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Introduction

AR and VR provide organizations the opportunity to enhance their workforce training for their employees by making training more engaging, fast, and cost-effective. According to a Deloitte study, 88 percent of medium-sized companies are already using AR or VR in various compacities. Companies currently using AR and VR include Walmart, JetBlue Airlines, Intel, and Verizon. Therefore, many companies are starting to use AR and VR to enhance their workforce training and ensure their employees are properly trained and confident in their position.

How to Use AR & VR in Workforce Training

AR adds interactive, digital elements, and 3D graphics to the real-life environment through phones, tablets, laptops, and headsets. You can use the devices to manipulate computer-generated objects in the 3D environment. While on the other hand, VR subversives people into complete virtual worlds, and they can perform different actions and manipulate objects. Thus, AR and VR can be used in workforce training to improve job skills in a low-risk environment by practicing multiple scenarios to prepare employees for their job in real life.

For instance, if a person is training to be a firefighter, they can use AR or VR to simulate different scenarios, thus reducing the risk of seriously getting injured. In addition, AR and VR intimate all aspects of real life so that the simulated environment will feel real to the person in training, and they will know what to expect and do in their position.

  • Improves Job Performance Icon Improves Job Performance
  • Safe Training Environment Icon Safe Training Environment
  • Enhance Career Skills Icon Enhance Career Skills
  • Cost-Effective Icon Cost-Effective
  • Improves Workplace Safety Icon Improves Workplace Safety
  • Soft Skills Training Icon Soft Skills Training

Benefits of AR & VR in Workforce Training

There are several benefits to using AR & VR when it comes to workforce training. Some benefits are that AR and VR are cost-effective and safe.

Safety

Safety

AR and VR provide safe training that allows employees to practice different scenarios they may experience. Also, it allows employees to make mistakes, learn, and see the consequences of their actions without real injuries or fatalities. According to an article, in 2019, deaths on the worksite amounted up to 100 deaths per week, which is about 15 deaths per day in the US. Thus, AR and VR can provide proper and efficient employee training that will cause fewer mistakes and deaths on the worksite.

Cost-Effective

Cost-Effective

With AR, organizations can use tablets or smartphones to conduct training. On the other hand, with VR, companies must purchase headsets and controllers, which may cost more upfront, but it is an investment that will save organizations money on training in the long term. Especially as the equipment is reusable. In addition, AR and VR are cost-effective as organizations do not have to hold long training sessions or use any of the companies’ resources. For instance, the company Sprouts needed to hire thousands of employees due to the pandemic. To make training go faster and safer, the company used VR to train their new employees, and it reduced training from 4 hours to 45 minutes. This helped save the company’s time and money spent on training.

Improves Job Performance

Improves Job Performance

AR and VR tend to improve job performance on the job. This is because AR and VR help remove risks and distractions commonly found in traditional training methods. The use of VR and AR also produces high retention rates as employees remain engaged during the training process. According to research, using VR for training results in retention rates of up to 80 percent for one year compared to 20 percent just one week after traditional training. Therefore, with AR and VR training, employees are more likely to retain information from the training for much longer and achieve tasks faster as they are less distracted and more engaged, improving their job performance overall.

Using AR & VR in Training

AR and VR have held promise for training applications for years. By simulating, modifying, and enhancing real-world situations, these tools allow companies to have greater control over the “environment” in which training takes place. This could mean creating simulated customer interactions or road conditions, for example. The ability to modify what trainees are experiencing relative to the actual environment saves both time and money and can greatly increase safety.

Employee Training Icon
Using AR & VR to Modernize Employee Training

Organizations who decide to use AR and VR for their employee training are modernizing their training as they are leaving behind traditional methods of presentations, in class training, one-on-one training, etc. Instead, organizations are becoming modernized with technology like AR and VR. With the use of AR and VR, organizations can train their employees in a safe environment through simulations and create different scenarios that their employees may experience

Additionally, employees who are trained with modernized training that use AR and VR are more likely to learn faster and better. According to an article, some retailers have used VR simulations to train their employees in managing departments or annual challenges such as Black Friday. As a result, some companies reported that employees appeared to retain and learn more than traditional methods. Thus, modernizing employee training can improve employee performance overall.

Workforce Skills Icon
How to Improve Workforce Skills Using AR & VR

AR and VR help improve employees’ workforce skills by providing them the opportunity to develop their skills through visualization and immersive experiences. For example, employees can use AR or VR to practice and advance their skills in complex machinery. This will help them learn how to operate the machinery better and be confident when they are doing it in reality. Additionally, AR and VR help improve employees’ soft skills as well. In a recent survey, 59% of hiring managers and 89% of executives reported difficulty finding candidates with requisite soft skills such as communication, leadership, and teamwork. With AR and VR, employees can practice their soft skills by interacting with an avatar to practice leadership development and conflict resolution skills.

Overall, AR and VR can help employees feel more confident in their position as they are able to use them to improve their soft and specialized skills.

