No matter the industry, small and medium-size (SMB) business owners face many of the same pesky problems. And sometimes, those challenges can feel like pole vaulting over 500-foot hurdles at every corner. But some businesses really do have it all together. They make it look easy, peasy, lemon squeezy. (Meanwhile, it’s super difficult for everyone else.) 

Which begs the question: What are they doing differently? We’ve got the answer right inside Trainual's 2023 State of Small Business Knowledge & Training Report.

Nearly 600 SMB leaders in over 20 different industries were surveyed for this report. We collected data on the state of small businesses over the past few years, and where they landed in 2022. A large chunk of survey respondents had SMBs that had grown and thrived for nearly a decade or more.

Even more experienced major (we’re talking over 20%) revenue growth this year — shoutout to the 37% of women-owned and 32% of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC)-owned businesses that reported seeing these impressive increases! 

So, what did the teams with the highest revenue, performance, and retention all have in common?

1. Businesses that documented processes, policies, and operational knowledge protected revenue and improved performance throughout the pandemic.

If there’s one thing the COVID pandemic taught SMBs, it’s that we need to prepare for challenging and tumultuous times before they strike. And we can all think of a business or two that got it right. You know, the ones that not just maintained, but increased revenue while other businesses plummeted.

Let’s take a look at the companies that got it right (and the ones that didn’t). 

Companies that didn’t document their processes well saw the effect directly reflected in their bottom line. 

Our proof? 

• Documenting only half (or less) of processes meant less growth. Only 22% of those who reported they had less than half of their processes documented said their revenue increased during the pandemic¹.

• When process documentation was put on the back burner, so was growth. Only 20% of those who reported they “sometimes” prioritize process documentation said their revenue increased in 2022.

• Feeling “meh” about documentation equaled “meh” growth. Only 9% of those that rated process documentation as “neutral” or “not important” experienced high growth³ during the pandemic¹.

Oof. So not documenting processes is not great for growth. Got it.

Luckily, one-quarter of the businesses surveyed said they had at least 80% of their processes documented. Here’s what they saw.

Revenue went up:

• Businesses with more processes started to see some growth. 40% of businesses that reported they had all or nearly all² of their processes documented said their revenue increased during the pandemic¹.

• Leaders who acknowledged the importance of documented processes had more success than those who didn’t. 40% of those who reported they “always” prioritize process documentation and 28% who reported they “often” prioritize it said their revenue increased during the pandemic¹. 

Even cooler? A whopping 37% of small businesses that experienced high growth (over 20% increase in revenue) said they had at least 80% of their processes documented. And here’s what they saw.

Revenue shot through the roof:

• 92% of businesses that reported high growth³ during the pandemic¹ rated process documentation as “important” or “very important.” So if you want to really scale, step one is recognizing the importance of process documentation.

• Process documenters are raking it in. 40% of those who reported they had all or nearly all² of their processes documented reported high growth³ during the pandemic¹.

This much is clear — businesses that prioritized documentation saw a significant, positive change in revenue when times were indescribably hard. When employees were suddenly forced to work from home (WFH) for the first time, company and sick time policies changed left and right, and important business supplies were as hard to get your hands on as toilet paper. Needless to say, a bunch of SMBs were riding the struggle bus. 

But the ones that prioritized documentation were thriving. They had things under control.

Businesses that made their important processes, policies, and business knowledge accessible 24/7 before disaster struck prepared their team for productive, confident independence. 

Employees transitioned to WFH life without missing a beat because they could instantly surface all the answers they needed. Plus, they could stay up to date on ever-changing policies and processes as priorities, operations, guidelines, and responsibilities shifted around.

Of course, we don’t expect another worldwide quarantine any time soon. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared for challenges and circumstances that’ll inevitably come your way. You know — the ones that’ll require you to change existing plans and roll with the punches. 

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, SMBs who pivoted successfully prioritized documentation, proving Operational Knowledge Insurance™ to have some of the highest ROI of anything your business can prioritize working on as you head into the unknowns of 2023.

2. Training, transparency, and knowledge sharing helped to increase retention. 

Some turnover is inevitable. But generally speaking, you want people to stick around. After all, when someone leaves, you’ll need to spend more on hiring, onboarding, and training. (Insert unenthusiastic cheer.)

Let’s take a look at how much time SMBs spent on training and development, and how it affected employee tenure.

The facts:

• Employees stay longer when you give ‘em good training. 35% of businesses that reported a 3+ year average employee tenure said their team spent at least 3 to 4 hours per week on training and development in 2022.

