Starting a new job can be overwhelming for both the employer and the new employees. From influxes of information to first-day nerves, entering a new chapter can be daunting, especially in a remote setting.
Prioritising a strong remote onboarding process can remove some of the initial new job nerves and help new recruits feel like part of the team from day one. In fact, 70% of employees who received a positive onboarding experience, now claim that they have “the best possible job”.
And with a market size that’s predicted to surpass $453 billion by 2030, AR and VR are becoming key players in a global tech revolution. From immersive gaming to pioneering the future of augmented healthcare, many industries have dipped their toe into some form of extended reality post-pandemic.
Stepping into a digital tomorrow, one trend every industry can agree on is a push for remote working. Whether it's the reduction in business-based costs or the temptation of the cosy home office, a large majority of businesses are pushing for a WFH future.
Could virtual reality play a part in WFH's success? As business leaders implement virtual onboarding programmes and invest in immersive communication tools, VR could play a part in future remote efficiency.
Discover how virtual and augmented reality are shaping the onboarding process for business productivity.
Can VR Improve company communication?
Entering a remote company as a new recruit can be daunting, especially if you haven't met your colleagues in person. As a key part of the onboarding experience, new employees must learn to connect and collaborate with their peers in a digital setting instead.
From remote messaging tools to video chatting, fostering strong workplace relationships is essential if a business wants to stay productive in a WFH environment.
What if we told you that virtual reality could take company communication one step further? Using immersive aids and a VR headset, remote businesses can now communicate and collaborate in a virtual meeting room that mimics a realistic office environment.
Whether you’re tuning in from the other side of the world or the house next door, VR can bring large numbers of remote employees together as if they were sitting in a physical space. Whether you transport your employees into a completely virtual world or choose an AR-driven approach to enhance physical meetings, the possibilities of virtual communication are endless.
A push for remote onboarding
In 2022, 84% of remote workers revealed that they had no plans to go back into the office in the future – a move supported by many workplaces. Not only has a remote shift opened up new opportunities for flexible workers, but business leaders now have access to a global pool of potential employees, all while saving money on office-based costs.
As the demand for WFH positions grows, so does the demand for the technologies to make it happen. In an era where digital communication plays a key role in business success, the market has become filled with tools, apps and software designed to streamline a remote culture.
In fact, over half of remote business spending now goes on web conferencing software, collaboration tools and remote desktop aids.
VR is quickly becoming an essential asset to a number of industries.
One area, in particular, that has seen the most benefit from VR services is remote onboarding. Whether you’re in marketing or manufacturing, every role requires some form of training. While in-person onboarding is available for some, a large majority of companies are cutting back on the cost and time it takes to welcome an employee in a physical setting.
VR can mimic a physical office, lab, studio or workroom, creating a hyper-realistic workplace environment in seconds.
Let’s have a closer look at some of the key benefits your business could enjoy when introducing VR into the onboarding process.
Streamlining corporate onboarding
No matter the industry or skill level of a position, physical onboarding methods can be time-consuming, costly and ineffective.
"VR gives us so many more options," claims Allison Horn, Head of talent at Accenture. "And we can scale learning experiences at a reach, speed and quality that other efforts can't do."
Creating their own virtual onboarding room called the Nth Floor, the IT company Accenture have taken remote onboarding one step further. Using a Microsoft AltspaceVR platform, the business has built a dedicated space to onboard large numbers of employees at once in one big virtual classroom. Colleagues can hang out and get to know each other, all while learning about company culture.
For larger companies, in particular, using a VR-based experience to group together new recruits, can make the onboarding process more collaborative and encourage communication between new colleagues.
Not only does this reduce the need for colleagues to show each new recruit the ropes, but business experts suggest that VR-based onboarding can provide a much more memorable training experience and a stronger outcome in terms of employee success within a company.
In fact, companies that use VR to onboard their recruits see an employee retention rate of 80% after a year compared to an average of 20% for those using traditional methods.
Can Horizon Worlds take VR onboarding one step further?
One metaverse platform pioneering the future for VR onboarding is Horizon Worlds. Meta’s famous extended reality platform was once a hub for social gaming in a metaverse setting, but after its success among Oculus Quest users, it’s opened its doors to the business world, too.
Their new Horizon Workroom experience has begun to define the future of corporate communication. Bringing collaboration into the next generation, Horizon workrooms are now being used by a number of companies to create an immersive onboarding process.
From opening up a virtual space for company culture presentations to providing virtual zones for break-out groups and team-building challenges. Horizon Worlds can make employees feel as if they are getting to know their colleagues in person.
From creating virtual whiteboards that users can interact with to showing digital presentations in a boardroom setting with ease, you can’t help but feel as if you’re in a physical setting.
“We think VR will fundamentally transform the way we work as a new computing platform, defying distance to help people collaborate better from anywhere. Horizon Workrooms is a big first step towards this vision,” claims Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.
Stepping into the future of VR onboarding, Meta’s tipped to lead the way forward for a number of business-based VR platforms. After revealing their plans to release their next-generation VR headset, code-named Project Cambria, during Connect 2022, they aim to pioneer the way forward for business communication.
As a headset that's designed to boost the productivity of knowledge workers, Project Cambria has been pitched as a solution for virtual collaboration.
The question is, where could business VR go next? As a tool that’s already transforming the future of onboarding and remote training, the future could hold endless possibilities for virtual working.
As we jump into an era of global collaboration, virtual reality continues to pioneer the way forward for a WFH future.
