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How to Synchronize Workday Employees with Microsoft 365 Accounts
Question details
An organization needs to automate the lifecycle of Microsoft 365 user accounts, including account creation, profile updates, and deprovisioning, based on employee status changes in Workday or an internal data center.
- Product
- Microsoft 365
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Automating Microsoft 365 account provisioning and deprovisioning during employee onboarding, role changes, and offboarding.
- Observed behavior
- Looking for a supported architecture and configuration steps to seamlessly integrate Workday HR data with Microsoft 365 directory services.
Ensure you have Global Administrator or Application Administrator privileges in Microsoft Entra ID, a valid Microsoft Entra ID P1 or P2 license, and integration system user credentials for your organization's Workday tenant.
Configure Microsoft Entra ID Provisioning with Workday Connector
Use the built-in Workday provisioning connector in Microsoft Entra ID to automate HR-driven user provisioning and deprovisioning for Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) provides a native, pre-integrated provisioning connector specifically designed for Workday. This integration enables continuous synchronization so that when an employee joins, moves, or leaves in Workday, their Microsoft 365 account reflects the change automatically.
Alternatively, if your organization uses a highly customized internal data center alongside Workday, you can utilize SCIM 2.0 integrations to push identity changes directly to Entra ID.
Log in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as an Administrator and navigate to Identity > Applications > Enterprise applications.
Click 'New application', search for 'Workday to Microsoft Entra user provisioning' in the gallery, and add it to your tenant.
Open the newly added application, navigate to the 'Provisioning' tab, and set the Provisioning Mode to 'Automatic'. Under 'Admin Credentials', enter your Workday Tenant URL and integration system user credentials.
Click the 'Test Connection' button to verify that Microsoft Entra ID can successfully communicate with your Workday instance, then save the settings.
Expand the 'Mappings' section to review and customize how Workday HR attributes (like Job Title, Department, and Manager) map to Microsoft 365 user profile attributes.
Change the Provisioning Status toggle to 'On' and save the configuration to initiate the initial synchronization cycle.
Equip Your Workforce with WPS Office
While configuring complex enterprise directory synchronizations for Microsoft 365 accounts, you might also be looking for ways to optimize your organization's software deployment. WPS Office provides a highly compatible, cost-effective alternative to Microsoft Office, offering essential productivity tools without the heavy enterprise subscription fees.
- 1. Download the Installer: Visit the official WPS Office website to download the standard or enterprise installation package.
- 2. Deploy to Employees: Use your organization's endpoint management tool to deploy WPS Office to employee workstations.
- 3. Start Creating: Employees can instantly open, edit, and collaborate on existing Office documents with zero format loss.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does Workday synchronize employee data with Microsoft 365?
By default, the Microsoft Entra ID provisioning service runs an incremental synchronization cycle every 40 minutes. Administrators can also trigger a manual sync on demand via the Entra admin center for urgent updates.
What happens to a Microsoft 365 account when an employee is terminated in Workday?
When an employee's status is changed to terminated in Workday, the provisioning connector detects the change during the next sync cycle and automatically disables the associated Microsoft 365 account, revoking their system access.
Do I need premium licenses to enable Workday synchronization with Microsoft 365?
Yes, implementing inbound HR-driven provisioning from Workday requires your tenant to have a Microsoft Entra ID P1 or P2 license (formerly Azure AD Premium).
Can I use SCIM instead of the built-in Workday connector?
Yes. If you rely on an internal data center or a highly customized middleware alongside Workday, you can build a SCIM 2.0 endpoint to push user identity updates directly to Microsoft Entra ID.
