Have you ever thought “What are the core values I want to have in my line of work?”. I’ve always wanted to make a positive impact in this big blue planet. But of course, things don’t always go precisely according to our wishes. BUT – I realized that we don’t need to have a job that directly makes a positive impact, all we need to do is to change ourselves to do good the best we can with what we have right now. My name is Govind Krishnan. I’ve been at Kognitiv for approximately one and a half years now, and this is my story - so far - of my Workday career.
Beginnings at Deloitte
I was certified as a Workday Integrations consultant back in August 2021, which was the beginning of my Workday career. I joined Deloitte straight from university as a campus recruit. I did not choose Workday; I did not choose consulting either. I worked there for approximately 11/2 years and was very grateful for being there and being part of a great group of colleagues. But I wanted to do more, put myself in tougher situations, and challenge myself. Project implementations took time (which is expected since there’s a lot of ground to cover) but that meant that the rate at which I could grow myself and experience more was slower compared to a fast-paced environment. Since I came from a purely Computer Science background with enough coding and software development experience, I asked if I could do more ‘technical stuff’ within Workday. A few months later, I was given an offer to be Workday Extend certified. Of course, I said yes. And then I immediately got Deloitte’s first FIN extend project (Luck/Timing has a major role in all our lives, I cannot stress its importance enough).
I felt that I was lacking something during my time at Deloitte. Back then, I didn’t fully realize what it was. But now, I can say what it was – meaning. Deloitte being a large company with around 400,000 employees felt quite too big for me to feel that I was a part of it. It’s not Deloitte’s fault – I guess I would’ve felt the same even if I joined any other multi-national corporation. I finally decided to leave the company, but I knew that if I joined any other big corporations, I would feel the same. So, I decided to take a leap of faith and join the Kognitiv team.
Life as a Kogger
I joined Kognitiv on January 9th, 2023. The way things work here is very different to the way things worked up to that point. I no longer had to spend 2 hours travelling to the office and then spend another 2 hours to return anymore. I didn’t have to feel that I’m not growing because of slow-paced work. In fact, I realized that here I had to be much more efficient when it comes to managing my time and work. Implementations are typically billed in a much more relaxed manner but here, since we are doing post-production support, billing had to be much more careful and efficient. While this meant that I had to do more work, I never doubted this method because I know that the clients who are paying us to support them, then reap the benefits of our hard work and dedication. This allowed my moral compass to be more aligned than it ever was before!
Call it perfect timing or luck, Kognitiv was planning on doing its first Extend work around the same time and my arrival was a catalyst to Kognitiv’s entry to Workday Extend. In January itself, I started working on our first Extend project. Right now, we have a practice that spans multiple Extend developers and architects with multiple projects that went live and more coming. Sure, Kognitiv would’ve started its own Extend practice even without me at some point – but I am very glad to have been that catalyst it needed.
Aside from Extend, I was able to work on a wider range of integrations which I couldn’t before. I was certified in Financial Integrations, so I majorly worked on FIN integrations at Deloitte. But now, I wasn’t limited to financials. I could do Benefits or Payroll or BIRT, you name it! The overall corporate trend is that we become specialists at the end of our career – we wouldn’t just become a master of one specific thing. Now, whether that’s good or bad depends on how you view it. For me, being a jack-of-all-trades is what I would prefer instead, and Kognitiv is intrinsically helping me be just that.
Personal Reflection and Future Aspirations
Looking back on my journey so far, I am grateful for the experiences and opportunities that have shaped my professional growth. Each career move, from Deloitte to Kognitiv, has been instrumental in refining my skills and aligning my career path with my personal values. At Kognitiv, I have found a sense of fulfilment and purpose, including a commitment to making a positive impact on both my organization and the broader community.
As I continue to evolve in my role at Kognitiv, I look forward to further expanding our Workday Extend practice and driving innovation in Workday solutions. My goal is to continue leveraging my skills and experiences to deliver tangible benefits to our clients, empowering them to achieve their business objectives. I feel very comfortable here and I know that I am making a greater impact on the company as well as the clients that we support.
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