Conquer change management with a change champion program (template included)
May 31, 2023
Pop quiz: What is a business playbook?
A. A book of plays about business.
B. A reference guide that your employees turn to for direction and clarity on your company's rules, policies, best practices, and SOP's.
C. A notebook containing your businessâ coveted flag football plays.
Stumped? Peep the answer below.đ
Hot off the SMB press this week:
- Coming soon: Everything you need on how to build a business playbook.
- A template for starting your own unique change champion program.
- How change champions will help you master change management.
ONLY SIX DAYS AWAY
Learn âHow To Build a Business Playbookâ: Video edition
Okay, but what is a business playbook?
Correct answer: B. A business playbook is the complete and comprehensive guide to how your business is run. It contains all your company's processes, policies, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) and outlines how your business does what it does â down to each role, responsibility, business strategy, and differentiator.
But do I need a business playbook?
Hereâs the hard truth: Regardless of size or industry, every business needs a business playbook to run smoothly and scale successfully.
That's because with a business playbook:
- There's only one correct way of doing things, and everyone is aligned on it.
- You can actually hold people accountable for doing things that way.
- Your operations become more reliable and replicable, so you can finally scale.
Without one, letâs face it: Youâll never be able to get out of your business. If your processes arenât documented, then whoâs going to do them when youâre not there?
Alright, so I need one. But how do I start?
Hereâs another hard truth: If you want a business playbook, youâre going to have to build one yourself. Thatâs because every business is different, and someone elseâs playbook isnât going to fit the unique model of your business.
The good news: Weâve got the perfect resource to teach you (and other leaders on your team) everything you need to know about building a business playbook. Itâs easy to understand, full of tips and tricks, and most importantly, free!
Introducing âHow To Build a Business Playbook.â Hosted by Trainual founder and CEO Chris Ronzio and featuring founder of FUBU and star of Shark Tank Daymond John, this masterclass will teach you how to create your own unique business playbook so you can align your team and deliver consistent and predictable results. That way, you can focus on scaling without worrying about the day-to-day operations that run your business.
Learn at your own pace with eight chapters â free and available to watch starting Tuesday, June 6. Get on the waitlist here.
ON THE GO
E-sign business policies on mobile

You thought quiz time was over? Hereâs one more Q to get those wheels turning this morning: Your main job as a business leader is making sure your team is safe, accountable, and aligned as they carry out their daily responsibilities. But can you be absolutely certain theyâll follow all the rules that help them achieve those things?
A. Nope. I just hope my employees read my training.
B. MostlyâĻ I can see which business policies my employees have reviewed. But I donât have any proof that they agree to follow them.
C. Yep! I have my employees sign on the dotted line to acknowledge that theyâve read and understood each policy in my business.
If you answered C, you know whatâs up! When you require employees to acknowledge every important policy with an e-signature, theyâll be sure to read (and re-read) the guidelines that outline whatâs expected of them. And youâll have documented proof that theyâve agreed to follow them.
đ New feature alert: Now, employees can access policies and e-sign them right at their fingertips with the Trainual mobile app. And you get 25 free e-signatures per month on the Trainual Scale plan!
As a reminder, hereâs how to add e-signatures to policies:
Step 1: Allow content creators to add e-signature requirements to policies in Advanced settings.
Step 2: Head to the Policies page > click on a policy > choose a topic > and toggle on the âE-signatureâ option.
Step 3: Make sure your whole team downloads the Trainual mobile app for iOS or Android.
STARTER PACK
Template of the week: Change Champion Program

Letâs face it: Small business change is inevitable. You refresh your products and services to evolve with changing demands. You re-organize your organizational structure as your team grows and develops. You update processes and procedures as you discover best practices and ways to increase productivity. (And so on and so forth.)
You get excited about the positive effects each change will bring on your businessâ revenue, efficiency, and overall evolution. ButâĻ your team doesnât always welcome the changes with open arms. And itâs not really their fault â weâre resistant to change by nature. Which explains why 70% of change initiatives fail due to people resistance. (And why youâve eaten the same cereal every morning since 2002.)
So itâs super important to foster a culture of growth and continuous improvement. And a great way to do this is to turn select employees into change champions. AKA, employees who are motivated to develop their leadership skills and drive positive change within your organization. All you have to do is implement a change champion program that helps employees understand the training and projects they can complete to become change-positive leaders in your org.
đ Feeling inspired to promote change champion development in your business? Snag our Change Champion Program template that teaches your team what makes a change champion, program benefits, and the commitments and responsibilities they take on when they sign up.
âCanât wait a whole week for your next template? Check out our entire template archive of free, multimedia-enhanced, and customizable policy, process, and role starters. New to Trainual? Try for free.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
The full guide to introducing a change champion program in your business.
Change is constant â and it always comes with pushback.
Letâs jump back to 1982. The year fear of the computer? In the early â80s, Times replaced its Person of the Year with a machine. And just like that, the buzzword âcomputerphobiaâ popped up in headlines everywhere. Flash forward 40 years, and the same fear stories are being told of AI.
Just like technology, business is ever-changing. So the question becomes: How do we overcome the resistance to change, especially in our businesses?
Enter the change champion.
These agents of change have a unique set of traits and experiences that help them lead transformation and promote adoption of new processes, policies, and systems.
Because change champions understand the world of their colleagues, your employees trust them, making them more effective advocates for change who can help squash any change-related fears.
They have the knowledge and experience to help close training and process gaps, test new initiatives, support company performance metrics, and reduce overall operational costs â all while amplifying the voice of the team and fostering a positive culture of forward thinkers.
Sounds awesome! Where do I start?
Lucky for you, developing and implementing a change management program doesnât take a master's in computer science. Getting started is simple. And when implemented thoughtfully, a change champion program can shape the success of your organization.
Here are some program targets to look for in your change champions:
Program target #1: Champions are organizational advocates.
By amplifying the voices of individuals within the business, champions help ensure that the heart of the organization remains at the forefront of every decision.
đ See the other program targets.
TL; DR
This week's highlight reel
- Extreme freemium. Lululemon recently held a âDupe Swap,â where they gave away free leggings in exchange for knockoffs. They sponsored the activation event â where they gave away $98K worth in product â to gather new customers and establish their âsuperiority in this space.â Keeping our fingers crossed for another freebie event soon.
- All the cool kids are doing it. LinkedIn is the latest of the social media platforms to introduce a verification feature. With a work email or ID, you can verify your account, which the platform hopes will curb the increasingly sophisticated job scams that are popping up on the site. At least we donât have to pay for this one.
- How-not-tos. Take note: If youâre going for a rebrand, donât do it like the streaming platform formerly known as HBO Max. Since its launch last week, customers have had a host of complaints with Max â mostly stemming from a confusing lack of communication. Our big question: What was wrong with the purple? Purpleâs cool.
- Caution. Donât be tempted by the public phone charging stations you may see in malls and airports. According to the FBI, these public USB stations are being used as bad actors to spread malicious malware and monitoring software. BRB, heading to Amazon to buy a new portable battery pack.