PwC blog – Organisational training using VR/AR
A blog article by Louise Liu VR/AR specialist on PwC’s blog. Liu works as part of a dedicated VR/AR team at PwC which focuses on helping their clients discover and unlock the benefits of these emerging technologies across their organisations.
PwC also has two dedicated VR/AR labs in London where they help clients discover the technology and devise their business cases.
Liu starts by stating that transformation is a fact of daily life for business and organisations, not just a buzzword. It’s triggered by sudden crises, new competition, technological change, global opportunities, or simply the recognition that the world is rapidly changing around them – and they risk being left behind.
These major change initiatives can be complex, cumbersome and costly. But they don’t have to be that way – they can create new spaces for possibility—in markets, in operating models, and in employees’ hearts and minds – that yields profitable growth and breakthrough-level improvements.
This is the first in a series of blogs that PwC will be writing over the next few months, shining a light on the multitude of enterprise applications of virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR).
Liu makes many points worth reading. A summary is below:
- More organisations are grasping the potential of VR/AR to solve a wide range of their problems.
- This in turn is fuelling more investment.
- From health and safety to medical and behavioural training custoemrs are energising and improving their people’s learning and development.
- Virtual reality and augmented reality connect and engage people at deeper, more meaningful levels
- The technology creates entirely new ways for people to experience the world around them.
VRAR gives us the ability to simulate challenging situations where team members can learn from mistakes, watch others’ reactions and fail in a safe environment.
VR/AR offers us four key benefits when applied to organisational training (these are explored in detail in the full article):
- More memorable
- Increased engagement
- Reduced risk
- Lower costs
It’s clear that VR/AR offers the potential to revolutionise organisation training. It offers a cost-effective way to provide better learning outcomes than traditional training methods. Participants can get closer to real-life experiences and hone techniques for managing difficult or dangerous situations.
Liu concludes by stating that getting started is less difficult than you may think. Start by discovering your training requirements and goals, then devise your business case and finally develop and deploy your solution.