FAQs
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions or FAQs about our Big Picture People products and internal communication services.
Big Picture People products FAQs
What is a Learning Map?
A Big Picture Learning Map is a visual representation of complex information that is designed to allow effective assimilation of the underlying narrative behind it. Learning Maps typically display core concepts and relationships in an illustrated format. Big Picture Learning Maps come with a wide range of support tools and exercises that combine together to engage employees in a strategically directed dialogue providing consistency in the delivery of core messages. To find out more about Big Picture Learning Maps, visit our dedicated page.
What is an Interactive Board Game?
Big Picture Interactive Board Games are a unique and innovative solution for communicating your organisation’s complex messages. Utilising gamification techniques, they provide a powerful and impactful way of engaging employees in your narrative. Big Picture Interactive Board Games encourage discussion, problem-solving, scenario-based thinking and effective communication through a range of supporting materials that accompany each product. To find out more about Big Picture Interactive Board Games, visit our dedicated page.
What is a Big Picture?
Big Pictures are a visual depiction of complex organisational messages that enable employees to see how different elements link together. Rich Pictures are stand-alone products that are designed to be shared with employees without the support materials provided with a Learning Map. To find out more about our Big Pictures, visit our dedicated page.
Can a Learning Map or other Big Picture product be used for employee induction and onboarding?
Big Picture products make great induction and onboarding tools for organisations. Our products share an overview of the history, vision, strategies, values and expectations of the organisation in a compact, visual and highly engaging way. This makes them well suited to this purpose. You can find out more about examples of employee induction and onboarding projects here.
We have a multinational workforce, can Big Picture products be supplied in languages other than English?
Yes, we have translated our clients’ products into more than 25 different languages for clients who have non-English speaking colleagues. We have a comprehensive and seamless translation service to convert any Big Picture product into any language. Working with a leading translation provider, the simplicity of our translation process means clients can be confident of engaging employees and putting their people in the picture across the globe. Read more about our translation process here.
Impact and benefits FAQs
Are Learning Maps and Interactive Board Games designed for organisational and corporate communications and learning?
Yes. Our clients are typically large organisations who understand the value of bringing fun, creativity, innovation and engagement into their learning and communications processes. Big Picture products are colourful, compelling and interactive. They have substance too. Our products are backed with 20 years of robust experience and delivering results for our clients. For further information read some of our clients’ success stories of using our Big Picture products in our client case studies
What are the benefits of a Learning Map or Interactive Board Game?
Whatever your aim, your Big Picture Learning Map or Interactive Board Game will be designed to create rapid alignment, deep learning, memorable communications and significantly improved performance. Because it will be put into action by your own internal facilitators you will have absolute control over when, how and where to use it. If you’d like to read about the impact of our Big Picture products, visit our Impact page
How do you measure the impact of a Learning Map or other Big Picture product?
We are passionate about measuring the return on investment for our clients. This starts with establishing realistic and quantifiable business success factors associated with the project as the initial step. We have a number of techniques that we use to evaluate the pre- and post- intervention metrics related to these success factors. We can also offer an app based solution that allows clients to track employee attitudes and behaviours related to their Big Picture product thus demonstrating a lasting impact. If you’d like to read some of our clients’ success stories of using a Big Picture Learning Map, visit our impact page
I like the idea of a Learning Map or other Big Picture product but how do I ‘sell’ the idea to my colleagues and other decision makers?
First and foremost, we want our product to be the right solution for your organisation. Therefore, initially we will discuss your ideas with you and let you know if we think we can deliver your objectives within any constraints that you have. If we agree to proceed to the next stage, convincing colleagues to support a new and innovative approach like a Big Picture Learning Map or other Big Picture product can be a challenge. However, we regularly work alongside internal advocates who are keen to use our approach and help them to develop a strong business case for our approach. We have a long list of delighted clients who are more than happy to talk to new clients to answer any concerns or questions they have. If you want to discuss this question further, why not arrange a free consultation conversation?
Is there any added value from the development process involved in creating a Learning Map or Interactive Board Game?
