Read time: 12 minutes
Hey there! We’ve got another release deep dive for you today…
In this issue, we’re breaking down 2026R2’s upcoming Platform & Product Extensions Features. While there are some seriously exciting features (even in our Impactful tier), others feel... well, half-baked, and have caused quite the outcry.
Of our six game-changers, the home page, the worker profile, and enhanced direct deposit all go-live automatically (with tight windows to opt out or adjust). Meanwhile, WhatsApp recruiting, configurable hubs, and time kiosk management hold serious potential for right orgs.
Let’s jump right in! ⭐️
Here’s today’s rating scale…
😍 Game-changer
😃 Impactful
😊 Worth-a-mention
The Features, rated and reviewed…
We reviewed all 2026R2 Platform & Product Extensions Features so far, and found that 34 of them truly fall into this category (Workday included a number of cross-functional items in this product categorization that we’re excluding from today’s ratings).
These 34 Features fall into the following sub-products…
Authentication (1)
Business Process (7)
Data Access (Configurable) Security (1)
Globalization (2)
Home Experience (4)
Integration (6)
Messaging (1)
Mobile Applications (1)
My Tasks (1)
Notifications & Alerts (1)
UI Components & Tools (6)
Workday Extend (3)
Here they are, rated (each section is in alphabetical order, by Release Item)…
And as we always like to remind ya… although we thoroughly review each and every Release Item to best estimate its broad impact, your organization is unique! So we recommend using our ratings as a starting point to help you determine what’s truly most impactful for you and your organization 🤗
The game changers…
First up, 😍 game-changing Product & Platform Features, reviewed in detail (also listed alphabetically).
This is where the good stuff lives.
Free builds awareness. Premium fills all the gaps 🦄
Below:
Six game-changers reviewed in detail, including three that go live automatically on Sep 19th with tight windows to opt out,
The exact setup steps and deadlines before anything hits your users, and
Every impactful feature and honorable mention so nothing catches you off guard before go-live
Plus everything else in Premium:
🤿 Weekly configuration deep dives
🔐 Full archive access
🗳️ A say in what gets built
[3]
Feature: Configurable Workday Home Page
Product: Home Experience, Mobile Applications
Setup Effort: Automatically Available
Targeted Production Date: September 19, 2026
Summary: The home page just became something you can configure! 🎛️ Using the task Home Page Configuration, you can toggle widgets on/off, reorder them, apply condition rules to target a specific population (like those who meet your Onboarding criteria 😍), and add custom cards (simple or image). You can also customize what widgets display on the web vs. mobile.
The layout becomes 2 evenly spaced columns for widgets on web and 1 column for mobile. The old Awaiting Your Action, Timely Suggestions, and Recommended for You sections get consolidated into a Daily Brief widget with 3 sub-sections: To Do, Updates, and Opportunities that only appear if they have items or published cards to display. Based on customer feedback, Workday intends to roll out minor visible changes to address issues with the sub-section’s header size and color.
Daily Brief widget displaying sections: To Do and Updates. See how small and light grey the headers appear where we highlighted them?
The familiar Team Highlights widget gets retired, but its content doesn’t! Its six Manager Insights (listed below) move into the Timely Suggestions section of the Daily Brief. And you have the option to unpublish any of these from the Home Cards Workspace, if you’d like.
Development Items Overdue
Feedback Received
Goals Overdue
Learning Due Soon
Learning Overdue
Upcoming Check-In
Home Cards Workspace to add and remove cards
Even with that change, you’re not left completely without a team view. Workday rolls out a new My Team widget for managers that lists their direct reports. From there, they can easily click into a certain team member's profiles or view their whole org chart.
My Team widget for managers
So, is it mandatory? Not quite!
If you’ve already opted in to the New Workday Experience, you’ll be automatically opted into the Configurable Workday Home Page, but you can opt out using the task Maintain Feature Opt-Ins until 2027R1. That gives you a little more than 6 months to land on a layout you like and play with how much life you can bring to your tenant's homepage!
If you decide to go for it now, by default you’ll see the Daily Brief, Announcements, Important Dates, and Onboarding widgets, in addition to any other work tools added.
Setup:
Run the task Home Page Configuration or follow the pathway underneath System Admin. Click Configure in either the Web Widgets or Mobile App Widgets section.
Enable, disable, or reorder widgets. (Optional: add a condition rule to target specific populations.)
For cards, run the task Manage Configurable Cards, secured to the domain Set Up: Tenant Setup: Cards. Create and publish a card, then enable and order it in Home Page Configuration.
Manage Configurable Cards
Custom Card: Annual Emergency Contact Review 🚑
Note 1: After opting out, home page changes can take up to 5 minutes to take effect.
Note 2: Mobile app home page updates are slightly delayed, planned for go September 23rd release.
Note 3: Workday calls out that you’ll soon get the option to preview the web widget layout within the Home Page Configuration task before fully publishing it.
