The People of Workday Rising: A Personal Experience

I recently attended my 11th Workday Rising, and the growth of the conference I’ve witnessed as a member of our marketing team has been incredible. I joined Workday as employee #695. We now have more than 16,900 employees globally, and 60 million people use our products.

While our team puts in a lot of hours at Workday Rising, every day is filled with inspiring moments that keep us energized. So rather than sleeping in a bit the day after returning home—as any rational person would do—I found myself up early and still pumped on adrenaline, with a strong itch to write about my experience. I flipped open my laptop and pounded out a first draft before my second cup of coffee got cold. 

And here's the result: A story about three memorable connections with what I'll call the Customer, the Prospect, and the Workmate.

The Customer

It’s deep into the afternoon one day at Workday Rising, and I stop by a refreshment station where a man is replenishing hot and cold beverages. We start chatting and he asks if I'm enjoying the conference.

“It’s fantastic,” I say, tipping milk into my steaming cup of joe. “I love hearing all these great stories from our customers.”

His face lights up. “You know, I’m a Workday customer! I’ll show you.” 

He pulls out his mobile phone. “But first let me show you my grandkids.” Two little girls, their apple cheeks framed with glossy curls, grin back at me. We admire them together for a few moments, his face beaming with pride.

He then holds up his phone with our Workday mobile application. “I have everything right here—I can see my payslip, everything!”  

I’m struck with a moment of awareness; an important reminder: A Workday customer isn’t just the professional in human resources, finance, or IT hurrying to get to the next session here at Workday Rising, or the executive telling an engaged audience how their company uses Workday. It’s front-line workers like this person who is helping us put on an amazing conference. He's one of 60 million Workday users—someone directly impacted by the Workday experience every day, happy to have his job tasks on his mobile phone, and by the way, a grandfather of two adorable children.

I smile. “Thank you for being a valued Workday customer.”

The Prospect

I post a link on social media to our first Workday Rising Daily news report on Monday night, and a short while later, the mother of a friend of my daughter’s messages me. I’ve met her just once, at her daughter’s high school graduation party, but I know she works in IT.

“Are you here in Orlando?” 

“Yes!” I reply, and in the ensuing conversation, I learn she’s here as a prospect to learn more about Workday. We agree we should try to meet up, even if it’s just to send a photo of us together to our girls. 

It's a remarkable moment. When I started at Workday in 2011, not many people outside of California had heard of the company—certainly not many people in Michigan, where I presently live. Now, in addition to having a number of fantastic customers in Michigan, my daughter’s friend’s mom has traveled to Orlando to learn more. 

The next day is a blur, as our team works long hours producing articles, videos, and podcasts from the show, and I know she’s busy, too. Then on Wednesday morning, as I’m walking from the hotel to the convention center, a woman holds open the door for me. As she turns around our eyes lock—it’s the mom I’d been messaging! There are 9,000 attendees at Workday Rising, and magically—miraculously, even—we’ve found each other by accident.

We stop to take a selfie, big smiles on our faces and palm trees swaying behind us. I text the photo to our girls, both freshmen at different universities.

Before going our separate ways, we realize we have much in common—for one, we’re now empty nesters—and discuss meeting up when we get back home. We certainly have something to talk about: how much we miss our daughters. 

I tell her I hope she has a great conference and gains a lot of knowledge about Workday.

The Workmate

She reminds me of her mother, whom I haven’t seen in person in years. I see it in the set of the same brown eyes: determined, fun loving, grounded.  

I’ve watched her grow up on her mom’s social media posts—photos of family vacations, graduations, emotional farewells as kids go off to college. She joined Workday over three years ago, after college, and it’s the first time we’ve met in person.

We’re relaxing on comfy couches in a nearby hotel one evening after Workday Rising—her first. “I’m so happy to be here,” she says.

I stop to remember my first Workday Rising. I was there with her mom and other Workmates, in 2010, in San Francisco. 

Back then, the entire conference fit in one hotel, on one floor. Our Customer Appreciation Party was in a small park in the city’s center, featuring global cuisine from several food trucks. (I had a falafel pita topped with pickled red onions, tahini sauce, and crushed peanuts. It was the kind of falafel pita you don’t forget.) The party then moved to a nightclub a short walk away, where we danced away the night to an ’80s cover band.

I knew we’d have a lot of fun at the Customer Appreciation Party at Universal Studios Orlando the next day. There’s no nightclub that would fit all 9,000 of us, anyway. But those early days—those were truly special times. I’ll forever associate our Customer Appreciation Parties with a smaller group of Workmates, customers, and partners singing to a cover band’s version of  Bon Jovi's “Living on a Prayer” on a sweaty dance floor. 

I look at my Workmate, a highly capable and confident young woman. A lot like her mom . . . but her own self. She joined us as a member of the employee group we call Generation Workday, and she is, quite literally, the next generation.

At Workday we often talk about how people are at the center of business. My conversations at Workday Rising—with the Customer, the Prospect, and the Workmate—remind me that despite the changes I’ve seen in the conference over the years (the growth, different venues, and new programs), there’s one truth that remains constant: Workday Rising is all about the people and our Workday community. And, well, thank goodness for that.