How likely is it that new hires will sit down with a binder or online pdf and read through the entire thing? If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit that this doesn't actually happen very often. At most, people will scan the index or do a search for the answer to a particular question they have.

The sad truth is that most employee handbooks are just a wall of dry words that don’t attract much attention. That said, the need that caused your company to write the handbook in the first place hasn’t gone away.

All workers -- long-term employees as well as new hires -- need to be familiar with policies and procedures. So what’s a business owner to do?

A new approach

You may think that simply turning your printed manual into a Google doc is the solution. Everyone likes to read things online, right? Actually, not so much.

While Google Docs and other word processors are great tools, they're not ideal for training manuals. Trainual has evolved a set of features that (unlike standard word processors) are specifically designed to transmit the knowledge base of a business. Here are just five of these features:

1. The important stuff is easy to find

With Google docs or a similar doc app, the faster you grow, the more chaotic your library of content becomes. Job descriptions, processes, policies, and procedures, how to unjam the antique office printer, it's all scattered somewhere. And someone on your team usually still has to scan through folder after folder or waste time searching through subheads in a long doc to find the one thing they needed to know.

Content within Trainual is organized intuitively by subject or topic and easily assigned by role or responsibility. That makes it easy for users to click on the information they specifically want or need.

2. Build step-by-step processes

In a Word document, the user still may have to read a long text block, even if they jump to its page. Trainual breaks down the contents of each tab heading into a set of steps that are easy to follow to make processes simpler to learn. That prevents users from feeling overwhelmed and allows them to concentrate on the individual item they are learning. People learn better when the material is "chunked," or broken down into small meaningful units. That’s why phone numbers in the U.S. are written in three separate chunks rather than a long string of numbers.

3. Your team is notified when content is updated

Once you have a manual published, via Google Docs or any other document program, you’ll inevitably have changes to make. It’s a headache to have to email everyone and inform them that a certain highlighted area of the manual has now been updated. Trainual removes that whole chore with its automatic updating feature. Once you change a section of your Trainual, then all users who have previously learned that part are automatically notified that they have to go back and relearn the updated parts. You don’t have to do anything.

4. Interactive, multimedia is easily embedded

The best learning programs usually rely on more than just written words. With Trainual, you can embed videos that play right inside the page the user is looking at. You can add images, slideshows, links to websites, and HTML forms as well. This way, the user can communicate back and provide information or answers as needed.

5. People only see relevant content

One of the big reasons that people turn away from (or never open) handbooks or manuals is that these usually try to cover multiple functions. This inevitably leads to people seeing material that’s irrelevant to them. Trainual lets you (the admin) assign specific subjects to specific users, thus clearing away the noise and making the experience focused and relevant.

Your employee handbook or training manual is truly the playbook for your company. But there's a better way to play the game. Try the training manual for modern businesses and deliver organizational content to your workforce in a format that’s appealing, personalized, updated and trackable.

Try Trainual free for 14-days.