> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.techwolf.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # How It Works ## Data Flow * During the initial setup phase and when new skill vocabulary versions are released, TechWolf will push and update the external skill mapping in Workday. * Worker and Job Skills are synchronized in a bidirectional flow, where Worker and Job skill data updates in the SkillEngine API are synchronized in real-time to Workday using a push strategy. * Workday updates are synced at regular intervals to the SkillEngine API using a pull strategy. This means that all flows are all initiated by TechWolf. The frequency by which Workday skills are synchronized to TechWolf is every 2 hours. * Worker skills synced by the Workday Integration are tracked using the `source` field in the [Employee Skill Profile Feedback endpoint ](/reference/latest/Employees/EmployeeProfile/patch-employees-external-id-skill-profile) payload, tagged as `"workday-integration"`. To retrieve these sources in an Employee's profile, use the query parameter `?include=sources` in the [Employee Skill Profile Feedback endpoint ](/reference/latest/Employees/EmployeeProfile/patch-employees-external-id-skill-profile), which returns the Skill's `source_event` with `"event_type": "skill_profile_feedback"` and `"source": "workday-integration"`. * Job skills synced by the Workday Integration are tracked using the `source` field in the [Job Skill Profile Feedback endpoint ](/reference/latest/Jobs/JobProfile/patch-job-architecture-jobs-job-external-id-skill-profile) payload, tagged as `"workday-integration"`. To retrieve these sources from a Job, use the [List Job Profile Data endpoint ](). Items with `"data_type": "skill_profile_feedback"` and `"source": "workday-integration"` indicate skills synced by the Workday Integration. In summary: For Workers, TechWolf will access Workday's *Talent and Staffing* Web services to retrieve and update skill data. For Jobs, TechWolf will access Workday's *Human Resources* Web services to retrieve and update skill data. TechWolf also synchronizes skill data from external sources and skills from external systems performing skill harmonization. ### Initial Load The initial load occurs after the Workday Integration System User credentials are shared and set up in TechWolf. The TechWolf team ensures the initial batch of data is loaded into both systems, starting a process on TechWolf's side. During the initial data load, customers can choose between two synchronization strategies: 1. **Merge Strategy**: Combines skills from both Workday and TechWolf systems. Skills present in Workday but not in TechWolf will be synced to TechWolf, and vice versa. This preserves existing skill data in both systems. TechWolf takes precedence over Workday in case of conflicting values. 2. **Overwrite Strategy**: Replaces all skills in Workday with the skill data from TechWolf. This strategy clears existing Workday skills before importing TechWolf data. These synchronization strategies are automatically applied to any new Jobs or Employees that exist in both Workday and TechWolf systems. Below is an example demonstrating the merge strategy in action: Worker profile of Grayson Rogers before the initial load: Workday Profile Before Assuming a lot of skills have been validated already, we get his profile after the initial sync: Workday Profile Initial Sync In TechWolf, we see the same profile as before, with the addition of the skills that were in Grayson's original Workday profile; these are now validated in TechWolf. ### Important Limitation: Workday-First Precedence Some customers may require a variation where **Workday takes precedence** over TechWolf for overlapping skills. This use case is **not natively supported** by the current synchronization strategies. **Workaround:** * Request a **snapshot export from Workday** containing all skills, criticality, and proficiency values. * Import this snapshot as feedback into TechWolf to align TechWolf’s profiles with Workday. * After alignment, use either the **Merge** or **Overwrite** strategy for the initial sync. The result will effectively preserve Workday’s precedence while still enabling bidirectional synchronization. ### Skill Validation in TechWolf Grayson Rogers validates the skill "Acoustic Modelling" in TechWolf. This validation is pushed to Workday immediately: Workday Profile TechWolf to Workday ### Skill Validation in Workday When an employee provides feedback in Workday, for example, adds "Facilities Operations" and removes "Performance Management", the changes are reflected in TechWolf accordingly. The changes are synchronized **every 2 hours**, so not immediately in this direction.