Hiring 40+ Workday & HRIS Professionals in 60 Days [Case Study]

Industry: Enterprise Technology / HR Transformation
Hiring Requirement: Workday & HRIS Professionals
Hiring Model: Hybrid – Direct Payroll Hiring + Contract Staffing
Workforce Mix: Approx. 50% Direct Payroll | 50% Contract Staffing
Primary Locations: Bengaluru & Hyderabad
Work Models: On-site / Hybrid / Remote for Select Positions
Professionals Hired: 40+
Timeline: 60 Days
Recruitment Partner: Prism HRC

Executive Summary

A large enterprise organisation brought Prism HRC in to support a critical HR technology transformation program, one that needed 40+ Workday and HRIS professionals within roughly 60 days. It was a mandate with several layers of complexity stacked on top of one another.

The client needed talent across a range of Workday functional and technical areas, HCM, integrations, reporting, HRIS, testing, data migration and production support among them. The workforce also had to be built through two different hiring models at once: roughly 50% direct payroll hiring and roughly 50% contract staffing.

Bengaluru and Hyderabad were the primary hiring locations, and for us these were familiar ground. We've been recruiting technology professionals across Bengaluru, Hyderabad and other major Indian technology hubs for more than 15 years. Our recruiter team knows these geographies well, and understands the location specific factors that quietly shape a search:

Where relevant technology talent is concentrated
Candidate movement between major technology companies
Compensation differences across locations
Availability of niche technology skills
Candidate relocation preferences
Notice period patterns
Commute and office location considerations
Candidate expectations around hybrid working
Competition for specialised enterprise technology talent

That geographical understanding proved especially valuable during the Workday mandate. For some of the harder to fill positions, we also worked with the client to reconsider whether physical presence in Bengaluru or Hyderabad was genuinely necessary. Where the skill mattered more than the location, we recommended opening selected positions to hybrid or remote arrangements and after discussion and approval for specific roles, that widened the pool well beyond the immediate locations.

By pulling together our technology recruitment experience, geographical understanding, skill based recruiter allocation, permanent hiring and contract staffing capabilities and a flexible approach to the difficult positions, we helped the client hire and deploy 40+ Workday and HRIS professionals within roughly 60 days.

Understanding the Client's Requirement

The client was in the middle of a major HR technology and digital transformation initiative, with Workday forming an important part of its HR technology environment. That created real demand for specialised functional, technical and operational professionals. The overall requirement covered:

Workday Functional Consulting
Workday HCM
Workday Integrations
Workday Reporting
HRIS Operations
Testing
Data Migration
Production Support
HR Technology Administration

This was not a conventional permanent recruitment mandate, though. The client wanted a balanced workforce made up of both permanent employees and contract professionals.

Approximately 50% – Direct Payroll Hiring

Around half of the selected professionals needed to join the client's payroll directly. These positions lined up mainly with longer-term needs:

Building internal Workday capability
HR technology ownership
Knowledge retention
Business continuity
Ongoing system administration
Long term functional and technical expertise

For these, our recruiters had to weigh not just technical suitability but whether the candidate was genuinely interested in building a longer term career with the client.

Approximately 50% – Contract Staffing

The rest were hired through Prism HRC's contract staffing model, which gave the client the ability to:

Add specialised talent faster
Increase project capacity
Access niche Workday skills
Support implementation and transformation activities
Maintain workforce flexibility
Scale resources according to project requirements

This created two recruitment tracks that had to run at the same time.

Skills We Were Asked to Hire

The mandate spanned several distinct talent pools within the Workday and HRIS ecosystem.

1. Workday Functional Consultants

We worked on requirements across modules such as:

Workday HCM
Workday Compensation
Workday Benefits
Workday Recruiting
Workday Talent Management
Workday Absence Management
Workday Time Tracking
Workday Payroll

One of our first screening priorities was pinning down a candidate's actual hands-on module experience. Our recruiters evaluated:

Relevant Workday module
Years of module specific experience
Configuration exposure
Implementation experience
Enhancement projects
Production support
Client-facing responsibilities
Current project responsibilities

A resume listing several Workday modules did not automatically qualify someone for every requirement.

