How HR leaders can use virtual worlds for hiring, engagement and training

The engagement problem in hybrid work

Employee engagement drives productivity and a healthy culture, yet many organisations struggle with it. 54% of employees feel unengaged at work, and 17% are considered "actively disengaged".

The move to remote work during the pandemic made this harder. It is difficult to keep 20 people engaged on a flat video call. Some people do not like appearing on camera, and a video call does not simulate a real-life situation. That is why some companies have turned to immersive, 3D platforms.

Employers and employees are open to it

A study of 1,500 employees and 1,500 employers in the US, conducted by ExpressVPN, found that "nearly 3 in 5 employees and 4 in 5 employers are interested in an immersive workforce". It also found that "66 percent of employers are excited about the metaverse, and 46 percent of employees share the same excitement".

In November 2021, Lenovo surveyed 7,500 working adults in the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Singapore, China and Japan. Nearly half (44%) said they were willing to work in the metaverse.

Five ways HR can use immersive environments

Recruitment

Immersive experiences help HR attract younger candidates who value new kinds of experience, and help companies compete with large global recruiters. Virtual meeting rooms, conference halls and social spaces that closely resemble real ones allow useful one-to-one conversations with candidates before anyone travels.

Onboarding

Give ten new employees a PDF about the company and they will be distracted within ten minutes. A better approach is to let them walk through a 3D hall or gallery with 20 interactive stands where they explore the company at their own pace.

Retention

Some employees left their jobs because they preferred remote work. Immersive social and recreational spaces let HR offer a workplace that better suits those needs.

Distance collaboration

Virtual spaces give a convincing sense of presence when colleagues are apart. Meetings, briefings, presentations, training sessions and events can all run there.

Training and development

Interactive environments can teach new skills, promote company values and build trust between staff and management. Everything is measurable: time spent, engagement levels and leaderboards give a justification for the investment that goes beyond a survey.

Examples from large companies

• Infosys held its flagship programme for the children of employees entirely in a virtual world. More than 100,000 participants joined live workshops, virtual games, live shows and virtual tours.
• KPMG built an innovation hub in virtual reality where its partners could experience the metaverse first hand.
• Accenture and Siemens have set up virtual offices, virtual recruitment fairs and virtual retreats.
• Fidelity Investments has held an event in the metaverse.

How to apply it: three things to settle first

1. Pace of adoption. Large businesses need to move quickly, or they risk losing talent to more agile competitors.
2. Purpose. Use immersive spaces to engage employees, not to monitor and control them.
3. Quality of experience. The experience must match what employees, especially younger ones, are used to from consumer apps and games.

The approach is flexible. It can add to real-world experiences or run entirely virtually, and it suits everything from company-wide events to department-specific training. Start with one use where engagement is weakest, measure it, and expand from there.

Next step

If you want to improve onboarding, engagement or training across your plants and offices, talk to our team about immersive and gamified options.

First published on the Metaverse911 blog.