The hidden cost of untracked IT work (and how to fix it)

Modern IT teams are stretched thin, expected to support global workforces, secure systems, and deliver top-tier service — all while staying lean. But there’s a silent threat undermining their ability to scale effectively and make the case for more resources.

It’s not bad tooling. It’s not shadow IT. 

It’s untracked work — the quiet, invisible tasks that never make it into the system.

When the work doesn’t count, the team pays the price

Every time someone messages IT directly on Slack, taps an analyst on the shoulder, or sends a “quick” email request, a decision has to be made: respond right away, or redirect them into the formal process?

Most IT pros want to help. They jump in. The issue gets resolved. And the requester is happy. But there’s no ticket. No log. No metrics.

And over time, that seemingly small convenience adds up:

• Underreported workload: Leadership sees fewer tickets and assumes the team is underutilized (or worse, overstaffed).
  
  
• Skewed prioritization: Work gets handled based on who’s loudest or most senior — not by urgency or priority.
  
  
• Budget blind spots: Without complete data, it’s hard to make a convincing case for headcount, AI and automation, or tool upgrades.
  
  
• Team burnout: When everything feels urgent and informal, analysts get pulled in too many directions — jumping from one “small request” to the next without structure, visibility, or time to focus.

Why good processes still get bypassed

This isn’t about negligence. Most teams do have ticketing systems, clear request processes, SLAs, and escalation paths. But in the real world, employees:

• default to what’s familiar (chatting with IT directly),
  
  
• assume their issue is too small to “deserve” a ticket,
  
  
• or feel that going through formal channels takes too long.
  

On the other side, IT teams fear seeming unhelpful or bureaucratic. So they handle it. Quietly. And invisibly.

When invisible work becomes a budget line

Here’s where things get expensive.

According to HDI’s 2017 “Metric of the Month” report, the average cost per service desk ticket was:

• $15.56 for Level 1 support
  
  
• $73.17 for Level 2
  
  
• $104.33 for Level 3

These numbers may be 8 years old, but even modest inflation (roughly 25% cumulative since 2017) brings Level 1 support closer to $19–$20 per ticket today. Higher tiers are likely costing $90–$130+ per issue.

Now multiply that by every direct Slack ping, every email thread, every unlogged conversation. If your team handles even 30–50 untracked requests per week (a conservative estimate for many midsize orgs), that’s over $50,000 a year in hidden labor.

And that’s just for Level 1. If engineers or specialists are the ones fielding those direct requests, you may be quietly spending the equivalent of a full-time hire — with no way to account for it, justify it, or report on it.

Why bureaucracy breaks trust

When informal requests become overwhelming, some IT teams try to clamp down: No ticket, no help. While the intention is understandable — it often creates new problems.

Rigid policies that prioritize process over people can erode trust. Employees start to see IT as unhelpful, slow, or overly procedural. In response, they either avoid reaching out altogether or find workarounds that leave IT even more in the dark.

The result? A divide between IT and the rest of the org. End users feel dismissed. IT feels overwhelmed and underappreciated. 

You need structure, yes — but it has to be paired with empathy if you want it to work. When people trust the process, they’re more likely to follow it. That’s how you scale support without damaging relationships.

What better looks like

You fix this by designing processes that respect both structure and the human reality of how work actually gets done — because at the end of the day, you’re in the business of keeping employees productive.

Here’s what works:

1. A simple request process that fits real workflows

If people are already sending your team direct messages in Slack or Teams, don’t fight it — meet them there. Set up an IT-specific channel for request submissions and route those messages directly into your ticketing system. Tools like Jira, ServiceNow, and Freshservice all integrate with these platforms, making it easy to configure a workflow that works for everyone.

Make it so easy that employees don’t have an excuse not to use it. The goal isn’t just compliance—it’s to create a request flow that feels as easy as asking for help in a hallway, but with all the structure and visibility you need.

2. Capture what bypasses the system, then redirect with empathy

Even with the best-designed process, people will go around it. Some will forget. Some will be new. Some will just default to habit. That’s fine — as long as you have a way to capture that work anyway.

If someone reaches out directly, log the ticket yourself or use tooling that converts those messages into requests. Then, continue the conversation in the proper channel. And when it makes sense, gently remind them where future requests should go.

Some people will need to hear it more than once (or twice). That’s okay. You’re building habits, not policing behavior.

3. Design for Emergencies and Exceptions

Not all direct outreach is bad. If someone’s Wi-Fi is down, their laptop won’t boot, or they’re locked out of the system — they should reach out immediately. Emergencies and tool lockouts demand flexibility. But without clearly defining what qualifies as “urgent,” your well-intentioned exceptions can quietly become the default.

Clearly setting expectations around what constitutes an emergency helps both your team and your end users operate with confidence—and reduces the risk of constant bypasses.

Untracked work isn't just an annoyance. It's a strategic blind spot.

When IT labor goes unmeasured, so does the need for investment. It’s the data that makes the difference when you need to defend SLAs, justify budget, advocate for headcount, or show the real impact of your team.

Budgets are already tight. Don’t make it harder to get the support your team needs. And don’t leave yourself (or your team) running on fumes with metrics don’t tell the full story.

The bottom line

Untracked work may seem harmless in the moment, but over time it quietly erodes your team’s credibility, budget, and capacity to grow. The fix isn’t more bureaucracy — it’s building processes that are simple, empathetic, and aligned with how people actually work. When IT can capture the full picture of its workload, it not only reduces burnout and fire drills, it earns the data needed to secure headcount, automation, and tools that make support sustainable. In the end, tracking invisible work isn’t about tickets for tickets’ sake. It’s about protecting your team, scaling with confidence, and proving the real value IT delivers every day.

Stop letting invisible work drain your IT team — see how Fixify helps you capture the full picture and scale with care.