2. Workday Integration Consultants

The technical requirements included:

Workday Studio
Enterprise Interface Builder (EIB)
Core Connectors
Workday Web Services
APIs
XML / XSLT
Third-party integrations
Integration troubleshooting

For these, we focused on telling apart candidates who'd merely supported integrations from professionals who'd actually:

Designed integrations
Developed interfaces
Configured integrations
Troubleshot integration failures
Worked with third-party systems
Supported implementation and production environments

These were among the more specialised requirements in the mandate.

3. Workday Reporting & Analytics

The client also needed people experienced in:

Workday Reports
Advanced Reports
Calculated Fields
Dashboards
Workday Prism Analytics
HR reporting
Data analysis

Our screening tried to establish whether candidates had genuinely:

Developed reports
Created calculated fields
Built dashboards
Worked on complex reporting requirements
Interacted with business stakeholders
Troubleshot reporting issues

4. HRIS Professionals

The broader HRIS requirements covered:

HR master data
Employee lifecycle management
HR systems administration
System configuration
Data management
HR operations
User support
HR technology processes

5. Testing, Data Migration & Support

We also worked on positions covering:

Functional testing
Integration testing
User Acceptance Testing
Regression testing
Defect management
Data migration
Data validation
Go-live support
Production support

So the mandate involved far more than simply sourcing 40 people with "Workday" experience. We were effectively running several specialised recruitment projects side by side.

The Key Hiring Challenges

1. A Limited Workday Talent Pool

Workday is a specialised enterprise technology ecosystem, and the pool shrinks considerably once you factor in every required parameter together:

Specific Workday module
Relevant hands-on experience
Project exposure
Employment preference
Compensation
Location
Notice period
Joining availability
Work model

For some niche positions, finding candidates who ticked every box became genuinely challenging.

2. Managing Direct Hiring and Contract Staffing Simultaneously

With roughly half the workforce going directly onto the client's payroll and the other half engaged through contract staffing, we kept separate candidate pipelines.

For direct payroll positions, we evaluated:

Permanent employment interest
Long term career alignment
Compensation expectations
Relevant technical experience
Location preference
Notice period
Existing offers

For contract staffing positions, we evaluated:

Openness to contract employment
Project-specific experience
Availability
Commercial expectations
Deployment readiness
Joining commitment

Raising the employment model right at the initial screening helped us cut down on later-stage withdrawals caused by misunderstandings about the nature of the employment.

3. Hiring 40+ Professionals Within 60 Days

The sheer scale was demanding in itself. We couldn't follow a traditional process where one requirement gets closed before the next begins. Multiple activities had to run in parallel:

Candidate mapping
Sourcing
Screening
Client submission
Interview scheduling
Technical interviews
Final interviews
Compensation discussions
Documentation
Joining follow-up

While one group of candidates was interviewing, our recruiters kept building the next pipeline. That continuous recruitment cycle was critical to hitting the numbers inside the 60-day window.

4. Bengaluru & Hyderabad – Leveraging 15+ Years of Hiring Experience

One of our real advantages here was our familiarity with the Bengaluru and Hyderabad technology talent markets, where we've been recruiting for more than 15 years. Over that time, our recruiters have handled technology requirements across:

Software Engineering
Cloud
Data & Analytics
ERP
HRIS
Cybersecurity
AI & Machine Learning
Enterprise Applications
Digital Transformation

As a result, our team didn't treat Bengaluru and Hyderabad as just two locations named in a job description, we understood the talent geography sitting behind them.

