If you have been on the internet or read the news, you would know that as of 2024, the term ‘metaverse’ is about as common as the word ‘virtual reality’.
What is the metaverse?
The metaverse is a shared virtual experience where users log into a virtual simulation platform using their avatars and interact with each other and their environment..
Why do we need the metaverse now?
With employees scattered across the globe, corporates and HR professionals find it difficult to engage their employees, be it in events, employee wellness programs or even team-building.
- With the rise of ‘Digital Natives’ and a generation of individuals who are passionate about innovative and immersive technology, companies need to adapt technologically-forward strategies to keep them engaged.
- With the pandemic also bringing about remote work culture, there is a need for more effective and engaging virtual networking formats.
STATISTICS you should know!
- As per a survey, 46% employees were excited about the metaverse and workplace immersive technology.
- A VR training experience can improve employee performance by 70%.
Advantages of Metaverse in HR
In this blog, we will dive into the applications of the metaverse in Human Resources. Here are all the advantages to bringing your HR to the metaverse that you probably did not know before!
- High engagement – Working remotely can be incredibly difficult since it takes away the factor of human interaction. It creates an underlying sense of stress, thus making it difficult to maintain online workplace wellness.
- This is where bringing in a metaverse could help. Owing to its shared virtual environment, employees can interact with each other in real-time, engaging in team-building activities and networking sessions.
- The metaverse, being virtual, can be accessed during any point of the day, enabling employees to interact with each other without time constraints.
- High ROI –
- Hiring, onboarding, L&D and even team events could be brought onto the metaverse for a cost significantly lesser than their physical counterparts.
- The metaverse could also be used to provide a virtual medium to a physical event, allowing interested candidates or employees to attend regardless of geographical location. By saving on the travel and venue costs, you gain a higher output for lesser investment.
- Tech-first positioning –
- With the rise of tech-savvy Gen Z and young millennials, there is an increasing demand for companies that are not afraid to use innovative technology to be relatable amongst this new generation of job-seekers. They are passionate about technology developments and strive for healthy workplace cultures that span not only in a physical space but also virtual.
- For example, hosting metaverse live events like a Metaverse Yoga Day for employees sends a widespread message that as a company, you deeply care about employee health and workplace wellness, even with remote working.
- Competitive curve – The popularity of the metaverse is so widespread that a lot of companies have already begun incorporating it into their strategies. By bringing the metaverse to your company, you would be attracting fresh and young talent. The metaverse helps place your company ahead of the competitive curve.
- High efficiency – Communicating efficiently while working remotely is difficult, bringing down the efficiency with which the collaborative tasks assigned are completed.
- Using the avatars present on the metaverse, employees can interact with each other in real time.
- They can also view the virtual simulations of the work progress, making collaborative tasks that much more efficient.
- With real-time interactions, workplace wellness is improved by bringing down underlying stress factors.
- Consistent quality –
- One of the advantages of using metaverse in HR is that the same mentor can reach out and mentor a large number of employees across the globe, making sure each employee receives the same quality of training.
- AI integration keeps track of the progress of all employees, letting businesses make the right decisions to help bridge any gaps.
- Personalised approach –
- Using AI integration, every employee can learn at their own pace, with AI being able to track their progress and adapt to their preferences. This ensures that no employee is left behind.
- Employees can customise their avatars and have flexible control over their interactions with their colleagues.
- Time-saving factor – When hosting employee wellness programs in physical venues, there is a significant amount of time spent in travelling and post-event analytics as well.
- A metaverse live event saves a significant amount of time since it can be logged into from any part of the world.
- A common time need not be decided and employees can choose to login at whatever time they prefer, even coordinating with colleagues and teammates. The flexibility of the metaverse is what makes it an excellent strategy for Human Resources.
- Round-the-clock availability – Quite a lot of times, employees end up having doubts or queries that need to be solved immediately, and it is an issue if it is beyond the working hours of the HR department. This situation can also arise when potential candidates have questions that need to be answered. With the metaverse, an AI-powered conversational chatbot avatar can be created that is programmed to answer questions regarding the company and their policies. Not only does this save time on resolving queries, but the avatar makes the conversation feel more personal than simply a text-based conversation with a chatbot.
Conclusion
Engaging employees working remotely is quite difficult for HR and virtual meeting platforms like zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet are not nearly as effective and engaging. Utilising the metaverse in HR operations could positively impact the company, from attracting fresh talent to maintaining healthy workplace wellness.
FAQ’s
Do I need to be a tech expert to access the metaverse?
Not at all! ibentos metaverse platforms are easy to use with navigation guides and instructions built in for a seamless experience.
What is possible with avatars in the metaverse?
A user logs into the metaverse platform using their avatar. Users can interact with each other using avatars. Components in the platform are accessed by users via their avatars.
Do I need a separate tech team to maintain the metaverse?
ibentos metaverse platforms are no-code and easy to sustain. While you use our platform, our tech team will be there to guide you at all times.
What are the technical hardware and software requirements to access the metaverse?
The metaverse platform needs a device like a phone, tablet, desktop or laptop to load on. A stable internet connection is also necessary.