Every organization has a shadow system. It lives in spreadsheets, sticky notes, email threads, and the memory of one very reliable employee. It exists because the official system couldn't quite do something, and someone found a way around it. At first, the workaround is a clever fix. Over time, it becomes load-bearing, and nobody dares touch it. If your team still relies on these hidden patches, you're paying twice: once for the platform and again in the hours spent compensating for it.
How Workarounds Take Root
Workarounds almost never start out as bad ideas. A manager needs to track a special pay situation that the system doesn't handle, so they create a spreadsheet. A new location opens before configuration is complete, so hours are collected manually. An approval step doesn't match how a department actually works, so people email each other instead.
Each fix solves an immediate problem. But because it lives outside the official process, it's invisible to everyone else. When the person who built it leaves, nobody knows how it works. When policies change, the workaround isn't updated. When errors occur, they're hard to trace.
There's also a cultural effect. Once people see that it's acceptable to bypass the system, more shortcuts appear. Trust in the platform erodes, and adoption falls. Eventually, leaders wonder why the investment isn't delivering, when the real issue is that the system and reality drifted apart.
The costs are easy to underestimate. Manual steps consume hours every pay cycle. They introduce errors, since copying and retyping data invites mistakes. They also create compliance risk, because off-system records may not meet audit standards and can't be easily verified.
Finding and Fixing the Gaps
The first step is simply to find them. Ask around. Which spreadsheets do you rely on every pay period? What do you do manually that the system should handle? What do you wish it could do? Often, the answers surface surprisingly quickly once people feel safe being honest.
Then look for the cause behind each workaround. Some exist because of a configuration gap, such as a pay rule that was never set up. Others result from training gaps, where people didn't know the feature existed. Some stem from process problems, where the official workflow doesn't fit reality. And a few reflect genuine limitations, where a different approach is needed.
This is where UKG Optimization work pays off most visibly. Specialists review the setup, identify which workarounds can be replaced by configuration changes, and design cleaner approaches. A pay situation that required a monthly spreadsheet might be handled by a new earning code and rule. A manual hour-collection routine might be replaced by a mobile clock-in option. An email-based approval might become a proper workflow.
Prioritize by impact. Tackle the workarounds that consume the most time, cause the most errors, or carry the most compliance risk. Quick wins build momentum and demonstrate value, making it easier to gain support for larger changes.
Test before retiring the old method. Run the new approach in parallel for a cycle or two, comparing results to ensure accuracy. Once confident, switch over and formally retire the workaround so it doesn't linger.
Document what you've changed. Record the new process, who owns it, and how it works. Documentation prevents the new setup from becoming tomorrow's mystery.
Keeping Workarounds From Coming Back
Prevention is mostly about listening and governance. Create an easy way for users to report gaps or suggest improvements. If people can't get help with a genuine need, they'll invent their own solution. A simple request channel, with timely responses, discourages shadow systems.
Assign ownership. Someone should be responsible for the system's configuration, evaluating requests, making changes, and keeping documentation current. Without ownership, requests languish and workarounds multiply.
Review regularly. A brief check every quarter or after major business changes catches drift early. Ask what's changed, what's new, and what's causing friction.
Invest in training. Many workarounds exist because people simply don't know what the system can do. Refresher sessions, quick guides, and tips shared by experienced users spread knowledge and reduce unnecessary improvisation.
Celebrate improvements. When a clunky manual process is replaced, tell people. Showing the time saved and errors avoided reinforces the value of using the official system.
And be realistic. Some edge cases may never justify a system change. That's fine, as long as the exception is documented and controlled, rather than quietly spreading.
Conclusion
Workarounds are a symptom, not a character flaw. They tell you where your system and your business have drifted apart. Find them, understand their causes, replace the costly ones with proper configuration or better processes, and put governance in place to keep new ones from spreading. The result is fewer hours wasted, fewer errors, stronger compliance, and a platform your people actually trust.