By now, it’s no secret that we’re big advocates of virtual reality for learning here at Filament Games. We’ve spent a lot of time on our blog highlighting some of our favorite applications of the technology in both medical training and classrooms, attempting to shine a light on organizations making use of VR’s unique affordances as a teaching tool. In recent years, a number of high-profile U.S. corporations began implementing VR modules in their employee training programs. Here’s a look at some of the most impressive applications of the technology in corporate training settings we’ve seen to date:
Hotel chain Hilton has embraced VR training as a strategy for imparting a key tenet of the hospitality industry: empathy. Using a custom-made training program created in collaboration with developer SweetRush, Hilton places corporate team members in the shoes of hotel staff – room service attendants, housekeepers, food/beverage managers, and more – in an effort to help senior company leaders gain a better understanding of the day-to-day operations of company’s many hotel and resort properties. And based on the success of these initial efforts, the company has since begun expanding its VR training offerings to hotel team members themselves – offering additional modules in which learners encounter frustrating scenarios from a guest’s perspective and gain an improved understanding of how their actions as an individual employee impact the overall guest experience.
Los Angeles-based insurance company Farmers Insurance launched a new VR training initiative in 2017, giving new claims adjusters the opportunity to immerse themselves in a variety of real-life work situations without stepping foot outside their office. In the past, the company has sent trainees to a specialized two-story training home in Los Angeles. However, this only allowed for employees to learn using a single floor plan and a small number of scenarios. The VR training simulations, on the other hand, allow for employees to practice using six unique floor plans and 500 different damage scenarios (while also saving Farmers Insurance up to $300,000 a year in travel costs). Created in collaboration with developer Talespin, check out the below video demo for a closer look at these training modules in action.
In an effort to prepare new employees for massive Black Friday crowds, Walmart began implementing a new employee training strategy in 2017: virtual reality. Using an Oculus Rift VR headset, learners are immersed in a variety of real-life scenarios, requiring users to make on the spot decisions which are evaluated in real time by both training supervisors and their peers. In the years since, the company’s VR training and assessment tools have been rolled out to all 200 of its “Walmart Academy” training centers across the country, with thousands of additional headsets provided to individual stores for further employee training opportunities.
More immersive learning insights from the Filament Games blog:
Why Virtual Reality May Be The Tech to Bridge Generations
VR in Industrial Training: Safe, Simulated Learning
How VR Changes Learning