In addition to helping to refine our clients existing narrative to make it more coherent and accessible for their people, our development and delivery process offers many other points of added value. The development process is a great way to involve your leaders in a strategic dialogue about the importance of internal communications and employee engagement. It helps connect them to the potential ambiguities and inconsistencies in existing organisational messages. The roll-out phase of our products often helps organisations realise that getting employees engaged in future-focussed conversations about the organisation is valuable and is a catalyst for change. They often go on to apply this approach to other parts of their internal communication strategy. The personal development opportunity that arises from training and utilising their own people as facilitators also adds significant value to our clients. There are many other points of added value that arise from working with us. If you want to find out more, why not arrange a free consultation conversation?
Cost and investment FAQs
How much does a Learning Map or Interactive Board Game cost?
Big Picture products are bespoke to the client we are working with and their specific communication objectives. The investment required to develop a Learning Map or Interactive Board Game depends on a wide range of factors. The complexity of the messages you want us to develop and the degree to which your narrative is already developed will have a bearing on this. Also, the quantity of physical products you require will influence the cost. We provide a fixed price guarantee for the development costs for a Big Picture Learning Map at the beginning of the project meaning that you have no unpleasant surprises as the project progresses. We have a maximum capacity for projects over the course of a year. As a rule of thumb, we will only take on a maximum of twelve projects in a year. This means that we can dedicate our resources to client projects without being spread too thinly. This also means that we may not be able to take on your project unless we have been able to schedule it into our work-plan. For that reason, we recommend getting in touch as early as possible if you are thinking of working with us. We appreciate that investing in a project like this is a big decision and we will work with you to make sure this is the right approach for your organisation. To book a free 30-minute consultation call, click here.
How can we extend the return on investment for our Learning Map or other Big Picture product?
We have developed a number of ways to help clients to extend their return on investment from their Big Picture products. The visual elements of our products are a great tool for ongoing employee communications and linking upcoming initiatives to your big picture. Our products are also ideal for inducting and onboarding new starters in your organisation. As part of our relationship with clients, we offer a free review meeting after roll-out to share ideas on how they can extend the return on investment from their Big Picture product. We also offer an Advanced Facilitator Workshop to further equip your employees with the skills needed to continue sharing your organisation’s Big Picture.
Development process FAQs
How long does it take to develop a Learning Map or Interactive Board Game?
A typical Big Picture Learning Map or Interactive Board Game project takes 14-20 weeks to develop. However, we can turnaround a project more quickly if needed. We often find the client’s own internal decision making processes are the factor that typically defines the speed with which we can complete a project. One thing to factor in is the time taken to manufacture the physical elements of the Big Picture Learning Map or Interactive Board Game at the end of the project which takes between 2-4 weeks. We have a maximum capacity for projects over the course of a year. As a rule of thumb, we will only take on a maximum of twelve projects in a year. This means that we can dedicate our resources to client projects without being spread too thinly. This also means that we may not be able to take on your project unless we have been able to schedule it into our work-plan. For that reason, we recommend getting in touch as early as possible if you are thinking of working with us. You can find out more about our development process here
Is each Learning Map or Interactive Board Game bespoke?
We do not use templates or formulas to create Big Picture products. Instead, we apply a tried and tested methodology in a way that helps our clients to engage and communicate to their employees in a way that meets and exceeds their objectives. We believe that each project is unique and each client’s set of communication and learning objectives deserves fresh and innovative thinking but that clients also want to have the confidence they are using a methodology that is proven. We have 20 years of experience in developing our products across a wide range of applications and we are yet to find a communication or learning need that our approach cannot be adapted to. To find out about the wide range of applications our clients have used our approach for, visit our Solutions page
Can you localise central, corporate messages in a Learning Map or Interactive Board Game?
Yes, absolutely. It may be the case that you have a corporate organisational message that you want to share with your employees but at the same time you would like this to have a local feel in that it addresses specific site or functional issues too. We face this challenge frequently with the large organisations we work with and we can integrate these into the design of your Big Picture product. To discuss this with us, why not arrange a free consultation conversation?
What happens if the information on our Learning Map or other Big Picture product becomes dated or obsolete?
