Workday to ServiceNow HR Profile

[CA5]

Need to know what Major challenges faced and what you did to overcome them while doing workday to ServiceNow Integration setup?

[MaxMixali]

Hello hope that can help, you can take in consideration to use a separte Middlewar to integrate this two solution in this case there are a lot of benefit, for sure if you can

Challenge 1: Data Synchronization Issues
Problems Encountered:
Data sync issues often occur when updates in one system are not reflected in the other which may lead to discrepancies in employee records, payroll data, or access permissions. Sync failures may arise due to network issues, incorrect mapping, or configuration errors Virtelligence.
Specific Issues:

Employee data updates in Workday not reflecting in ServiceNow in real-time
Duplicate employee records being created
Inconsistent data between systems (different names, emails, locations)
Timing issues with future-dated transactions (promotions, transfers)
Data corrections in Workday not propagating correctly

Solutions Implemented:
1. Robust Data Mapping Strategy:
Created comprehensive mapping documentation:
- Workday Worker ID → ServiceNow sys_user.employee_number
- Workday Email → ServiceNow sys_user.email
- Workday Location → ServiceNow sys_user.location
- Workday Manager → ServiceNow sys_user.manager
- Workday Cost Center → ServiceNow sys_user.cost_center

Key approach:
✓ Used Workday Worker ID as the primary identifier
✓ Implemented field-by-field validation during transformation
✓ Created data dictionary mapping both systems
2. Implemented Staged Data Transformation:
Created Transform Maps with:
- Data cleansing scripts (trim whitespace, standardize formats)
- Validation rules before insert/update
- Error handling for missing/invalid data
- Coalesce on unique identifiers (employee number + email)
3. Scheduled Data Sync Strategy:
Implemented multiple sync frequencies:
- Critical data (terminations, new hires): Every 15 minutes
- Standard updates (name, email, location): Hourly
- Non-critical data (preferences, custom fields): Daily
- Full reconciliation sync: Weekly
4. Data Quality Checks:
Built automated validation flows:
- Pre-sync validation (check required fields in Workday)
- Post-sync validation (compare record counts)
- Orphaned record detection
- Mismatch reporting dashboard

Challenge 2: API Rate Limits and Performance
Problems Encountered:
Both ServiceNow and Workday may impose limits on the number of API calls that can be made within a certain timeframe. Transactions that fail or data processing that is delayed may arise from going beyond these restrictions Virtelligence.
Specific Issues:

Workday throttling API requests during peak hours
Integration jobs timing out with large employee populations
ServiceNow import set processing delays
Integration failures during bulk data transfers