The growing influence of virtual reality education (2023)

During the pandemic, when Kim Iorns looked for a way to build trust and empathy with new call center agents at her company, she didn't initially turn to traditional distance learning methods like e-learning or training videos. Iorns, director of learning and development at tax services firm H&R Block, instead used virtual reality (VR) training to put these new hires in highly realistic job simulations that allowed them to practice the soft skills needed to support clients during fear. tax crisis is a critical preparation process.

Iorns had found that while most new agents picked up the relevant tax skills quickly, many lacked the human touch that was critical to calming nerves and generating repeat business for H&R Block clients. "Listening to the calls, we knew most of our agents were doing their jobs right, but we didn't always feel that human element in the interactions," says Iorns. “It is important to empathize with clients when they are struggling with tax issues, often under time constraints. When it comes to the world's money, the stakes are high."

Iorns wanted training that would be more emotionally connected to the content and mimic real service scenarios as closely as possible. It has partnered with VR training provider Mursion to create 2D simulations where small groups of agents take turns interacting with digital avatars using a software platform and web cameras. The avatars slip into the roles of clients, presenting common questions and challenges H&R Block clients face — and sometimes falling back into scenarios of things agents say or do to test them. All trainees receive detailed feedback on their performance in the simulations.

Iorns says this highly immersive form of training has helped new employees acquire skills faster than other learning methods. "It's not unusual to hire someone to take calls 15 days before the end of the tax season," says Iorns. “But we found that those hired at the end of the season who had completed even one VR training sim performed just as well as many agents hired at the beginning of the tax season. That told us a lot about the impact of virtual reality education.”

The VR training completed by 1,780 new agents also had an impact on other key performance indicators in the call center environment. For example, the average time customers spend in line has been reduced by 50 percent because new agents can reach their capacity faster and resolve customer issues more efficiently. “Post-training surveys have also shown a decrease in dissatisfied customers, which we believe is due to increased empathy and care from our agents,” says Iorns.

"To get people to really engage and take action, they need to see it happening right in front of their eyes." After virtual reality simulations, the response from managers is often, 'Wow, this is really like and touch.'
-CornellVerdeja-Woodson

New Applications

As face-to-face instruction has been put on hold during the pandemic, more companies have turned to VR training because it's more accessible and has a proven track record of teaching remote workers. In the past, VR simulations were intended for workplace safety training or demanding scenarios such as learning a function or flying an airplane. Today, VR simulations are used to teach soft skills. awareness of diversity, equality and inclusion; and provide practice in dealing with difficult conversations in the workplace. Experts say technology is especially good at creating an emotional impact on students that leads to a lasting change in behavior or mindset.

A 2019 study by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on the use of VR training for soft skills found that VR simulations helped employees learn more compared to traditional training methods - self-directed online learning and classroom instruction. confidence in their ability to acquire learned faster and formed a stronger emotional connection to the training content.

The study examined the impact of using VR in training new PwC managers in inclusive leadership skills. New managers at 12 US sites completed the same training in one of three learning methods: classroom training, e-learning, or virtual reality training. Learners received a pre-assessment before and a post-assessment immediately after completing the course. 30 days later, they conducted another assessment to assess retention of learning.

"We found that realism and performance feedback in virtual reality simulations helped people learn faster and retain more information about soft skills," said Scott Likens, head of new services and emerging technologies at PwC, who helped oversee of studying. “It is difficult to create such an emotional connection through a method like e-learning created in a VR simulation. Virtual reality affects more of the student's senses and is suitable for any type of education that involves emotions such as building empathy.”

The PwC study also found that VR-trained workers got up to speed four times faster than classroom learners and nearly twice as fast as e-learners. "Many lessons that would normally take an hour could be completed in 20 minutes through virtual reality because people are so immersed in scenarios, there are fewer distractions, and the learning is very focused," Likens says.

The study also highlighted other benefits VR can have over methods commonly used to teach soft skills, such as role-playing in a classroom with facilitator feedback. "You can ask the same question to a virtual avatar or perform the same task 1,000 times without losing patience," write the authors of the PwC study.

