Workday basic guide

Services

Welcome, Workday user! Workday is your main tool for updating personal details, including your contact information. Use Workday to also report your absences, whether it's for vacation, sick leave, or longer leaves.

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Workday is Aalto's human resources management system, designed also for self-service use by employees and visitors of Aalto. To log in, you need an active Aalto user account. By default, Workday operates in English, but you can easily change the language to Finnish in the settings. Check the instructions below, and if you have any questions or need assistance, don't hesitate to contact your HR!

Link to Workday

Aalto account and secure connection

New employees can sign in to Workday the day after their Aalto user account is activated. After that, the Workday account will be accessible for the duration of your employment or visitor agreement. If you are an Aalto student, you can log in to Workday once your Aalto account has been updated from a student account to an employee account.

If your Aalto account is activated and your contract is valid, but you still can't sign in—even using incognito mode and SSO—please contact your local HR for assistance.

Aalto secure network and Aalto VPN

If you're connected to the secure Aalto network (not aalto open), you'll be signed in automatically. For remote work, use Aalto VPN to ensure a secure connection.

Other network

If you're not on the secure Aalto network, sign in using Aalto Single Sign-On (SSO). Enter your username and password, then confirm your identity with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Note that without a secure connection, some Workday features like adding or updating bank account details won't be available.

Activating an Aalto user ID

Single sign-on session of Aalto services

Wireless Network at Aalto

Multifactor Authentication (MFA, 2FA, Authenticator)

Navigating Workday

Once signed in, you'll find yourself on the Workday homepage. If you have any tasks awaiting your attention, they will be visible here. From the homepage, you can easily navigate to:

Your Workday Profile, where you can view your contract details and personal information.
The My Tasks folder, showcasing all the tasks that need your attention.
Notifications, which contain updates about Workday activities related to you.

Highlighted in the red boxes are the awaiting tasks and toolbar functions.

Changing your user language

Workday is available in both English and Finnish. To change your language preference, navigate to your Account settings by clicking the profile picture icon at the top right corner. Once you have uploaded your profile picture, you’ll see that instead of the default icon. Next, select My Account, then Change Preferences. In the Preferred Display Language field select Suomi (Finnish). Click OK at the bottom to save changes. If you notice that the language did not change, sign out and then sign back in.

Your Workday profile

To access your profile, click on the profile picture icon at the top right corner, then select View Profile. You'll also find a section at the bottom of the homepage called Recommended for You, where you can access your profile.

Contract details

Your profile page contains all the details related to your employment or visitor contract. Here you can also learn more about your team and explore Aalto’s organizational structure. Click on different categories on the left side, like Job, to see what information is included. The details displayed in Workday are the same as those in your signed contract. Any changes to your contract will be processed by HR.

Personal details

Maintain your personal information in your profile. Ensure your Legal Name matches your passport or any official document, including all middle names if applicable. You can use a Preferred Name if you'd like your name to appear differently in Workday or your Aalto email. To change this, initiate the Change My Preferred Name task and unselect the Use Legal Name As Preferred Name box.

Home Contact Information should include personal information only—don't use your Aalto email or work phone number here. It's crucial for Aalto to have a way to contact you or your emergency contact (ICE) in case of emergencies. Your home address should be where you reside during your contract with us. If you're moving from outside Finland, please update your Finnish home address to the system once you have one. Your Home Contact Information is set as Private, visible only to you and HR. Work Contact information (Aalto email and work phone number) is maintained by Aalto IT and is Public, visible to other Workday users.

Explore the Career category and share your background. Your Education information is especially important if you're in an academic role at Aalto. If you've completed a degree at Aalto, please note this information isn't automatically updated from SISU to Workday.

Make sure to also record your absences in Workday. Information doesn't automatically update from other Aalto systems. Only through Workday does the information transfer to the payroll system, where any pay impacts are taken into account, and shared with necessary authorities such as KELA.

Personal details, bank account and tax card

Add or edit bank account information for salary payments

Absences in Workday

Teaching and research personnel, find instructions for recording working hours and Halli system here.

Service personnel, report your flexi-leave days in the Tiima system.

Workday videos

Video captions are available in Finnish. If the video includes demos, the captions in those sections are available in Finnish and English.

This video provides an overview of the Workday profile and how to record information.

This video demonstrates how to change the user language, edit your Preferred Name and check your notifications.

Your Workday tasks

Throughout your contract, you'll need to initiate and complete various tasks in Workday. We recommend checking your tasks regularly and submitting them as soon as possible. A task might also be part of a process, making it important to complete it promptly—this includes changes to working hours or absences that affect your salary.

Find your tasks on your Workday homepage or by clicking the mailbox icon at the upper right corner, next to your profile icon. Notice also the bell icon that indicates notifications sent to you. Completing tasks and marking notifications as read ensures your Daily Digest email (sent to your Aalto email) only contains information about new items awaiting your action.