• No training? No retention. 35% of businesses that reported an under two-year average employee tenure said their team spent less than 1 hour per week on training and development in 2022.

• The pandemic was a wake-up call for SMB leaders. 40% of small businesses said they decided to focus more on onboarding and training as a retention strategy since the pandemic¹. 

• Train-ing? You mean cha-ching $$$. 47% of businesses that said they focused more on onboarding and training during the pandemic¹ reported a significant³ increase in revenue.

Companies that held frequent and continual training sessions and devoted resources to employee development experienced significantly longer employee tenure.

Makes sense, right? When you invest in your employees, they feel supported, confident, and knowledgeable. It tells them you care about their professional development, growth, and safety. And they’ll be less likely to search for something new — after all, they might have to sacrifice those benefits if they leave.

On the other hand, if you don’t frequently train your employees, they’ll begin to feel like their professional growth is stagnant. Or they could start dreading work as they become increasingly insecure about their knowledge and abilities. 

Nobody wants to come to work confused every day, forced to either pester someone with a million questions or carry out every task like a shot in the dark. They need to know what’s expected of them and how to be successful.

If your team feels like your company doesn’t support professional knowledge and skill development, they’ll just leave for one that will. (Let’s be real — it won’t be too hard to find.)

But this is easy to prevent. And it all starts with intentional and continuous employee training. When you implement the right system, your all-star team members will feel unwavering support that’ll make them want to stick around forever.

3. Difficulty hiring led more companies to prioritize improving onboarding and employee engagement. 

Not-so-breaking news: Hiring capable, trustworthy folks is a responsibility small businesses need to get right. And to say that hiring is a pain right now is a severe understatement. Also, after hiring someone, it’s hard to find the time to get them up to speed.

But the weight can lift right off your shoulders when you follow the footsteps of business leaders that have onboarding down pat.

The facts: 

• The top hiring challenge = finding quality candidates. 36% of small businesses, 38% of mid-sized businesses, and 48% of large businesses said their top hiring challenge was finding quality candidates.

• Been having a hard time onboarding? You’re not alone. One-third of small businesses said that finding the time to onboard new hires was a challenge.
  
  
• Big companies say they have all the time in the world to onboard. Only 22% of mid-sized businesses and 18% of large businesses considered finding the time to onboard new hires a challenge.

Does this mean that larger companies have the time for onboarding while smaller ones don’t? That hiring and onboarding pain points are inevitable for SMBs because of their size? 

Absolutely not.

‍You can totally ease hiring and onboarding pains without trying to get massive first. Here’s what larger companies do that you can copy with minimal effort and spending.

Make the good candidates come to you in 2023.

Like many other SMBs this past year, you might have found that those who applied to your business were unqualified or gave underwhelming responses during their interview. Or maybe you decided to throw in the towel during your search to just hire someone pronto, even though they didn’t fit your culture, mission, or vision. 

Where are the gems you’re looking for? They’re waiting for you to show them what you’ve got. That you’re organized, cutting-edge, and people-first. 

When you use a training and onboarding tool like Trainual, you can share your company mission, vision, and values; benefits; team member bios; the hiring process; and other need-to-knows with prospective candidates.

Nothing says “Apply” like a job posting that wows future hires with everything they’ll get when they pick you (and shows you’re incredibly on top of it).

Onboard without lifting a finger in 2023.

Onboarding is equally as important as (if not more important than) hiring. And contrary to popular belief, the right person isn’t necessarily the most experienced person. You don’t need the worker who has the most stacked resume (and demands the highest pay).  

Here’s what you do need:

1. A hire who’s quick to learn and follows directions to a T. When hiring, you want to pick someone who’s passionate about your mission and an all-around team player. You know — the things you can’t teach. The rest will come after they’re trained.

2. An online platform that stores all your training. When you host your training online, it’s a one-time time investment. You train the computer, and then the computer can go on to train dozens of new hires for years to come. It’s easy to edit (as needed), so it’s always up to date. Plus, it gives every employee 24/7 access to the information they need to get the job done (right). Any hard worker — no matter how experienced they are — will be a perfect hire with organized and accessible training. 

Simple as that.

If you follow this two-part onboarding plan in 2023, you could save hours of time and thousands of dollars that you currently spend hiring, re-hiring, onboarding, and training. Plus, you’ll foster an environment that makes people want to apply, say yes, and stick around — all while saving money as you thwart turnover costs.

4. Owners and founders underestimated the realities of onboarding, training, and documentation.

Different roles in your org see things, well, differently. After all, priorities and project insight can do a 180 based on experience and perspective.

