How VR Technology Can Improve Employee Training: A Comprehensive Guide

 

With organizations striving for improving their training programs and providing better employee skill enhancement, the advancement of Virtual Reality (VR) technology has transformed corporate training. VR provides a novel immersive, interactive way of delivering training that adds a dimension beyond standard training options, enabling employees to learn more quickly and with greater retention and engagement. And here are the ways VR technology can optimize employee training such that it sets new benchmarks for learning and development in every industry vertical.

Building Realistic, Immersive Learning Environments

One of the most significant benefits of VR technology in employee training is its ability to create realistic, immersive environments where employees can practice and learn without fear of real-world consequences. Example: Employees in the high-stake fields of healthcare, aviation, and construction are able to physically recreate scenarios that are hard/impossible to recreate in real life - or are unsafe to recreate in real life - with VR. This allows them to experiment and fail within a safe, controlled environment, helping to gain the confidence and competence necessary to prepare for their job functions in real life.

For example, VR can replicate customer interactions in industries such as retail or customer service where employees can practice communication, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills. Because Of The VR-Fuelled ImmersionEmployees can better feel in the real workplace via the aid of VR, which increases engagement level and decreases the aspirant timeframe of the upskilling.

Retaining and Remembering and Learning By Doing

The same experiential learning principles VR training utilizes are also proven to improve memory retention and recall. Studies show that we remember as much as 90% of what we do as opposed to just 10% of what we read and 20% of what we hear. The ability to do things in VR promotes learning by doing, resulting in better retention and effectiveness for the employees.

VR has been utilized by companies such as Walmart to train its employees on customer service and management. Providing hyper-realistic scenarios (think about Black Friday shopping stampedes) has helped Walmart improve employee performance and retention, as employees are more prepared for the real challenges they are likely to face.

Cost and Time Efficiency

The traditional way of training employees can be expensive, especially if it includes travel, accommodation, or on-site trainers. This leads to losses, both tangible and intangible, which can be alleviated through training, yet data-driven, real-time experiential training incurs a significant overhead and can be proven to be much expensive — and this is where VR training can come to the rescue with a cost-effective option that avoids these expenses while being more flexible in terms of learning. VR sessions can often condense what is typically several days of training into a shorter timeframe, without losing fidelity, helping to save time, and more importantly, money.

For example, Verizon used VR to train its employees on how to react in cases of robbery in stores. With VR, employees were able to receive immersive training without needing to close stores or hire specialized trainers. This enabled Verizon to deliver effective scalable training across the enterprise at no additional cost.

Tailor-Made Advertising and Scalable Solutions

Another advantage is that VR training can be tailored to meet the specific requirements of a company, allowing it to be adapted for different sectors and vocations. Custom VR programs can be designed around company policies and industry-specific scenarios that place employees in the line of fire as they navigate the challenge they typically face. This kind of customization ensures that employees are getting the training they need for their daily tasks.

Moreover, VR training is extremely scalable, enabling companies to implement uniform trainings for employees in various locations and time zones. VR gives every employee the same experience which ensures a consistent quality of training (for companies with hundreds or thousands of employees).

Boosting Interpersonal Skills and Emotional Quotient

VR is not limited to technical skills it can also be used extensively for improving soft skills, including leadership, emotional intelligence, and communication. In this way VR also gives us real interactive scenarios that we can use for employees who are required to possess inter-personal skills, practice how to respond to, a variety of personalities and situations. One example is Hilton Hotels, which uses VR to let employees earn empathy badges as they interact with guests from various cultures and learn how to meet the diverse needs of arrivals (Dessoff, 2012).

VR training effectively lets employees go through experiential scenarios that require the need for emotional and bodily engagement and thoughtful responses, which can lead to a more empathic, customer-centred workforce.

Real-Time Data and Feedback

Trainers can assess an employee performance in real-time and give instant feedback through VR technology. Such data could be related to employees meeting the cross-functional tasks completed, response time accuracy for decision making, and so on. Trainers, too, can utilize this data to provide tailored feedback and discover supplementary areas for practice.

In high-stakes fields such as healthcare, VR training can mimic surgical procedures or emergency response drill providing real-time feedback loop, which becomes most pertinent. Assessing performance metrics through training solutions allows trainers to ensure that employees reach all necessary competencies and safety standards in the virtual environment before ever performing real-world tasks.

Reducing Training Anxiety

Then traditional training methods can be very stressful anytime new employees or employees that switch their industry. VR training alleviates this anxiety by creating an environment where the stakes are low, and employees can practice free of consequence. It allows them to practice, make mistakes and build confidence in a virtual space before they encounter situations in their job.

VR alleviates experience scar by developing competence while minimizing stress associated with training, allowing employees to feel more capable and better equipped to thrive in their roles. Fostering a bright side mindset to training encourages employees to be satisfied with their job and stay as engaged employees.

Conclusion

Adaptive learning via virtual reality will soon be at the forefront of employee training in industries as it becomes more affordable and accessible. With greater advantages from immersive learning environments and experiential training to real-time feedback and cost savings, VR has more value than your typical training methodologies. Investing in VR technology would allow companies to adopt better and efficient training programs, increase employee motivation and get a more real-world experience without exposing the workforce to real-life situations.

VR training is not a fad for future minded organizations; when properly executed, it is a powerful medium which can produce quantifiable gains in the performance and satisfaction of event staff. By implementing VR technology for training, organizations can benefit from a competitive advantage by providing employees with the necessary skills to succeed in a rapidly changing business environment.

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