Technical references

This section includes useful information you may require when interacting with Workday REST activities.

Using the Execute WQL Query activity

Important:

To use the Execute WQL Query activity, you must configure the System - Workday Query Language scope. For more information, see Workday authentication.

Workday Query Language or WQL is an SQL-like query language that provides enhanced capabilities to query Workday data. Since it resembles SQL, you can manually create queries within Workday or convert an existing report to WQL using the Execute WQL Query activity.

You can convert advanced and matrix reports to Workday Query Language (WQL), then use the resulting query in the Execute WQL Query activity to extract data from Workday.

Use the example below for reference:

1. In Workday, search for the Convert Report to WQL task.

   

2. Select the report you want to convert and select the Converted WQL Query String.

   

   

3. Next, input the copied query in the Execute WQL Query activity and select the Generate output schema button.

   

4. This action generates a list of output fields.

   

You can also explore Workday tables using the Data sources object and create your own queries. You can access table columns through the Data source fields object, and filterable fields are available in the Data source filters object. For more information, refer to the Workday REST documentation on dataSources.

Important things to consider

1. You must first generate the output schema of your query results, and then replace any column values with variables afterwards, at design time.
2. You can use LIMIT and OFFSET parameters to paginate through large sets of data.
3. You may encounter the following error message if:

   1. The System scope is absent from the API client. Check your API client's Scopes (Functional Area).

   2. Your query is incorrect or contains variables. Make sure you successfully run the View WQL Query Result task in Workday and use the correct query in the Execute WQL Query activity.

      

WQL data sources reference

The following tables list the curated WQL data source aliases available in the List Records activity, organized by primary business object. All listed data sources are standard Workday-delivered objects that exist across all tenants and can be queried without additional parameters.

To discover all data sources available in your specific tenant, call:

GET /api/wql/v1/dataSources

Worker

Data source alias	Description	Common use case
allWorkers	All workers (employees and contingent)	Full workforce sync, identity provisioning
allActiveEmployees	Currently active employees	Active headcount reports, payroll feeds
allContingentWorkers	Contingent and contract workers	Vendor management, access provisioning
allTerminatedWorkers	Terminated workers	Offboarding, compliance audits
allPreHires	Pre-hire records	Onboarding workflows
allLeaveOfAbsenceWorkers	Workers currently on leave	Leave tracking, benefits continuity
allRetiredWorkers	Retired workers	Pension and retiree benefit feeds
workerHistory	Historical worker change records	Audit trails, change tracking
workerCompensation	Compensation data per worker	Payroll integrations, total rewards
workerBenefitElections	Benefit enrollment details	Carrier feeds, benefits reporting
workerTimeOff	Time-off balances and entries	Leave balance reporting
workerPersonalData	Personal information (address, date of birth, and so on)	HR data sync, compliance
workerDocuments	Attached worker documents	Document management integrations
workerAccountProvisioning	Account and identity provisioning data	IAM sync (for example, Okta, Azure AD)

Organization

Data source alias	Description	Common use case
allOrganizations	All organization types	Org structure sync
allSupervisoryOrganizations	Supervisory org hierarchy	Manager hierarchy, org charts
allCostCenters	Cost center list	Financial reporting, cost allocation
allCompanies	Legal entity and company list	Multi-entity reporting
allRegions	Regional structures	Geography-based reporting
allCustomOrganizations	Custom org types	Client-specific org structures
organizationHierarchies	Full org tree	Hierarchy feeds to downstream systems
allBusinessUnits	Business unit structure	Segment-level reporting

Position

Data source alias	Description	Common use case
allPositions	All positions	Position catalog sync
allOpenPositions	Unfilled and open positions	Recruiting pipeline, workforce planning
allFilledPositions	Currently filled positions	Headcount reporting
positionBudget	Position budgeting data	Financial planning integration
positionRestrictions	Restrictions on positions	Compliance and governance
allHeadcountGroups	Headcount tracking groups	Workforce analytics

Recruiting (Job Application)

Data source alias	Description	Common use case
allJobApplications	Recruiting applications	ATS integration, hiring analytics
allJobRequisitions	Open requisitions	Requisition tracking
allCandidates	Candidate pool	Candidate pipeline reporting
allOffers	Job offers	Offer management feeds
allInterviews	Interview records	Interview scheduling analytics
allReferrals	Employee referrals	Referral program tracking

Compensation

Data source alias	Description	Common use case
allCompensationPlans	Compensation plan structures	Plan administration
allCompensationGrades	Grade and band definitions	Grade mapping integrations
allCompensationPackages	Packaged compensation	Total rewards reporting
allBonusPlans	Bonus structures	Bonus payout feeds
allStockPlans	Stock and equity plans	Equity administration
allMeritPlans	Merit increase plans	Annual merit cycle feeds

Benefits

Data source alias	Description	Common use case
allBenefitPlans	Benefit plan catalog	Plan setup validation
allBenefitGroups	Benefit eligibility groups	Eligibility rules review
allHealthCareCoverage	Health coverage data	Carrier enrollment feeds
allInsuranceCoverage	Life and disability insurance	Insurance carrier feeds
allRetirementPlans	401k and pension plans	Retirement vendor feeds
allBenefitElections	Active elections	Open enrollment reporting

Time Tracking & Absence

Data source alias	Description	Common use case
allTimeEntries	Time clock entries	Payroll time feeds
allAbsenceRequests	Leave requests	Leave management
allTimeOffPlans	Time-off plan definitions	Plan configuration sync
allLeaveTypes	Leave type catalog	Leave policy reporting
allTimeCalendars	Calendar configurations	Schedule management

Talent & Performance

Data source alias	Description	Common use case
allPerformanceReviews	Review cycle data	Performance analytics
allGoals	Employee goals	Goal tracking integration
allCompetencies	Competency frameworks	Skills gap analysis
allSuccessionPlans	Succession pools	Succession planning
allTalentPools	Talent pipeline	Talent management
allLearningCourses	LMS course catalog	Learning platform sync

HTTP Request

You can use the HTTP Request activity to call any Workday REST API, as long as you assign the required permissions to the API client used. For more information, see the Workday REST connector Authentication guide.