So, what do owners and founders think about onboarding, training, and documentation?

The facts: 

• Higher-level leaders don’t think it takes much time to get someone ramped up. 40% of owners and founders and 39% of managers thought it took less than a month for a new hire to reach full productivity.

• Lower-level leaders said, “A month!?” It takes way longer than that. Only 30% of other organization leaders thought it took less than a month for a new hire to reach full productivity.

To take it one step further:

• Higher-level leaders think onboarding takes less than a week. Ha! 21% of owners and founders thought dedicated training and onboarding for new hires should take less than 1 work week.

• Lower-level leaders said, “We wish training only took a week.” Only 7% of managers and 11% of other organization leaders thought dedicated training and onboarding for new hires should take less than 1 work week.

While we don’t like to point fingers, it’s clear that head honchos tend to severely underestimate the time it takes to get a new hire onboarded, trained, and ramped up. Conveniently, they’re not the ones doing it as the company starts to grow. Coincidence? We think not. It’s no wonder they miscalculate the lift it takes. 

And here’s where things get interesting:

• Owners and founders held stronger positive attitudes toward the importance and priority of process documentation than other executives and managers and were more likely to say they had all or nearly all² of their processes documented in 2022.
  
  
• Owners and founders believed more company processes were documented than other team members.
  
  
• Owners and founders want to document processes. But their plates are too full. 60% of owners and founders said their biggest obstacle to process documentation in 2022 was finding the time to invest in process documentation.

It’s safe to say owners and founders think more processes are being documented than actually are. Makes sense — at a certain scale, the owner can’t be on top of strategic planning and tracking every documented process in the business.

And it’s no secret that SMB owners and founders are busy bees —  they feel that they can’t clear their outrageously full calendars to personally document each and every company process.

As soon as they realize how important it is to document, though, they realize they may not know where to start. 

The simple solution? Have all your company leaders and go-to experts help build out a complete playbook of business processes. After all, who knows how-tos better than those with all the know-how? 

When a bunch of pros add nuggets of knowledge to your business playbook processes, new hires get equipped with everything they need to succeed. Plus, veteran employees get a trusty reference for all their processes and policies, along with increased accountability.

🔥 Tip: When you document company processes on Trainual’s Scale plan, you get free setup help. Documentation experts will teach your whole team all the best practices they need to create helpful, organized, and engaging training in a flash. Try for free. 

5. The #1 hiring challenge for early-stage small businesses is now competing for talent. 

Wanna know what it was before the pandemic (AKA — pre-2020)? We got the deets.

• The #1 hiring challenge for early-stage⁴ small businesses before and during the pandemic¹ was finding the time to onboard and train. 

• The #1 hiring challenge for early-stage⁴ small businesses in 2022 was offering attractive wages and benefits packages.

This adds up, considering the pandemic ultimately resulted in workers feeling empowered to receive benefits like WFH, flexible and alternative working schedules, and resources that help to prioritize mental and physical health.

Here’s how to build your benefit offerings and make them stand out:

1. Adopt tangible ways to support mental wellbeing (without breaking the bank!). 

2. Take up an asynchronous learning method, which makes training online and on-demand. Training won’t be so painful for your team when they can learn and grow on their own time. 

3. Create an equitable compensation program. Diverse applicants looking into you will do their research. Make sure you have your compensation plan handy to showcase your dedication to equal employee pay. 

4. Advertise that your company is open to hiring military veterans. Veterans are the closest thing you’ll find to a perfect SMB hire. Make sure your job postings tell veterans they qualify for certain roles thanks to the tech, leadership, communication, collaboration, and other necessary skills they learned while serving. 

When you establish an enticing benefits package, good people are sure to follow.

TLDR

Survey says… document, document, document. Then, go ahead and document some more.

Bottom line: If you truly want to scale, you need to build a business that can grow beyond you. One that keeps running like a well-oiled machine even when you’re not there. 

And the only way to do that is to write out what your employees need to do, give it to them, and hold them accountable for doing it. 

You’ll see the revenue, retention, performance, and applicant spikes that dreams are made of.

👉 Ready to get started? Try Trainual for free.

‍

‍

Footnotes

¹ Pandemic data collection was based on the survey respondent perception of the peak and duration of COVID-19 in their area. 

² Answers indicating “nearly all” processes were documented indicate the respondent believed 80% or more company processes were documented.

³ Increases of 20% or more in annual revenue are labeled as “significant” and “high growth.”

⁴ Early-stage small businesses are those that made between $100K and $499K in annual revenue.