Why do staff ignore the brand template?
Why do staff ignore the brand template?
Staff ignore brand templates primarily because the template does not cover what they need to do. When the available layouts do not match the content they are building, when the template is harder to use than starting from scratch, or when it is not easily accessible, staff work around it. Template non-adoption is almost never about attitude — it is almost always a usability failure in the template itself or a distribution problem.
Is this a staff attitude problem or a template design problem?
It is a template design problem. Staff are not deliberately undermining the brand — they are making the rational choice to use a tool that lets them do their job. When the approved template has five layouts and the content needs twelve, staff add new slides from scratch. When the template takes three minutes to find on the intranet and the project deadline is in twenty minutes, staff use whatever file is already open on their desktop. When the approved font is not installed on their machine and the template looks broken, staff stop using it immediately.
The question to ask is not “how do we enforce template use?” but “why is the template not the path of least resistance?”
What are the most common reasons templates are abandoned?
The layout library does not cover real needs. A template built around simple text-and-bullet layouts will be abandoned the moment someone needs a timeline, a process diagram or a comparison table. When the template cannot accommodate real content, staff go elsewhere. The fix is an audit of actual presentations in use to identify the ten most common slide types and ensure the template covers them.
The template is too rigid. Some templates are locked down so tightly that capable staff cannot make legitimate variations within the brand. A senior communications manager who cannot adjust font size by two points or shift a text box to accommodate an unusually long headline will abandon the template. Protection should target the elements that genuinely need protecting — logo position, core colours, header and footer — not every element on every slide.
The template is difficult to find. Templates stored on intranet pages three clicks deep, in SharePoint folders with unclear naming, or distributed via an email chain from six months ago will not be used consistently. Templates available from within PowerPoint itself — via the Organisation Assets Library in Microsoft 365 — are adopted at significantly higher rates because the friction of access is eliminated.
The template was never explained. Many template rollouts consist of an email that says “please use the new template attached.” No guidance on which layout to use when. No note about what has changed. No training on new features. Staff who do not understand the template will not use it confidently.
Does the design quality of the template affect adoption?
Yes, significantly. Staff are more likely to use a template they find visually appealing. A template that makes their presentations look more professional — without requiring extra effort on their part — is one they will choose to use. A template that makes their presentations look worse than what they could achieve independently will be avoided. This is a real motivational dynamic, and it should inform the quality bar set for template design projects.
What is the most reliable way to drive template adoption?
Make the template the easiest option. Store it in the Organisation Assets Library so it appears in PowerPoint’s own New Presentation screen. Build enough layouts to cover all realistic content scenarios. Make the design quality high enough that using the template produces better results than not using it. Provide a short guide to the template’s key layouts. And ask a cross-section of regular users to review the template before it is deployed — their feedback will catch usability issues that internal reviewers miss.
Template adoption is a measure of template quality. If the adoption rate is low, the template has not solved the problem it was built to solve.
Talk to Ideaseed about a template that staff will actually want to use
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