The issue of cost

Learning experts emphasize that VR training does not meet all needs and should be tailored to the situations best suited to the medium. However, many also say that the increasing affordability of the technology has made it more accessible to more companies' learning budgets. Fully immersive 3D virtual reality typically requires an investment in a user headset and off-the-shelf software or custom development to create simulations tailored to specific business needs. VR glasses are not required for 2D training simulations, but access to software platforms or modern computer cameras used by the trainees.

The PwC study found that purchasing an enterprise headset ecosystem represents an average one-time charge of less than $1,000. To reduce these costs, many companies re-use VR headsets with multiple users - while making sure to thoroughly sanitize them. The study found that the cost of VR training is comparable or even lower than other modes of training when deployed on a large scale.

For example, when the training size in the PwC study reached 375 students, VR training reached cost parity with classroom learning for a customized course. When the volume reached 3,000 students, virtual reality was 52 percent more cost-effective than the classroom. The fewer employees a company trains, the higher the cost per student for VR training, Likens says.

The PwC study also found that more and more VR training providers are developing software packages that allow non-VR developers to create their own content in a cost-effective manner. "We're seeing more and more tools and templates that can help companies create their own VR simulations, scenarios and stories," Likens says. "Just a year or two ago, this required more custom programming skills." In addition, most established learning management system vendors now allow easy integration of VR content into their platforms.

Jeanne Meister, managing director of Future Workplace, an HR consulting, research and membership firm in New York, says that during the pandemic, more companies have turned to virtual reality for skills training as the medium becomes more manageable Cost and unique ability improvement provides interpersonal skills of employees.

Embracing the human element

Meister says soft skills like active listening or empathy will become more valuable in the future as technologies like artificial intelligence take over many of the manual, repetitive tasks in professions and let humans handle areas where machines naturally excel.

"As automation takes over more and more aspects of work, people must solve problems for customers or colleagues that require empathy, judgment and working well with others to find solutions," says Meister.

Virtual reality simulations have also proven to be an effective way to help managers practice difficult job interviews, such as firing an employee or giving performance feedback. And retailers and banks have recently used the technology to teach their employees how to de-escalate situations where customers refuse to wear masks in stores or how to react in the event of shoplifting.

Telecom company T-Mobile used VR training to help its executives practice dealing with changing business conditions as it prepared to merge with Sprint. The training allowed T-Mobile managers to develop skills in navigating change management conversations, both voicing their own concerns and dealing with objections from unruly team members, says Barb Schiebehard, senior director of learning and development at T-Mobile. Mobile.

VR simulations were performed in 30-minute increments at times convenient for administrators. T-Mobile has now expanded its VR training to include topics such as supporting injured workers in racial injustice incidents, Schieberhard says.

Bring DE&I training to life

Many learning leaders have found that virtual reality simulations can be a good complement to diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) education. "There's a lot of excitement about DE&I today, but it's hard to really get to the bottom of it," said Josh Bersin, noted HR industry analyst and founder and dean of the Josh Bersin Academy in Oakland, California. “One problem is that much of the training in this area has focused on compliance rather than organizational change. The value of good VR training is that learners experience first-hand the challenges faced by different employees or candidates and leave a lasting impact. Virtual reality simulations are different because you remember exactly what happened as if you had the experience yourself.”

Cornell Verdeja-Woodson, founder and president of Brave Training, a San Francisco-based consulting firm specializing in workforce diversity and inclusion, used VR training from provider Vantage Point to educate managers about unconscious bias in hiring decisions when he was global head. of diversity at data provider Looker, a company that has since been acquired by Google.

"We've done workshops on this before, but no training on what to actually do when you see bias or harassment," says Verdeja-Woodson. “To get people to really engage and take action, they have to see it in front of their eyes. After virtual reality simulations, the reaction of managers is often: "Wow, it can really look and feel like that."

In a VR simulation the company used, employees were gathered in a room waiting for a big presentation, and one of the male avatars made comments about the sexuality of a male colleague.

"It was a good opportunity to have discussions among the students about what they would do in that moment if they were faced with such comments, especially when others might have thought it was just someone joking," says Verdeja-Woodson.

Dave Zielinski is a freelance business reporter and editor based in Minneapolis.

Illustrated by Michael Korfhage forHR magazine