So, what do you do?

This weekend we my daughter’s friend’s parents, and of course, “So, what do you do?” came up.

I realized I haven’t been very good at answering “What do you do?”. I’ve had 3 typical responses for the last couple of years and they all suck.

If I’m talking with someone who…

• Doesn’t work with or hates tech: “I work from home and sit at a computer doing IT stuff all day.”
• Kinda understands tech or has used an HR system before: “I work in HR, but supporting the Workday HR ERP system. Oh, you hate Workday? Yeah, well, it’s kind of the lesser of two or three evils I guess.”
• Knows Workday: “I build integrations, reports, test, track, and prototype new functionality around Workday.”

Those answers aren’t wrong, but they sell my work short. They don’t convey my strengths, my expertise, or the real value that I bring. I’ve especially struggled with this since my role has changed to “Architect”. My work changes week-to-week and project-to-project. The results are hard to quantify and when executed well, “no news is good news.” The “work” in the form of planning, discussions, and prototyping quickly fades into the background. And the final deliverable frequently gets passed onto an analyst to be documented, tested, deployed, and carried over the line.

So, what do you really do?

I provide the ability to think about and solve problems holistically, from a system’s core abstractions (underlying data models & processes) to how those are surfaced and interacted with. Clear thinking across technical and functional dimensions creates long-lived outcomes that quietly fade into the background as they get s*** done and scale. My career has mostly been around Workday, but I also dabble in Python and backend web development for fun.

• I can break down and understand the data models of two different systems and discuss how to bring them together in seamless and meaningful ways.
• I can talk shop with the business to understand the real root of an issue and how to design and build solutions that really work for people.
• If the solution requires a 1-pager, we are missing something.
• Not only can I discuss and design an integration or automation, I can build that for you too.
• I can explain and break down technical problems and solutions so someone less technical can understand them and stay engaged in the same conversation.
• I will help you build a technology roadmap that aligns with your business goals, not just who yells the loudest.
• I will help you come up with ways to make data-driven decisions and prioritize working on the things that matter.
• I can help you see and discuss the solution to this problem, and also all the downstream systems and processes that might be affected.
• I can help develop best practices and even a whole plan for how HR can take ownership of integrations and Workday to better support employees, managers, and administrators.
• I do my best (it’s quite overwhelming these days) to stay up to date with new functionality in Workday and choosing the things that make the biggest impact.