TRAINING & LEARNING

Best Practices for Implementing VR

Business units are facing growing demands for worker safety, production uptime, and rapid adoption of new technologies. This places an emphasis on the importance of training, learning and development crucial for achieving and maintaining excellence in safety, productivity, and employee satisfaction.

Listening to Learning and Development (L&D) and Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) professionals traditional training and learning practices have their challenges. Classroom and online can be cost effective and easy to implement, but research show that only 10% of the lesson’s content is retained after a week. The programs struggle to meet their objective of increased safety, uptime, and technology adoption. Learning-by-doing works, but you can’t shut down your production to do so. Virtual reality (VR) gives you the means to conduct hands-on training in a virtual replica of your workspace, but is it cost effective, scalable, and easy to implement? In this paper we will show that VR can be all those things.

Current Research Makes VR a Clear Choice

It is often when challenges seem insurmountable that innovative ideas transition from theory to practice. In our experience, virtual reality (VR) or immersive and experiential training gains traction when workers' disengagement from traditional learning methods begins to impact safety and productivity goals.

L&D and EHS teams have training programs in place covering a wide range of subjects necessary for the business to stay in compliance and to stay competitive. These lessons are typically conducted in classroom settings or through various online formats such as videos, animations, and multiple-choice assessments. If learning depended solely on the curriculum and the instructor, many of us would have graduated with top grades, but that's not the reality.

Learning is influenced by numerous factors, including human factors outside the instructor’s control. We all learn differently, at different paces, and our learning abilities are affected by various environmental factors. This affects engagement, which refers to a learner's involvement during the lesson. Without proper engagement, the lesson won't be effective. This lack of engagement incurs both human and organizational costs, prompting L&D and EHS teams to explore new solutions.

A study conducted by PwC concluded that virtual reality can be better, faster, and cheaper at scale than traditional training methods based on these five main findings:

  1. SPEED. An average employee learned 4 times faster in VR than in the classroom.

  2. CONFIDENCE. Employees were 275% more confident in applying what they have learned after training.

  3. CONNECTION: Employees experienced a 3.75 times higher emotional connection to the content.

  4. FOCUS: Employees were 4 times more focused in VR than in online training.

  5. COST. VR training is 52% more cost effective than classroom training at scale.

What are the advantages of VR that makes it so effective?

A driving factor with immersive and experiential training is that all impulses from the real world are shut out by the encapsulating VR headset, focusing the workers’ attention on the tasks at hand. The gamified aspects of learning-by-doing increases engagement to allow the curriculum to be absorbed and retained. This has been shown in studies and in case studies from companies that have implemented VR training.

So, what’s stopping other companies from following suit?

Working with enterprise customers we see that it can often be broken down to time and experience. L&D and EHS teams have demanding schedules with a diverse set of tasks; focusing on delivering existing training programs, compliance requirements, handling other matters related to employee development and safety and dealing with immediate needs such as accidents or a hiring surge. Therefore, finding the time to research, experiment with, and implement VR training can be challenging.

 

Overcoming the Hurdles

VR technology is still a relatively new training tool with few experienced with deploying VR training at scale. Adding to the uncertainty is the transfer of lessons from traditional training methods such as PowerPoints, videos, online multiple choice, or a combination of them to interactive, hands-on training in a 3D environment. Acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills to create effective VR training experiences can require significant time and resources and the expertise in developing VR training content is also scarce among the consultancies delivering training to businesses today.

We have identified five Best Practices to get you over the hurdles and get your organization on track to deliver your workers engaging interactive and experiential training in virtual reality.

Starting with a pilot to establish a proof of concept and gather initial learnings is a prudent approach to many aspects of business, but it still requires a plan to execute properly. Here is a five-step process to get you there:

 

1. Resource Allocation and Prioritization:

Pilot Initiation: Begin by allocating resources for a small-scale pilot program to test the feasibility and effectiveness of VR training within a specific department or team and identify a type of training for the pilot that will have a positive impact on the business if successful and scaled.

Priority Setting: Prioritize the pilot initiative alongside other organizational priorities, highlighting its potential impact on safety, productivity, and employee satisfaction.

 

2. Experience and Expertise:

Pilot Team Formation: Assemble a cross-functional team to oversee the pilot program, including individuals with expertise in VR technology, content development, and training delivery.

External Collaboration: If your business does not currently possess expertise in these areas find a suitable external provider to leverage their experience and guidance in setting up and executing the pilot effectively.

 

3. Cost Considerations:

Pilot Budgeting: Allocate a dedicated budget for the pilot program, considering costs associated with VR equipment, software licenses, content development, and personnel. Some companies, such as Cloudberrie, will take you through the pilot period without having to invest in hardware or development.

Cost-Benefit Analysis: Conduct a preliminary cost-benefit analysis based on pilot outcomes to assess the long-term financial viability and return on investment of scaling up VR training initiatives.

 

4. Technological Infrastructure and Compatibility:

IT Partnership: Engage closely with the IT department to assess the organization's technological infrastructure and identify any compatibility issues or requirements for VR implementation.

Pilot Testing: Conduct thorough testing of VR hardware and software within the existing IT environment during the pilot phase to address any technical challenges or integration issues that could hamper scalability such as updates and distribution.

 

5. Change Management and Cultural Adoption:

Stakeholder Involvement: Involve key stakeholders, including employees and managers, in the pilot program to garner support, gather feedback, and address concerns or resistance to change.

Training and Communication: Provide comprehensive training and communication resources to pilot participants to ensure they understand the purpose, benefits, and expectations of VR training and feel supported throughout the process. Conduct an exit survey of participants on both content and experience.

By initiating a pilot program to establish a proof of concept and gather foundational learnings, organizations can effectively address the identified hurdles and pave the way for successful implementation of VR training initiatives at scale.