What comes to your mind when you hear about Virtual Reality? Probably an unexplored world of metaverse which will create a make-believe environment for us to dwell in the unknown realm of virtual experiences.

But the future of virtual reality, is now and we are living it. The pandemic has brought us closer towards this paradigm. Virtual Reality is now used effectively in the space of cinema, gaming, and corporate training.We have been hearing of learning simulations since a long time and various technologies have supported simulation-based learning experiences for specific interventions. However, VR allows us to become a part of the simulation itself with a fully immersive experience. It is a digital simulation of lifelike scenarios for training purposes in a variety of fields.

Consider the case of medical professionals. Traditionally, they were able to witness a complicated surgery either by means of a live video or in person. Now, imagine this! The same professional could be participating in a mock surgery in a virtually created simulated environment. That is a revolutionary impact that the metaverse can create for you, and enrich your learning experience like never before. A certain data says, ‘Surgeons who used VR training for two hours improved their time on task by 83% and were 70% “more efficient” in movement and measurements’.

Even in the arena of corporate training interventions, there are various ways in which VR can be used as an effective method of training. These include 

1. Scenario Based Learning

2. Technical Skills

3. Multi-step Tasks

4. On boarding

5. Simulations

VR is considered a safe place to learn soft skills. Soft skills training sometimes makes participants feel overly vulnerable and conscious about their surroundings. VR mitigates this aspect, among other things. Verizon for instance has built and implemented a module to train call-centre employees on how to de-escalate a conversation with upset customers. Trainees get to practice speaking and active listening as a customer conversation becomes increasingly tense. According to internal data collected by Verizon, VR increased consistency and effectiveness of training, and reduced employees’ training time from ten hours per person to just thirty minutes. 

According to Cleo Scott, Director of Global L&D for Verizon Business Services, “As they went back to work and we tracked their progress through the supervisors, the employees were much more confident, because they were more aware of themselves in how they were handling the customer.”

VR was beginning to catch on even before Covid-19, but the global pandemic and the push to remote work has potentially fast-tracked the need for the same. For companies that are growing despite the crisis, VR is the perfect medium for training ad developing people at scale. 

The future of training and development is unfolding in the virtual world, especially in times when in-person training isn’t an option for most and might never be one for a few. However, the picture is not entirely rosy and it might take a while for significant change to be seen in this space. The VR industry has seen its fair share of disappointments driven by the gap between massive expectations and unfulfilling experiences from clunky headsets to limited systems. Furthermore, existing training content is typically designed as standalone experiences with limited possibilities to adjust it across the workforce. VR content creation is far from cheap, which means the entire market has to make do with what is available. 

However, rapid advances in AI and its growing affordability have given VR a new life in the workplace. The idea remains the same, viz., developing more relevant experiences that empower everything from safety procedures and equipment operation to leadership and other soft skills. The level of adoption and integration will ultimately depend on the specific needs, budget and size of the workforce to be trained. These are the key questions business leaders need to answer. 

With VR's rising popularity, it isn't about "if" or "when" but "how much" of a role virtual reality will play in the emerging workplace.