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Technology has been part of the progression of forward-thinking businesses from the beginning of time. Businesses that have their fingers on the pulse of technology thrive and succeed, but businesses stuck in old methods and traditions tend to get left behind. While keeping up to date with technology can be time-consuming and mentally overwhelming for those not inclined, it pays to put in the effort and stay ahead of the game. Even if the idea of embracing new technology makes your knees knock and your palms sweat, there are ways to educate yourself so that it doesn’t strike such fear. With a little knowledge and insight, you can prepare yourself for the future use of technology in a business setting.
One example of such technology that is taking the business world to great new heights is that of virtual reality. Virtual reality is more than just a platform for interactive games and socialising, it’s becoming a crucial tool in the hands of competent business owners, seeking to improve their processes and boost their efficiency. Technology like this is greatly improving training procedures for the benefit of all team members involved. In this article we will discuss these details in greater details, to see what advances virtual reality training has over other more traditional methods.
The Potential of Virtual Reality in Business
The interesting truth is that virtual reality has a great many applications within the fields of business, not just in training procedures. Companies are using virtual reality in various amazing ways to boost their success, in every industry and pursuit. Prototypes and designs can be created and tested in a virtual setting, saving a great deal of time and money that is required in the physical development of prototypes. Customers can try out products and services virtually which assists them in their endeavour to make new purchases and investments. Besides these areas, one of the biggest impacts that virtual reality is having is in the field of training. The possibilities are endless, the limits are boundless, the potential to succeed is vast. Let’s discuss the advantages of virtual reality training, as well as some of the steps involved in the set up of such a procedure.
The Advantages of Virtual Reality Training
According to a recent study, 40 per cent of virtual reality learners noticed an improvement in their confidence as opposed to classroom based learners. They also benefited from a 35 per cent improvement when it came to acted upon what they had learner through the training program, completing the program 4 times faster than traditional learners. Research has also given evidence to the fact that virtual learners have up to 3.75 times more emotion connection to the content that they absorb during a training program. Evidently, virtual reality is the way forward in terms of training staff within a business. What specific advantages come as part of adopting this new technology?
More efficient with less cost. Virtual reality has the power to provide an improved learning experience at a lower cost. Education is provided at a higher quality, retaining by the learner and completed at a faster rate, all the while running up significantly less costs in the process. Just as one example, aviation learners can practise important processes in order to limit the potential for accidents, without needing to take expensive aircraft out of service to deliver the same level of training. New skills are learned in less time, and the chances for future errors and mistakes are reduced, making it a perfect option for the training of employees in high risk roles. Besides high risk roles with great responsibility, all kinds of staff members in all kinds of fields can benefit by being able to practise their skills in a virtual environment with the ability to hit the reset button and try again at any point.
Improved employee engagement. The employee’s learning experience is significantly enhanced with the interactive, engaging environment that virtual reality training creates. No matter where learners are in the world, they can have an engaging experience and take part in an interesting, interactive and sometimes competitive pursuit that encourages them to keep pushing themselves. This creates opportunities for further development and career growth in the future on an individual basis, but also creates opportunities for growth for the whole business.
Enhanced employee soft skills.
The skillset of workers and team members can be developed and improved in a much more impactful way through full immersive virtual reality learning experiences. Improving things like the understanding of diversity and inclusivity, giving feedback, and dealing with sensitive human resources matters, is not always easy. However virtual reality learning experiences give employees the opportunity to practise these soft skills in a relaxed and realistic environment.
Getting Into the Nitty Gritty of the Technology
While the benefits are obvious, the technological side of the set up might sound a little complicated at first. You will need to learn how to manage devices, upload applications and files, and govern the set up of groups. The headset experience will need to be tweaked and managed with specialized tools, and you may come across the need to Enable Developer Mode on Oculus Quest & Quest 2 Devices to create the environment you require. If you are responsible for multiple organizations, you may need to learn more about how to manage this, and how to organise users, accounts and roles, the settings of which will need to be adapted to your business needs. The advantages are varied and many, and to truly benefit from them you need to educate yourself as much as you can so you can put the technology to good use in your business.
Training is essential for the growth of individuals, teams and whole organisations. The future of your whole business depends on reliable, forward focused, productive, and effective training and development. It pays to make the investment, take the leap, and make your employees the most competent they can be.
