Business playbook – what it is and how to create one?
Imagine playing a fun new board game – but there’s no instruction manual. You don’t know the goal, the rules, or how to win. That would be confusing! Running a business without a clear plan is just like that. A business playbook is the guide that shows everyone what to do, how to do it, and how to reach the company’s goals. It helps the whole team work together and grow the business the right way.
In this article, you’ll discover what a business playbook is, why it’s essential for your company’s success, and how to create one using a flipbook maker. We’ll also walk you through what to include in your playbook and share examples of how businesses use them to reach their goals.
What is a business playbook?
A business playbook is a clear, organized document that shows how your company is supposed to work at every level. It brings together all the essential information in one place, including:
- Your company’s mission, vision, values, and culture.
- Detailed instructions on how the work is supposed to be done across all areas, from finances and strategic decisions to customer service.
- The key strategies and best practices your company uses.
It’s a comprehensive guide that outlines your company’s core principles while also providing practical steps for managing daily operations effectively.
Why do you need a business playbook?
As a company grows, things get more complicated – there are more people, more teams, and sometimes even offices in different places. Once it’s not just one person running everything, it’s important to make sure everyone knows what to do and how to do it.
Without clear, written rules and processes, employees can get confused – just like trying to play a board game with no instructions. This can lead to mistakes, lower product quality, and fewer sales.
That’s why companies with more than a dozen employees – or even smaller ones that want to grow – should have a clear and organized business playbook. It holds all the important information employees need to work properly. The bigger your company gets, the more helpful this guide will be.
Benefits of a business playbook
Creating a business playbook offers many benefits, especially for growing or large companies. Here are just a few key reasons to create one and share it effectively (e.g., online):
- You waste a lot less time – Employees don’t have to stop their work to ask a colleagues how to do their jobs. All procedures, standards, and best practices are stored in one easy-to-access document.
- Consistent operations and quality – The playbook ensures key processes in your company are always done in the same standardized way. This leads to predictable, high-quality results.
- Better communication and collaboration – A playbook creates a shared understanding of how the company operates, from the CEO to the sales team. This makes teamwork easier, especially in large or multicultural companies.
- Faster and more streamlined onboarding – New employees from diverse backgrounds can quickly learn about the company’s culture, processes, tools, and expectations from your playbook – and ideally become productive much faster.
- Protecting company knowledge – Describing key processes and best practices in the playbook prevents the company from losing valuable knowledge when employees leave.
- Meeting industry standards and safety requirements – The playbook outlines any legal, quality, or safety standards the company must follow, helping you to be legally compliant.
- Promoting accountability and transparency – The playbook clearly defines roles and responsibilities for each position, and shows how their work contributes to the company’s goals. This fosters a culture of accountability and professionalism.
How to create a business playbook using Publuu
1. Determine the scope
Decide how broad or narrow the playbook needs to be – should it cover the whole organization or just a specific team or department? This will help you assess the amount of work that needs to be done and identify the right people to gather information from.
Example ⤵
A network of bookstores might create one playbook for representatives covering the entire company and another specifically for bookstore managers and workers.
2. Select a template
Find a pre-made template or define a clear structure that suits your needs and aligns with your company branding – this helps maintain consistency across internal materials. You can browse examples online or use the ones provided below for inspiration.
3. Identify topics
Make a list of all the key topics and sections to include, such as:
- Roles and responsibilities
- Organizational structure
- Mission/vision statement
- Standard operating procedures (workflows)
- Quality standards
- Tool guides, etc.
4. Collect information and review
- Talk to subject matter experts and team leaders to gather details for each topic.
- Collect official documentation on processes, best practices, tools, etc., and incorporate this information.
- Write the content, filling out your chosen structure or template.
- Crucially, get feedback from stakeholders and revise the text for accuracy and clarity.
- Hire an editor or carefully proofread the entire playbook for errors, inconsistencies, or unclear language.
5. Turn it into an interactive flipbook
Save the finalized playbook as a PDF and upload it to Publuu. Publuu will convert it into an interactive flipbook format, allowing you to add features like internal and external links, videos, or image galleries to enhance usability.
MAKE YOUR OWN
💡If you’re using a Canva template, you can send your project directly to Publuu and instantly turn it into a flipbook – no extra download needed!
Take a look here to find out how to create a flipbook with Canva
Thanks to Publuu, your employees can access the playbook from anywhere, on any device. You can easily share it as a link with new hires during onboarding. Its professional appearance and HTML5 compatibility ensure your team can start using it immediately upon sharing.
