ANDERSON
Managing Director
KEY CONTACTS
17

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