The Concept of “Delegation” in Workday

Short-term delegation allows managers to delegate tasks while they are on holiday, leave or away on business. Short-term delegation has a start and an end date.

Long-term delegation can be used as a tool to delegate Workday tasks to improve efficiency for a senior leader. Long-term delegation can be requested for up to 12 months. An annual audit review is conducted to ensure valid delegations are extended or replaced before the end date arrives.

The Delegator is the manager delegating their tasks in Workday to a staff or team member. The Delegator maintains accountability for all tasks, even those that are delegated.

The Delegate is the staff or team member who is responsible for reviewing and completing tasks delegated to them in Workday. Delegates complete tasks on behalf of their manager (or Delegator) and this is tracked in Workday. A Delegate should be a member of the work unit/team who has knowledge of unit personnel and operations. The person must be able to maintain appropriate confidentiality. Typically, a Delegate is an assistant manager, supervisor, lead, or administrative support personnel who reports directly to the Delegator.

The Alternate Delegate will be responsible for approving tasks for which the Delegate is the subject of the process. Since the Delegate is unable to take action on a business process pertaining to themselves, an Alternate Delegate must be assigned. The Alternate Delegate is by default the manager of the Delegate. If the Delegator is the manager of the Delegate, then a different Alternate Delegator needs to be assigned. The Delegator and the Alternate Delegate cannot be the same person. An Alternate Delegate is required when establishing delegation settings.

• Identify your Delegate and Alternate Delegate.
• Questions regarding delegation and selecting an appropriate person to serve in this capacity can be discussed with your HR Business Partner or the HR Solution Center.
• Discuss the expectations of delegation with your Delegate and Alternate Delegate.

• You can manage, amend or remove a delegation as needed.
• If your Delegate or Alternate Delegate is terminated, all associated delegations will be terminated and the Delegator will be responsible for all tasks unless another delegate is set up.
• 12-month delegations are reviewed and extended by the Workday team unless otherwise instructed by the manager or HR Business Partner.

• Communicate regularly with your delegate. You remain accountable for all delegated Workday tasks.
• The Workday Operations team runs reports annually to review and extend or update delegations before they expire. Managers do not have to do anything as part of the annual review unless someone from HR reaches out directly to them to ask a question about the current delegation in place before the delegation is extended/renewed. If action is requested during the annual audit review of the long-term delegations, please respond promptly.

• Job aids and other resources are available at the bottom of this page.
• Questions can be addressed by your HR Business Partner or the HR Solution Center.

• Complete delegated approval steps and initiate tasks. 
• View and manage tasks delegated to you via the “View My Delegation Assignments” in Workday.
• Communicate regularly with the Delegator about any requests that are unclear or for which you need guidance. If the Delegator is unavailable, contact your HR Business Partner for further guidance.

• Job aids and other resources are available at the bottom of this page.
• Questions can be addressed to your HR Business Partner or the HR Solution Center.

Delegation is functionality within Workday that allows managers to authorize other users within Workday to perform certain inbox tasks and approvals. Delegation does not remove responsibility (ownership) for the task from the assigned user. Delegation can be short-term (less than 3 weeks in length) or long-term (indefinite, with annual audit review). Workday tracks the audit history for delegated tasks.

Delegation can be used simply for efficiency (long term) or to have your responsibilities covered when you are out of the office (short term).

Once assigned, the Delegate or Alternate Delegate can act on behalf of their Delegator, but can only perform the specific action(s) delegated to them.

Examples of tasks that can be delegated are:

• Compensation transactions: Salary increases, bonuses, request one-time payments
• Change to job information: Transfer, promotion, location, organization, termination
• Recruitment transactions: Create position/job requisition, hire

A Delegate or Alternate Delegate should be a member of the work unit/team who has knowledge of unit personnel and operations. The person must be able to maintain appropriate confidentiality. Typically, a Delegate or Alternate Delegate would be an assistant manager, supervisor, lead, and/or administrative support personnel who reports directly to the manager who is delegating the work. 

• Action items and notifications for delegated tasks will also be sent through email to both the Delegate and Delegator. The Alternate Delegate will only see action items and notifications for delegated tasks for which the Delegate is the subject of the process.
• Once assigned, the Delegate or Alternate Delegator can act on behalf of their Delegator, but can only perform the specific action(s) delegated to them.
• The Delegator will continue to see notifications in their Workday Inbox. Visibility to assigned tasks is contingent on the Delegator selecting "Retain Access to Delegated Tasks in Inbox."

• The Delegator is ultimately accountable for all work delegated.
• Both the Delegator, Delegate and Alternate Delegate should have an awareness of the work and the assignments.

• Delegates and Alternate Delegates cannot subsequently delegate to another person, nor do delegated tasks automatically cascade.
• Delegates and Alternate Delegates do NOT have complete visibility to all functions of the Delegator.
• Delegates and Alternate Delegates can neither initiate nor approve managerial tasks for themselves. 

You can review the Job Aids (see list below) for a brief explanation of how delegation works and the steps to establish delegation in Workday, and the most common transactions that managers or their Delegates process in Workday.

• Determine the Delegate(s) and Alternate Delegate(s).
• Determine what functions you wish to delegate.
• Discuss with your Delegate and Alternate Delegate what you expect them to approve and/or initiate.
• Meet with your HR Business Partner if you need assistance or want a walk-through in Workday.
• Submit the delegation request in Workday.
• Ensure that you have the most recent Medical Center Manager "How Do I" job aid.
• Note that you must be a supervisor in Workday to have a Delegate set up for you.

• Any delegation requests that exceed 21 days require the approval of HR and, as with other delegations, will be reviewed annually before being extended.
• Delegators may be asked to sign electronically an acknowledgment and agreement to abide by the conditions of Delegation.

Once either party has terminated in Workday, all associated delegations are also terminated.

Please reach out to your HR Business Partner with questions.