Workday launches AI-powered learning tool with Sana

Workday has launched Workday Learning, powered by Sana, which is now generally available to Workday Human Capital Management customers globally.

The software combines Workday's employee and skills data with Sana's learning tools to deliver personalised training, course creation features and automated administration in a single system. It is aimed at organisations that want learning more closely tied to day-to-day work and workforce data.

The launch expands Workday's learning product as employers respond to changing skills needs and the growing use of artificial intelligence in workplace systems. Workday is targeting learning teams that often manage separate systems, manual processes and standardised courses that can be slow to update.

For learners, the system includes an AI tutor that can answer questions in natural language, explain course material, suggest next steps, and support practice and feedback. Course recommendations are informed by human resources data, including a worker's role, skills, location and organisational context.

A worker moving into a new position or region could therefore be directed to training that matches those changes. Employees can also use search to find targeted answers, such as policy guidance relevant to a particular market, rather than working through broad modules.

Skills gap

Workday linked the launch to research in Australia showing a gap between employer intent and employee experience of training investment. In comments focused on the Australian and New Zealand market, it said many employers report reinvesting AI-driven efficiency gains into learning, but fewer workers say they have seen that investment in practice.

"The skills organisations need are changing quickly, and the way people learn at work needs to keep pace. Workday's Beyond Productivity research in Australia found 86% of leaders say their organisation is prioritising reinvestment of AI-driven efficiency gains into skills training and learning, yet only 52% of employees say they have experienced increased investment in new or expanded skills training programs. That points to a clear opportunity to close the gap between intent and what employees are actually experiencing.

Workday Learning, powered by Sana, brings learning closer to the individual and the work they are doing, using trusted people and skills data to make development more relevant and personalised. For organisations, that creates an opportunity to move beyond measuring course completion towards understanding how learning is building capability across the workforce.

As AI continues to reshape roles and the skills organisations need, learning can no longer be something that happens periodically or separately from work. It needs to become a more continuous part of the flow of work, helping people develop, adapt and build new skills as their roles evolve," said Jo-Anne Ruhl, Vice President and Managing Director ANZ at Workday.

Workday said the system also aims to reduce the workload for instructional designers and learning teams. Users can upload existing materials such as PDF files, presentations and other digital course content, which the software converts into interactive learning modules.

According to Workday, the editing tools can suggest lesson structures, learning objectives, quiz questions and other course elements. They also include writing support for tasks such as redrafting policy text into simpler explanations and adapting content for different regions or roles.

Operational focus

On the administrative side, the software brings together assignments, campaigns, reporting and controls for both Workday and Sana content. Learning paths can update automatically when workers join an organisation, change jobs or move locations.

This approach is intended to reduce manual work in areas such as compliance training, onboarding and skills programs. Because learning records sit alongside workforce data in Workday, managers and administrators can compare training with measures such as internal mobility, performance, retention and skills development.

Workday also cited customer examples to support its case for broader adoption. The Josh Bersin Company said it had already moved learners to an AI-first model using Sana before the integration into Workday's product.

"At The Josh Bersin Company, we shifted our learning business to an AI-first model using Sana, moving thousands of learners into an interactive, always-on environment and converting a large library of programs into interactive courses in months rather than years," said Josh Bersin, Chief Executive Officer of The Josh Bersin Company.

"Now integrated into Workday Learning, Sana gives companies an extraordinary opportunity to modernize large learning libraries into AI-fueled personal experiences and maintain enterprise governance standards."

Accenture said the product also forms part of its wider learning plans. The consultancy described the system as part of efforts to make employee development more personalised and better aligned with changing client needs.

"At Accenture, reinvention is powered by continuous learning and the ability to build skills at speed and at scale," said Colin Anderson, Chief Operating Officer, HR at Accenture.

"We're evolving our learning ecosystem to be more intelligent, personalized, and aligned to the changing needs of our clients. Workday Learning, powered by Sana, is an important part of that journey and builds on top of the Accenture LearnVantage foundation-helping us deliver more adaptive, AI-enabled experiences that accelerate capability building across our workforce."

For organisations that do not use Workday Human Capital Management or Workday Financial Management, Sana Learn remains available as a standalone product. Existing guidance for Workday's learning product will continue to apply where Sana components cannot yet be used, including in some regulated and sovereign deployments.