Does your employee training make learners work too hard?

Sometimes the problem isn’t the content itself. It’s the way the information is presented. When employees have to read long instructions, picture what the task should look like, remember several steps, and then figure out what to do next, the training can become more difficult than the job.

IKEA offers a useful lesson here. Its instructions rely heavily on simple visuals, clear sequencing, and just enough information to help people move from one action to the next. The goal is not to explain everything. It is to make the next step easy to understand.

That same principle can improve employee training.

The Visual Training Blueprint is an interactive tool designed to help you take one text-heavy task and rethink it from the learner’s point of view. It guides you through identifying where unnecessary mental effort may be happening, deciding what could be shown instead of explained, and creating a clearer visual path for the learner.

You do not need to redesign an entire training program. Start with one task, one procedure, or one set of instructions that feels harder to follow than it should.

Then ask:

What could I show instead of explain?

A screenshot, diagram, example, demonstration, or short step-by-step visual may be all it takes to make the training easier to understand and apply.

Try the interactive Visual Training Blueprint here.

Better Training. Make the Next Step Clear.