Our understanding of the local talent market helped with:

Candidate Mapping – identifying organisations and technology environments where relevant enterprise technology talent was more likely to be found.
Location-Based Sourcing – building search strategies separately for Bengaluru and Hyderabad rather than leaning on one generic Pan-India search.
Compensation Alignment – spotting situations where pay expectations diverged from the available market.
Relocation Conversations – identifying candidates already weighing a move between technology hubs and raising relocation right at the start.
Work Model Expectations – recognising that candidates increasingly judge opportunities on office location, commute, number of office days, hybrid flexibility and remote possibilities, so understanding these early helped prevent avoidable dropouts.

5. Solving Difficult Positions Through Remote & Hybrid Hiring

Some positions stayed difficult even after extensive sourcing in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. In those cases, our response wasn't just to keep combing the same pool over and over. We reviewed the requirements with the client and asked a pointed question: does this position genuinely need the professional physically present in Bengaluru or Hyderabad, or does the specialised skill matter more than the location? For certain roles, daily physical presence simply wasn't required, so we recommended the client consider hybrid or remote options for selected difficult-to-fill positions.

Expanding the Talent Pool. Once the client approved specific positions, we widened the search beyond Bengaluru and Hyderabad. That let us consider:

Candidates in other Indian technology hubs
Professionals unable to relocate immediately
Candidates seeking hybrid opportunities
Specialised professionals preferring remote work
Candidates who matched the technical requirement but had previously been excluded because of geography

This meaningfully increased the addressable pool for some niche requirements.

A Flexible Approach – Not a Blanket Remote Policy. Remote working wasn't applied across the board; the approach stayed requirement-specific. We assessed each position on:

Business requirements
Project dependencies
Client interaction
Team structure
Security considerations
Technical specialisation
Availability of local talent

Where office presence was essential, Bengaluru or Hyderabad remained mandatory. Where specialised technical expertise mattered more than physical location, we discussed hybrid or remote flexibility with the client. That practical approach unlocked candidates for some of the tougher requirements.

Prism HRC's Recruitment Strategy

1. Requirement Calibration

Before any large scale sourcing, we broke the mandate down by:

Workday module
Functional or technical role
Mandatory skills
Preferred skills
Experience
Location
Hiring model
Work model
Compensation
Notice period
Joining timeline
Priority

That turned a broad ask for "40+ Workday resources" into multiple clearly defined recruitment pipelines.

2. Skill-Based Recruiter Allocation

We assigned recruiters by technology cluster.

Workday Functional recruiters focused on:

HCM
Compensation
Benefits
Recruiting
Talent
Absence
Time Tracking
Payroll

Workday Technical requirements included:

Workday Studio
EIB
Integrations
APIs
Web Services
Core Connectors

Reporting & Analytics covered:

Advanced Reporting
Calculated Fields
Dashboards
Prism Analytics

HRIS / Testing / Support recruiters covered:

HR systems
Testing
Data migration
Production support
HR technology operations

Working repeatedly on related skills gave our recruiters a stronger feel for the relevant candidate pools.

3. Multi-Channel Sourcing

To build enough pipeline depth, we sourced candidates through:

Prism HRC's existing candidate database
Major Indian job portals
LinkedIn
Existing recruiter networks
Technology talent communities
Candidate references
Previously engaged candidates
Referral-based sourcing

We searched on skill combinations rather than generic Workday queries. Examples included:

Workday + HCM + Compensation
Workday + Recruiting + Talent
Workday + Studio + EIB
Workday + Integration + API
Workday + Advanced Reporting
Workday + Prism Analytics

For approved remote or hybrid positions, the geography was widened further still.

4. Structured Candidate Screening

Before any candidate reached the client, our team assessed four major areas.

A. Technical Fit. We captured:

Total experience
Relevant Workday experience
Module experience
Current project responsibilities
Implementation exposure
Configuration experience
Integration experience
Reporting experience
Testing/support experience

B. Employment Fit. We checked:

Current organisation
Current employment model
Permanent/contract preference
Current location
Preferred location
Willingness to relocate
Hybrid/remote expectations

C. Commercial Fit. We discussed:

Current compensation
Expected compensation
Contract staffing expectations, where applicable
Existing offers

D. Availability. We verified:

Official notice period
Current notice status
Last working date
Earliest joining date
Other active interviews
Existing offers

This made sure the profiles we submitted were not only technically relevant but commercially and operationally viable too.

