All In on Community and Collaboration

In this article we discuss:

• The Atlanta Awakening

• Party of One: How to Grow a Movement

• From One College to Another

• All In, Always

• Don’t Wait, Dive In

Meredith White's career in HR technology began with an unexpected twist. As a corporate recruiter tasked with finding an HRIS administrator replacement, she couldn't find the right candidate. Then her colleague, preparing for maternity leave, asked if Meredith would take on the role herself.

"I'd never been involved on the technology side, but I was ready for a challenge," Meredith recalls. When her predecessor went into labor seven weeks early, Meredith's trial by fire began—on day three, she jumped into implementing ADP's systems across a newly acquired international engineering firm spanning multiple countries.

That pattern of diving in headfirst would define her career. She implemented HR systems across growing organizations, spent six months in Cardiff, Wales rolling out systems for a UK acquisition, and became an expert on multiple platforms, from ADP to IBM Kenexa Brass Ring. When a layoff came after 11 years, it opened an unexpected door—her first role in higher ed, working with Workday.

The Atlanta Awakening

At her first Workday training in Atlanta, something clicked. "They introduced me to Workday Community, and that opened up a whole world to me," Meredith says. "I loved that all documentation was available to all Workday customers at any time. Not only that, the ability to collaborate with and gain knowledge from other customers who were all so willing to share was so refreshing."

She immediately got involved with the Florida Regional User Group (FLRUG) committee, even before joining the University of Tampa in 2019. But when committee members gradually stepped away, Meredith found herself in an unusual position: she was the entire committee.

"At one point, I was the only member of the committee—the party of one!" she laughs.

Party of One: How to Grow a Movement

Rather than let the group fade, Meredith reached out to Workday for support in recruiting new members. The response was overwhelmingly positive. The Florida Regional User Group (FLRUG) grew to become one of the largest regional user groups in the country, regularly hitting capacity with 150 attendees and wait lists for in-person events.

"We ended up with every role in the committee filled, so much so that we had co-chairs for almost every role," Meredith explains. The group hosts free events twice a year—spring and fall—bringing together Workday customers from across Florida representing higher education, corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors.

The events themselves became showcases of Florida's Workday customer base. Members hosted at locations ranging from NASCAR's facility in Daytona to Carrier's stunning headquarters to colleges and universities across the state. The group made a point of traveling throughout Florida—from Pensacola State in the Panhandle down to South Florida and throughout Central Florida—ensuring access for customers in the area.

From One College to Another

At the University of Tampa, Meredith serves as director of Workday Solutions, supporting HCM, Payroll, Financials, and Student across the institution. Her role isn't confined to one product area. She supports functional leads across all modules, which gives her a unique breadth of knowledge.

At a regional user group meeting, another school asked about managing security access requests. Meredith shared a custom request framework she'd built using Workday's often-underutilized system product area. Pensacola State implemented her solution and still uses it today, and continues to reference it at student user group meetings and higher education events.

"It’s higher education, and we all like to learn, right?" Meredith says. "We’re all very open about how we've gotten through certain challenges and the solutions we've come up with."

All In, Always

Whether it's joining Design Partner Groups, participating in early adopter programs, answering questions in discussion boards, or promoting Workday adoption planning features before they launch, Meredith approaches her Workday Community involvement the same way she approaches everything else in her career: all in.

"I've been called a cheerleader for Workday before, and I'll continue to do that," she says. "But I really want people to know that they can get involved, and they should get involved."

Though she stepped down from the FLRUG committee at the end of 2023, she remains an active member and continues participating in user groups across functional areas. She's involved in the student user group, design partner groups (now called feature design groups), and early adopter programs, always looking for opportunities to provide input directly to Workday product managers.

Don’t Wait, Dive In

For Meredith, Community isn't just about solving technical problems, it's about building connections that transcend individual organizations. "You don't have to wait for Workday Rising to happen to have those in-person connections," she points out. "A lot of people don't realize that there are regional user groups that have in-person events in their own backyard."

Her advice to newcomers? "Get involved. Get out there and join user groups, join discussion boards, post questions, and provide feedback when you can. Not only are other Workday customers there to support you, but Workday is as well.”

And true to form, when asked about her interests outside of work, Meredith mentions being a tourist in her own backyard, exploring Florida's history, visiting museums, and taking her first-ever cruise this year. "As evidence with my career," she says with a laugh, "I just jump all in."

From a committee of one to leading one of the country's largest regional user groups, Meredith White has proven that community isn't just built through technology, it’s built through people willing to dive in, share openly, and bring others along on the journey.