Embracing Gigs: My Pathway to Growth and New Skills

Hey, I’m Leo, and I’ve been fortunate to be part of the incredible Workday team for almost six years now. Over the course of my career at Workday, I’ve had the opportunity to take on various roles, starting in pre-sales as a customer-facing representative for HCM (Human Capital Management) to now diving into exciting endeavours that involve revolutionising our sales approach in the digital age as a Principal Solution Consultant.

“Innovation” is one of our core values and that manifests in many ways. One of them being through gigs. Workmates have an appetite to learn, grow, and build cross-functional connections. Gigs match Workmates to business needs based on their skills and interests. These gigs are temporary, part-time projects where Workmates can grow their connections and skills while contributing to Workday’s business. I’ve witnessed the positive impact of gigs, proving they’re a great way to support employees who are looking to expand their skills while still having the comfort of their current jobs. I’m here to share how gigs are empowering collaboration, unleashing creativity, and fueling professional growth.

Workday Gigs: Empowering Collaboration and Achievement

When explaining a Workday Gig to someone unfamiliar with the concept, I would describe it as a cross-functional team formed around a specific purpose, with the aim of achieving an output within a fixed timeframe. This time-boxed element is what sets a gig apart as it exists for a limited time, typically around three months. Not to mention the expectation isn’t to add work to one’s plate. Gig time commitments range from 3–10 hours per week and this time should be a part of a Workmate’s typical work hours.

Anyone company-wide can get involved based on skills they want to develop from their career hub on Workday.

Gigs allow for a democratic leadership approach, giving anyone the opportunity to take the lead and enabling initiatives to flourish beyond existing structures and silos.

For me I wanted to initiate change within the company, and gigs are an excellent way to bring people across teams together to break down silos and remain fast and innovative.

Hosting Transformative Gigs: Unleashing Creativity and Impact

In my current role, I’ve had the privilege of hosting several gigs, each with a distinct focus and clear outcomes. I‘m primarily responsible for pre-sales initiatives in my region; for those that don’t know the pre-sales team is a subsection of the broader Sales team who are focused on everything leading up to a customer deal and who support the sales team with the deal process.

As part of my role I’ve organised gigs centred around creating demo videos and other new digital experiences for customers. These projects aim to deliver captivating content that adheres to a predefined format, addressing relevant topics in pre-sales. One of the notable achievements included the introduction of “click demos,” an interactive format that empowers our customers to explore and experience Workday products for themselves.

The click demos are now the best performing digital asset in the EMEA region, allowing sales reps to close deals faster, and customers to be more informed in their own time. For another gig I hosted, we condensed our video demo library from 80 subcategories down to just 4, making it easier for the wider sales team to understand what content to share and in turn making it easier for prospective or existing customers to consume.

Skills Acquired: Fueling Personal and Professional Growth

Every gig has presented a unique opportunity for the gig team and myself to learn and acquire new skills. For example I’ve been able to gain a level of proficiency in video editing and UX design, learn new tools and also build an understanding for the creative process. Additionally, it’s given me more of an opportunity to work alongside diverse individuals from different backgrounds from all across the business. This has really enhanced my leadership, collaboration and communication skills, enabling me to better communicate in environments where multiple perspectives from different functional groups are required.

Unleashing Career Growth: Expanding Horizons and Building Connections

The skills I’ve acquired through leading gigs has played a pivotal role in my career growth. The feedback received at the end of each project not only contributes to my professional development but also becomes a valuable asset during career conversations and performance check ins with my manager. Moreover, the newly learnt skills have been added to my profile in Workday’s personal career hub, bolstering my marketability when taking on future gigs. The gigs are also advantageous for internal career mobility both sideways and upwards into a new role, too. Finally, gaining exposure to different parts of the business and different cultures has been great. The chance to connect with professionals from various teams has broadened my perspective and opened doors to potential new opportunities such as becoming a people leader.

Overcoming Challenges: Nurturing Structure and Accountability

Although Gigs provide a structured framework, challenges are not uncommon. One such challenge I faced was a drop-off rate among participants due to workload commitments or external factors. To help mitigate this, we focused on transparently communicating the goals, milestones, and the value of their time investment. I found by emphasising the potential benefits and ensuring clarity, we overcame these obstacles and fostered a more engaged and committed team.

Something important to note is that gigs are completely optional and should not trigger an overwhelming amount of work or add stress; participation is on your terms within the scope of the gig. Workmates should want to take part and feel excited about the opportunity to do something outside of their day to day responsibilities.

Pursuing New Skills: Advice for Skill Development

Here at Workday, gigs are one of the many ways Workmates can make their work days brighter — they provide an excellent platform for Workmates to grow within their roles, enabling them to explore aspects that may not be feasible in their day-to-day jobs.

In an era where skill development is a constant focus across industries, my advice to those seeking to acquire new skills is to consider their current role or position. Try and identify key areas that can be expanded upon, such as domain knowledge or more soft skills like presentation capabilities.

Of course, there is also room to explore completely new fields, through self-paced learning, free video tutorials and online forums. But more and more organisations are focused on skills and by honing in on the skills you want to develop, you can significantly enhance your expertise and value in the workplace and beyond.

My journey leading gigs has opened my eyes to areas of interest to me. They’ve given me opportunities to learn, collaborate, and push boundaries. Not to mention have propelled my career growth and ignited a passion for continuous improvement. Whether it’s through hosting more gigs, acquiring new skills, or overcoming challenges, one thing is for sure-gigs have provided me with a pathway to personal and professional development.

A brighter work day is just around the corner☀️. Explore career opportunities here. For more #WDAYLife content, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.