Thoughts of virtual reality often bring to mind visions of crazed video-gamers living in an alternate reality, or opportunities to experience what we might not have the ability or courage to encounter in real life. Something you may not have considered is virtual reality’s power within a business setting. As new technologies hit the market, some businesses are exploring what advantages virtual reality offers, including bringing diverse employees together.
Be remote, stay connected
The number of remote employees is growing; currently, there are over 3.3 million remote workers in the U.S. Remote workplaces offer a number of unique benefits, such as working in our pajamas, while on public transportation, or from just about anywhere. But there are a number of challenges. One big challenge of remote work is effective communication with management and fellow employees.
This is where virtual reality comes in. Through the use of virtual reality, remote employees can connect easily with coworkers for conversations ranging from collaborative projects to grabbing a beer after work. Connecting through virtual reality devices facilitates easier conversations with other individuals since remote communication is face-to-face.
Face-to-face meetings (almost)
Along with allowing for greater communication and idea-sharing among remote employees, virtual reality also offers the ability to bring people together for meetings no matter where they are located. For instance, rather than flying across the country to attend a 3-hour meeting, everyone can attend virtually. Your presentation would be given much in the same way as an actual meeting but you wouldn’t have to fly home after the meeting.
Virtual meetings also relieve us of having to attend webinars, which are easy to tune out when more tangible priorities grab for our attention. Rather than watching a presentation on a computer screen while a faceless voice talks through slides, viewers can “sit” in the room where the presentation is being given. Ultimately, this means many of us will have more collaborative and interactive training opportunities. These meetings can also make it easier to network with a variety of people who may not have the travel budget to attend.
Preparing new employees
Virtual reality has a number of substantial uses for training new employees or preparing current employees to take higher-level positions. By strapping on a personal device, new employees can virtually attend training courses that are far more interactive than just listening to a PowerPoint presentation. Instead, trainers can involve new hires by developing realistic scenarios they can work through. Trainers can even upload what the employee sees in order to provide further direction if necessary.
This type of training can help prevent accidents that can lead to more serious consequences in high-risk careers such as surgery or the military. Virtual reality can even provide significant practice for handling certain situations before people deal with them in real life. For instance, new managers can attend simulations geared towards practicing difficult conversations with employees. This type of training can help manager-employee communication, which ultimately benefits everyone involved.
Many virtual reality devices are beginning to hit the market. Over the next decade, it’s likely technological advances and new releases will further incorporate virtual reality toward the needs of business owners and their employees. We already see numerous ways in which virtual reality helps to bring employees together, but this is only the beginning.
Want more on the benefits of virtual reality? See What HR Technology Can Learn From Minecraft.
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