Templates for business playbook
There’s no single “right” way to structure a business playbook, as each company has unique needs. However, templates can provide a good starting point. Here are some inspirations:
Pattern company playbook template
This template features a lively pattern in pink and yellow, giving your playbook a creative and energetic look. Ideal for companies focused on design or internal culture guides.
Modern corporate playbook template
This business playbook template uses bold red and black tones to convey strength and confidence. Perfect for tech, finance, or any modern professional setting.
Professional onboarding company playbook template
The yellow gradient and clean illustrations give this playbook a warm, professional, and optimistic appearance. Great for welcoming new hires and making them well-inform.
Purple minimalist business playbook template
This playbook template uses deep shades of purple to create a cohesive and elegant look. A good fit for companies that want their materials to feel clean, structured, and professional.
Business playbook presentation template
Strong orange and yellow accents make this playbook template engaging and dynamic, helping to maintain attention while clearly communicating your content.
Onboarding company playbook template
This design combines soft blues and purples for a calming yet professional tone, making it ideal for HR teams introducing new employees to the company.
Business playbooks examples
Business guide with animations
This example is an interactive business guide that showcases company programs and values, combines animations for a clean and consistent look, and keeps readers engaged with highly informative features like videos.
Business playbook example
This Publuu flipbook shows how you can turn a business playbook template into an easy-to-use online guidebook, with interactive links and infographics added through Publuu hotspots to make navigation simple and engaging.
Company presentation playbook
The animations in this business flipbook show how to highlight important company aspects and capture reader attention effectively – without being distracting.
Tips for creating a playbook for business
Creating an effective business playbook takes time and effort, but it’s definitely worth it. Here are some tips to guide you through the process:
1. Involve the right people
Your company playbook should reflect how work actually gets done. Collaborate with team leaders and employees who perform the tasks daily, talk to them and ask for any feedback. Their input is invaluable – and maybe you’ll find a way to streamline the entire process!
2. Prioritize clarity and simplicity
Avoid jargon and overly complex language. Use clear, concise sentences. Incorporate visuals like flowcharts, diagrams, screenshots, and checklists to make processes easier to understand. Although the playbook might seem overwhelming, its primary purpose is to educate.
3. Focus on actionable information
Make sure that the content provides practical guidance that employees can directly use in their work. What do they need to know to do their job effectively and consistently?
4. Make it easily accessible
A playbook is useless if no one can find or use it. Store it in a central, easily reachable location. Using Publuu allows you to share it as an interactive online document accessible on any device.
5. Keep it current
Business processes evolve. Schedule regular reviews (e.g., quarterly or annually) and updates to ensure the playbook remains accurate and relevant. Publuu also makes this process simple – with just one click, you can update existing file, and the changes go live in real-time. There’s no need to resend documents – everyone always sees the most up-to-date version.
6. Format for readability
Use headings, subheadings, bullet points, and white space to break up text and make the playbook easy to scan and digest. Publuu can help you highlight important content with interactive elements, like pulsating areas, gifs, and more, so readers can quickly notice what matters. These visual elements make the playbook more engaging and easier to follow.
FAQ about playbooks
What is the purpose of a business playbook?
The business playbook is supposed to describe all the details of the operation of your company. It gathers all the procedures used by workers to ensure consistency and simplify onboarding for the new employees.
Related topic: Employee training program
Where can I create a business playbook?
You can start creating the content using familiar tools like Google Docs or Microsoft Word. For visual layout and design, tools like Canva can be very helpful. Once your content is complete, you can save it as PDF and use Publuu to transform it into an engaging, interactive online flipbook that’s easy to share, access, and update.
Who should create a playbook for business?
Creating a business playbook is typically a group effort – even in a smaller companies this is not a task for a single person. It should be led by someone with a good overview of the business (like a manager, department head or an experienced worker). This person needs feedback from all workers to describe their tasks as well as from the leadership to provide input on vision, mission, and brand strategy.
Conclusion on business playbooks
A well-designed business playbook is a powerful tool that can help companies of all sizes achieve their goals and succeed! Thanks to having a large, comprehensive guide all to operations, a business playbook can improve efficiency, enhance collaboration, and increase profits.
Whether you’re a small startup or a large corporation, it’s worth creating a business playbook – and sharing it with your employees using the Publuu cloud.
You may be also interested in:
Employee Training Manual – What Is It and How to Create It?
How to Guide – All You Need to Know
