Using Visual Communication to Improve Understanding Within Your Team

Whether you’re a small business or a large organisation, your employees are required to understand and retain a lot of information to carry out their roles effectively. Yet one of the biggest challenges businesses face is communicating that information in a concise and engaging way.

We know that humans are visually wired, and brands already use the power of visuals to communicate with their customers – so why not employees too? We run through ways in which businesses of all sizes can leverage visual communication to improve employee engagement.

Company handbooks

Operational handbooks are a key part of onboarding new employees and standardising processes across a business, as well as being an important reference source for existing employees. But handbooks are usually dense, text-heavy tomes of information, which are more often found propping up a wobbly desk than being read cover to cover.

Think about how you can present the information in your handbook in a more appealing way. For example, presenting your handbook in a clear layout with good use of typography or visualising your processes using diagrams and flowcharts can make communicating complex systems and structures in a easily digestible and memorable way.

Video Guides

Motion graphics trump text: according to research by Hubspot, 55% of people will finish a video they’ve started. This is in comparison to just 29% of people who will read a blog until the end. (They probably got distracted by a cat meme.)

Creating a series of short video guides can be a great way to give employees an overview of your processes or product. Better still, the same video can often be used in multiple contexts, such as during employee training sessions or investor pitches.

Training Materials

Just like company handbooks, static training documents are a bore… which means it’s more difficult for staff to learn and retain information. Multiple studies have shown that interactive learning hugely improves learner engagement, retention and performance in comparison to passive learning (that is, just reading or listening), so consider how you can introduce interactive elements or exercises within training materials.

This could be anything from ranking priorities, selecting responses from drop downs, using scrolling functionality or clickable buttons and in-group exercises – anything that involves the user in the process rather than just being a passive observer. You should also link to videos and further reading where necessary.

Newsletters

Company newsletters can be a great way to update team members and pass on information. But long, copy-filled emails get skipped over so make sure that your newsletters are well-designed and appealing to look at, with key information highlighted.

To get your team really engaged and clicking to open, think about how you can maintain some consistency from week to week. For example, you may want to include a monthly sales update, highlight your customer satisfaction rate, or even have a weekly interview with someone from the team. If you pick something that your team care about, they’ll look forward to receiving your newsletter and your open rates will soar.

It’s easy to forget how much information we often require our employees to remember. Using visual communication across key communications can help to increase engagement and understanding within your team, by providing them with information in a way that is easy to understand and recall.

If you need help visually putting together an internal document, contact us to see how we can work together.