WORKDAY PRO HCM CORE EXAM – FULL
STUDY GUIDE & FUNCTIONAL REVIEW (2026
EDITION)
Workday HCM Core Exam: Functional Knowledge Assessment
1. What is the foundational data structure in Workday that represents the legal entity for
which people are employed?
A) Supervisory Organization
B) Company ✓
C) Cost Center
D) Business Site
2. Which organizational structure in Workday is primarily used to manage security, approvals,
and reporting lines?
A) Company
B) Cost Center
C) Supervisory Organization ✓
D) Region
3. A "Worker" in Workday is an umbrella term that includes which of the following specific
person types?
A) Only Employees
B) Only Contingent Workers
C) Employees and Contingent Workers ✓
D) Applicants and Employees
4. Which business process is used to initiate the hiring of a new employee who has never
worked for the organization before?
A) Add Job
B) Change Job
C) Hire Employee ✓
D) Propose Compensation
5. The "Job Profile" in Workday is used to standardize which of the following?
A) The worker's salary
B) The worker's manager
,C) The worker's job responsibilities and qualifications ✓
D) The worker's business site
6. Which Workday business process is typically used to give an existing employee a promotion
with a new job title and pay?
A) Transfer
B) Promote Employee ✓
C) Add Additional Job
D) Correct Data
7. What is the primary purpose of the "Manage Positions" business process?
A) To track employee performance
B) To create and maintain budgeted, headcount-controlled roles ✓
C) To assign benefits to employees
D) To terminate workers
8. When configuring a business process in Workday, what is the term for the defined steps
and rules that a task must follow?
A) Business Process Flow
B) Business Process Framework
C) Business Process Policy
D) Business Process Definition ✓
9. Which security group is automatically assigned to a user when they are designated as the
manager of a Supervisory Organization?
A) Workday Functional Administrator
B) Supervisory Organization Security Group ✓
C) Contingent Worker Coordinator
D) Human Resources Partner
10. In Workday reporting, what is the main difference between a "Report" and a "Calc Field"?
A) A Report is for data entry, a Calc Field is for security.
B) A Report outputs data, a Calc Field is a reusable data construction used within reports. ✓
C) A Calc Field is always more complex than a Report.
D) There is no difference; the terms are interchangeable.
11. Which Workday module is used to manage and track an employee's skills, certifications,
and career interests?
A) Talent and Performance ✓
B) Payroll
,C) Benefits
D) Time Tracking
15. What is the purpose of the "Effective Date" on a Workday business process?
A) It indicates when the process was initiated by the user.
B) It is the future date when the process will be automatically submitted.
C) It is the date when the changes from the process take place in the system. ✓
D) It is the deadline for completing the process.
16. Which organizational structure is most commonly used for financial reporting and
budgeting purposes?
A) Supervisory Organization
B) Company
C) Cost Center ✓
D) Region
17. A "Matrix Organization" in Workday allows a worker to report to:
A) Only one primary manager
B) Multiple managers for different aspects of their work ✓
C) No manager at all
D) Only a Cost Center manager
18. The "Job Family" field in a Job Profile is primarily used for:
A) Setting the worker's pay grade
B) Grouping similar jobs for reporting and analysis ✓
C) Determining the worker's eligibility for benefits
D) Assigning the worker's desk location
19. Which business process would you use to correct a misspelled name on an employee's
record?
A) Change Job
B) Correct Data ✓
C) Transfer
D) Terminate Employee
20. What is the function of a "Condition Rule" in a Workday business process?
A) To automatically approve all steps.
B) To determine the path a process takes based on defined criteria. ✓
C) To assign security groups to the initiator.
D) To calculate an employee's bonus.
, 21. The "Organization" security type typically grants access based on a user's association with
which structure?
A) Business Process
B) Supervisory Organization, Cost Center, etc. ✓
C) Report
D) Tenant
22. Which report type is best for creating a simple list of employees with their IDs and job
titles?
A) Matrix Report
B) Advanced Report ✓
C) Composite Report
D) BIRT Report
23. What is the primary data source for building most Advanced Reports in Workday HCM?
A) Supplier Data Source
B) Customer Data Source
C) Worker Data Source ✓
D) Project Data Source
24. Which business process is used to end a worker's employment?
A) End Additional Job
B) Suspend Employee
C) Terminate Employee ✓
D) Correct Data
25. The "Pay Grade" and "Pay Grade Profile" are used to define what?
A) An individual's exact salary
B) The company's payroll schedule
C) A range of pay for a set of jobs ✓
D) The minimum wage for a state
26. What does the "One-Time Payment" earnings policy typically represent?
A) An employee's base salary
B) A recurring bonus paid monthly
C) A single, non-recurring payment like a spot bonus ✓
D) A payment made to a contingent worker
27. Which Workday feature allows you to track multiple concurrent jobs for a single worker
(e.g., an accountant who also manages an intern program)?