5. Running Multiple Recruitment Pipelines in Parallel

At any given point, candidates could be at completely different stages:

Sourcing
Screening
Client review
Interview
Selection
Offer discussion
Documentation
Joining

Our recruiters kept sourcing even while others were interviewing, which mattered because a selection didn't necessarily guarantee a joining.

6. Interview Coordination & Fast Feedback

With multiple requirements across different skills and locations, interview management became a significant part of the engagement. Our team coordinated:

Candidate availability
Interview slots
Interview confirmations
Reminders
Rescheduling
Candidate feedback
Client feedback
Subsequent rounds
Final selection communication

Keeping things moving quickly mattered especially for specialised candidates who were interviewing with several organisations at once.

7. Candidate Engagement Until Joining

We never treated selection as the final milestone, instead following selected candidates right through to joining. Our recruiters tracked:

Resignation status
Notice-period progress
Counteroffers
Competing offers
Documentation
Joining confirmation
Changes in candidate expectations
Potential delays

For professionals hired through contract staffing, we additionally tracked documentation and deployment readiness.

8. Backup Candidate Pipelines

For critical positions, we kept backup candidates wherever possible, which protected the project against:

Candidate withdrawals
Counteroffers
Joining delays
Compensation changes
Relocation concerns
Competing offers

Rather than restarting a difficult requirement after a dropout, we could simply move another relevant candidate forward.

Our Phased Execution Model

Phase 1 – Requirement Mapping

We:

Identified all positions
Classified direct hiring and contract staffing requirements
Prioritised critical skills
Allocated recruiters
Created Bengaluru and Hyderabad pipelines
Identified immediate and short-notice candidates

Phase 2 – Parallel Hiring

Our recruiters simultaneously worked across:

Workday Functional
Workday Technical
Reporting
HRIS
Testing
Support

Interviews began while sourcing continued.

Phase 3 – Solving Difficult Requirements

For niche positions, we:

Revisited mandatory requirements
Expanded candidate mapping
Discussed market availability with the client
Recommended hybrid flexibility where appropriate
Requested remote-work approval for selected positions
Expanded sourcing geography after approval

Phase 4 – Selection & Joining

As selections increased, we focused on:

Compensation closure
Offer coordination
Documentation
Notice-period tracking
Candidate engagement
Joining confirmation
Contract staffing deployment

Phase 5 – Final Gap Closure

The final stage concentrated on:

Hard-to-fill positions
Candidate replacements
Backup candidates
Joining-risk management
Final onboarding

The Result

Within roughly 60 days, Prism HRC helped the client hire and deploy 40+ Workday and HRIS professionals.

Primary Locations: Bengaluru, Hyderabad
Hiring Mix: Approximately 50% direct payroll hiring, approximately 50% contract staffing
Work Models: Depending on business and skill requirements, office-based, hybrid, or remote for selected approved positions
Skills Covered: Workday Functional, Workday HCM, Workday Integrations, Workday Reporting, HRIS, Testing, Data Migration and Production Support

Business Impact

1. 40+ Specialised Professionals Added in 60 Days

The client was able to rapidly build the HR technology workforce its transformation program needed.

2. Balanced Direct Hiring + Contract Staffing Model

The hybrid model delivered a combination of:

Long-term internal capability
Permanent workforce stability
Project-specific expertise
Contract staffing flexibility

3. Wider Access to Niche Talent

For the difficult positions, approved remote and hybrid arrangements let us reach candidates who'd otherwise have been unavailable because of location restrictions.

4. Better Use of Local Talent Intelligence

Our 15+ years of recruiting across Bengaluru and Hyderabad meant we approached the market already understanding its:

Technology talent clusters
Compensation expectations
Candidate movement
Location preferences
Relocation
Work-model expectations

5. Reduced Pressure on the Client's Internal Recruitment Team

Prism HRC managed:

Sourcing
Initial screening
Candidate coordination
Interview scheduling
Follow-ups
Joining tracking
Contract staffing deployment

That freed the client's team to concentrate more heavily on technical assessment, final decisions and transformation delivery.

