Integrating VR in Your Human Resources Strategy
The dawn of a complete cross-industry adoption of Virtual Reality technologies in HR management, is slowly peaking over the metaverse mountains. Brilliant beams of sunshine are reaching across all the way the valleys, beckoning the masses to put on a headset and join in the fun.
With a healthy amount of heart-pounding effort, high up on the mountain tops adventurous HR managers are busy writing success stories and case studies.
Adjectives such as immediate, engaging, and the alluring effective, are popping up in board rooms, carrying serious weight in the implementation of strategies, retention efforts and overall goals that lead to employee happiness.
VR for Training
Post-pandemic, companies such as Walmart and MGM used Virtual Reality to directly connect with their employees and place them in scenarios that not only taught them the necessary skills to do their job well, but also provided them with personal life skills.
For instance, empathy awareness was at the forefront of Walmart’s Virtual Reality training experience. The VR experience allowed them to engage and interact directly with customers, giving them the opportunity to learn and achieve proficiency in handling difficult situations.
Likewise in hospitality, it usually falls on the newest employee to have a first contact with a customer. How many times have you stopped someone randomly at a hotel to ask where you can find the bathroom or if you’re in the right place to check in?
MGM Casinos in Las Vegas noticed that after the pandemic, hiring, re-hiring and retention became a real challenge. Training needed to become effective, immediate and the closest to real it could be. They used Virtual Reality to train their employees in Guest Services, allowing them to learn quickly, fail just as quickly, and recover even quicker.
The results for both Walmart and MGM was an overall improvement in training speed, retention of experiential knowledge, and enhancement of employee wellbeing from their own success rate and seeing that their employer cared enough to institute cutting edge tech for the success of their people.
VR for Company Culture
Providing new employees with an immediate sense of presence within the context of a new and exciting “world” they can experience with sight and sound, is a welcome party on steroids.
The sometimes dreaded visit to the HR manager for a few words and a welcome packet full of forms, is suddenly replaced by a deep dive into an immediate feeling of belonging. Much more important for young professionals, that feeling is hard to build and can come at a cost. VR bridges those awkward first few weeks and gives the new employee a set of what effectively are memories and experiences they can hold onto, learn from and share.
When it comes to effective hiring and retention strategies, leveraging VR provides your employees with visceral experiences that will allow them to feel integrated, safe in their environment, confident in their skills, and honestly… happy about working with you and your company.
And as a bonus, you might just find yourself a few friends both in the office, and the metaverse.
Need more help with your hiring strategy? Reach out to us at SKYE Studio today to learn more about our services.
By: Rafael Franco, November 4th 2022
