“I’m sorry. We don’t have a template for that.”

Imagine that response when you ask a question to your HR provider.  All you want is a letter to your employee to ask why they’ve been AWOL for the last couple of days.  Being told that they don’t already have a template for that precise occasion isn’t exactly helpful.

I acknowledge that our industry is somewhat template focused.  It’s reasonable to consider that using templates will ensure consistency. After all, being consistent is important when dealing with employees.  In fact, it’s one of our HR commandments – be fair, be consistent and be nice. 

Do an internet search for any policy or procedure and the chances are there’s a website offering a template for it.  Pay your twenty quid, download the policy and add your company logo at the top.  Job done.  

Sounds easy doesn’t it?  Now picture the scene - you’ve issued that template policy to your employees and one of them asks a question about the contents.  If you haven’t had any input into writing the document then you’re going to struggle with answering the question.  Worse still, where’s the support from the website when you come to implementing the policy?  Who’s there to answer your questions about what it means in practical terms, how to enforce it and when to update it?

Not every situation can be dealt with using a template.  Some issues require a personalised, specific response which has been thoughtfully considered in the light of the company’s culture, the history of the situation and the individuals involved.  Some questions need a human being to answer with something more helpful than “sorry, we don’t have a template for that”.