How to create templates for common business documents

Survey teams: Which documents do you create repeatedly? Common candidates: proposals, contracts, reports, presentations, emails, SOPs, meeting agendas, onboarding docs, project plans. Track: frequency created, time to create, variability in content. High-frequency, low-variability documents are prime template candidates. Don''t template one-offs or highly variable documents—effort won''t repay investment.

Review high-quality versions of document type. Extract: required sections and their order, standard language and clauses, decision points requiring customization, common data fields. Interview creators: what stays the same vs. varies? Template should capture proven structure while allowing necessary customization. Base templates on what works, not theoretical ideals.

Create template structure with: sections in standard order, boilerplate language that rarely changes, [PLACEHOLDERS] for variable content with instructions, examples showing how to complete each section, formatting and style already applied. Good template should be self-explanatory. User should know what goes where without asking. Clear beats clever.

Templates hidden in folders nobody knows about don''t get used. Create template library: shared drive, knowledge base, document management system. Organize by category and use case. Make searchable. Ensure permissions allow access. Publicize template location. Easy access drives adoption. If finding template is hard, people create from scratch.

Documents requirements change: legal updates contract language, brand refreshes presentation formats, processes change report content. Assign template owners. Schedule reviews: quarterly for frequently-used, annually for others. Track version history. Archive old versions. Communicate changes to users. Outdated templates are worse than no templates—they perpetuate old standards.

Template existence doesn''t guarantee usage. Train on: where to find templates, how to customize properly, when to use which template, what to do when template doesn''t fit. Collect feedback: what''s missing? what''s unclear? which templates aren''t useful? Iterate based on input. Template adoption is change management, not just file creation.