A healthcare group received a 22% proposed renewal uplift from Workday three quarters before contract expiry. Three modules had been added during the original term but never fully deployed. Twelve weeks later, the renewal signed at a 4% uplift, three modules were retired and the contract picked up an annual rationalisation clause.
The client ran Workday HCM as the core HRIS, with Financials, Adaptive Planning and a small Workday Learning footprint. Three additional modules had been added in years two and three of the original term on the assumption of deployment programmes that had since been deprioritised.
The opening renewal applied a 22% uplift against the contractual ceiling, including the three undeployed modules. Workday's position was that the modules remained available and the uplift reflected market pricing.
An uplift applied to entitlement the client does not use does two things at once: it raises the run rate, and it locks in the unused entitlement for the next renewal cycle.
Documented the deployment status of every module, including evidence that three had no active business owner and no implementation plan.
Rebuilt the proposed uplift against the modules the client actually used. Benchmarked the resulting figure against comparable Workday renewals.
Negotiated a contractual clause allowing annual rationalisation of unused modules without resetting the master discount or triggering punitive exit pricing.
Position paper drafted, internal sponsor presented, our team supported the follow-up rounds.
The uplift conversation is downstream of the scope conversation. Rationalise scope first, then negotiate uplift against the rationalised scope.
Three modules retired without exit penalty. Renewal uplift settled at 4% against the rationalised scope. A contractual annual rationalisation clause was added for the four-year term.
Tell us the renewal date and the modules in scope. We will respond within one business day with the lead and the most relevant precedent.