Do you find yourself repeatedly teaching the same tasks to your team? Is it a challenge to get everyone on the same page? Processes are an important part of employee onboarding, but they also make sure your team is working smarter, not harder.

In today’s episode, we’ll cover:

• 2 Reasons to have solid agency processes.
• How to streamline your agency’s processes and stop wasting time.
• When should you focus on agency SOPs?

Today I sat down with Chris and Jonathan Ronzio, CEO and CMO of Trainual, a training app that helps business owners establish processes that make their team more effective and productive. Today, they’re here to discuss why it’s so important to streamline your agency’s processes and the best way to make it happen.

2 Reasons to Have Solid Agency Processes

Take a minute to think about your team. If you gave each member of your team one simple task, would they all know how to get it done? Now, look a little closer. Would they all do it the same way? Creativity is great, but when it comes to basic, repeatable tasks, it’s usually a good idea to have a process in place. Why?

1. Consistency. Your clients expect a certain standard of work. If you have five different team members doing the same task five different ways, your clients are likely to get confused or overwhelmed — not good.
2. Time. Think about how much time you and the rest of your team spend trying to figure out how to do something, how to train someone to do something, and how to respond to a client when there’s a question. When you have documented processes in place, it’s as simple as rinse, wash, repeat.

How to Streamline Your Agency’s Processes

Processes are important, but you don’t want to create a process that is so convoluted your team needs a process to understand the process. When you streamline your processes, not only will your team be more successful (and less frustrated), but you’ll also find it easier to be more profitable. Why? Because when you have a process in place, it’s easier (and quicker) to chose and onboard your ideal clients. So how do you streamline your agency’s processes?

• Recognize what tasks are a time suck. What tasks is your team spending way too much time on? Is there a way to eliminate these tasks? If not, how can you simplify them so they are easily repeatable?
• Make sure everyone can do the same tasks the same way. As an owner, you want to know your team is actually providing what you expect of your agency. Shadowing your team and watching how they do things takes time. When you have a solid process in place and train everyone to do things right the first time, both you and your clients will be happier.
• Hold your team accountable. Your team won’t be successful if they don’t know what you expect of them. Be clear about your processes, but don’t forget to follow up.

When Should You Focus on Agency SOPs?

You’ve heard the old saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” The best time to focus on your agency’s processes is during employee onboarding. Once your employee develops their own routine, it’s much harder to get them to change the way they do things.

If you don’t have a solid onboarding process in place, there’s no better time to create one than now. But don’t worry, you don’t have to whip up one from scratch. Trainual is currently offering a special deal to help you document and organize your agency’s processes and procedures. Ready to get started? Head over to Trainual.com/smartagency for a free, preloaded onboarding template just for Smart Agency Masterclass listeners.

Your agency’s processes are a big factor in determining whether your agency fails or succeeds. When you take the time to streamline your processes and make sure everyone is on the same page, your agency will run much more smoothly.