4 steps to fine-tune your biz processes for better efficiency

With some handy-dandy templates to get you on track.

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Welcome to The Manual Weekly – LI Edition, the can’t-miss newsletter for business leaders. You’ll find snackable bits of news highlighting emerging trends, actionable resources, and proven best practices that can help take your business to the next level.

This week’s must-reads:

• Templates you need to prioritize continuous improvement.
• Achieve better efficiency by improving your processes (in just four steps).
• How this multi-location Whataburger franchisee scales operations fast with Trainual.
• How to build employee wellness programs that actually work.

Template(s) of the week: For continuous improvement

Like Michael Jackson with the moonwalk. And Tony Hawk with the first-ever 900. Or even Simone Biles with not one, not two, but five moves named after her. The GOATs don’t just do what everyone else does — they always strive for harder, better, faster, stronger.

And your business should operate the same way. Big or small, changes can improve efficiency, productivity, and culture — making life better for your business and your team.

So, if you’re looking to institute some standards for improvement at your business, add these templates to your playbook:

👉 Change Champion Program template.

👉 How To Improve a Process template. 

Empower your team to champion continuous improvement and show them exactly what it looks like at your business. Just like the 🐐’s.

Check out our entire template archive of free and customizable policy, process, and role starters. New to Trainual? Get a demo.

Want better efficiency? It’s time to improve your processes.

Say good-bye to wasted time. When it comes to running a business, you need all the time you can get to keep kicking 🫏 and taking names. So, when we tell you that 44% of wasted time is linked to inefficient processes, we know that your first thought is about finding solutions.

And we certainly want to make the most of your precious time, so here are the four steps you need to improve your inefficient processes:

1. Audit your integral processes.

This is gonna be a deep dive — when we say “audit,” we mean: 

• Breaking each process down step by step. 
• Identifying the tasks and conditions that lead to challenges (like bottlenecks, miscommunication, or lack of resources).
• Discovering the “why” behind each inefficiency.

2. Collaborate to develop a plan for change.

Get together with the people who are actually involved with these processes day to day to come up with solutions. Not only will you get greater insight into why these inefficiencies are popping up — you’ll also get greater buy-in to make improvements.

3. Eliminate, amalgamate, or delegate.

Now, we get into the nitty-gritty of actually making process improvements. When making changes, think about what you could remove to simplify the process, combine with other steps, or delegate to other parties to improve efficiency.

4. Prepare for continuous review and improvement.

Let’s not get it twisted — improving processes isn’t a one-time deal. Change is always happening in and around your business, so optimization should always be in the back of your mind. Schedule bi-annual or annual process reviews, or institute change champion employees who can help you identify when processes should be improved (psst… get started today with the fully-baked template above 👆).

Trainual tips: Establishing consistency across multiple locations

MWB Restaurants, a burgeoning Whataburger franchisee, is currently flexing more than 600 employees and plans to open over 90 restaurants across the U.S. Let ‘em cook. 💪

But when they first started their rapid growth, they ran into a few problems:

• Training was inconsistent across their expanding network.
• It was getting difficult to support ongoing employee development.
• Best practices were not accessible. (Each location improvising their own playbook? What could possibly go wrong...)

Enter (you guessed it) Trainual. By converting old PowerPoint presentations into engaging, mobile-friendly Trainual content, they made training accessible anytime, anywhere. They could also finally track employee training progress to make sure their whole team is on the same page — no matter their role, shift, or location. Whata-relief.

MWB Restaurants are scaling fast without skipping a beat, serving up consistent operations and well-done results. Want a close look at how they do it? 

👉 Take a peek inside of their Trainual account.

What effective employee well-being programs could look like

Do wellness programs actually work? Experts say no. 😳

A lot of large companies offer some form of employee well-being program, like subscriptions for therapy, meditation apps, etc. Wellness is clearly a priority — by 2026, corporate spending around the world is set to hit $96B — but studies show that workplace burnout and mental health needs are still on the rise.

So, what the fudge is going on?

According to some experts, these programs target the wrong thing: They’re too individual-focused. They overlook the root causes of what employees struggle with and are seen as hypocritical and ineffective — so, they’re not widely used.

Good intentions, bad execution. The upside: If you want to revamp your program, or you’re looking to start one that can make actual changes for your workplace well-being, employing broader systemic interventions could be the answer. Look to implement changes like:

• Responding to employee needs. Employees want work-life balance and flexibility, so implementing flexible working hours or meeting-free time blocks could show you’re addressing their priorities.  
• Using clear goals and metrics. If you use KPIs and OKRs to determine your business success, why not with the mental health outcomes of your employees?
• Connecting with employees. Use volunteer mental health advocates amongst your team to help deliver feedback straight to your organization’s leaders and identify areas of improvement.
• Integrating people management skills into training. A good (or bad) manager can make all the difference to your team’s well-being. So, prioritize people management and mental health training in your managers’ professional development so that they’re better equipped to support your employees as a whole.