Why new systems get worked around, and what to do before go live

By Change & Learning Solutions · Published 5 November 2026 · All insights

A new system goes live on time and on budget. Three months later, people are still keeping the old spreadsheet "just in case". This is common, and it is rarely because people are stubborn. It happens because the plan covered the system and skipped the people who have to use it every day.

What working around looks like

• A spreadsheet kept alongside the new system.
• Work done the old way and typed in later, or not at all.
• Colleagues asking someone else to "just do it for me" in the system.
• Managers still asking for the old report.
• Data entered late, or in different ways by different teams.

Why it happens

• People heard what was changing, not why. Without a reason that matters to them, the old way feels safer.
• Training came once, too early, and was generic. By go live, people have forgotten it, and it never used their real tasks.
• Managers were not ready. If a manager cannot answer the first questions, the team stops asking and goes back to what it knows.
• Nobody owned adoption after go live. The project team moves on, and nobody is watching whether the new way is being used.

What to do before go live

1. Say what changes for each group, in their words. "Your approval step moves from email to the system" is clearer than "a new workflow".
2. Test readiness, not just the software. Ask a few real users to complete a real task, and fix what stops them.
3. Train close to go live, on real tasks. A short session on the work people actually do is worth more than a long tour of the menus.
4. Brief managers first. Give them the answers to the five questions their teams will ask, and ask them to say it in their own voice.
5. Plan support for the first weeks. Champions, floor walkers or a named help point, so a question gets answered the same day.
6. Decide how you will know it is working. Choose two or three measures, such as the share of transactions in the new system, and name who acts on them.

After go live

Watch the first 30, 60 and 90 days. Set a date to retire the old way, and tell people in advance. Treat every workaround as feedback: it usually points to a real gap in the system, the training or the process. Fix the gap and the workaround goes away.