This VR program is asking the recruits to solve a puzzle in a simulated environment, and based on the results showcasing the strengths and abilities of the recruits. The company could make recruitment decisions.
Modern enterprises are increasingly opting for new technologies for enhanced efficiency. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have now grown popular for employee training, recruitment, and several other HR processes. Yes, those old days of finding resumes as the only concrete document for employee evaluation has gone with the wind of change. Now, a host of new technologies, including VR and AR, are making this possible most innovatively.
Recently, Lloyds Banking Group incorporated virtual reality for the assessment process of the Graduate Leadership Programme candidates. This VR program is asking the recruits to solve a puzzle in a simulated environment, and based on the results showcasing the strengths and abilities of the recruits, and the company could make recruitment decisions.
Let us explain here some of the time-tested ways VR and AR-based simulation can help in the modern recruitment process.
Helping Future Recruits to Experience the Workplace Remotely
There are other ways VR and AR can make the recruitment process easier. For example, during recruitment, employees spend considerable time in the company's workplace for evaluating the work environment and its respective pros and cons. Now, a VR based simulated environment of a workplace can help employees give a better idea about the working environment they are going to be part of.
Most importantly, this can give employees relief from the compulsion of visiting the company's workplace personally. While sitting miles away, they can get an air of the working environment right through their mobile device screen.
The recruitment process of Jet.com is a nice example of this practice. By offering VR based immersive presentations, the company is helping the recruits to get a clear idea of the workplace they are going to be a part of. The Walmart online shopping platform is also utilizing VR experience to showcase the working environment and experience of their workplace.
Making Use of Gamification for Job Applications
Recruitment is a competitive field since it allows a company to pull the best talents from the market and get a competitive edge. Since every company is working hard to get the best of the limited pool of talents in the job market, using new and innovative ways to get in touch with the right employees is essential.
In this respect, the use of gamification can be a good way to replace the old application processes with something efficient, new, and innovative. This will also help boost the interactivity of the recruitment process to a great extent. Instead of allowing the recruits to fill up a long-form with all the details such as educational qualification, experience, completed projects, etc., a gamified process can reveal this information through an interactive process.
This gamified process can particularly be useful for recruitment screening. ActiView is an Israeli startup that made use of VR technology to detect various behavioral habits and attributes that are required for evaluating the employees and their personalities.
Providing Technical Training to Employees
Virtual Reality (VR) can help in orienting the employees with various technical details related to their job roles. VR can also help in providing an immersive environment for new employee induction and training, which is very much a part of the recruitment process. Thanks to the use of VR, recruits can be better oriented with their job tasks and get engaged with their job roles faster.
Moreover, thanks to the immersive environment created with VR, an employee can get hands-on training on complex machines and technical parts right within a training room. VR will be able to flee the boundaries between reality and the virtual environment and help faster learning and engagement.
Providing Safety Training
In many industries and enterprise environments, employee safety is a constant matter of concern. In industries where safety concerns are too many, virtual reality can play an important role in safety training procedures. In many industries where employees need to take commendable risks for operating machines, handling equipment, and raw materials, VR based safety training procedures can train them better with procedures to ensure personal safety and well-being.
This is particularly true for dealing with the safety concerns of the production plants and facilities involving heavy machinery, chemicals, and life-threatening procedures and processes. For example, in the firefighting industry, the VR based training on new challenges corresponding to fire breakout incidents can be hugely beneficial to curb accidental cases.
Safety training simulations based on VR may also need using different protective equipment, including safety helmets, hooks, goggles, etc. VR based simulated safety training can give employees a better idea about using this equipment and tools. Such VR based simulation can also guide the employees about making movement in different areas, using safety tools in a variety of contexts and operating machines. VR based simulated environments can help employees stay informed about the latest safety norms and how to utilize the safety procedures to their advantage.
A virtually created life-threatening or dangerous situation like an accident or a hazardous machine fault can be best shown, and the remedies can be best exemplified with a VR and AR-based simulated training environment. The simulated environment created by using VR technology also helps to leave a great positive impression on the employee psyche. It can always help him to prepare well for any such situation.
This is just the beginning of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) to be utilized in the recruitment, training, and HR processes of the enterprises. In the years to come, we can expect more companies to join the bandwagon of AR and VR based recruitment and HR management processes.