Your Team is Using Workarounds. Here’s Why That's a Problem (and an Opportunity)
You’ve rolled out the new CRM. The project plan is complete, the training is done, and the "go-live" email has been sent. But weeks later, you notice something odd. The team is still updating that old, colour-coded "master spreadsheet." That, right there, is a workaround, the silent saboteur of technology adoption and one of the most honest forms of feedback you will ever get.
What Exactly Is a Workaround?
In the context of technology adoption, a workaround is an unofficial, improvised, or alternative method that users develop to complete a task when a new system doesn’t fully meet their needs or is simply too difficult to use.
Most often, they aren’t born from rebellion; they are born from necessity. Your team has a job to do, and if the official tool creates a roadblock, they will find a way around it.
A workaround might look like this:
The Excel Export Dance: Exporting data to a spreadsheet because the built-in reporting tool is clunky, slow, too complex or lacks functionality.
The "Two-System" Shuffle: Keeping an old system open to handle a specific task that the new one doesn't support.
The Shadow System: Creating a separate document outside the new tech to track critical information, creating a parallel "source of truth."
The "Just Skip It" Method: Intentionally bypassing required fields or steps that frequently cause errors or add time with no perceived value.
Why Do They Appear?
Workarounds emerge because there is often a fundamental disconnect between how a system is designed to be efficient and how a user actually works in their environment. The project team views the new technology from a system optimisation perspective: a clean, linear process that ensures data flows seamlessly from one stage to the next. But the employee sees it from a user reality view. For them, "efficient" means something entirely different.
The new system might look great on a flowchart, but in practice:
It’s Clunky: The "official" way adds five extra clicks and a mandatory field that isn't relevant to 90% of their cases.
It's Disruptive: It requires them to log out of one app and into another with a separate password, breaking their concentration and workflow.
It's Inaccessible: The task can only be performed on a specific terminal, but the user spends most of the day on the floor or visiting clients with a tablet.
It's Badly Timed: It demands a task be completed at the time when the user is busiest.
The user isn’t rejecting the goal (accuracy, better data). They are rejecting a process that makes their individual job harder, slower, or more frustrating. The workaround is their attempt to reconcile the system's logic with their real-world context.
How to Spot Workarounds
People often hide their workarounds, fearing they'll be told they're "doing it wrong." You need to look for the clues, such as:
Listen to the Language: Pay attention to phrases like: "It's just quicker if I...", "Here's my little trick...", or "Let me just pull up my own list first."
Observe in the Wild: Don’t just ask how things are going. Sit with your team members. Watch them perform a task from start to finish. You’ll see the pause, the extra click, and the screen-switching that never make it into a formal feedback survey.
Analyse the Data: Look for anomalies in the system itself. Are certain fields always left blank? Do process completion times vary wildly between users? Does data seem "too perfect"? It might be getting prepped elsewhere.
The Real Cost: Why Workarounds Are So Risky
They Destroy Data Integrity: With multiple "sources of truth," reports become unreliable.
They Introduce Errors and Inconsistency: In a healthcare setting, jotting down medication notes on paper to enter later poses a direct risk to patient safety.
They Erode Confidence and Adoption: If users constantly have to work around a system, they will never trust it.
They Create Hidden "Process Debt": Your understanding of how work gets done is flawed, setting up future projects for failure.
How to Address Workarounds: A Communication-First Approach
The goal isn't to "stamp out" workarounds. It's to understand the need they are filling. Spotting them requires active listening - a fundamental principle of good change communication - and your response will determine whether your team sees you as a partner or a policeman.
Understanding and acting on the why is everything, so:
1. Investigate, Don't Accuse.
Frame conversations around understanding the need the workaround fulfils. Ask: "Help me understand what makes the paper note feel quicker for this part of the patient assessment."
2. Diagnose the Underlying Gap.
With the user, figure out the root cause. Is it a:
Training Gap? They don't know the official feature exists or how to use it.
Usability/Reality Gap? The official way is too slow, disruptive, or inaccessible.
System Gap? The technology genuinely cannot perform the function.
3. Acknowledge, Act and Communicate.
Feedback that goes into a black hole kills engagement:
Show Empathy: “We understand inputting detailed care notes can feel time-consuming right now..."
Reinforce the 'Why': Explain the risks of the workaround (e.g., data silos, patient safety concerns, compliance issues, potential errors) in the context of shared goals, such as quality of care or regulatory compliance, making it relevant to the work environment.
Communicate the Plan: Be transparent about the concrete steps being taken. "We are exploring voice-to-text options/providing clearer guides on efficient note-taking."
Provide a Temporary Solution: If a fix isn't immediate, standardise the workaround to reduce risk. "For now, let's have the whole team use this method so we're all consistent. Thanks for figuring this out."
Improve and publicise your resources: Update training materials, create new one-page job aids for specific tasks, and clearly communicate any new system features that solve old pain points.
Follow-up: When the fix is implemented, return to the person who raised the issue. This builds immense trust.
Conclusion: From Problem to Partnership
Workarounds aren't a sign of bad employees. They are a sign that your technology, training, or processes have a gap, often a gap between the system’s design and the user’s reality.
By shifting your mindset from policing compliance to partnering in problem-solving, you can transform these hidden risks into your most valuable source of user-centric feedback. The next time you see a sticky note on a monitor or a "master" spreadsheet, don't see a problem, see an invitation to a conversation.