STUDY GUIDE & FUNCTIONAL REVIEW (2026
EDITION)
Workday HCM Core Exam: Functional Knowledge Assessment
1. What is the foundational data structure in Workday that represents the legal entity for
which people are employed?
A) Supervisory Organization
B) Company ✓
C) Cost Center
D) Business Site
2. Which organizational structure in Workday is primarily used to manage security, approvals,
and reporting lines?
A) Company
B) Cost Center
C) Supervisory Organization ✓
D) Region
3. A "Worker" in Workday is an umbrella term that includes which of the following specific
person types?
A) Only Employees
B) Only Contingent Workers
C) Employees and Contingent Workers ✓
D) Applicants and Employees
4. Which business process is used to initiate the hiring of a new employee who has never
worked for the organization before?
A) Add Job
B) Change Job
C) Hire Employee ✓
D) Propose Compensation
5. The "Job Profile" in Workday is used to standardize which of the following?
A) The worker's salary
B) The worker's manager
,C) The worker's job responsibilities and qualifications ✓
D) The worker's business site
6. Which Workday business process is typically used to give an existing employee a promotion
with a new job title and pay?
A) Transfer
B) Promote Employee ✓
C) Add Additional Job
D) Correct Data
7. What is the primary purpose of the "Manage Positions" business process?
A) To track employee performance
B) To create and maintain budgeted, headcount-controlled roles ✓
C) To assign benefits to employees
D) To terminate workers
8. When configuring a business process in Workday, what is the term for the defined steps
and rules that a task must follow?
A) Business Process Flow
B) Business Process Framework
C) Business Process Policy
D) Business Process Definition ✓
9. Which security group is automatically assigned to a user when they are designated as the
manager of a Supervisory Organization?
A) Workday Functional Administrator
B) Supervisory Organization Security Group ✓
C) Contingent Worker Coordinator
D) Human Resources Partner
10. In Workday reporting, what is the main difference between a "Report" and a "Calc Field"?
A) A Report is for data entry, a Calc Field is for security.
B) A Report outputs data, a Calc Field is a reusable data construction used within reports. ✓
C) A Calc Field is always more complex than a Report.
D) There is no difference; the terms are interchangeable.
11. Which Workday module is used to manage and track an employee's skills, certifications,
and career interests?
A) Talent and Performance ✓
B) Payroll
,C) Benefits
D) Time Tracking
15. What is the purpose of the "Effective Date" on a Workday business process?
A) It indicates when the process was initiated by the user.
B) It is the future date when the process will be automatically submitted.
C) It is the date when the changes from the process take place in the system. ✓
D) It is the deadline for completing the process.
16. Which organizational structure is most commonly used for financial reporting and
budgeting purposes?
A) Supervisory Organization
B) Company
C) Cost Center ✓
D) Region
17. A "Matrix Organization" in Workday allows a worker to report to:
A) Only one primary manager
B) Multiple managers for different aspects of their work ✓
C) No manager at all
D) Only a Cost Center manager
18. The "Job Family" field in a Job Profile is primarily used for:
A) Setting the worker's pay grade
B) Grouping similar jobs for reporting and analysis ✓
C) Determining the worker's eligibility for benefits
D) Assigning the worker's desk location
19. Which business process would you use to correct a misspelled name on an employee's
record?
A) Change Job
B) Correct Data ✓
C) Transfer
D) Terminate Employee
20. What is the function of a "Condition Rule" in a Workday business process?
A) To automatically approve all steps.
B) To determine the path a process takes based on defined criteria. ✓
C) To assign security groups to the initiator.
D) To calculate an employee's bonus.
, 21. The "Organization" security type typically grants access based on a user's association with
which structure?
A) Business Process
B) Supervisory Organization, Cost Center, etc. ✓
C) Report
D) Tenant
22. Which report type is best for creating a simple list of employees with their IDs and job
titles?
A) Matrix Report
B) Advanced Report ✓
C) Composite Report
D) BIRT Report
23. What is the primary data source for building most Advanced Reports in Workday HCM?
A) Supplier Data Source
B) Customer Data Source
C) Worker Data Source ✓
D) Project Data Source
24. Which business process is used to end a worker's employment?
A) End Additional Job
B) Suspend Employee
C) Terminate Employee ✓
D) Correct Data
25. The "Pay Grade" and "Pay Grade Profile" are used to define what?
A) An individual's exact salary
B) The company's payroll schedule
C) A range of pay for a set of jobs ✓
D) The minimum wage for a state
26. What does the "One-Time Payment" earnings policy typically represent?
A) An employee's base salary
B) A recurring bonus paid monthly
C) A single, non-recurring payment like a spot bonus ✓
D) A payment made to a contingent worker
27. Which Workday feature allows you to track multiple concurrent jobs for a single worker
(e.g., an accountant who also manages an intern program)?
