The start of a new year creates a natural pause for reflection across an organisation. Leadership teams revisit priorities, operational plans take shape, and expectations are set for the year ahead. Alongside these conversations sits a more fundamental question: how effectively does work actually flow through the organisation today?
For many businesses, this question reveals a gap between documented processes and actual day-to-day reality. Systems appear stable on the surface, yet teams rely on a network of informal steps to keep work moving. Reports require manual adjustment. Key information sits outside core systems. Critical knowledge lives with individuals rather than within processes.
This article sets out how hidden workarounds become embedded, why they matter, and how organisations can identify and prioritise the improvements that deliver the greatest impact across people, processes, and systems.
How Workarounds Take Hold
Workarounds normally emerge in response to system gaps or operational pressures. A system cannot provide a specific report, so a spreadsheet is created to fill the gap. An approval workflow takes too long, so teams start bypassing it through email. Data quality feels unreliable, so teams manually validate information before using it.
The challenge arises when these short-term fixes become accepted ways of working. Teams plan around them. New starters learn them as standard practice. Documentation reflects intended processes rather than operational reality.
Leadership teams often remain unaware of the scale of this activity because outputs continue regardless. The additional effort stays hidden within teams who take pride in keeping things running.
The Operational Impact of Hidden Workarounds
Hidden workarounds affect far more than efficiency. They shape how information moves, how decisions are made, and how risk is managed across the organisation. Key impacts include:
- Reduced transparency. Critical information moves through multiple manual steps, creating delays and increasing the risk of error. This slows decision‑making and reduces confidence in reporting.
- Concentrated risk. Knowledge often sits with individuals who understand the unofficial steps that keep things working. When they are absent or move roles, the gaps become visible.
- Limited scalability. Processes built around exceptions and manual work struggle to support growth or changing requirements.
- Impact on people. Teams spend time correcting issues or compensating for system gaps instead of focusing on value‑add activity. Over time this can affect morale and create a culture of firefighting.
When these impacts persist, organisations adapt to complexity instead of addressing it. This adaptation becomes the norm unless leaders take action to challenge it.
Prioritising Which Workarounds Require Urgent Attention
Not every workaround requires immediate action. Some provide flexibility without creating significant risk. Others undermine system performance and demand priority. The challenge lies in distinguishing between the two.
High-impact workarounds often share common characteristics:
- Manual data manipulation is required for routine reporting
- Teams rely on tools that sit outside core systems
- Processes depend on individual knowledge rather than documented steps
- Outputs require regular rework or validation
- Bottlenecks appear consistently rather than occasionally
Focusing on frequency and impact helps organisations avoid chasing minor irritations while overlooking more serious issues. Structured discussion across operational leads, system owners, and data stakeholders creates a shared understanding of where effort should be concentrated and why. This alignment supports informed decisions about what to address first.
Integrating Workarounds into System Improvement
Hidden workarounds often indicate misalignment between ERP systems, business processes, and operational reality. However, addressing them does not always require new technology. In many cases, organisations unlock value by improving how existing systems are configured and used.
Mapping workarounds back to their root causes highlights where processes have become overly complex, data standards have weakened, or ownership lacks clarity. Involving the people who use systems every day is critical. Their insight helps identify targeted changes such as simplifying workflows, adjusting approval steps, or improving system integration.
This approach ensures that ERP optimisation and system improvement efforts remain grounded in real experience, building trust and delivering sustainable results.
Real-World Case Example: Exposing Hidden Workarounds in a Whisky Producer’s Supply Chain
An independent Scottish whisky distillery faced recurring shortages of seasonal products during peak trading periods. While teams recognised challenges in aligning sales forecasts with production planning, day-to-day operations relied on a series of informal workarounds to keep things moving.
Sales forecasts were adjusted manually, production plans were amended at short notice, and key decisions were often based on conversations and individual knowledge rather than a shared, agreed view of demand. These approaches helped manage immediate pressures but increased risk during critical trading periods.
Optimum PPS worked with the distillery to identify these hidden practices and understand why they existed. The focus was on improving coordination rather than introducing large-scale systems change. A structured Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process was introduced, supported by a forecasting tool that provided a clearer, forward-looking view of demand.
This change reduced reliance on informal fixes. Sales, production, and supply chain teams worked from the same information and agreed priorities. Stock availability improved during critical trading periods, and planning became more predictable.
The outcome demonstrates a common pattern. By identifying and addressing hidden workarounds, organisations can improve performance through clearer processes and better coordination, often without large-scale technology change.
Building Momentum and Cultural Change
Improvement efforts often stall when organisations try to address too much at once. Momentum builds when teams focus on removing the constraints that limit performance most. By prioritising a small number of high-impact changes, organisations free up capacity, build confidence, and create the conditions for ongoing improvement. This steady progress helps teams see the value of change and ensures improvements are grounded in everyday experience.
Addressing hidden workarounds also shifts organisational culture. As teams work together to resolve informal fixes, transparency grows, collaboration increases, and a culture of continuous improvement develops. People become more willing to question the status quo and suggest better ways of working.
This steady approach helps teams understand why change matters and ensures improvements are grounded in everyday experience rather than over-ambitious initiatives.
Measuring Success and Sustaining Improvement
Delivering change and improvement is only part of the story. The real measure of success lies in how effectively work moves through the organisation and how confidently teams rely on their systems to support day-to-day decisions.
Clear targets and measures help keep improvement focused and grounded. Significant indicators include:
- Reduced manual effort
- Faster decision-making
- Fewer points of rework
- Clearer ownership and accountability
- Greater confidence in ERP and business system data
Organisations that build regular reviews and measures into their ways of working create space to reflect on what is working, gather feedback from teams, and adjust processes and systems as requirements evolve.
Summary
Hidden workarounds highlight where ERP systems and business processes no longer align with how organisations operate in practice. By identifying and addressing these informal solutions, organisations can reduce risk, improve productivity, and encourage a culture of continuous improvement.
To move forward, organisations should focus on mapping and resolving the most impactful workarounds, involve teams in creating practical solutions, and regularly review progress to ensure that positive changes are sustained.
If your organisation is looking to reduce hidden workarounds and improve ERP and business system performance, Optimum PPS can help. We work alongside your team to assess current practices, identify practical improvements, and shape ERP optimisation and digital transformation programmes that deliver lasting value.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are hidden workarounds in ERP and business systems?
Hidden workarounds are informal processes teams use to bypass system or process limitations. Common examples include spreadsheets used for core reporting, manual data validation, or relying on individual knowledge to complete critical tasks.
How do hidden workarounds affect organisational productivity?
They increase manual effort, slow decision-making, reduce transparency, and introduce operational risk. Over time, they limit scalability and place unnecessary pressure on teams.
How can we tell if our organisation is relying too heavily on workarounds?
Recurring manual steps, repeated data corrections, reliance on unofficial tools, and processes that depend on specific individuals are strong indicators.
Do hidden workarounds mean our ERP system is failing?
Not necessarily. In many cases, workarounds highlight misalignment between how systems are configured and how the organisation actually operates. Often, improvement comes from optimisation rather than replacement.
Where should we start when addressing hidden workarounds?
Focus on high-impact areas first. Look at workarounds that appear frequently, sit within critical processes, or affect decision-making and reporting. Prioritisation is more effective than trying to fix everything at once.
How do we stop workarounds from re-emerging?
Clear ownership, regular process review, and accountability are key. Organisations that embed these practices prevent informal fixes from becoming permanent habits.