Long Description Examples - Infographic

In general, when creating an infographic, you want to make sure you use good color contrast and don't use color alone to communicate meaning. Use readable fonts. See the Formatting and Color lesson for more information.

There are two approaches to making an accessible infographic. This example shows the most common approach, which is to create an image and include a text alternative. Another approach is to use HTML and CSS so that the visual graphic includes actual text screen readers can access.

The principle here is that meaningful text in an image needs to also be available as actual text for the content to be accessible. Louise also included headings and lists to convey the text information in a way that duplicates the way the information is organized in the graphic.

An infographic about why employee engagement matters to individuals. Full text description below the image.

Figure 14. Employee Engagement—It Matters. Source: Created by Veronica Terrill and described Louise Sharrar.

Employee Engagement—It Matters Text Description

Employee Engagement—It Matters

This infographic provides information about why employee engagement matters to individuals. The infographic is displayed in four sections:

enablers of employee engagement;
employee engagement types;
Penn State perception, values, and plan; and
Penn State Values and Culture Survey—Feedback from Ethics Resource Center.

Enablers of Employee Engagement

The first section identifies enablers of employee engagement as follows:

Leaders are able to effectively communicate the mission statement and supporting strategies. Leaders accept employees as noble, and employees are proud to be part of an organization that functions this way. When these qualities are implemented, employees feel connected to the organization’s goals and values.
Managers in the organization care about people and their development. They provide clear objectives and the resources to get them done.
Leaders are openly interested in listening to employees’ feedback and applying changes as needed. For example, Penn State has taken steps to listen to members of the Penn State Community by conducting a survey that was administered to faculty, staff, and students. The Penn State Values and Culture Survey was conducted by the Ethics Resource Center (ERC), an independent, nonprofit organization with headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Employee Engagement Types

This section identifies how employees are engaged in the workplace, identifies the types of employee engagement, and provides a real-life example, the Penn State Values and Culture Survey.

Engagement in the Workplace

Employees are empowered and feel comfortable expressing their opinion; they have a voice in decision-making. Employees feel appreciated and are recognized for their work. An employee’s level of engagement is affected by the degree to which they feel empowered and/or appreciated.

Employee Engagement Types

The types of employee engagement are the following:

Engaged employees: Employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to the company. They drive innovation and move the company forward.
Unengaged employees: These employees are “checked out” and go through the motions during the workday. They are putting time but not enough energy or passion into their work.
Actively engaged employees: These employees are not just unhappy at work but busy acting out their unhappiness. Every day, these employees undermine what their engaged counterparts accomplish.

Penn State Values and Culture Survey

Data from the survey indicated, “Community members feel a strong connection to Penn State and to academic life.”

According to the Penn State Values and Culture Survey conducted in October 2013, Penn State has a strong and engaging culture. Of the 14,655 participants who completed the survey, 95% feel at least moderately connected to Penn State. A pie chart displays

39% strongly connected,
56% moderately connected, and
5% not very connected.

A recent article in Fortune Magazine states, "The only true sustainable competitive advantage is the quality of your people."

Penn State Perception, Values, and Plan

The third section provides the perception of senior administrators, provides a set of values to be shared across the Penn State community, and identifies a plan for the university to move forward.

Perception of Senior Administrators

Overall, 61% of individuals were positive about the ethics-related actions exhibited by senior administrators. Largely, graduate and undergraduate students drove this finding; faculty and staff expressed less positive views.

Penn State Values

The Penn State community agreed widely on a set of values to which everyone at the University should aspire, including

discovery (94%),
community (92%),
excellence (92%),
responsibility (91%),
respect (88%), and
integrity (86%).

University Plan

President Barron has announced a plan to enhance existing training and development programs in order to address challenges highlighted in the survey.

Penn State Values and Culture Survey—Feedback From Ethics Resource Center

Finally, the last section provides a statement from the ERC, which conducted the Penn State Values and Culture Survey: “By conducting the survey, we believe that Penn State has set a new standard for higher education,” said Pat Harned, president of ERC. “To ERC’s knowledge, no other major university has conducted a survey of this type and scope, and Penn State should be proud to be first to conduct a comprehensive survey of this kind.”

Updated September, 2020