What was the business problem(s) that your organization / project was facing, and why did you choose a digital adoption strategy to help you solve it?
We recently underwent an acquisition that almost tripled the size of Mechanics Bank as they absorbed Rabobank, N.A. (RNA). Both legacy companies, Mechanics Bank and RNA used multiple systems for HR processes. Each department within HR used a different system to perform different tasks, with no system integration to maintain employee data. Also, employees and managers had no direct access to any relevant HR data. Additionally, many processes were still done manually and/or on paper. To alleviate these inefficiencies and promote employee and manager self-service, we launched a new HRIS in the newly combined organization—Workday. Workday provides us a central system within which all processes can be accomplished and employee data is easily accessible and integrated between tasks. Workday is not only a new system for all employees, but also the first time that all HR functions are done in one system. Employees needed to learn new processes to accomplish tasks within Workday. As part of our change management plan, we wanted to include baked-in support within Workday that would provide just-in-time contextual assistance to employees as they navigated the system.
How did you use WalkMe among other strategies to address your challenges?
We launched Workday in phases, allowing us to have the necessary time to load employee data and configure our processes for each HR department. This phased approach also allowed us to introduce the new system to users incrementally. In addition to communication strategies and traditional resources (videos, job aids, etc.), we used WalkMe to help facilitate the introduction of each Workday module as well as provide task-centered support. Specifically, with the initial launch of Workday we created “The Amazing Workday Race” with WalkMe that provided smart walk-thrus and validations through all the essential systems within Workday. This served multiple purposes. It allowed our end-users to familiarize themselves with the system, helped socialize the structure of Workday and its benefits, validate that employees were entering required information, and provide data insight to stakeholders. We gamified the “Race,” organizing a prize drawing for all employees that completed all the onboarding tasks included in the “Race” within the first week. We had 73% completion of the “Race” within the first week; and 90% completion of the “Race” during the entire time it was up. We also have had 100% completion of the necessary fields we validated using WalkMe. We’ve repeated similar gamified WalkMe tours for each phase, and have had 70% completion of these within the first week of their launch. Additionally, an average of 99.6% users have used supplementary task-oriented WalkMe smart walk-thrus.
How does your digital adoption strategy, especially in regards to WalkMe, impact or benefit your end-users?
The phased approach has proven successful as it has allowed employees to focus on necessary tasks (Personal/Job data, Learning, Performance, etc.). WalkMe allowed us to validate necessary fields and require information in fields that we were unable to do so within Workday. It has minimized the outside training needed as users access the WalkMe assistance when they need it. We’ve had a reduction in requests to HR for assistance due to the self-service the WalkMe assistance provides. We’ve also been able to proactively address the needs of end-users based on where they get stuck in Workday and what help text they enter in WalkMe; we will continually review WalkMe analytics for additional needed WalkMe assistance.
How does your digital adoption strategy, especially in regards to WalkMe, impact or benefit your team?
The phased approach has also been beneficial to our HR team. While we are expected to already be the experts in Workday and the new processes, we are continuing to learn the system and processes ourselves. Being able to provide WalkMe support specific to internal HR teams and processes has allowed us to more efficiently and effectively support the rest of the organization.
How has your digital adoption strategy, especially in regards to WalkMe, helped your organization better achieve its mission goals / values?
The digital adoption of Workday is a critical component to the success of our efforts to integrate two distinct organizations. A single source of data and stream-lined HR processes allows our employees to more effectively drive results and support customer and community relationships. The implementation of Workday would not have been nearly as successful without WalkMe.
How has the success of your digital adoption strategy helped to change the perceptions or attitudes of your stakeholders?
Our stakeholders now look to add WalkMe support with the launch of each new phase of our Workday implementation. WalkMe is considered a necessary part of our change management and is immediately requested as part of the performance support deliverables. Stakeholders have been impressed with the adoption rate and how it has assisted in a large change initiative for the organization. Leaders across the Bank are now looking for ways WalkMe can similarly assist on other system conversions.
More about Mechanics Bank
For more than 110 years, Mechanics Bank has been committed serving the needs of our communities, enriching local lives, and driving economic growth. With more than $17 billion in assets and 144 branches throughout California, we provide a highly personalized relationship banking experience that includes consumer and business banking services, commercial lending and deposit solutions, comprehensive trust and wealth management services as well as a national indirect auto lending unit.