Given the volatile and complex world we live in, it is possible that elements of your story might be vulnerable to change thus becoming obsolete. We are familiar with this challenge and will work with you to ensure maximum longevity for your Big Picture product. We do this by testing how enduring your key messages are and identifying which elements may be liable to change. We factor this into the design of your materials to ensure you get long-term value from your investment. With previous clients, we have also ‘refreshed’ and updated their materials without the need for a complete rewrite or redraw of their materials where there have been significant changes to their narrative. If you want to discuss this question further, why not arrange a free consultation conversation?
Do Big Picture Learning develop our vision, values, strategy and other narrative for the Learning Map or do we develop that ourselves?
Would The Big Picture People partner with other organisations or individuals in the delivery of Learning Map projects?
We are always interested in discussing partnership opportunities with complementary and non-competing consultancies, agencies, individuals or other organisations. Our business is built on long-term partnerships with suppliers and clients. We value trust, honesty and collaboration. We find partnerships valuable as they help us to innovate, bring new ideas into our business and increase our potential to serve more people and organisations. If you’d like to discuss an idea for potential partnership with The Big Picture People, why not arrange a free consultation conversation?
How our products work FAQs
Who facilitates a Learning Map or other Big Picture product session?
We believe that the best people to facilitate your Big Picture Learning Map or other Big Picture product with your employees are your own people. We will work with you to identify, train and coach your internal facilitators to enable them to consistently support the roll-out of your bespoke Big Picture Learning Map or other Big Picture product. Our clients have found that this facilitator development process has ‘unearthed’ hidden talent within their organisation and provided a valuable internal resource for facilitating other communication and engagement processes in the future. All facilitators trained by The Big Picture People receive a CPD Certificate and digital ‘badge’ to show they have met our standards. We also offer further facilitation training and development for your facilitators who develop an interest and passion for this valuable and transferable skill. If you want to discuss facilitation of our products further, why not arrange a free consultation conversation?
Do you create digital Learning Maps or other Big Picture products?
Our products are designed to create discussion, interaction and conversation. Whilst digital products have their place in communication and learning, we strongly believe that a facilitated, face-to-face communication experience based around physical materials are the best way to develop alignment and engagement. However, we have increasingly been asked by clients to develop an online offering that can be facilitated in the same way. In response to these requests and the challenges of social distancing caused during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have developed “Online” versions of Learning Map and The Safety Game® to complement our “Classic” physical products. These are adaptations of the Classic versions that can be used via video conferencing.
Like the Classic versions, Learning Map:Online and The Safety Game®:Online are facilitated experiences that utilise all of the elements that make the physical experiences so engaging and fun such as activities, competition, discussion, reflection and group work. The Online versions can be used with teams of individuals in separate locations or in socially distanced teams in the same room taking part with another team remotely in different rooms or at different sites. If you want to discuss our use of technology in our Online products further, why not arrange a free consultation conversation?
So is a Learning Map or other Big Picture product just a big picture?
All Big Picture products are based around a very large, visually rich, ‘big picture’ explored by small groups or teams of 5-12 people. This big picture shows information and concepts in a targeted, stimulating and challenging way and helps employees to visualise new concepts and processes. However, the big picture is there to provide a stimulus for group interaction and discussion on key learning points. To enable this, all Big Picture Learning Maps and Interactive Board Games come with a set of facilitated exercises and discussion tools that are used to promote involvement and learning. The combined materials form a self-contained reusable toolkit that can be used by your own internal facilitators who will be trained by The Big Picture People to deliver them. To find out more about our range of products, visit our Products page
Other questions
Do you have any downloadable resources?
Yes! You can access these via our resources page where you can access a range of free and purchasable resources and tools. These range from tip sheets to materials you can use to facilitate conversations with your people. You can also listen to our podcast, Engaging Internal Comms, which features interviews and insights for those looking to get the most out of their organisation’s communications.
Are there any other internal communication agencies or consultancies in the UK or Europe who can develop a Learning Map or Interactive Board Game for my organisation?
There are a limited number of internal communication agencies or consultancies in the UK or Europe who have the capability to develop complex visual communication tools. This is a niche area that requires specialist skills that we have refined over 20 years of being experts in our field. You can find out more about our unique development process here