Purpose
This document provides employees with instructions for delegating or reassigning tasks to others in Workday.
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Keep in Mind
- Delegating a task is not the same as reassigning one. Reassigning a task permanently transfers responsibility from one person to another. Delegation, on the other hand, does not remove responsibility from the original task owner; it simply allows other individuals to perform tasks on their behalf.
- Reassigning applies only to a single, specific task. Tasks can only be reassigned to one person. Reassignments must be done manually, do not occur automatically, and do not affect other tasks.
- The individual being assigned the task must have the appropriate security role to perform it.
- Not all tasks can be reassigned. If a task cannot be reassigned, the option to do so will not be available.
- Delegation can apply to all tasks (within specified process types, if any) that appear in an employee’s My Tasks. These items can be delegated to more than one person and are automatically redirected to the designated individuals for the duration of the delegation period.
- The effective period of the delegation, along with the tasks from specific business processes that may be performed on the employee’s behalf, can be specified.
- Delegation should only be set up for someone who holds a similar role within the same Supervisory Organization (e.g., Budget Partners can delegate to an HR Partner in the same organization).
- Employees can set up delegations that allow other employees to initiate certain business processes on their behalf.
- If another individual in the supervisory organization already holds the same role as the employee reassigning or delegating tasks (e.g., two HR Partners in the same organization), there is no need to reassign or delegate. The tasks will automatically appear in both individuals’ My Tasks.
Steps
- Log into Workday using your CNetID and password.
- Select one of the following options to continue:
- Reassigning a Task
- Delegating a Single Task
- Delegating Multiple Tasks
- Accessing My Delegations
- Adding New Delegations
- Editing Approved Delegations
- Canceling Draft Delegations
Reassigning a Task
- Navigate to My Tasks by selecting the mail icon in the top-right corner of the page.
- From the list under All Items, select the task that needs to be reassigned. Then, select the Task Actions icon, represented by a gear and located at the top of the task screen, above its title, and choose Reassign.
- In the Reassign This Task screen, go to the My Tasks table and enter the name of the employee to whom the task will be reassigned in the Proposed Person column. Then, provide a justification in the Reassignment Reason column.
- Select OK.
- The request routes to the Data Management Specialists Team and the Workday Solutions Team for approval. While awaiting approval, the task remains in the original employee’s My Tasks and can still be acted upon. The task moves to the new employee’s My Tasks ONLY after the request is approved.
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Delegating a Single Task
- Navigate to My Tasks by selecting the mail icon in the top-right corner of the page.
- From the list under All Items, select the task that needs to be delegated. Then, select the Task Actions icon, represented by a gear and located at the top of the task screen, above its title, and choose Delegate Task.
- In the Delegate Task screen, go to the Current Delegates section and enter the name of the employee(s) to whom the task will be delegated in the Proposed Delegates field.
- If desired, enter any relevant Comments in the corresponding box.
- Select Submit.
- The task moves to the original employee’s Archive tab in My Tasks and appears in the new employee’s My Tasks to take action on it.
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Delegating Multiple Tasks
Accessing My Delegations
- Type “My Delegations” in the search box at the top of the screen and select the suggested report that appears below the box. Alternatively, navigate to My Tasks by selecting the mail icon in the top-right corner of the page, and then choose the Manage Delegations option located on the left side navigation panel.
- If the left navigation panel is collapsed:
- Use the Navigation Pane icon, represented by an arrow next to a vertical line, and located at the top left corner the page, to expand or collapse the panel and adjust screen space.
- Conversely, with the panel collapsed, select the Manage Delegations icon, represented by a person icon with a plus sign on the bottom right side.
- The screen My Delegations will show up. There are 5 tabs in this screen:
- Current Delegations – It shows any active delegations.
- Current Task Delegations – A list of all delegated tasks that have not yet been completed appears under this tab.
- Delegation History – This is a log of delegations, both active and inactive, for your profile.
- Delegated Tasks – It displays all tasks that a designee has completed on your behalf.
- Business Processes allowed for Delegation – It shows an exhaustive list of all business processes with tasks that can be delegated.
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Adding New Delegations
- Select the Manage Delegations button located under the Current Delegations tab.
- Enter a Begin Date (it cannot be prior to the date the delegation is being created) and an End Date for the delegation.
- In the Delegate field, enter the name of a person (or more than one person) to whom delegation will be assigned, or use the Hamburger Menu (the icon with 3 dots and 3 lines) to search for their names.
- Use the Hamburger Menu within the Start On My Behalf section to specify one or more business processes the designee will be allowed to initiate on your behalf. This field is OPTIONAL and can be left blank.
- To delegate your assigned tasks so that someone else has the ability to see and act on them on your behalf, go to the section Do My Tasks On My Behalf, and select one of the following choices:
- For all Business Processes
- For Business Process – Select the Hamburger Menu and choose the specific business processes from a pre-populated list.
- None of the above – Choose this option if no one should act on tasks that come to your Workday My Tasks.
- Check the box labeled Retain Access to Delegated Tasks within My Tasks to allow both the delegator and their designee to view and complete the delegated tasks. If this box is left unchecked, the delegator will not have access to those tasks for the duration of the specified date range, only the designee will. Since completed tasks are archived in My Tasks, there should be no concern about duplicated efforts.
- Use the Hamburger Menu within the Delegation Rule section to control which tasks will be delegated, only if such specification is necessary. Otherwise, leave this field blank. There are two options:
- NOT Supervisoy Org and Superior Orgs for Human Resources - Delegation Rule – Select this option to delegate tasks OUTSIDE the designee’s supervisory organization and its superior organizations.
- Supervisoy Org and Superior Orgs for Human Resources - Delegation Rule – Select this option to delegate tasks WITHIN the designee’s supervisory organization and its superior organizations.
- To create additional unique delegations, insert new rows by selecting the Plus (+) icon.
- Once completed, hit the Submit button. Please note that all delegation requests require approval from the Workday Solutions team. If the designee does not have a confidentiality agreement on file, they will need to complete one. Please refer to the Uploading Documents to a Worker's Profile in Workday Knowledge Base Article to add this document to the worker’s profile.
- Select the Done button to complete the process.
- A Workday notification will be generated to inform the delegator if the request was approved or denied. If the delegation is not approved, reach out to the Workday Solutions team to get more information about the denial.
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Editing Approved Delegations
- Upon approval of the delegation, it is possible to modify dates, tasks, and other details. Additionally, new designees can be added, and existing ones can be removed.
- Select the Manage Delegations button on the My Delegations page.
- Modify the delegation as desired or select the Minus (-) icon to delete it altogether.
- Select Submit.
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Canceling Draft Delegations
- If a delegation is not approved yet, it can only be canceled.
- Select the Delegation History tab on the My Delegations page.
- Under the Action column, locate the delegation to be canceled (its status must be In Progress). Hover over the delegation name and select the Related Actions icon that appears to the right.
- Under Actions, hover over Business Process and then choose Cancel.
- The Cancel Business Process page will appear.
- Enter the reason for canceling the delegation. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and use the Comments box to provide this information.
- Select Submit.
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