During a recent engagement, we found a team managing a critical reconciliation process entirely in spreadsheets. The CRM had the capability to handle it. The workflows had been configured. But at some point — nobody could say exactly when — the team had reverted to manual.
The invisible tax
When we traced it back, the original workflow had a small configuration gap. One field didn't map correctly. Rather than raising it, a team member built a workaround. That workaround became process. The process became normal.
By the time we arrived, three people were spending a combined eight hours per week maintaining a spreadsheet that existed because of a fifteen-minute configuration fix.
Why it matters
This is not unusual. In fact, it is remarkably common across mid-sized organisations. Workarounds accumulate. They become invisible. Each one is rational in isolation — but collectively, they represent a significant drag on capacity and margin.
The question is not whether your organisation has workarounds. The question is whether you know where they are, what they cost, and which ones can be removed.
That is precisely what the Operational Friction Audit is designed to uncover.