GK Horizons Implementation Insights
In this article, we explain what Workday Adaptive Planning Hubs are, when to use them, and how to configure them. Workday Adaptive Planning includes many features that help finance teams structure budgeting, forecasting, and reporting processes. One common challenge organisations face, however, is guiding business users through planning workflows in a clear and structured way.
Finance teams often rely on email instructions, external documents, or training materials to explain how planners should complete budgeting or forecasting activities.
Workday’s new Adaptive Planning Hubs feature helps address this by allowing finance teams to organise planning sheets, reports, dashboards, and instructions into a single workspace inside the platform.
This makes it easier for users to understand where to start, what tasks to complete, and how their inputs affect the overall plan.
Key Takeaways
Workday Adaptive Planning Hubs provide a central workspace that brings together planning sheets, reports, dashboards, and instructions.
- They help finance teams guide planners through structured workflows such as budgeting and forecasting cycles.
- Hubs reduce reliance on external documentation by keeping planning guidance within the platform.
- By organising planning activities in a clear structure, Hubs can improve usability and adoption across the organisation.
What Are Workday Adaptive Planning Hubs?
A Hub acts as a central entry point into a planning workflow. Instead of directing users to multiple areas of the system, finance teams can organise planning activities in one place, including:
- planning sheets
- reports
- dashboards
- explanatory text or instructions
This helps planners understand what they need to complete and where to start without needing to search across the system.
When Should You Use Hubs?
Hubs are particularly useful when planning processes involve multiple steps or contributors. Common examples include:
- annual budget preparation
- monthly or quarterly forecast updates
- departmental planning processes
- finance-led planning cycles
Rather than relying on external instructions or email guidance, finance teams can organise the entire workflow within the planning environment.
Example Hub Structure for Budgeting
Overview
Planning instructions
Budget assumptions
Planning timeline
Revenue Planning
Revenue input sheets
Sales planning reports
Workforce Planning
Headcount planning sheets
Salary modelling sheets
Summary and Review
Budget dashboards
Variance reports
This structure allows planners to move through the process in a logical sequence while keeping results visible throughout the planning cycle.
How to Create a Hub in
Workday Adaptive Planning
Below is a simple walkthrough showing how to create and configure a Hub.
Step 1:
Enable Hub Permissions
Step 2:
Open Hubs from the Navigation Menu
Step 3:
Create a New Hub
Users must have Access/Edit Hubs enabled within their permission sets. They will also need permission to access dashboards.
Once permissions are enabled, Hubs will appear in the main navigation menu within Workday Adaptive Planning.
Select Create Hub to begin building your Hub structure. The experience is similar to creating a dashboard.
Step 4:
Add Instructions or Context
Step 5:
Add Sheets, Reports & Dashboards
Step 6:
Organise Content into Groups
You can add text sections to explain the purpose of the Hub or guide users through the planning process. This can include planning instructions, assumptions, or context for the planning cycle.
Using the “+” icon next to the Hub name, you can add:
- planning sheets
- reports
- dashboards
This allows you to bring all relevant planning components into a single workspace.
Sheets, reports, and dashboards can be organised into logical groups. For example:
- Assumptions
- Revenue Planning
- Workforce Planning
- Summary Reports
The same sheet can appear in multiple groups if required.
Step 7:
Work with Reports
Step 8:
Add Dashboard Pages
Reports added to a Hub allow users to:
- filter results
- download data
- review report details
Users can also navigate to the underlying report for editing if required.
Individual dashboard pages can also be embedded within the Hub. This allows planners to immediately review results after entering data.
GK Horizons Implementation Insight
Many organisations already use dashboards to guide planning workflows by combining sheets, reports, and summary dashboards.
Workday Adaptive Planning Hubs simplify this approach by allowing finance teams to centralise instructions, planning inputs, and results within a single workspace.
In practice, this can make planning processes easier for business users to follow while reducing reliance on external documentation or training guides. It also helps finance teams maintain clearer control over planning workflows.
Join the Finance Planning Community
If you’re working with Workday Adaptive Planning and want to see how other organisations structure their planning processes, join the GK Horizons Workday Adaptive Planning User Group.
It’s where finance teams and Adaptive Planning users share practical approaches, ideas, and questions from real planning environments.
