How Rapidi Connects to Workday, and What It Moves
Rapidi now supports Workday as a source system. HR data that used to sit in Workday, employee records, positions and reporting lines, can move into your ERP or CRM on a schedule, and your own team can add new Workday fields without waiting for a developer.
Quick answer: Rapidi reads Workday through a standard REST web service, paired with a JSON schema that describes the fields in your Workday reports. Workday is the source, the flow is one way, and the most common target is Microsoft Dynamics 365. When a report gains a field, you update the schema, with no code change.
Can Rapidi Connect to Workday?
Yes. Rapidi reaches Workday through its REST web service connection, the same generic connection type it uses for other REST-based systems, together with a JSON schema that describes the objects and fields available for mapping.
There is no separate Workday-specific product to buy or install, and we think that is the interesting part. A Workday connection needs three things: the endpoint URL, the credentials of a Workday integration system user, and a Metadata URL pointing at the schema. SSL is always on. The endpoint can be any Workday REST endpoint you choose to expose. Workday reports, often called RaaS, are the common choice because your own team can build and adjust them, but other Workday tables and endpoints work the same way.
The direction is fixed. Workday is the source, its report output is read-only, and the data moves out of Workday into the target system.
What Does the Workday Connector Sync?
HR data. In the pattern we see most often, that means employee master data, positions, worker assignments and the reporting hierarchy.
Together those cover active and inactive employees, where each person sits across companies and cost centers, their current position and business title, and the manager hierarchy with its history intact. Workday stays the system of record for HR, and the ERP or CRM gets a copy it can use.
How Does the Workday Schema Work?
The schema is a JSON file that describes the objects and fields in your Workday environment, and it is what keeps the integration flexible.
Workday customers add custom fields to their reports over time, a new cost center attribute, a new custom ID. If field mappings were hardcoded, each of those changes would need a developer. Instead the schema acts as a live contract. As soon as it says a field exists, that field is available to map.
Adding a field goes like this:
- Your Workday admin adds the field to the relevant custom report in Workday.
- A matching field definition goes into the JSON schema, with its name, description, type, format and an example value.
- The schema is saved back to where it is hosted, the address in the connection's Metadata URL.
- On its next read of the schema, the integration picks up the field, ready to map.
No code change, no new release, no ticket to Rapidi. Rapidi builds the schema in the first place, and your team extends it from there.
There is one schema per Workday tenant, holding a definition for every endpoint in use, which is why the whole integration runs through a single REST web service connection rather than one per report. The schema is typically a static JSON file, hosted somewhere like GitHub Pages, so it stays version-controlled and easy for a technical team to edit.
One rule matters: the schema has to stay in step with the real report output. A field removed from the report but left in the schema, or the other way round, makes mapping fail or return unexpected results.
What Does a Workday to Dynamics 365 Sync Look Like?
The most common pattern so far syncs employee master data, positions and the reporting hierarchy from Workday into Microsoft Dynamics 365. It uses four report-based objects.
| Object | What it holds | Typical fields |
|---|---|---|
| Employee | The core employee record | Employee ID, company, cost center, hire date, preferred name, work email, active status, termination date |
| Position | Detail for the employee's current role | Position ID, business title, management level, effective date of the current position, most recent position change |
| Worker assignment | Which worker fills which position, over time | Employee ID, position ID, the date the position was filled, last update |
| Position hierarchy | The reporting and management lines | Position ID, the manager's position ID, hierarchy type, valid-from and valid-to dates |
The valid-from and valid-to dates on the hierarchy are what keep the history, so last year's reporting line is still there when someone asks who approved what.
Where Else Can Workday Data Go?
Anywhere Rapidi already connects to. Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations is the most common target so far, and the same four shapes apply to Dynamics 365 Business Central, Salesforce and HubSpot. Only the report names and a few target-specific fields change.
Every Rapidi integration with Workday on one side runs through the same REST web service connection, so adding a second target does not mean a second Workday setup.
What Do You Need Before You Start?
- A Workday integration system user with access to the endpoints being connected.
- Those endpoints reachable over HTTPS from Rapidi.
- A hosted, reachable JSON schema describing them.
- A schedule. The shortest interval comes from your plan, from one hour on Entry down to one minute on Unlimited. See pricing for the plans.
Where to Learn More
The setup detail lives on our wiki, and the connector pages cover what connects to what:
- Workday in the MyRapidi wiki, the starting point for the whole integration.
- Workday REST WebService Connection Setup, field by field.
- Workday Schema Structure and Field Management, how the schema is built and kept current.
- Workday Dynamics 365 Employee Sync, the four objects with every field listed.
- The Workday connector page, what it connects to and which way the data moves.
- The REST web service connector, the generic connection underneath it.
- All Rapidi connectors, if you are checking which target systems we cover.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Workday connector cost extra?
No. Rapidi is priced per subscription plan rather than per connector, so adding Workday does not change your licence.
Can Rapidi write data back into Workday?
No. Workday is the source and its report output is read-only, so the flow runs one way, out of Workday and into the target system.
Do we need a separate connection for each Workday report?
No. One schema per Workday tenant covers every endpoint in use, so a single REST web service connection carries the whole integration.
Who maintains the schema after go-live?
Rapidi builds it, and your team extends it. Keeping it in step with the real report output is a shared discipline rather than a one-time setup step.
Does adding a Workday field need a developer?
No. Your Workday admin adds the field to the report, a matching definition goes into the JSON schema, and the integration picks it up on its next read.
Does this only work with Workday reports?
No. Workday reports, or RaaS, are the common choice because your team can build them, but any Workday REST endpoint you expose works the same way.
Last updated: 23 September 2026
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