Blog - Knowledge in Practice

Seven Visual Job Aids for Remote Training

Combine diagrams, checklists, documents and video demonstrations to help remote employees perform a task and verify the result.

Originally published 29 April 2021. Updated 5 November 2026.

Seven Visual Job Aids for Remote Training

Overview

Remote employee training needs more than a video library. People also need the reference they can inspect while doing the work: a checklist, a diagram, a decision table or a clear screenshot. Choose the visual around the question being answered rather than adding an illustration to every paragraph.

Choose the visual that answers the task

Use a diagram to show relationships, a screenshot to identify an interface state and a checklist to verify a sequence. A video is useful when movement, timing or a changing state matters. Exact values and exceptions often belong in a maintained text or document reference.

A visually attractive asset is not automatically an effective job aid. Check that labels remain readable on the devices used for the work and that the aid describes the same version of the process as the recording.

Keep the aids connected to one approved explanation

Publish related files beside the demonstration and make their purpose clear. Give each resource an owner and identify which situations it covers. When the procedure changes, review the recording, diagram, captions and document together.

Cincopa can deliver a collection of videos with supporting documents through a relevant destination. VideoGPT can provide source-grounded questions across the approved library, while the original visual remains available for the viewer to inspect.

Test the aid in the working context

Ask a representative employee to use the aid during a realistic task. Notice where they hesitate, switch resources or ask an expert to explain a missing detail. Check the actual result instead of judging success from the number of views.

Use the findings to improve the source or the way it is presented. Sometimes a concise checklist beside the existing recording is more useful than another long training video.

1. Infographics

A handbook filled with blocks of text versus a visually appealing infographic - which one is likely to capture and retain your attention?

Chances are it’s the latter.

Infographics make for powerful employee training materials because they have the ability to present complex information in a manner that’s easy to grasp and understand.

While creating infographics, make sure you minimize text and support the information with visuals such as illustrations, photos, graphs, icons, and symbols.

Here are the different ways to use infographics in your remote employee training materials:

  • Simplify complex concepts
  • Summarize information
  • Visualize data and statistics
  • Make comparisons
  • Organize information and aid comprehension

For example, here’s a comparison infographic that illustrates the dos and don’ts by laying them out side-by-side. Notice how it pairs every point with an icon which makes the information memorable.

on-boarding Saas Users

Source: Venngage

2. Presentation decks

Presentation decks are common employee training and development materials, regardless of whether you’re delivering synchronous or asynchronous training.

But if your slides are monotonous, poorly designed, consist of too much text, and have an endless list of bullet points, then you might be inflicting ‘death by PowerPoint’ on your employees.

If you want to make an impact with presentation decks, you need to make them visual. No, boring stock photos don’t count. Use meaningful visuals that help you deliver your message while adding to the overall aesthetic.

Here are design best practices to consider while creating presentation decks for employee training materials:

  • Focus on one key takeaway per slide
  • Use visuals to make the information memorable
  • Include a variety of slide layouts to keep the audience engaged
  • Minimize text on the slides (not more than five lines of text per slide)
  • Stick to a color scheme
  • Emphasize information with colors, text size, and weight

Take a look at this engaging presentation deck. It combines icons, graphs, and text to present the information effectively and capture the reader’s attention.

cyber security guide

Source: Venngage

3. Videos

Microsoft saved $303 per person when they decided to replace their classroom training sessions with videos.

And this is just one of the benefits of including videos in your employee training and development program.

It’s no secret that videos are highly engaging content formats. Not only do they demonstrate concepts and deliver information effectively but they also have the power to improve retention and retain the learner’s attention for a longer period of time.

You can create different types of employee training videos such as:

  • Screencasts: to provide a demonstration or step-by-step tutorial
  • Explainer videos: to introduce a concept, tool, or process
  • Interactive videos: to create an immersive learning experience
  • Animated videos: to explain a complex topic

Here’s a good example of an animated video by Reach Out that educates employees about workplace bullying.

video training

4. Charts

Good data makes for great stories and deserves to be part of your employee training content.

But what happens when you fail to present that data effectively? Your training program becomes a data dump.

This is where charts come into the picture. When used properly, they can:

  • Improve comprehension of complex concepts
  • Reinforce the core message
  • Make key insights memorable
  • Increase the persuasiveness of claims

Whether you’re sharing business data or presenting industry trends, it’s important to pick the right kind of chart for your data. This will add clarity and prevent misinformation.

The broad objectives of using charts can be divided into:

  • Inform (eg. donut chart, pictograph, etc.)
  • Compare (eg. bar chart, pie chart, bubble chart, etc.)
  • Show change (eg. line chart, area chart, timeline, etc.)
  • Organize (eg. table, list, Venn diagram, etc.)
  • Reveal relationships (eg. scatter plot, histogram, etc.)

Here’s an example of a bar chart that illustrates the net gains and losses without overwhelming readers. It uses a simple color palette and has clear data labels.

employee training content

Source: Venngage

5. Checklists

A huge part of employee training is ensuring that employees implement their learnings in their day-to-day work. One way to achieve that is to provide employees with checklists.

Apart from being functional and informative, checklists also help reinstate and summarize large chunks of information. They aid task prioritization and motivate employees to take action.

Here are the different ways to use checklists as part of employee training:

  • Employee onboarding
  • Safety training
  • Performance evaluation
  • Employee wellbeing
  • Job aids for recurring tasks

Take a look at this job aid checklist example. It uses short sentences to outline the various tasks. The clean background and color-coded categories make it easy to scan and read.

virtual learning

Source: Venngage

6. Roadmaps

As a learning and development professional, your goal is to ensure that your employees get access to the right kind of training that is in line with the company’s objectives.

Enter learning paths.

Creating learning paths or roadmaps involves chalking out what your learners need to achieve along with the method of learning and duration. It helps trainers and learners take a more structured approach and makes it easier to track training progress.

Create a personalized learning roadmap for employees that takes into account their individual learning paths and goals. This serves as a reference, improves productivity, and keeps them motivated.

Here is an example of a learning roadmap template you can use. It breaks the timeline into smaller segments and allots specific tasks for each time frame.

roadmap

Source: Venngage

7. Flowcharts

Let’s say you want to educate employees about a new business process or explain a complex workflow. Instead of communicating it in words alone (and have them forget it), why not create a flowchart?

Flowcharts are a useful way to represent a series of steps and guide the learner to make informed decisions.

The best part about flowcharts is that they serve as effective post-training visual aids. They help employees retain information, solve complex problems on the job, and prevent mistakes.

While designing flow charts, it’s a good idea to include a short introduction for context. You can use colors, icons, and arrows to emphasize information. Make sure you keep the design simple and only include essential information that helps employees follow the instructions with ease.

Here’s a flowchart that can be part of your customer support training program. It shows the multiple paths and clearly communicates the corresponding action that needs to be taken.

educate employees

Source: Venngage

Frequently asked questions

No. Use video when seeing an action or sequence helps. A diagram, checklist or written specification may answer some questions more efficiently.

Assign ownership, keep related sources together and review them when the procedure changes. Avoid uploading separate copies into every team destination when one maintained source can be reused.

NEXT STEP

Make training useful after the course ends

Connect approved recordings and documents so employees can revisit an explanation and ask the next question.