Workday releases new features and functionality enhancements twice a year in March and September.
In addition to listing the new features below, if further information is needed, a video is also provided on one or more of the new features listed. This video will be available the week prior to the release going into production.
Introduction
The release will go into production on March 14, 2026.
Watch the Workday 2026 Release 1 video for more information.
Safe Harbor: Workday Inc. reserves the right to make changes on feature updates at any point before the release date including delaying changes for the future. We will inform you of any changes that conflict with the information listed below.
Compensation
Compensation business processes have a modernized user interface to provide an experience consistent with other processes across Workday.
Payroll
The Pay App on the Workday Menu will no longer be available. The Benefits and Pay Hub should be used for Employee self-service needs such as managing bank accounts and payment elections for direct deposit.
When viewing Payroll results, the Actuals tab displays a new field, Costing Source, providing a more streamlined approach to viewing and tracing assigned costing allocation data.
When editing Payment Elections, the Bank Account Verification screen now identifies the specific account using the account nickname or bank name, the account type, and the masked last four digits of the account number. Examples of what employees will see include:
- Nickname: Alan’s Account Checking *****7890
- Bank Name: Wells Fargo Checking *****7890
Recruiting
Recruiting Partners can no longer customize their personal view of the Recruiting Hub. Future updates are anticipated to allow personal customization, but no timeline has yet been communicated.
Staffing
Start Job Change
The Start Job Change business process now includes all Change Job reasons as templates, providing a more consistent, guided, and user‑friendly experience. As part of this update, the Transfer/Promote/Change Job task has been retired.
Additionally, Start Job Change can be initiated directly from the Employee’s Worker Profile Summary page using newly available buttons, eliminating extra navigation steps.
Home and Work Contact Change
We are introducing an improvement to the Contact Change process in Workday to create a more streamlined and user‑friendly experience. Going forward, the process will be separated into two individual tasks: Change Home Contact Information and Change Work Contact Information.
Under this updated approach:
- New employees will only be prompted to enter their Home Contact Information during onboarding.
- HR Partners or HR Contacts will receive a To Do to enter or review Work Contact Information on behalf of the Employee during the Hire, Change Job, and Contract Contingent Worker business processes.
- Employees will continue to add Additional Work Addresses as part of the Flexible Work Arrangement process.
- The Employee will no longer be able to edit their Work Email Address.
This change simplifies the Employee experience and ensures greater accuracy and consistency for A&M System Employee records.
Workday Journeys
We are excited to share that we are launching Workday Journeys! This new feature delivers guided, personalized experiences that streamline key Employee lifecycle moments, such as onboarding, promotions, transfers, and other transitions. Journeys provide step-by-step support, relevant recommendations, and guidance on tasks all in one place to make things simpler and more engaging for the Employee.
The Journeys app can be added by an Employee to the Workday Menu to view any assigned Journeys along with any Journeys available to self-assign to support development and career transitions.
All new employees will now be assigned an Onboarding Journey on their Hire Date. This guided experience brings together the key tasks, resources, and information new hires need to get started successfully. The Journey provides a clear, step-by-step process to help navigate their first days and weeks, stay organized, and quickly become familiar with Workday.
Managers will be able to view their Employee’s progress through the Journeys app along with any Journeys in which the Manager is also enrolled.
As part of this update, the Onboarding Dashboard has been retired.