How to Make Hierarchy Chart: Best Tools & Templates
Have you ever had to give instructions to employees? Whether it's setting up the computer system or a time-sensitive process, such as working on a production line, detailed instructions are required.
But how do you successfully explain your process with less time and effort? Job aids are invaluable tools for guiding employees in their daily tasks.
But isn't it ironic that creating a job aid takes more time and effort than completing the actual task? That's where a job aid template comes into the picture. Visme offers a wide range of customizable job aid templates that you can use.
This article provides a step-by-step guide to help develop effective job aids for your workplace.
Let's get started!
A job aid is an instructional document designed to help you perform or improve the efficiency of a job. They provide you with step-by-step instructions and make tasks more consistent. It can be in the form of a checklist, flowchart, worksheet or other types of guide.
Simply put, any document that helps you perform a task effectively and efficiently may be considered a job aid.
Job aids are used to ensure that employees are following procedures correctly and consistently. They are also meant to help new employees learn how to perform tasks independently without asking for guidance from their supervisors or coworkers.
Before creating a job aid for your employees, you need to determine whether it will benefit your company. To make an informed decision, consider the following five reasons why job aids can help drive employee performance:
Job aids improve knowledge retention by making important information accessible and easier to find. Suppose you have a large number of employees to train on how to use the latest technology in their jobs. Creating a job aid that explains the steps involved can help them retain this information better than if they were only given verbal instructions.
In fact, research has shown that 65% of the world's population are visual learners, meaning they need to see information to retain it.
Training new employees can be time-consuming. According to a report by the Association for Training and Development, employers spend an average of 33.5 hours training new employees.
A job aid is an efficient way to train new employees and can be used as a reference tool for those unfamiliar with their roles. It's also a great way to ensure that all employees are on the same page when completing tasks.
Job aids can help you provide on-the-spot support for employees who need it. When an employee struggles with a particular task, they can refer to a visual representation of what needs to be done, making it easier for them to learn and understand their responsibilities.
For example, let’s say you have an employee having trouble understanding their new software system. They may spend hours trying to figure it out instead of working on other tasks that need to be done. Providing them with a quick reference guide explaining how the software works will enable them to handle their work responsibilities more effectively.
In high-pressure situations, even the smallest distractions can cause employees to make errors or miss important details if they aren't focused on their work. Job aids can help reduce stress and anxiety by providing a mental break.
For example, a job aid reminding you to keep an eye on the timer while you're working on a task could prevent your team from rushing through their assignments or missing deadlines.
Some processes and products can be challenging to manage because they constantly change. For example, if you have a new employee learning to perform a task they’ve never done, it may be hard for them to remember all the steps involved in the tasks.
Using a job aid can provide consistency in your processes so that everyone knows what needs to be done, no matter who is performing the task.
Job aids can be extremely beneficial and do wonders for your company if you know when to use them. Here are some of the scenarios when you should use a job aid:
Job aids are great when your job is difficult or complex and you want to make it easier. It's easy to get confused when you or your employees perform difficult tasks.
This is especially true when you have to do tasks over and over again (the dreaded "repetitive work"). It can be challenging to remember what step comes next, why you did each step along the way and how they all fit together.
Job aids are handy when your employees don't have enough knowledge or experience to perform tasks independently. They can be helpful for new hires and seasoned employees who have not done the task before or need reminders about how it should be done.
As your company grows and changes, new processes will emerge to support that growth. You may need to restructure your organization or create new positions with new responsibilities—all while keeping your existing workload flowing smoothly. If your staff is constantly learning new things, job aids let them get up to speed quickly on their own.
If you have a problem at work, such as an employee who isn't performing up to expectations or a task that needs improvement, writing down the steps for completing it can help solve the issue.
Job aids are also helpful when a new procedure needs to be implemented on a wide scale but no one has time to train everyone at once.
Job aids are beneficial when you have a new hire or someone who needs to be trained on a task. They provide an opportunity for you to explain how the task should be done in writing so that your employees can refer back to it at any time if they have questions (or forget).
You will need to create training content, such as training manuals, employee handbooks, ID cards and many others for a smooth onboarding process. Visme can help you with that. Read this article about how to use Visme for your onboarding process to learn more about it.
There are many other reasons why job aids can be helpful, but these are some of the most common. If you have yet to consider using them at your organization, it's worth trying them.
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Job aids and Work instructions are designed to help employees perform their jobs more efficiently, but they have some critical differences.
A job aid is typically a document that outlines steps that need to be taken to complete a task or process. It could include diagrams or photographs, but it usually focuses on providing step-by-step instructions rather than explaining why the steps are essential or how they fit together with other organizational processes.
