With a growing economy and pressure to achieve carbon neutrality, companies have had to adapt remote work arrangements to keep up with changing behaviors in the workplace. The latest IWG Global Workspace survey reveals that 73% of Brits see flexible working as the new standard, 68% of UK companies have a flexible workspace policy. In the aftermath of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the disparate workforce is rapidly increasing in size. Remote work, virtual training, and digital collaboration are now at the forefront of business leaders' minds. Virtual reality (VR) is one of the tools that could help strengthen a remote work culture. With technology evolving at a rapid pace and companies beginning to explore the transformational potential of virtual reality, this "futuristic" technology is making its way into the mainstream.
Unlimited training
In a world where remote work is increasing and business travel is greatly reduced, virtual reality offers an essential means of delivering interactive and collaborative training. In addition to developing the technical skills of workers, VR also has the opportunity to improve general skills such as teamwork and communication through real-time collaborative training. Some of the major benefits of VR training include: ● Increased participation: VR technology was originally developed for the gaming industry, its primary purpose is to participate, and it is inherently immersive. Gamification elements can be added to corporate virtual reality platforms; Introducing a competitive element can increase employee engagement in training and improve knowledge retention. ● Collaboration: Multiple employees can be together in the same virtual space from different locations, allowing them to feel socially and emotionally engaged in training, increasing satisfaction and motivation. Developing effective communication between colleagues becomes even more important as we move into a distant workforce. ● Data-driven intelligence: VR's data capture capabilities allow for "objective" and "subjective" assessment that would not be possible using standard methods, tracking actions such as user actions and feedback made in the training environment. This allows for customization of training specific to the learner and provides individuals and organizations with detailed feedback. This, in turn, can help companies assess the effectiveness and return on investment of their training programs. ● Improved Outcomes – Research by the University of Cambridge Cyber-Human Laboratory has shown that effective VR training can lead to faster task execution compared to standard training. And better training could also have a positive impact on job retention: Research indicates that workers who appreciate their training are more likely to stay with a company.
Make virtual reality
Exciting new VR business developments are currently in production or in the pilot phase, including advanced learner-specific personalization and AI avatars that can assist with real-time training. And as enterprise VR software becomes more sophisticated, it's also becoming more and more accessible. Hardware costs drop and content becomes easier to create and customize, opening up enterprise VR to small businesses without in-house development teams. Furthermore, the emergence of 5G will open up exciting possibilities for enterprise VR applications. Thanks to the additional processing power that 5G will provide, training experiences can be personalized for the learner based on their actions or reactions in real time. The mass adoption of virtual reality for corporate training is no longer a distant dream, but a very near reality.
A virtual future on the horizon.
At a time when virtual collaboration and digital connection are fast becoming common modes of working together, virtual reality will be one of the technological tools that will take center stage. Now is the time for companies to start exploring the potential of this technology to increase employee engagement, productivity, and retention. With new production features and technology becoming more accessible, the tipping point for mass adoption of VR training is on the horizon. Research suggests that nearly three-quarters of small and medium-sized businesses will experience immersive technology by 2022. Looking back, we can see 2020 as a major turning point: a forced trial of remote working en masse. Tom Symonds is CEO of Immerse