Workday

Use this integration to provision learners in Synthesia directly from Workday, instead of uploading them by hand. On the Workday side you build a Report-as-a-Service (RaaS) custom report and an Integration System User (ISU) for authentication, then paste the report URL and ISU credentials into Synthesia. The employees in the report are added to your Learner Portal and refreshed daily, so new joiners, role changes, and departures are reflected automatically.

Before you start

You'll need Workday configuration access — to create custom reports, calculated fields, an Integration System User, and security groups — plus organization admin access in Synthesia.

1. Create the report

Search for Create Custom Report and set:

• Report Type: Advanced (only Advanced reports can be web-service enabled)
• Enable As Web Service: Enabled
• Optimized for Performance: Enabled
• Data Source: Indexed – All Workers
  Click OK.

2. Columns

Add the following columns. The XML Alias values are mandatory — Synthesia uses them to map each field internally.

Manager email

Manager_Email lets Synthesia assign learners by org structure, but a Worker report column can't traverse Worker → Manager → email directly. To get the address, build a calculated field:

1. Add a column, then in the Field cell choose Create Calculated Field for Report.
2. Name it (for example, manageremail), set Business Object to Worker, and Function to Extract Single Instance.
3. Set Source to Worker's Manager, Condition to Any is True, and Sort to Employee ID, returning the First occurrence. (There's only one manager, so the order doesn't matter.)
4. The calculated field now resolves to the manager as a single Worker instance. Add a column with Business Object set to that calculated field, Field set to Public Primary Work Email Address, and XML Alias set to Manager_Email.
5. Under Group Column Headings, give the calculated-field subgroup the heading manager.

3. Prompts

An indexed data source forces required prompts. To run unattended as a web service, only the filter prompts (added in the next step) can be required at runtime.

1. On the Prompts tab, select Populate Undefined Prompt Defaults.
2. For each prompt, set the Prompt Qualifier to Default Prompt where possible.
3. For each prompt, check Do Not Prompt at Runtime.

4. Pagination — date-window prompts

Synthesia paginates through records using a date window. The specific date field is secondary, but it must be indexed and populated for all workers. Hire date is a good default — it's indexed and populated in most Workday tenants.

On the Filter tab, under Filter on Instances, add two conditions on your chosen date field:

5. Get the report URL

Open the report's ⋯ menu → Web Service → View URLs, then copy the JSON link. If Workday asks for date-filter values, enter anything sensible for testing — Synthesia won't use them.

The URL follows this format:

https://<host>/ccx/service/customreport2/<tenant>/<report-owner>/<Report_Name>?format=json

6. Authentication — Integration System User (ISU)

Synthesia retrieves the report as an Integration System User.

1. Create an Integration System User — a non-person account with Do Not Allow UI Sessions = Yes, Session Timeout = 0, and the password exempt from expiration.

2. Create an Integration System Security Group (Unconstrained) and add the ISU as a member.

3. Grant the security group these three domains as View Only (via Maintain Permissions for Security Group) — the verified minimal set:

   • Indexed Data Source: Workers — required to run the report, and surfaces Work_Email, Job_Title, Cost_Center, and Location_Name (these four need no additional field domain).
   • Worker Data: Current Staffing Information — Employee_ID, Country, and Manager_Email.
   • Worker Data: Active and Terminated Workers — Worker_Status (including "On Leave").
     These cover the standard setup documented here. If your report uses different fields or data sources, grant the matching permissions.

4. Activate Pending Security Policy Changes — security edits are tenant-wide and all-or-nothing, and stay inert until you activate them.

5. Test — open the JSON link from step 5, enter the ISU credentials, and spot-check the returned report for errors.

   

7. Connect in Synthesia

1. As an organization admin, go to Manage → Integrations in Synthesia.

2. In the HRIS section, click Connect next to Workday.

   

3. Enter ISU credentials — paste the ISU username and password, then click Connect. Enter the username only, without an @tenant suffix (for example, synthesia_isu, not synthesia_isu@acme).

   

4. Enter the report URL — paste the RaaS JSON URL from step 5 and click Sync employees. Synthesia runs some basic checks on the report, then starts syncing. The first sync begins immediately and repeats daily.

   

5. Monitor (optional) — the status page shows the current and next scheduled sync. Return any time via Manage to trigger a manual sync, see how many employees were synced, or change the RaaS URL.