Employee benefits are an important part of your internal communication strategy, but they can also be complex and confusing for your staff. How can you use visual aids to communicate employee benefits effectively and engagingly? In this article, you will learn some tips and best practices for using visual aids to enhance your employee benefits communication.
Visual aids can help you simplify, clarify, and emphasize your employee benefits information, but not all visual aids are created equal. Depending on your message, audience, and channel, you should choose the most appropriate type of visual aid for your purpose. For example, you can use charts and graphs to show trends and comparisons, icons and symbols to highlight key points and categories, infographics and diagrams to explain processes and structures, and images and videos to illustrate examples and scenarios.
Visual aids are most effective specially with an audience that has limited attention span. Visual aids are great for creating impact at a glimpse and driving in the key message. Therefore it is imperative that the choice of visual aid matches the key message and not just something thats trending. An example is the trend of using videos as visual aids. While videos are very effective at some places, its not effective in scenarios where the time to deliver the message is short and/or the key message is short.
You should consider the message you are communicating and the desired impact or action. Both of these will inform the type of visual aid you choose to best convey your message. Remember, a visual aid is exactly that. A tool to support delivering your message. It's not the message itself. I'd recommend choosing a visual aid that will help make your message stand out and be memorable.
Visual aids should not only be relevant and accurate, but also attractive and easy to understand. To achieve this, you should follow some basic design principles when creating your visual aids. These include using consistent colors, fonts, and styles, aligning and spacing your elements properly, avoiding clutter and distractions, using contrast and hierarchy to draw attention, and adding captions and labels to explain your visual aids.
Depending on the message, it's always worth considering using an expert. Working in partnership with a creative agency that brings a wealth of expertise and experience may be what you need to ensure your messages are effectively delivered.
In my experience, these are TOP 3 inputs: - 70% of space should be used for one single image. It should show the benefit. - Use real human photos, no AI generated please. - Use apt colors (e.g green for healthcare, blue for mental health) basis on key message.
Visual aids should also be tailored to your audience and channel, so that they can deliver your employee benefits message effectively. You should consider the needs, preferences, and expectations of your audience, and use language, tone, and visuals that suit them. You should also consider the format, size, and quality of your channel, and optimize your visual aids accordingly. For example, you may need to use different visual aids for an email newsletter, a poster, or a presentation.
There are huge benefits in using a range of visual aids for certain internal communication messages and campaigns. If you do use a range of visual aids, make sure the brand, tone and message is consistently represented across them all. This will help them all to work in partnership with each other to reinforce your key messages. Also remember that your employees are often busy and have very little tone to consume messages so make your visual aids communicate messages, call to action and 'what's in it for me' quickly and simply.
Words matter! The wrong words can destroy a message, and the right words can strengthen a message. Visual aids support the message and are not the message. A photo with one to three words to reinforce the message is best. Provide contrast, as we understand better by seeing the before and after. Think of home improvement shows before and after, or before going to the gym and after going to the gym. Go online and find Steve Jobs's video of his presentations to see how he used simple visual aids to strengthen his verbal message.
Visual aids are not a one-time solution, but a continuous process of improvement. You should always test and evaluate your visual aids before and after you use them, and collect feedback from your audience and stakeholders. You should also measure the impact and outcomes of your visual aids, and use data and analytics to assess their effectiveness. By testing and evaluating your visual aids, you can identify what works and what doesn't, and make adjustments and enhancements as needed.
Visual aids are not a new concept, but a well-established practice in internal communication. You can learn a lot from the best practices and examples of other organizations and professionals who have used visual aids successfully to communicate employee benefits. You can also seek inspiration and guidance from online resources and tools that can help you create and share your visual aids. By learning from the best practices, you can avoid common mistakes and pitfalls, and achieve your employee benefits communication goals.
Visual aids are meant to complement and enhance your employee benefits communication, not to replace or complicate it. You should always keep your visual aids simple and clear, and avoid using too many or too complex visual aids that can confuse or overwhelm your audience. You should also use visual aids in conjunction with other communication methods, such as written or verbal communication, and provide additional information and support as needed. By keeping it simple and clear, you can ensure that your visual aids are effective and engaging, and that your employee benefits communication is successful.