The Challenge
A leading $3.5B healthcare provider in the New England area was operating with 18 fragmented systems across its hospitals and administrative units. Each system managed employee, supply chain, and finance data independently. This led to duplicated records, inconsistent data, and limited visibility into critical information.
Many of these systems were vendor-managed or required manual data extraction, which introduced discrepancies in file structures and frequent delays. To complicate matters further, the organization was preparing for an open enrollment cycle with a new benefits provider. This created an additional layer of risk, with little room for error or delay.
The organization needed to migrate all Human Capital Management (HCM), Payroll (PAY), Supply Chain (SCM), and Finance (FIN) data into a single Workday tenant without disrupting operations, compromising data quality, or overwhelming internal teams.
The Solution
Definian was brought in to lead the full data migration effort, including extraction, cleansing, transformation, and validation. Our team managed data across 18 legacy systems, covering over 16,500 employees, 3,500 contingent workers, and 5,800 suppliers.
We used structured automation, reconciliation reporting, and a clear governance model to guide every phase of the migration. Core steps included:
- Profiling and cleansing legacy data, including addresses and duplicate records
- Automating transformation logic to standardize inconsistent formats
- Running parallel conversion cycles for HCM, PAY, SCM, and FIN to accelerate testing
- Implementing strict file review workflows with vendors and third-party administrators
- Delivering custom validation reports to reconcile legacy and Workday data sets
We also adjusted sequencing to align with the benefits enrollment timeline, running additional test cycles to ensure accuracy without delaying go-live.
The Results
The migration was delivered on time, within budget, and with minimal disruption to internal teams.
Key outcomes included:
- 100% data load success for Core HCM
- 98%+ data load accuracy across all objects
- Successful migration of over 27,000 records, including employees, suppliers, and items
- 1,179 of 1,192 data defects identified during testing were resolved
- Zero disruption to open enrollment activities
- Client teams were able to focus on validation while Definian handled the technical heavy lifting
By working closely with the client’s HR, finance, and supply chain leaders, and collaborating with the global system integrator, Definian ensured the migration aligned with Workday’s delivery methodology and the client's operational goals.
The Impact
The healthcare provider now operates on a unified Workday platform that improves accuracy, transparency, and decision-making across functions. With consistent, high-quality data in place, the organization is better positioned to scale, comply with regulatory standards, and deliver better outcomes for employees and leadership alike.
Client Feedback
- “Couldn’t have asked for a better team on this project.” – SCM Functional Lead
- “Your responsiveness and precision made a huge difference.” – Sourcing Executive
- “Definian’s patience and partnership helped us navigate complex data challenges.” – Assistant Director, HR
