Practices of employee training
Teaching employees a new skill, process, or method of operation can be a daunting task for any employer. This is usually done to improve performance, meet up with industry regulations, or to prepare them for new roles.
However, employee training programs can be horrendously difficult to organize and quite expensive as well, financially and in man-hours lost. The good news is that modern augmented reality and virtual reality technologies now provide an innovative way of training.
VR in training presents the information you want to teach in a structured and controlled way. The best part is that learners can interact with the training first hand. This making VR training practices perfect for everything from teaching skills and concepts to full-blown simulations.
Training in 2020
Everybody knows that the best way to perfect new skills is through constant practice. This is where most traditional employee training methods have the most disadvantage. Training employees over and over again pulls them away from doing actual work.
Let’s say, for example, you want to train your employees on how to put out a fire in the building. You would have to take them away from their desks and set off multiple fires for them to have any hands-on experience.
Stress during training? No thanks!
VR training allows learners to practice stressful situations like the one above first hand without exposing them to danger. Depending on the VR technology, they can even carry out the training right from their desks.
This is just one example of VR for training and the possibilities are endless. VR training can be used in everything from security and healthcare to science and technology. Unsurprisingly, that more and more workforce managers are turning to VR for employee training.
Why should I use VR for training?
AR and VR provide many benefits in workplaces where it is essential to prepare workers to effectively perform their job duties. They allow learners to ‘practice by doing’ which, according to the National Training Laboratory, is the second most effective way to retain information.
Research shows that students learning with VR scored 27.4% better on their first test and 32.4% better on the next. In recent years, there has been increased adoption of VR training in the medical industry as a low-risk way to prepare medical personnel of all skill levels. You can also read about the VR training for nurses.
Employee evaluation
Companies like Walmart have already begun using VR to assess and train employees, replacing traditionally paper-based assessments. Asides from boosting employees’ test scores by up to 15%, VR was used to teach them everything from managing stocks to customer relations.
VR training practices also help employers track employee performance for further analysis. This is a good way to get an unbiased report of which employees are best suited for certain roles. So, if your question is, ‘Should I start training with VR?’ then the answer is a definite ‘Yes!’
Benefits of employee VR training practices
There are many reasons why you should consider using VR in your employee training, they include:
- Safer
Employee training can be an arduous undertaking in high-risk Industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and aerospace. Sometimes, it involves exposing them to potentially dangerous situations where the slightest mistakes can be deadly. Training with VR allows them to place employees in real-world scenarios and test how they react in a structured and controlled way. This eliminates most of the risks involved and teaches them new skills without exposing them to danger. - Cost-effective
Employee training exercises can be expensive undertakings that involve most, if not all, of the stakeholders in a company. Trainers have to be paid, halls provided, and employees compensated for time lost, and this has to be done for every training. With VR however, most of the costs involved are upfront with only minor maintenance costs needed thereafter. Once the initial VR training course is designed and the equipment acquired, they can be used to training employees over and over again. - Simulated assessments
It is not enough to learn about a new skill or procedure, it is important to be able to show it. VR provides real-world scenarios where employees can be tested first-hand and assessed by how they react to situations. This is an important tool for any employer as it shows how prepared their employees are for certain situations. It also allows them to know which employee is best for different roles for operational efficiency. - Better learning outcomes
VR training practices have been found to improve information comprehension and retention among employees. This is because they learn better when they perform tasks first-hand. It also presents employers with new ways to train employees who assimilate information differently or have any number of disabilities. Asides from improving their technical skills, it also boosts their confidence and potential. This helps employers improve employee learning outcomes as well as reach different types of employees irrespective of their education level. - Recruitment and placements
Modern VR technologies are increasingly being used in the recruitment process to analyze potential candidates. By watching them work in a simulated environment, employers gain deeper insight into their predispositions to work in specific positions. In the example of Walmart above, they were able to reshuffle their workforce and achieve greater efficiency with VR. It also allows employers to send out instructions to employees in real-time, bridging the gap between them and their workers.
Integrating VR training in your business
Most employers are skeptical about adopting new technologies because they feel they might disrupt existing processes. However, in the case of VR, there is very little interruption to existing business practices.
The specific technology, both hardware, and software needed depends on your unique needs. It is best to engage the services of a professional VR consultant who will propose the most optimal tools, platforms, and solutions for your business.
Your consultant should also be able to work with you and your team to integrate the required technology into your operations. At 4Experience, we know VR. We have made it our mission to provide our clients with cost-effective VR technologies that make their lives a lot better.
