Please Template Responsibly
I have a love/hate relationship with templates.
I love that I can search the internet for examples of how other people have set up spreadsheets or other platforms (CRMs, Donor databases, etc) and get tons of ideas about what to do. The sharing of free tools and information on the Internet makes my little heart sing, and has been instrumental in changing the ability we have to differentiate and personalize our learning and development. Plus, we don’t really need to “memorize” things in the way we used to, since we can look up anything and everything so easily.
But I hate that most templates don’t really fit my needs - and by “my needs” what I mean is the needs of my non-profit clients and friends. There are a ton of reasons why this is the case, but two recent examples really drove home for me three main reasons why most templates drive me crazy:
Templates are often built with the (good) intention of making things so easy and seamless on the user that it can take a ton of digging to figure out how everything is working and to make changes - and I’ve never come across a situation in non-profit work that didn’t require some customization or change to make things fit right for their work and unique context.
You have to put data into a template the way that it is built to receive it, which may require just as much work as if you had decided to build your own tool or process yourself and not use a template at all.
There is little-to-no support from the template creator once it is out in the world.
I needed to do some deep reflection this week about where I may be a part of the problem, and how I can be more part of the solution.
Example #1: A wonderful client came back to me this week, just about a year after we had worked together. I had worked with them to create a Google Form and spreadsheet that would collect, organize, and display information about how employees tracked their time on different projects and categories (both for reporting to donors and for prioritizing the right work). I was so so excited to connect with this client again, but did have to admit that for all the documentation, built-in features, and training that we did on how to use this tool, things could still come up that would require some troubleshooting, and it was fastest and easiest for me (the spreadsheet creator) to jump in to help out than for the client (the spreadsheet user) to try to figure out how to fix things. So although this tool is specifically designed to work for this client (unlike how most templates are generic enough to work for a wide audience), there was still a dependency on me as the creator to apply my knowledge and skills to keep it updated and running smoothly.
Example #2: One of the reasons I love my best friend so much is because she always brings me something to nerd-out on. This week she is helping her team of 15+ schedule virtual interviews over the next few months for a few hundred students applying to her school. A Google Form was sent out to ask what time slots the interviewers were available. The data came back SUPER messy - not at all in a format that could be easily sorted or filtered or used with formulas to be able to do any kind of work to actually fill in scheduled interview slots. I built her a Google Sheet that transformed the data (i.e. moved it around, organized it, ordered it) that came in from the Google Form step-by-step so that she can actually use the information to make decisions about who will interview and when. But when I gave it to her I did it with a warning - “don’t change anything about how this is working, and if you need changes made or anything goes awry, call me. Do not try troubleshooting on your own.” I had created another dependency.
Templates can come in many forms.
These examples are obviously more about templates that are not meant to have mass-appeal, but are designed specifically for my clients and friends. But my clients and friends are likely using the spreadsheets similar to how a template is used - no one really knows the ins & outs of how it works, what all the formulas are, and where to look first when something unexpected is happening (commonly referred to as "something is broken").
Who is really going to read the documentation I left behind? I mean, in all honesty, I'm the kind of person who wouldn't (eek!). So the users of the spreadsheets need to come back to me. And because of that, I will always show up for them, usually quickly and without needing to charge them anything more. Not just because I think it is the right thing to do, but because it is another chance for an interaction with the client for ongoing teaching and learning. I do NOT want to be creating these dependencies on me as the creator of the spreadsheets. And so now I know it isn't enough to put a tool out into the world. It has to be backed up with support, and it needs to fulfill a learning & development aspect to transfer all knowledge and skills to the template users.
Confession: I do not have any nice, clean tips & tricks or solutions to providing support for templates or for building in ongoing teaching and learning to templates. What I do have are...
Template creators
Provide low-cost or free support to the people who use your templates, and please comment/help me think through how to best build in the ongoing learning & development aspect, so that we can reduce the levels of dependency on us.
Template users
DEMAND MORE AND BETTER. You will always have unique situations and context, and will need to learn the workings of any templates you use, regardless of the system they are built in (spreadsheets, databases, docs, etc). Reach out to template creators, tell them your context, ask your questions, and ask for help not just troubleshooting or customizing, but also for learning how to gain the skills and knowledge to really make the template work for you.
Now let me hear it - do you have examples of templates that you used successfully and were awesome out of the box? Have you connected with template creators to get help and support?
