Campus News

Please see information below for an update about the implementation of Workday for Project Encompass.

Background

In July, the university announced the implementation phase of Encompass — the initiative to modernize the campus enterprise system that houses student information, human resources, payroll and financial data — in a news release and a letter from the executive sponsors, Provost Noel Wilkin and Vice Chancellor Steven Holley. The outcomes achieved through Encompass will transform our business processes and how we support the success of our students, faculty and staff.

Encompass Highlights

• June through September, teams for the two solutions — Workday (human resources, payroll and financials) and Banner (student information system and financial aid) — conducted readiness activities and discovery sessions. 
• Encompass represents an investment of approximately $80 million through 2034. 
• More than 200 employees across campus are dedicating time to Encompass in varying capacities. 

 Workday Current Status 

• The HCM & Payroll Plan Phase is complete which included creating a project plan, foundational project assets, templates, and strategy documents.
• A total of 11 Discovery Sessions were conducted with the core HCM & Payroll team which will help define our future state of the Workday solution. The sessions focused on a number of topics including: payroll, compensation, recruiting, benefits, performance management, absence/leave, time tracking, and more. 
• The HCM & Payroll System Design (architect and configure) Phase began Oct. 1, and campus members, users, and supervisors have been invited to participate. Additionally, these sessions will be recorded and will be shared with the campus.   
• The first wave of data migration is underway.  

 Key Benefits of Workday

• Enhanced Employee Experience 
  • Empower employees with self-service tools and intuitive interfaces
  • Better user experience for faculty, staff, and student worker
  • Mobile friendly
• Increased Efficiency
  • Streamlined processes and integrated data saves time and resources
  • Allows for real-time budget creation, management, and adjustment. Includes visual aids that reflect changes to financial data in real time. 
  • Ability to refocus valuable staff time
• Improved Visibility
  • Gain real-time insights into financials and workforce for better decision-making
  • More trustworthy data for better decisions
  • Reduced audit and information security risk

 Timeline

• Human Resources/Payroll will deploy Jan. 2026.
• Finance will begin implementation March 2026 and deploy July 2027. 
• See attached timeline for additional details.

Meet the UM HCM/Payroll Workday Project Team 

• Program Directors: Andrea Jekabsons, Al Ling, and Joy Shideler
• Project Manager: Caitlyn Wakefield 
• Project Coordinator: Melissa Howe
• Technical Lead: Chris Provence
• HCM and Academic Lead: Craig Richmond
• Compensation Lead: Bryce Drew
• Payroll Lead: Desha Ferguson
• Benefits Leads: Sherelyn Gooch and Pam Johnson
• Time and Absence Lead: Cabrina Oliver
• Recruiting Lead: Kim Criddle
• Talent and Performance Lead: Hunter Haney
• Data Conversion Lead: Kay Card
• Security Leads: Beau Bourgeois and Michael Mosley
• Integrations Leads: Mingxian Fu and Chris Provence 
• Data Lake/Data Warehouse Enterprise Reporting Team: Katie Busby, Brian Hopkins, Margaret Walden, and Brenteria Travis
• Interim Change Management Lead: Emily Ferris 
• Training Lead: Sarah Campbell
• Communications Lead: Lisa Stone 

Need More Information?

Encompass will experience a better result through communication and contributions from our campus community. Encompass team members are available to present to campus groups and departments to provide background and status updates. Please email encompass@olemiss.edu if you’d like to schedule a presentation.