Engaged employees are the driving force behind organizational success. From productivity to profitability, the immense benefits of engaging top talent with the right learning resources can transform your organization. By connecting employees with relevant, hands-on training experiences, immersive learning is one of the leading strategies for cultivating an engaged workforce.
Cultivating An Engaged WorkforceÂ
The number of actively disengaged employees in today’s workforce showcases a need for workplaces to reimagine their culture and employee experience. From poor morale to safety incidents and turnover, the consequences of an unengaged workforce are costly. According to their State of the Global Workplace report, Gallup estimates that low engagement costs the global economy $8.8 trillion dollars.Â
With less than a quarter of the global workforce engaged in 2022, organizations have shifted their attention toward immersive enterprise solutions. Cutting-edge XR training solutions meet the demand for experiential learning in corporate training settings, incentivizing the workforce to upskill and reskill. Rather than replacing traditional training methods, the growing popularity of cost-effective blended learning programs underscores the effectiveness of immersive tools to enhance and complement traditional modalities. The advantages of immersive learning are making an impact across all facets of training.Â
The Advantages of Immersive LearningÂ
Learners are 4 times more focused in VR than in eLearning. Immersive learning caters to learner preferences, giving your workforce the unique advantage of learning by doing as they master their roles. Immersive experiences also provide a safe environment for making and learning from mistakes while stimulating learners’ senses and involving them as active participants in interactive training scenarios. These programs allow learners to revisit and refine their skills as often as they need to, fostering a confident and capable workforce.Â
Realistic Safety Training
Safety is where VR training truly shines. Immersive training programs put learners face-to-face with worst-case scenarios, from recognizing hazards to responding to active threats. This experiential training exposes your workforce to high-risk scenarios, providing them with invaluable practice to strengthen their situational awareness on the job.Â
From safe lifting practices to PPE, the growing list of use cases for immersive safety training demonstrates how XR is reshaping the corporate training landscape. Augmented reality and virtual reality training programs reduce risks by putting learners in real-world situations where they can witness the consequences of their actions and correct errors safely. Immersive training serves dual purposes: accident prevention and workforce preparedness. Active and engaged learners are less likely to be passive responders when confronted with real safety risks. Just take a look at this driving simulation demo:
Improved Operational Efficiency
An engaged workforce improves productivity by 18%. With stronger ROI than traditional modalities, immersive learning helps learners tackle step-by-step processes, heavy machinery operations, retail training, and more. XR training solutions create a consistent training experience throughout your organization to help bridge knowledge gaps and help organizations save big on time and money.Â
Immersive learning improves operational efficiency by connecting learners to the daily interactions they’ll perform on the job. For example, virtual reality training can equip warehouse employees with the skills to locate products and traverse the warehouse floor safely and augmented reality programs can serve as just-in-time performance support and help your workforce hone step-by-step processes. By measuring performance during these kinds of action-based tasks, immersive learning helps push the needle in your organization.Â
Real-Time Skill Assessment & Data-Driven Learning Reinforcement
With extended reality systems like Mercury XRS, organizations can measure performance and identify skill deficits.Â
By capturing important metrics during the learning process, organizations can optimize training and personalize learning reinforcement for individual learners. For example, VR training can track body ergonomics to optimize employee safety performance. Identify what specific areas learners are struggling with in order to pinpoint where your employees will benefit most from learning reinforcement based on performance analytics.Â
Reduced Turnover
LinkedIn Learning’s 2023 Workplace Learning Report highlights that 93% of organizations were concerned about employee turnover in the last year. Immersive learning experiences combat turnover with humanized training experiences that feel realistic and keep employees engaged in their roles. By fostering a strong learning culture in your organization, you can attract a workforce motivated by the opportunity for accelerated skill acquisition.
Elevated Onboarding Experiences
The onboarding process is a great time to jumpstart employee engagement. As you introduce new hires to your innovative culture, immersive learning improves role familiarity and preparedness, all while connecting your workforce to your organization’s mission.Â
Onboarding experiences map the trajectory for how employees acclimate to their work environments and influence their motivation and overall performance. By taking learner preferences into consideration, immersive learning applies the principles of adult learning theory. Immersive onboarding gives new employees a realistic job preview as they navigate highly realistic virtual training environments. Immersive onboarding programs captivate learners as they onboard to your organization.
Increasing the use of digital technology in your onboarding program can:
- Improve safety awarenessÂ
- Reduce on-the-job mistakes
- Engage employees with interactive training
- Ensure long-term knowledge retention
- Equip learners to be productive employees
Accelerated Technical TrainingÂ
Immersive training programs prove that experience is the best teacher. As the current workforce shifts focus towards skill development, experiential training is upskilling and reskilling people faster and more efficiently. Using tactile and granular interactions, immersive learning experiences allow employees to perfect technical skills in various roles and settings, including warehouses, airports, and distribution centers. From learning how to repair an engine with a digital overlay in AR training or training to use a fire extinguisher, immersive learning provides hands-on training for technical skills.Â
XR Training Modalities
As leaders in the industry continue to innovate and refine XR technology for better learning outcomes, XR training programs are closing performance gaps faster than traditional modalities.  Â
There are many factors that contribute to making an exceptional training experience, starting with tying clear learning objectives to organizational goals. As organizations incorporate essential technologies into blended learning models, immersive learning allows employees to complete training at their own pace.
Augmented RealityÂ
From product knowledge to just-in-time performance support, augmented reality is compatible with the devices your employees use daily. Augmented reality training can help engage employees with virtual products and services by overlaying digital elements in real-world environments. By leveraging existing company devices, AR is the most accessible XR modality.Â
Virtual Reality
Custom VR training programs amplify engagement with fully immersive learning experiences that activate learner senses and improve spatial learning. VR prompts learners to interact with 3D objects and learn by doing. As VR becomes more enterprise-focused, accessories from HaptX and WeArt are enhancing immersive experiences to make learning more lifelike and tactile.Â
Keep Your Top Talent EngagedÂ
One of the top ways to keep top talent engaged and productive is by giving them the right tools to learn and grow. It’s not about replacing the old with the new – it’s about optimizing learning by incorporating innovative and experiential training solutions. Immersive learning solutions are an invaluable tool for engaging your workforce.Â
Are you ready to throw out the status quo and embrace innovative learning technologies? Start with a blended learning program to engage your workforce with immersive learning. Orienting to fast-paced work environments can be challenging, and experience is central to learning. By engaging your workforce with experiential learning opportunities, employees with increased job familiarity will thrive in their new roles. Whether to upskill or reskill, immersive learning has introduced a new realm of hands-on learning in corporate training settings.
