Workday

Workday sells two learning products, so ask which one the quote covers

Workday sells both products, so a quote can name either one. Workday Learning is built on Workday HCM, so learning sits beside wider workforce data. It is built for Workday customers. Sana Learn can be bought, set up and run beside any HR system, with no move to Workday systems. Sana Learn continues as an independent product. It complements Workday Learning, and together they form a learning suite.

Both products write courses with AI. In Workday Learning, subject matter experts turn raw knowledge into content with AI course generation. Authoring comes with an AI writing assistant. In Sana Learn, authors upload PDFs and SCORM files. SCORM is a standard format for e-learning courses. The author chats with the AI to build a course and views the generated cards. They accept the cards or discard them. Sana tells authors to review each AI-written quiz question before approving it.

Every employee gets a personal AI tutor in Workday Learning. In Sana Learn, the tutor in courses answers from the course content and never from generic information. In Sana Learn search, the tutor flags a question that falls outside its sources. It asks whether to use general knowledge.

Sana Learn syncs with Workday HCM, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle Cloud HCM, Rippling, BambooHR, Hibob and Personio. The sync enrols learners and assigns access. Sana marks some connections as custom, which means it builds them for the customer. Workday Learning has standard links to LinkedIn Learning, Skillsoft, Udemy, Harvard ManageMentor and YouTube.

Required training stays in view, and courses can be exported

Named customers run from 400 to 8,500 people

Sana Learn starts at 300 users, and the contract length needs checking

A Sana Learn user is anyone given access, including external learners, and the customer pays for each one. Sana charges no one-off implementation fee, and onboarding is not an added cost. No capabilities are locked behind add-ons, and Sana charges no surprise fees.

On Sana’s pricing page, the price is based on a 3-year contract. Sana sets a 12-month service term in its Terms of Service unless the agreement provides otherwise. Ask which applies to your order.

Under Sana’s terms, stated minimum commitments are non-cancellable. They cannot be decreased during the term. On Sana’s pricing page, the plan flexes as headcount changes. Ask what happens to the fee if your headcount falls. For an additional term, Sana’s terms let it raise the fee in line with the Swedish Consumer Price Index.

Workday Flex Credits are Workday’s usage-based pricing for AI agents and new platform features. Ask whether any Workday Learning feature draws on them.

Under Workday’s main subscription agreement, the customer owes all future amounts due under every order form. That holds for any reason for ending the contract other than an uncured material breach by Workday. On written request, the customer gets up to 60 days of access at no additional cost to retrieve its content. Sana keeps user data in backups for 30 days before it is anonymised.

What to ask before you sign

1. Which paper governs AI training on our content for Sana Learn, Sana’s own terms or Workday’s product terms? Good answer: One named paper, in writing.
2. Does Sana’s no-training wording cover Workday Learning, powered by Sana? Good answer: Yes, in writing.
3. For Workday Learning, what do the Talent Management Enhanced Features cover, and how do we manage that use? Good answer: The setting named in writing.
4. Which AI features in our order work today, in either product? Good answer: A live list in the order form.
5. Does any Workday Learning feature draw on Flex Credits? Good answer: A list of features with the cost of each.
6. What is the full price of Workday Learning at our headcount? Good answer: One written figure with every extra line.
7. Which of Workday Learning’s standard links open inside the product, so activity is recorded? Good answer: A list by provider, with recording confirmed.
8. Is our Sana Learn term 12 months or three years, and what happens to the fee if headcount falls? Good answer: A written term and a way to reduce users.
9. Which agreement governs our order for each product? Good answer: One named agreement for each.
10. Is our Workday Learning deployment inside the End to End Deployment Scope that the uptime terms cover? Good answer: Yes, named in the order.
11. Can the uptime promise be written without the efforts basis, with more than 60 days to claim? Good answer: A firm monthly figure and a longer window.
12. Which of our existing courses would keep the Sana Learn AI tutor? Good answer: A list by course type.
13. Who can mark a course complete for a user in Sana Learn, and where is that logged? Good answer: Named roles and a dated entry.
14. Can we retrieve our Workday Learning content for longer than 60 days after the contract ends? Good answer: A longer window at no fee.
15. Which outside providers will see our Sana Learn staff data, and in which region? Good answer: A named list by task, with regions.
16. Which Sana Learn connections to our HR system are standard, and which are custom builds? Good answer: A list marked standard or custom, with a price for each build.

Alternatives to Workday Learning and Sana Learn, including buying nothing

If these terms do not suit you, look at Disco or Totara. Buying nothing yet is a third route.

Disco commits not to use customer data to train or fine-tune AI models. That commitment is limited by its third-party AI providers’ compliance with their data terms. Disco also promises in its Terms that it will not intentionally permit AI training on organisation or member data. Compare that wording with Workday’s product terms.

Totara suits a buyer who wants a shorter period to commit to. The Totara Cloud Terms of Service set a subscription period of three or twelve months. It renews automatically unless either party gives 30 days’ notice. Ask Totara what each period costs.

Buying nothing yet is a real option if fewer than 300 people would use Sana Learn. Its plans start at 300 users, and its minimum commitments are covered above.

If your HR system already sells its own learning product, our guide for companies in that position covers that choice. Our market guide places Workday next to the rest of the market.