As a small but rapidly growing B2B gifting company selling customized cookie gifts, Grove Cookie Company faced the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining consistency. Co-founders Marie and Grayson Hogard recognized early on that without documented systems and processes, the business wouldn't be able to effectively multiply itself on its founding principles. 

So, rather than wait to grow before documenting the way they operate, the team at Grove Cookie Company decided to find a solution early — a platform where they could store their documentation and one that would grow with them. That's why the team turned to Trainual — to lay a foundation for sustainable growth built on robust training and defined workflows.

“We've been in business for three years — launched in 2021 — and have utilized Trainual to onboard team members, processes, everything under the sun.”
<blockquoteauthor>Grayson Hogard, co-founder of Grove Cookie Company<blockquoteauthor>

An onboarding software for documenting processes from the start

Grove Cookie Company adopted Trainual in December 2021, just months after launching their business. On the recommendation of their E-Myth-certified business coach, Grayson began exploring documentation platforms to get processes out of his head and into a centralized system.

"I was using Google Docs at first, and I'm like, ‘This is so boring.’ There has to be an app to make this more engaging and team-focused," Grayson explained. After researching options, Trainual's focus on small businesses and affiliation with Michael Gerber's E-Myth philosophy made it the clear choice.

From day one, Trainual enabled Grove Cookie Company to comprehensively document every core process, from their signature custom note creation to detailed bakery operations. This level of procedure formalization was critical for properly onboarding the remote and in-person employees that comprised their growing team.

“‘Is it in Trainual?’ That's part of our motto around here — if something new comes up, it's like, ‘I got to put it in Trainual.’ Because a business without systems and processes can't go very far.”

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A training platform to delegate responsibilities

Trainual's powerful process documentation capabilities allowed Grayson to essentially multiply himself across Grove Cookie Company's different roles and responsibilities. He was able to seamlessly pass off mission-critical work through robust training sequences.

A prime example was training different people to take on the "note creator" role — AKA, the person tasked with designing custom notes for each order. "We've had three different people in that position," said Grayson. "And they've all been onboarded within a day or two through Trainual — for making the notes, printing them, the whole nine yards."

With Trainual, delegation became simple because employees had an accessible knowledge base outlining exactly how to execute each process to standards. "When you talk about delegating and entrepreneurship, it's all about how we can multiply ourselves and the processes in place," Grayson stated. "Trainual has helped immensely with that."

"[Trainual is] a 10 out of 10. I don't know how I would manage onboarding or getting people to follow our processes without it."

An easy-to-use system for multiple types of training

In addition to role-specific training, Grove Cookie Company leverages Trainual to create engaging, multi-format training content. Trainual's intuitive interface and rich media capabilities make it super simple. "We try to include text walkthroughs and videos in each process," said Grayson. "You're teaching the same task three different ways, which really helps with retention."

Plus, user-friendly features like starred subjects allow employees to instantly access their most relevant processes. As Grayson noted, "The one enhancement we all love now is that we can star specific processes related to the job description. The note creator just has all eight of her processes right there, so she doesn't have to dig."

“The Trainual team seems to be doing updates quite frequently, which is great. So the enhancements continue to make it better and more user-friendly.”

By getting their systems and processes into Trainual from the very beginning, Grove Cookie Company has already established a strong operational foundation to build upon. The platform has empowered them to consistently execute their unique business model, delight customers, and scale.

And as Grove Cookie Company continues to expand their delectable B2B gifting business, Trainual will ensure that each new employee receives the best training, rooted in Grove Cookie Company’s proven methodologies.