Questions to Ask Your Potential Workday AMS Partner

Go-Live marks the beginning of your #Workday journey. Choosing the right Application Managed Services (AMS) partner is crucial for achieving post-production success. This partnership can lead to optimization, end-user adoption, and consistent business-as-usual support.

A Workday AMS partner can effectively supplement your internal support team. The Workday Post Production team plays a pivotal role in achieving greater time to value and driving higher adoption rates. This ensures increased customer satisfaction with the new system.

Define Your End-Game for Post Production Support

What do you want from your post-production support? Is it a path to self-sufficiency, or do you prefer to outsource everything? Choose a vendor that aligns with your goals.

Below is a list of considerations and questions to ask your potential Workday AMS vendor.

Key Questions to Ask Your Potential Workday Managed Services Provider

1. Account Management / Executive Oversight:

   Is there a dedicated Account Manager or Client Partner ensuring the success of the relationship? If partially dedicated, how many accounts does this person manage? Is this person geographically aligned with my location? Are they Workday Project Management certified? What is the escalation path beyond the Account Manager?

   
   

2. Team Structure:

   How is the team structured? Are all team members remote, or do they work in an office? Are they onshore, nearshore, or offshore? Will there be dedicated resources, partial resources, or pooled resources? Do I need to set up new customer service accounts each time a new resource picks up my ticket? Where does the AMS team fit in the organization chart? Are they full-time employees or contractors? Did most of the AMS Team work on deployments before joining, or do they come from the client side?

   
   

3. Tenure and Certifications:

   What is the average tenure for AMS Team employees? What is the average number of certifications per consultant?

   
   

4. Service Level Agreements:

   Understand the time zone coverage and service level agreements. How are tickets triaged? What are the priority definitions and response times? How do they manage team capacity without impacting service levels?

   
   

5. Future and Unplanned Work:

   Is there a separate rate card for unplanned work? How is unplanned work estimated, managed, staffed, and prioritized?

   
   

6. Approach to Change Management:

   Do they offer support or change management services? Do they provide or update existing job aids?

   
   

7. Roadmapping:

   Does the AMS vendor provide roadmap sessions? These sessions should outline cyclical events and key events throughout the year, including new modules or functionality.

   
   

8. Feature Releases:

   How does the AMS vendor manage the Feature Release cycle? Do they use automated testing? Do they offer webinars and recommendations specific to your tenant?

   
   

9. Pricing Structure:

   Is the pricing flexible or fixed monthly? Is it ad-hoc or pay-per-use? Are there geographic hourly rate cards? Do hours carry over from month to month? What about quarterly true-ups? You need to determine what works best for your organization.

   
   

10. Contracts:

Are contracts easy to amend or cancel? What about annual inflation increases? Are there early termination clauses or multi-year discounts?

11. Integration Monitoring & Automated Testing:

Most Workday AMS providers claim to have tools for integration monitoring. What are these tools? How do they alert your team? Is it a homegrown tool or a dashboard? What about automated testing? Do they have their own solution or a strategic partner?

12. Ramp Time:

How long will it take the AMS team to get up to speed on configuration and integrate into your operating model?

13. Innovation:

What innovation does the AMS vendor bring to the table? Do they offer access to pre-built dashboards or reports? What are the costs of these solutions?

14. Communication Channels:

How do we communicate with your team? What channels are available for communication?

15. Attrition:

When attrition happens (and it will), how does the AMS vendor handle it?

16. Governance:

Request a sample status report. What key metrics are reported? What are the KPIs? What is the meeting cadence? Do they have daily stand-ups, weekly statuses, or monthly executive read-outs? What tool is used for reporting? Can I access real-time ticket status and small project updates?

17. C-Sat Program / References & Testimonials:

Understand their Customer Success Organization (if they have one). Talk to their references and other Workday customers. Learn from their experiences. Do they offer monthly or quarterly Workday-specific newsletters? How do they measure customer satisfaction?

18. Number of Clients Transitioned to AMS Team:

If the AMS provider is a Workday deployment partner, what percentage of clients have transitioned to AMS? Are they still active?

19. Client Relationship Recovery Stories:

Ask them to share a story about how they saved a troubled client relationship. If they haven't had a client issue, that's a huge red flag.

20. Why Companies Choose Not to Use Your Services:

This question can reveal a lot about the AMS provider. A truthful answer can provide insight into their weaknesses.

By asking these questions, you can better understand your potential Workday AMS partner. This will help you make an informed decision that aligns with your organization's goals. Remember, the right partner can make all the difference in your Workday journey.