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Examples of Augmented Reality in Workforce Trainig

Traditional training can be long and costly. However, with augmented reality, training can be quick and simple. Some use cases for augmented reality are listed below:

Medicine
Medicine

AR training can be used in medicine to help train employees to learn about anatomy more in depth and practice surgeries without the risk of injuries or fatalities. Using AR for training has the potential to help save lives as surgeons will be more efficient in surgeries and better prepared. AR can also train employees in the medical field on how to efficiently communicate with patients about their healthcare issues and solutions. This can include showing patients the health issues they are experiencing through AR and potentially helping patients understand the issues better.

Retail
Retail

AR training can help new employees feel more prepared for when they are on the sales floor as AR can simulate different situations that they may experience. For instance, it can help employees be better prepared to handle situations like theft and train them to have the proper soft skills to ensure great customer interactions.

Military
Military

AR can help train new military members through AR simulations to help them be prepared for dangerous and stressful situations. This can include providing first aid to the wounded, how to fly a plane, how to use different weapons, and how to navigate combat situations. AR can ensure that people in the military are properly trained and prepared for several different situations.

Examples of Virtual Reality in Workforce Training

Virtual reality can make workforce training fast, interactive, and fun, with the ability to transport employees into a completely virtual and interactive world. Some use cases are listed below:

Automotive

Automotive

VR can be used to help train new employees to assemble cars together or learn how to fix different issues on cars as well. Volkswagen uses VR to teach new employees how to assemble car parts, like doors and brakes. Also, they have an instructor in the room during training to give advice and points for improvement. This provides employees hands-on training and increases the effectiveness of the training.

Emergency Services

Emergency Services

AR can be used to help prepare police for different situations that they may experience, like life-threatening situations. The police force in Fort Myers, Florida, uses virtual reality to help officers operate better under pressure and prepare for the worst. The simulation puts officers in life-threatening situations and helps them try to deescalate the situation right away.

Offshore Jobs

Offshore Jobs

Offshore jobs can be dangerous, especially if people are not properly trained. It is crucial to work safely on offshore jobs and be prepared for different situations that may occur. Thus, VR can help ensure that and help employees feel assured that they know what they are doing. For instance, BP, one of the oil and gas companies, uses VR training to help train new employees so they can practice important tasks and avoid the human era. It also helps them identify which part of the training has the most errors, so BP can improve the training and ensure employees are properly trained. VR training helps employees working on oil rigs to be safer and more efficient.

How XR Guru Helps to Improve Workforce Training

XR Guru helps to improve workforce training by providing organizations and employees with pre-made or customized packages through the XR Guru app to use to train employees. Employees can also use the app for extra training if they feel they need more training in a particular area, want to develop their career skills, or put themselves in a better position for career advancement in their field.

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Frequently Asked Questions

AR training makes employee training interactive and engaging as AR adds interactive digital elements to the real-world environment. An example is employees can use AR to learn pieces of equipment and their purposes.
AR has the potential of changing the way employees work by helping employees be more productive as they will become more engaged in their work.
The answer is both! Augmented reality-based training delivery systems provide some of the most contextually relevant and enjoyable method of delivering training. AR as a solo training delivery vehicle can be expensive for both creating as well as distribution. Therefore, some companies opt for a blended learning environment by combining both online, as well as physical instructor-led training delivery systems. in this cases, an organizations can us AR to deliver supporting training material post the instructor-led training sessions.
AR in HR can make the onboarding process easier and better as it can involve taking virtual tours of the office and help people navigate the position easier. VR in HR involves employees using VR goggles to see different scenarios of the position. In general, VR and AR can present the company clearer and better than traditional ways.
Augmented reality can help employees be more productive and remained engaged with their work as they will be better trained and more confident in their work.
One example of workers using augmented reality to improve their jobs are, technicians can use AR to fix customers appliances faster as AR can tell the technician the model of the appliance, what part is causing the issue, and how much it will cost to fix.
AR in the workplace is layering digital information over objects in the view of the real world. Thus, AR in a workplace is used to help train employees how to use a tool or perform a task. Also, AR can be used for employees’ daily task with performing task such as fixing automotives.
Augmented reality enhances the real world by using digital information over objects in the view of the real world. This benefits employees because it helps employees deepen their understanding and knowledge of their position, which makes them more confident in their role, which can potentially remove any fear or doubt they have.
Augmented reality eyewear will make employee training safer, will shorten the learning curves along the way, and will make the training process clearer than ever. Therefore, eyewear will make employee training interactive and engaging.
AR will improve the training process as it will help the training process go faster and the training will feel real to employees, which will help them remember information better as well.
AR can be used to help on-board new employees by helping them to learn how to use new equipment and it can also help them learn about the company’s history and culture as well. In addition, it can help the onboarding process be quicker and more productive as well.
AR and VR can be used in recruitment to help organizations find the best employees. Thus, with AR recruitment can be fun with AR games that can help organizations assess if the candidate has the right skills for the position. On the other hand, with VR organizations can use it to conduct immersive virtual interviews and can allow potential candidates to experience the work environment.
AR remote work can change an industry by making the workforce more collaborative as co-workers can work together virtually using AR to share content. Also, employees can use AR tools to help support employees and finish projects faster.
Employees can use VR in the workplace to help them remain productive and engaged at work. Also, VR can help support employees and help them complete certain tasks.
Several companies in many different industries use VR to train employees. Some examples include retail, automotive, healthcare, military, etc. Therefore, most companies would find it beneficial to use VR for training.
Companies use VR to help make their organization more efficient, help their employees stay productive, and keep them satisfied. Here are some examples. Companies can use VR to help create prototypes and designs as this helps companies save money and time. In addition, companies use VR to help train their employees to ensure they feel confident in their position.
Companies should invest in VR because it can help increase brand awareness as it can help people recognize the brand. Also, investing helps companies collect data efficiently and can strengthen consumer relationships as VR can benefit consumers as well, and make their experience easier and more interactive.
VR can help with jobs by making jobs more accessible as employees can use it to work from anywhere and still collaborate with co-worker’s and participate in meetings. Also, VR can help employees enjoy their jobs more as they will be better prepared in their position using VR.
Yes, several companies have had success using VR for training. One example is Walmart, which has trained more than 1 million employees with VR. Some of Walmart’s training include soft skills such as dealing with customers.
There are several ways VR can help in the workplace. Here are just a few.