What Made This Engagement Successful?

The success here wasn't about simply sourcing a large number of resumes. Several factors worked together:

15+ years of Prism HRC recruitment experience
Strong understanding of the Bengaluru and Hyderabad talent markets
Recruiters familiar with technology hiring geography
Skill-specific sourcing
Separate direct hiring and contract staffing pipelines
Structured candidate screening
Parallel recruitment execution
Multi-channel sourcing
Active joining management
Backup candidate pipelines
Flexibility around remote and hybrid hiring for selected positions
Continuous communication with the client about market realities

Most importantly, we didn't treat every difficult requirement as merely a sourcing problem. Sometimes the answer was to change the search strategy. Sometimes it was to expand the geography. And for certain niche positions, the answer was to work with the client and reconsider the work model itself.

Key Takeaways

Requirement: Workday & HRIS hiring for an enterprise HR transformation program.
Total Hiring: 40+ professionals.
Timeline: Approximately 60 days.
Primary Locations: Bengaluru & Hyderabad.
Hiring Model: Approximately 50% direct payroll hiring + 50% contract staffing.
Work Model: Office-based, with hybrid and remote flexibility approved for selected difficult-to-fill positions.

Key Challenges

Specialised Workday talent
Multiple functional and technical modules
40+ hires within 60 days
Direct hiring and contract staffing simultaneously
Location constraints
Notice periods
Compensation alignment
Candidate dropouts
Niche skill availability

Prism HRC's Solution

Leveraged 15+ years of technology hiring experience
Used recruiter knowledge of the Bengaluru and Hyderabad talent markets
Segmented requirements by skill, geography and hiring model
Created dedicated direct hiring and contract staffing pipelines
Used multi-channel sourcing
Screened candidates before submission
Ran recruitment activities simultaneously
Maintained backup pipelines
Worked with the client to introduce hybrid/remote flexibility for selected difficult positions
Managed candidates through joining and deployment

Outcome

40+ Workday and HRIS professionals hired and deployed within approximately 60 days.

Conclusion

This engagement shows how specialised technology hiring takes more than access to job portals or a big candidate database. It takes an understanding of the technology, of candidate availability, of hiring models, of geography, and of the realities of the talent market.

The client's requirement was genuinely complex: 40+ Workday and HRIS professionals to be hired within roughly 60 days across Bengaluru and Hyderabad, with the requirement split about equally between direct payroll hiring and contract staffing. Prism HRC's 15+ years of recruitment experience, particularly our familiarity with technology hiring across Bengaluru and Hyderabad, meant we came to the mandate already understanding these talent markets.

Our recruiter team knew that location itself can influence:

Candidate availability
Compensation expectations
Commute considerations
Relocation decisions
Joining probability
Willingness to accept an opportunity

For the most challenging requirements, we went a step further. Rather than repeatedly working a restricted local pool, we talked the market situation through with the client and got approval to introduce hybrid and remote options for selected positions where physical presence wasn't essential. That let us expand the talent pool and reach suitable professionals outside the original geography, without compromising on the core skill requirement.

By combining:

Direct payroll hiring
Contract staffing
Technology-focused sourcing
Local talent-market knowledge
Remote and hybrid hiring flexibility
Structured screening
Parallel execution
Joining management

We helped the client build a 40+ member Workday and HRIS workforce within the targeted 60-day period.

For Prism HRC, the engagement reflects an important principle behind our recruitment approach: the objective isn't simply to send more resumes. It's to understand the client's requirement, understand the available talent market, identify the barriers to hiring, and create a recruitment strategy that helps close the gap.

How Prism HRC Hired 40+ Workday & HRIS Professionals in 60 Days Across Bengaluru & Hyderabad