On the other hand, work instruction provides more than just step-by-step instructions. It includes information about why each step is important and how it relates to other organizational processes. They also include the context so employees know why those tasks matter and how they fit into your company's overall goals.
As we have already discussed, a job aid can come in many different formats. It can be a flowchart, presentation, infographic and even a video. As with any other type of document, you must ensure that the job aid template includes all relevant information and is written clearly so that everyone who needs it can understand how it works.
Be it a presentation, a flowchart, an infographic or any other type of content, your job aid should include the following elements:
Step-by-step instructions: These are the main steps required to complete the task. You may want to use bullet points for each step so that it's easier for people to read.
Summary of each step: If any special instructions or tools are required to complete a step, write them here. You may also include links to guides or videos to help users with this step.
Examples: Show how the step is completed using real-life photos, icons, illustrations or other visual elements. This can help users understand what they need to do better than just text alone.
Tips: Feel free to add any helpful tips or tricks related to the task.
Like pretty much everything else in this world, there are positive and negative aspects of using job aids. The good news is that you can make the most of your time by using one, but it's also important to be aware of any potential drawbacks.
Therefore, we will now discuss the pros and cons of job aids.
A job aid can be used in many different ways and should be tailored to meet the needs of your business. Therefore, we have compiled a list of 10 job aid templates to help you understand and find the perfect template.
Let’s start with the step-by-step job aid template. The template assists employees in their jobs by helping them systematically complete instructions. The template works well for any job, even if the task is just slightly more complex than what employees usually do. Additionally, the instructions are specific enough so that users aren’t stuck due to ambiguity.
Use this template to create step-by-step job aids for your team. You can use it for various needs, like teaching new processes or documenting necessary steps for completing a task. Customize the template in Visme and replace the text with yours to provide step-by-step instructions about any task you want.
This template is designed to help you create a flowchart that can be used as a job aid to explain how to complete a specific task. It includes fields for entering the name of the task and its steps. Flowcharts typically break down tasks into smaller chunks so workers can quickly figure out where they should start and which steps they need to take.
Level up your job aid and create immersive experiences with our wide range of interactive and animation features.
Use this template to create a flowchart job aid for your employees. It will help you explain the flow of tasks while referring to the bigger picture of the whole process. To create a flowchart job aid, enter the names of the tasks and steps in the fields provided. Then save and print out your document to use later.
To help you get the most out of a flowchart job aid, here are 45+ flowchart templates and design tips. Use them to create the perfect flowchart that explains your tasks better.
A job aid worksheet template lets you fill out to gather information, solve problems or record data. They can be simple forms with just a few questions or complex documents with many sections and subsections.
The content of these templates is typically focused on helping the users find answers to a few questions that will help them complete a specific task, just like the template above. Track how many employees have viewed your job aid using Visme analytics.
You can use this job aid worksheet template for a variety of purposes. You can use it as part of other documents, such as training materials. It also makes an excellent stand-alone document to check employees' knowledge about a particular task.
An infographic is a visual representation of information that can be used to make data more understandable. They can be used to help explain complex topics and ideas.
An infographic job aid template combines visuals, text and data to help employees better understand and remember the steps involved in completing a task. They are also easy to share, making them an ideal choice for use as a job aid template.
Customize this template to create an infographic job aid that helps employees understand and retain the information needed to complete their tasks. Take advantage of visual elements such as icons and illustrations to add additional information and help employees better understand processes.
A checklist job aid template is a great way to ensure that employees have completed all of the necessary steps for completing a task. These templates include check boxes next to each step, so workers can quickly mark off what they've done and move on to the next.
Using a checklist job aid template ensures that employees don't forget any steps, which can help prevent errors in the future. These templates are particularly useful when employees work on tasks that have many steps and require them to follow a specific order.
Edit this checklist job aid template with Visme’s drag-and-drop editor and make it your own. Replace the pre-existing text with your own, change the color combination, add or edit other visual elements such as icons and illustrations and do whatever you want to create the perfect checklist job aid for your team.
To help you customize a job aid template in the best way possible, here are some dos and don'ts for creating effective job aids:
Here are 15 graphic design tips that you can use to make your job aids visually appealing by beautifully presenting the information.
Hopefully, this guide has served you well and given you a sense of how easy it can be to create an easy-to-follow job aid quickly.
Thanks to Visme's extensive library of templates and the drag-and-drop editor, you can create impactful job aids that are appealing and well-designed. With just a few clicks, you can create and share stunning infographics, charts, and presentations with groups or teams in the workplace.
All you need to do is sign up for Visme, choose a job aid template, customize it according to your needs, and you are all set!
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