Most companies have training docs gathering digital dust. PDFs, decks, and wikis no one opens, or worse, no one understands.
New hires feel lost. Support teams answer the same questions. And compliance? You’re guessing if people even read the policy.
Here’s the kicker: You don’t need a full revamp to fix this. You just need one hour and a smart system.
Let’s audit all your training material in under 60 minutes. No special tools. No complexity. Just 5 steps and a spreadsheet.
By the end, you’ll know what to cut, what to upgrade, and what to transform. Even better? You’ll walk away with one doc ready to become your smartest asset.
Training content is the backbone of every growing team, yet it’s one of the most overlooked assets when it comes to performance and scale.
Think about it: You wouldn’t run a marketing campaign without tracking performance. You wouldn’t ship code without QA. So why are we still handing new hires, customers, and employees 30-page PDFs and hoping for the best?
When training materials aren’t reviewed regularly, or worse, when no one knows what exists, the results show up everywhere:
Worse yet, static documents offer no feedback loop. You don’t know if people read them. You don’t know what they’re confused about. You don’t even know if the content is still accurate. And that’s a growth problem.
A quick, structured audit gives you:
Even better: You don’t need a full-time instructional designer or a six-month plan. You can do it in under an hour and immediately identify which materials will reduce friction, improve performance, and save time across HR, compliance, CS, and sales enablement.
You don’t need fancy audit tools, a giant task force, or a six-week strategy doc. You just need a clear head, a simple spreadsheet, and an hour of focused time. Here’s exactly what to prep:
This includes:
Whether they live in a shared drive, LMS, Notion, or somewhere deep in your Slack archives, gather everything in one place.
You can use ours or create your own with the following columns:
This isn’t just an audit for audit’s sake. By the end of your hour, you should be ready to:
Now that you’re prepped, let’s jump into the actual 1-hour process.
Time to roll up your sleeves. Set a timer for 60 minutes and follow these five steps.
Each one is designed to move fast but reveal real insights about the state (and potential) of your training assets.
Start by listing every document, deck, video, and FAQ that’s used for training, whether internal or external.
This includes:
Don’t overthink it. Just list everything you find, and copy-paste links into your spreadsheet.
Pro Tip: If your content is scattered across LMS platforms, Google Drive, or Notion, use search terms like “onboarding,” “training,” “handbook,” “SOP,” and “policy” to surface files quickly.
Now assess what you’ve found. For each item, rate:
This helps separate “core” content from the noise.
Watch for red flags:
Here’s where most teams discover gold:
Even “good” content fails when it’s stuck in a format no one engages with.
Look for:
Mark these as “Format Issue: Yes” and note why. These are prime candidates for transformation.
Now flag what’s high-impact. Use three quick questions:
High in all three? You’ve found a Tier 1 asset and possibly your pilot candidate.
Out of everything you’ve reviewed, pick one document:
This is the file you’ll use to kick off your transformation with Docustream. You don’t need to fix everything at once. Start with one high-leverage piece.
Upload it. Watch it come to life as a smart, voice-powered, explainer with built-in Q&A.
You’ve done the audit. Now what?
This is where the real value shows up. Your spreadsheet isn’t a list. It’s a launchpad. Let’s see how to turn your findings into fast, meaningful improvements that actually move the needle.
Start with the bottom of your spreadsheet:
Now find everything that:
These are “Docustream-ready” files; the ones that benefit most from being interactive, explainer-based, and searchable. Tag them clearly in your audit sheet.
You don’t need a massive transformation project. Just start with:
Even upgrading just one piece can:
Once you’ve transformed your first doc with Docustream, track usage:
Use those insights to improve the next batch and prove ROI to your stakeholders.
Static documents had their moment. But in today’s fast-moving, information-saturated workplace, smart beats static every time.
Your team doesn’t need more PDFs. They need content that explains itself.
A modern training asset is:
Imagine this: Instead of reading a dense compliance SOP, your new hire hears a 2-minute summary, asks “What does clause 3 mean?”, and gets a clear, human answer instantly. That’s Docustream in action.
These aren’t pipe dreams. They’re being built today by companies who are tired of repeating themselves.
The best part? You don’t have to start from scratch. You already have the content. You just need to bring it to life.
That’s where Docustream comes in, and it starts with one file. Let’s close it out with the offer that makes it a no-brainer.
Q1: What is a training material audit?
It’s a structured review of your existing training documents to identify what’s outdated, ineffective, or missing and prioritize what needs fixing or transforming.
Q2: How often should I audit our training content?
At least twice a year. But if your org is scaling fast or roles are evolving, once per quarter is ideal.
Q3: Who should run the audit: HR, L&D, or someone else?
It depends on the doc’s purpose. HR should own onboarding content, compliance owns SOPs, and enablement teams should own sales materials. But cross-functional input is key.
Q4: What tools do I need for the audit?
Just a spreadsheet and access to your training folders. You can optionally use our free audit template to save time.
Q5: What should I look for when scoring training docs?
Check if they’re still relevant, factually correct, in an engaging format, and actually used by your team.
Q6: How can I track which training docs are getting ignored?
If you’re using a LMS, check view/engagement metrics. If not, look at repeat questions from users. High support load = low content effectiveness.
Q7: What’s the fastest way to improve training without rewriting everything?
Use Docustream to add explainers and interactive Q&A on top of your existing content. No reformatting needed.
Q8: How long does it take to turn a doc into a smart assistant?
Less than 20 minutes for your first one. We’ll even do it with you during the free pilot demo.