Custom User Systems: A Short-Term Fix, Long-Term Problem
Paul Nicholson
Operations, Technology, & Creative Production Leader | Warner Music Group (WMX) | Showtime Networks | Peacock | BarkerNYC | Entertainment | Hands on Team Leadership
An issue I see in so many companies today is the creation of custom user systems outside of the company’s official tools. People come up with their own ways of working—spreadsheets, side processes, or makeshift project trackers—because they feel the recommended tools aren’t cutting it. I get it. The official systems can seem slow, complicated, or not perfectly suited to every team’s needs. But here’s the reality: those custom solutions may help you move faster today, but they create serious inefficiencies down the road.
⚙️ Why It Happens: Lack of Leadership and Trust in the Tools
Teams turn to homegrown systems when they feel the tools they’re given aren’t efficient or tailored to their specific needs. Maybe the tool has a steep learning curve, or maybe people haven’t been properly trained on how to use it. So instead of battling with the system, they come up with their own methods to hit deadlines and "get the job done." But this is like building a house with mismatched blueprints—you’re laying a foundation for long-term chaos. Consistent, and thoughtful implementation takes ONGOING LEADERSHIP.
🔄 The Consequences: Siloed, Inefficient, and Disconnected
What might seem like a quick fix actually leads to:
Data Silos: When every team runs its own system, data gets trapped in pockets. Suddenly, teams aren’t aligned, and information isn’t flowing freely across departments.
Version Control Issues: Multiple people are working on different versions of the same file, and no one knows which is the most up-to-date. This confusion costs time and leads to mistakes.
Higher Risk of Errors: Without a unified process, human error sneaks in. Custom systems often rely on manual updates, which increase the risk of inaccuracies. And in large companies, those small errors add up fast!
Difficulty Scaling: As the business grows, custom systems can’t keep up. What worked when your team was small starts to break down as more people join, and suddenly, your processes are more of a barrier than a benefit.
Lost Knowledge: When key employees leave, their custom systems and processes leave with them. This means you lose institutional knowledge and have to spend valuable time (AND MONEY!) reinventing the wheel.
📉 Why This Is a Problem That Needs Solving
If your organization wants to scale and operate smoothly, addressing this problem is crucial. Custom systems create misalignment and inefficiency. They’re not scalable, and they make collaboration between teams harder than it needs to be.
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Fixing this doesn’t just improve workflows; it transforms how your organization operates:
Align Your Teams: When everyone’s using the same tools and systems, collaboration becomes easier and more effective. Teams can move faster, share information seamlessly, and tackle projects with fewer headaches. Plus they become experts in the toolset!
Scale Without Chaos: Standardized tools and processes grow with your business. This means fewer bottlenecks, less wasted time, and more focus on the work that really matters.
Create Accountability and Transparency: When everyone is using the same system, you get better visibility into projects and performance across teams. Leaders can spot issues early, and team members know exactly what’s expected of them.
⚡️ How to Fix It: Practical Solutions
-A lot of the time, the issue isn’t the tool itself—it’s that people don’t know how to use it to its full potential. Training and onboarding are key to making sure your teams feel confident in the tools they’re given. Training is often overlooked!
-If the tools aren’t working for a team’s specific needs, take the time to make adjustments. This could mean tweaking settings, adding integrations, or just streamlining processes within the system.
-Break down silos by creating a culture where teams share information and collaborate regularly. Align your tools to the people process...not the other way around! When everyone is on the same page, you’ll see a dramatic boost in efficiency and problem-solving.
-Leadership has to buy into the system first. If leaders are using the same tools and showing the value they bring, teams will follow suit. Set the tone from the top and make sure the entire organization is moving in the same direction.
-Appoint Dedicated Systems/Tool Governance Leaders. Leaders who are responsible for overseeing the company’s tool usage, ensuring consistency, and driving alignment across teams.
Unofficial workflows might seem like a quick win, but they’re slowing your company down. To unlock real efficiency and scalability, you need to get everyone on the same page with the right tools and proper training.
#OperationsExcellence #SystemsOptimization #TeamCollaboration #Leadership #Scalability #EfficiencyMatters
Enabling all creators to tell their story through sound | Director of Strategic Partnerships at Pro Sound Effects
7moThis is super interesting. I agree and would love to see more orgs thinking this way. The practical issue I often run into is that decision makers and people with purchase authority are not always close enough to the work to be able to know what's best for everyone (and let's face it, people work differently, so not every tool can be equally good for every single end user). If an organization is going to think this way (and they should), they need to empower individual contributors to make recommendations from within the trenches. "This tool is going to help my team and you should invest your time as an executive in evaluating and procuring resources for it."
Lornan Litho
7moThis is spot on! I’ve seen how those unofficial systems seem helpful at first but quickly lead to confusion and inefficiencies. Teams create their own processes because the official tools feel clunky or complicated, but that just causes more problems later—data silos, version control issues, and errors that slow everyone down. The key is leadership and training. People turn to workarounds because they don’t know how to fully use the tools provided. Proper onboarding and support are crucial, along with leaders setting the example by using the same systems. It’s also about future-proofing. When employees leave, their makeshift systems go with them, causing chaos. Aligning teams with the right tools not only improves collaboration but also ensures your processes can scale without the mess. A little investment in the right tools and training goes a long way!
AI Explorer→ Advisor → Speaker → Host of Creative Ops & Prompting Humans Podcast → Founder of Tomorrow with Nish
7moCustom systems are set to grow exponentially. Tools like Replit and others are making it dead simple to create simple, custom apps. IT leaders will yearn for the day when they had to chase down rogue Dropbox accounts. I think the question we need to be asking is how do we design training/thinking, systems and processes for a world where a need is surfaced in the morning and we can have a custom app an hour later.