Pandemic restrictions, on occasion, have been difficult to hire employees. Sometimes individuals are incapable of visiting a physical work location. In a competitive recruiting environment, employers want to do everything to provide potential employees with a positive experience of work-life conditions.
Fortunately, technology can assist with many challenges confronting employers during the pandemic. Virtual reality (VR) technology permits candidates to participate in what it would be like to work in specific assignments or at particular institutions. Once the employer employs an employee, they can utilize VR to deliver training in near-real-life circumstances.
Technology and the Recruiting Experience
Social distancing during the pandemic instructed most businesses to shift to online exchanges with job applicants and employees quickly. Video conferencing outlets like Zoom and Microsoft Teams evolved essential video tools to deliver a sense of normality for these exchanges.
Through video conferencing, employers can measure a candidate’s body language, tone, and facial expressions. Ultimately they can replicate the human aspects of the candidate evaluation procedure. Some companies are even taking technology a step further.
Recruiters can now use virtual reality goggles to test a candidate’s skill set in a virtual environment. This evaluation in the metaverse permits employers to assess a candidate’s capacity to execute essential job functions.
Jeff Mains, the CEO of Champion Leadership Group, stated he could see many potential HR uses for VR as technology develops.
Mains stated, “The application of augmented and virtual reality in human resources procedures is still in its early stages. It has significant promise in recruitment, onboarding, training, and virtual workplaces.”
The Prospect of VR for the Candidate
BMW and Johnson & Johnson are two companies implementing virtual reality to create realistic online simulations. Candidates can explore their work location and interact with staff.
However, this is especially helpful for organizations hiring remote workers. Businesses that want to let their potential employees feel like a part of the team before meeting them in person can have a virtual experience with those they will be working.
The utilization of virtual reality in the hiring process is not exactly new, but the pandemic may have expedited its service.
The view of virtual reality is one of those fascinating technologies. However, most of us have believed the potential was something just around the horizon.
Now VR is a bit different as the availability of low-cost VR technology is here. Therefore, enhanced content production methods have occurred to supply these devices.
If you have not thought about producing VR content for your hiring process, it might be great for you to get ahead of the curve.
Using a virtual reality instrument, you could simulate the behavior and grade the potential hire’s abilities. It could be many years before these simulations are sophisticated enough to be used in significant assessments. However, now would be a good start working on them.
Some companies test those situations, but VR primarily provides realistic job previews. Virtual tours in examples where social distancing is still necessary can help prevent the spread of diseases. Others are utilizing VR for training and onboarding exercises.
Virtual Reality in Practice
Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families founded the Artificial Intelligence Designed for Employment (AIDE) VR program. During the pandemic, veterans, military spouses, and service members transitioned to the civilian workforce through mock interview techniques.
The university partnered with Accenture to build and implement a VR application. The mechanism seizes advantage of IBM’s Watson AI technology. Therefore it identifies vital spots for refinement, supplying users with feedback on their enactment.
Utilizing Oculus Rift, users partake in VR mock interviews. They then interact with virtual interviewers for a real-world experience. The device also delivers recorded greetings by genuine military-connected individuals. The deployment occurred in 18 military institutions in the fall of 2021
Signs show virtual relations will persist in dominance even after pandemic-related fears subside. Furnishing employees a realistic sense of what working at a company might be like before an interview can help weed out candidates who might not be a good fit.
In addition, VR can assist HR professionals, and recruiters evaluate candidates’ skills for specific employment. Instead of producing decisions based on what prospects state they can do. VR can aid companies in observing and evaluating the prospects’ fundamental skills.
“Virtual reality for recruiting is a sexy new tool that presents an exciting opportunity to wow candidates. But while the popularity of headset VR has gained ground, smartphone VR is still not widespread,” said Staffing and Recruiting expert and CEO of AkkenCloud, Giridhar Akkineni. “VR can be a good tool in some aspects of on-boarding and training but not a full-fledged recruiting tool until mass adoption.”
We believe virtual reality will see continued expansion and experimentation long into the future.