1. Recruitment - With virtual reality, interviewing candidates will be easier. Companies can interview candidates from different parts of the world face-to-face using virtual meetings, where they can see and hear the candidate’s response and observe their body language.

2. Prototyping - Companies can use prototyping to assist in designing products and better analyzing functions of products. Thus, VR can help detect design problems and make modifications during the design process to avoid post-production complications.
Companies are using virtual reality to increase connection and collaboration among co-workers and bosses that help improve communication about projects and improve productivity as well.
Virtual reality has made the HR role easier as HR can help new and current employees learn skills for their position faster with VR simulations. Also, VR makes it easier for HR to connect with employees and have open communication.
Yes, VR can be used for work in several industries for things like employee training, assistance, product development, etc. Therefore, VR can be used in many different aspects of work.
The potential of virtual reality in the workplace is it will become a more productive and engaging environment for employees, which will cause employees to be happier and for work to get done faster.
VR is used in the workforce to help enhance the workplace in several ways. For instance, some employees may use VR to upgrade training, increase collaboration among co-workers, innovated marketing practices, and more efficient product development.
VR has the potential to change the workforce and help organizations get more things done. Also, work will be more accessible as VR provides effective ways for remote work that provides less distractions. Thus, VR could be the future of the workplace if more organizations see the benefits and adopt it into their work environment.
Today, businesses are under pressure to reskill and upskill their workforces. Companies are now focused on new ways to train, engage, and retain people. Virtual reality is an effective tool that lowers cost, remove distance barriers, optimize productivity, enhance learning, and reduce errors.
VR headsets can be connected to a laptop. To learn how to do this, contact the maker of your VR headset.
Virtual reality is changing the workplace by changing the way organizations train their employees with VR and simulations now instead of manuals, presentations, and one-on-one training. In addition, it is also changing the way employees work as employees are becoming more involved and productive in their position than ever before.
Virtual reality can help any company; it does not matter the industry. Some ways virtual reality can help a company is by reducing training costs and improving prototyping designs, help get projects done quicker, and VR can help create products faster as well.
Many times, virtual reality training is done by simulations, where trainees enter a 360-degree, active learning environment. In this environment trainees will practice different scenarios they may experience in their job, through simulations.
Virtual reality is becoming popular because during lockdowns, companies began to use it to stay connected with their employees. In addition, many companies realized how effective VR is in the workforce, and that it offers a lot of benefits.
VR is used in training to help employees learn effectively and remember information for longer. As VR can stimulate lifelike scenarios that can help employees to practice and experience what their position in the workplace is like.
Traditional training tends to rely heavily on training methods or materials such as manuals or handbooks, instructional videos, and employee-shadowing. While these traditional methods have a place in a holistic training approach, they can slow production time and quality if not supplemented with technology-based training. In addition to that, some of these training methods do not have interactive capabilities, which can yield mixed-results based on the employee’s learning strengths. This is where AR training is different. Using AR, companies can provide a training experience that is independent, visual, and interactive. Simply put, AR allows employees to view the workplace or a piece of machinery in real time with superimposed digital training elements. This allows employees to interact with the environment while experiencing step-by-step audio/visual instruction, alerts to mistakes or incorrect movements, and digital identifications of different parts of the machinery.
Jaguar-Land Rover implemented AR training app for technicians that allowed them to observe elements behind a vehicle’s dashboard without removing the dashboard itself. Technicians could view the vehicle’s wiring and locate parts through this app. This type of training was implemented to quickly train new technicians, cut down training costs, and maintain production pace.
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