Increase User Retention, Comprehension, and Empathy Using Virtual Reality Training
Since its inception, virtual reality (VR) has had its limits pushed to see what the next advancement could be made of the technology. From a storytelling tool to interactive games in VR, the opportunities are endless. Studies have shown training using VR technology has increased benefits compared to traditional training videos. Increased comprehension, increased empathy, and a more interactive experience keep users engaged.
Household name companies are seeing the value of training in VR. One of these companies is KFC, famously known for their chicken. “In 1940 the Colonel was just one man frying chicken by hand. Now we have more than 19,000 trained cooks across the U.S., but they’re still doing it by hand,” says George Felix, KFC U.S. director of advertising. “Our cooking process hasn’t changed much in 70 years, but the way we train our cooks using modern technology sure has.”
Integrating KFC’s training within VR is a key component to the onboarding process of new employees. KFC was able to improve their training time of successfully cooking their chicken from 25 minutes using their traditional method to just 10 minutes using VR-based training. This increased comprehension rate is very telling in how an immersive environment can be utilized.
When a person puts on a VR headset, they aren’t just just watching a 360-degree video, they are entering an experience. These experiences can increase empathy which in turn lead to empathetic actions. Watching a coworker make inappropriate comments toward another employee in the Empower Now Program or in the workplace is more powerful than being told it is happening. In a 2013 Stanford study, a group of participants imagined they were colorblind while another group became colorblind via a VR headset. They were asked to do tasks in which the colorblind impairment made it difficult to complete, while the group that had only been told to imagine their impairment found it more easily achievable. After studying the results, it was found that the group that had impairment in VR spent almost twice as much time helping people with colorblindness by means of volunteering compared to the participants who imagined this impairment. They were able to experience and empathize how tough it is for certain activities because of impairments.
VR enhances training experiences by having a more immersive, tangible feel when compared to a video or speaker that a trainee may passively watch. This added interaction is the key part to why companies are jumping onto the VR train. Increased retention and empathy through an improved training are what empower a workforce to create a positive culture. This has benefits to the workplace as a whole whereas a culture that does not emphasize positive behaviors has a negative impact on employee morale.
That is why SISU VR’s ‘Empower Now Program’ is such a powerful tool. Creating experiences based on real cases, we help trainees navigate the tricky nuances of workplace harassment. Witnessing, experiencing, and even moderating these scenarios in an immersive VR environment prepares users for real life situations. With VR-based anti-harassment training, SISU VR’s goal is to empower workplaces to work fearlessly!
