How unconscious bias could be stunting your biz's growth

In simple terms, employee training means teaching your team how to do what they need to do — but how do you actually do that? Join us for "Inside the Process" as Trainual’s own senior support coach Shawn Jensen runs through the secrets and strategies to creating and delivering super engaging online training! It’s all going down next Wednesday, January 24 at 9 a.m. PST/12 p.m. EST. Register now!

Hot off the SMB press this week:

• A policy template that outlines your company’s generative AI use.
• Are biases affecting your decision-making? Here’s how to keep them in check.
• Enhance existing content (make it longer, change the tone, and more!) with a single click.

STARTER PACK

Template of the week: Generative AI Company Use Policy

It’s pretty official: Artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay.

And while we haven’t reached J.A.R.V.I.S. levels yet (we’d personally jump at the chance for an Iron Man suit), the capabilities of AI are already staggering — and likely to expand even further. And one tool to keep an eye on is generative AI.

From text to images and even audio, generative AI is a technology that can produce various types of content — and with some platforms, it only takes a matter of seconds. Think ChatGPT, Bard, and DALL-E. These are all generative AI platforms, transforming how people are producing content — whether it’s for personal or professional use.

But as developed as these platforms are, generative AI has a lot of room for improvement. Which means that if you’re currently or thinking about using generative AI in your business, you need to set guidelines to ensure you’re producing quality content.

👉 Which is why we created a Generative AI Company Use Policy template. It outlines what generative AI is, how the company uses it, and how employees should make decisions regarding generative AI use. All it needs is your personal touch to reflect your business’ unique needs, and it’s ready to share with the rest of your team.

Want more templates to help you build your business playbook? Check out our entire template archive of free, multimedia-enhanced, and customizable policy, process, and role starters. New to Trainual? Get a demo.

THOUGHT CHECK

Here are 3 decision-making biases you need to avoid

We’ve all got biases. And they’re deeply ingrained in us through cognitive, social, and psychological processes — sometimes to the point that we’re not even aware of them. AKA, unconscious biases.

That’s why it’s all the more important to be alert and mindful of the possible biases that can creep up on us in the workplace. That way, we can keep them from causing problems as we carry out operations, plan, and make decisions.

Here are three cognitive biases that can be detrimental to your business if you don’t confront them and put them in check:

Bias #1: The status quo bias.

As humans, we’re inclined to cling to familiar routines. Even though we know that shaking things up a little bit could provide big gains. And because of that, sticking to the status quo can actually act as a silent killer in your business. Keeping you from acting on opportunities and adapting to the changing landscape.

Let’s take a look at the Stanley cup. (Not the hockey one, the one keeping the whole world hydrated.) If they had stuck with tumblers geared towards outdoorsy folks and blue-collar workers, they wouldn’t have done a colorful, modern rebrand that skyrocketed their profits from $70M in 2019 to an estimated $750M in 2023. They abandoned the status quo, took a chance, and saw massive benefits.

So you need to make sure you’re continually evaluating operations, leveling up best practices, and taking appropriate risks to avoid the stagnation that comes with the status quo bias.

👉 See the next two biases.

TRAINUAL TIPS & TRICKS

The 5 Days of Trainual are around the corner! Here’s a sneak peek.

The end of this month is gonna be big. Huge. It’s (drumroll please…) our birthday! Fireworks explode in the sky. And to celebrate, we’ve got a little somethin’ somethin’ just for you. The 5 Days of Trainual: Five days. 50+ feature adds. Mic drop.

To give you a sneak peek, we’re going to let you in on one of our new features — and it’s available in your account today! Introducing in-line smart tools (powered by AI).

Let’s say that you’ve built out the first bit of a step. Now, you can use the new in-line smart tools feature to spruce up what you’ve got so it’s ready to share with your team. In-line smart tools can help you:

• Make your content shorter or longer.
• Change the tone of your content (like making it sound casual, confident, or conversational).
• Simplify or rephrase your content.
• Add emojis throughout your content.
• Fix your grammar and spelling.
• Translate your content to one of 25 different languages.
• Finish up partially completed content.
• Summarize content.

By using these options, you can save time (and brain power) to get your documentation in tip-top shape before sharing it with your team.

Just highlight your text, click “Smart tools” and scroll through your text enhancement options. Log in and try it out. (Need an account? Get a demo.)