Metaverse and HR, the new frontier for HR; a real revolution that opens up challenges and responsibilities.
A combination to be explored carefully, as it certainly offers rich opportunities, but also cautions to be taken to ensure effective and safe deployment.
With the potential of meta-environments in training, onboarding and networking processes, and engagement pathways, it is possible to save time, costs, and ensure a happier and, at the same time, productive business life.
Metaverse: a definition
In recent years, the term Metaverse has undoubtedly become trendy. It refers to a new scenario that connects virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain; an alternative universe that creates a new field of action for individuals and organizations.
In the broadest sense of the term, it consists of a digital infrastructure based on the sharing of virtual spaces by avatars, digital alter-egos with the goal of maximizing interaction between users, with levels of adherence to the real world much more precise than is possible in virtual and augmented reality.
With the Metaverse, will it be possible to reinvent the world of work as well?
The Metaverse also offers this possibility. However, for such an evolution to be possible, there will undoubtedly be a need to rethink organizational structures and redefine work models, starting with the new roles that will eventually be introduced in the company or the reinterpretation of more traditional ones.
The HR figure will therefore be instrumental in creating the right mindset and accompanying the change, overcoming any challenges that may arise.
Specifically, the role of the HR function will be critical in equipping organizational settings with the strategic and digital skills needed to remain strong and competitive, over the long term.
Metaverse in HR processes: what benefits can it have?
The world of work is constantly evolving, and the HR sector is the first to adapt and change its skin, to evolve with new technologies and trends.
The Metaverse is one of the most important technological innovations of recent times, capable of creating fully immersive virtual worlds in which users can interact as in a physical environment.
What advantages can a virtual world offer in HR processes today?
Connecting with people from all over the world.
Talent selection and recruitment can take place without geographic limitations. One no longer has the need to arrange physical interviews and have onerous travel expenses.
More engaging and effective communication with employees.
Extended reality (XR) enables realistic simulations of the various stages of employment, from hiring to onboarding, from training to internal mobility paths.
In this way, employees can learn and experience each stage of work life more effectively and memorably, thereby enhancing their skills and professional experience.
The Metaverse enhances the sense of belonging and cohesion.
People can connect and interact with colleagues more informally and potentially more effectively, contributing to a more positive and inclusive work environment.
Virtual work environments can be used for team meetings, presentations, and times of sharing and collaboration, enabling teams to work together in real time, even if they are in different locations, thus improving productivity and quality of work.
Improved experience of new employees in reception and induction.
Virtual space, in addition to facilitating learning and integration processes, can be used to provide new employees with a more immersive experience than the traditional process.
The worker can explore the environment, interact with colleagues, access informational materials, and participate in training activities, all in an interactive and even fun way.
Access to information and training materials in a more usable, immediate and intuitive way.
Users can access the corporate Metaverse independently and follow a highly customizable learning path.
Metaverse and corporate training processes
Even in training processes, the Metaverse offers new territories of untapped potential and potentially unlimited applications. Here are some good reasons to apply the Metaverse in corporate training:
- Large-scale training: because you only need to provide a VR visor to your employees, which can also be remotely configured and easily deployed.
- Truly multimedia lessons, more engaging, interactive and dynamic: with real-time interactions, digital twin, media of all kinds, streaming and sharing.
In this regard, according to the study “The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Soft Skills Training in the Enterprise” by PWC,1 people trained in VR are 3.75 times more engaged than those who took classroom classes and 2.3 times more engaged than e-learners.
Virtual reality, in fact, immerses the user in a simulated environment capable of creating the perception of living an almost real experience.
- Improved concentration: immersive environments help to isolate oneself from stations shared with other people, promoting more structured and deeper learning. In this regard, it should be emphasized that people understand and remember things more deeply when their emotions are involved: according to PWC’s study, employees trained in VR are 275 percent better prepared than those trained in traditional methods.
- Laboratory-type training sessions at no cost and in total safety: virtual reality is the ideal learning method for training employees on how to behave effectively in difficult situations, which can put people at risk, and for this reason cannot be recreated in reality. Thus, thanks to digital twins, it is possible to replace practical exercises.
- Repeated repetition of the training experience: training processes in VR can be repeated endlessly until the correct message and procedures are fully assimilated by the user. This makes it possible to simplify and speed up the induction of new people into the company, the acquisition of new skills, and internal processes.
- Cost and time savings: training in VR can be conducted anywhere in the world without the physical presence of a trainer. Which reduces the costs associated with moving people or activating the necessary tools for the training activity.
- Monitoring users’ behavior: so as to check their attention and optimize lessons to promote comprehension and participation, helping to easily identify the topics that aroused the most interest.
Although the ratio of costs to benefits is currently difficult to calculate, in light of these elements undoubtedly the development of Metaverse-related technologies would seem to represent a great opportunity.
Integrating the Metaverse into the enterprise, however, requires time and attention
The most significant limitation to the adoption of immersive technologies is no longer in the cost of hardware, its deployment in the enterprise or complexity, but in the strategy of use and in recognizing how the technology, based on its characteristics and language, can actually solve specific problems and needs and offer new opportunities.
The value that the Metaverse can provide is obvious and measurable, but only if understood and used in the right way.
New complex user experiences require more data traffic and are often based on blockchain, a technology that is already showing significant problems related to energy consumption and the resulting environmental impacts.
Metaverse and HR: what reflections, then, for HR?
In this scenario, which to date is still only partially explored, there are several insights that deserve to be adequately explored:
- What kind of experience do the companies that are working on the Metaverse aspire to?
- will trainers and skill development managers be able to master the complexity of this new tool?
- people working in organizations, will they be willing to train with a substitute for physical experiences?
- could the Metaverse lead the most fragile individuals to isolate themselves, putting their balance and mental health at risk?
- in terms of environmental impact, what will be the effects from resource use, data use, and waste generation?
A response will be crucial in fostering an organic and structured understanding of how the Metaverse can concretely contribute to redefining processes in HR, as well as the very role of business functions, deputed to design and implement these paths within a new paradigm.
