⏰ How to save time to do what really matters in your business
October 2, 2024
Introducing new processes means setting new best practices — but first, you gotta get your team on board. But now we're curious: Why do employees resist new processes in the first place? Let us know your thoughts!
This week’s must-reads:
- A process template for future-proofing your business.
- Transitioning from “doing it all” to “doing what matters.”
- How this business cut their onboarding time in half.
- And the future is uncertain — here’s how to prepare for every eventuality.
STARTER PACK
Template of the week: Strategic Scenario Planning Process
Unless we’re all living in some Back to the Future-esque time loop, no one really knows what’s going to happen in the future. (Otherwise, we’d all have those hoverboards!)
But just because we may not know what obstacles, challenges, and roadblocks may be coming our way doesn’t mean we have to be unprepared. From large-scale changes to minor shifts, being proactive (instead of reactive) can reduce uncertainty, minimize risks, and keep our business ops running as smoothly as possible.
👉 So, teach your team how to prepare for the worst with this Strategic Scenario Planning Process template. No need for a DeLorean time machine — outline the identification, analysis, and planning strategies that will keep your business going into the future, no matter what.
Check out our entire template archive of free and customizable policy, process, and role starters. New to Trainual? Get a demo.
ME MYSELF AND I
Escape the trap of ‘doing it all’ for better business results
We’re gonna let you in on a little secret:
You can’t do everything. (Say it again for the people in the back!)
You’re in the position you’re in because you perform your responsibilities well. But let’s see a show of hands: Who is still doing certain tasks that could be handled by others? And who is letting their perfectionism (or cleverness or fear) get in the way of delegating them?
It’s time to make a change.
Making the switch from doing it all to doing what matters can be tough, but it will free up time and energy to tackle the things that will really help expand your business — AKA, the ones that legitimately only you can do. Here’s how:
- Outline your decision guidelines. That way, your team knows exactly how to tackle any choice because they know how you would make them.
- Build your playbooks. What are your processes for handling common issues? Get them documented and distributed to your team in an easily accessible knowledge base so they always have the A’s to their Q’s.
- Establish a pre-mortem process. AKA, figure out what problems could arise — and plan ahead for the solutions. (We just shared a handy little template!)
- Automate routine tasks. It’s always the “easy” things that steal the most of your time. From onboarding to invoicing to social media scheduling — if you can automate it, do so.
- Block your time. Your time is your most valuable resource. So, make sure it’s protected and firewall time blocks for important heads-down work.
TRAINUAL TIPS & TRICKS
How this biz cut onboarding time in half with Trainual
If you’re like many industries, you hire temporary workers. In fact, U.S. businesses are expected to add between 345K to 445K seasonal workers at the end of 2024. And these folks are only employed for a few months, so they need to get up to speed quickly.
Golf course and residential community Pine Canyon has the seasonal onboarding process down pat. Every six-month peak season, they onboard over 60 employees all at once. Meaning before they implemented an efficient onboarding system, they were conducting a five-hour in-person orientation twice a year.
But when they started using Trainual to onboard, four magical things happened:
- Managers documented hire need-to-knows one time, and that documentation went on to train dozens of seasonal hires — totally hands-off.
- New hires could learn the information ahead of time and take it slow and steady. (Pro tip: Learn how to boost new hire impact with training paths.)
- If new hires forgot what they learned during onboarding, they could head back to Trainual to look it up. (You can’t do that when you’re flooded with information in person… for five hours straight. 😵💫)
- Managers can see who’s read what and hold employees accountable for staying up to date on company changes.
Pine Canyon is killing it maintaining high-quality service across their food and beverage outlets with Trainual. Want to see how they do it? Take a peek inside their account.
🔥 Tip: Give seasonal employees temporary access to your training and company information in Trainual by scheduling a date to automatically archive them in your account.
PROACTIVE VS. REACTIVE
Planning for the constant uncertainties of business
“The only constant is change.”
We’ve all been thrown a curveball or two (or more, but who’s counting?). Sometimes it’s random, and sometimes you can see it coming — but for businesses, letting those curveballs strike you out can leave you will a whole mess of problems.
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And worrying about potential issues can leave us in a state of panic. It could be industry, supply chain, competitor-related — the list really goes on and on! — but according to Bhushan Sethi, a leading strategist and partner at PwC U.S. Consulting, the answer to addressing those worries lies in planning and adaptability. No matter how frightening those uncertainties may seem.
You wanna stay agile and resilient?
It all comes down to preparation — and getting your team involved with potential changes. Start by planning for multiple different outcomes to certain business scenarios. What happens when you take into account technology advancements or changes in your team?
And planning doesn’t mean doing it all on your own. In fact, getting your team onboarded early can help foster buy-in for any changes you need to make. Let them experiment with your planned scenarios — they can learn and adapt to changes before disaster strikes. That way, when the next curveball comes your way, you can slam it out of the park for your next home run.
