PwC On VR

Source : https://www.pwc.com/us/en/tech-effect/emerging-tech/virtual-reality-study.html

The main findings of the article.

VR offers an affordable, effective, remote-friendly method to provide employees with not only technical skills but also "soft" skills. More than half of companies are already integrating VR into their strategy, and the rise of the metaverse is creating further opportunities for VR- based training and collaboration.

Employers face a dilemma: their workforce often needs to learn new skills, upgrade existing skills or complete compliance training. However, the new reality of teleworking and hybrid working poses an even greater challenge to traditional, face-to-face personal skills development. Online and app-based courses can fill some gaps - but not all.

So how can employers meet this challenge?

That's the question we sought to answer with our study on VR, designed specifically for soft skill training. A group of new managers from 12 locations in the US selected employees from a selected group of selected sites in each location received the same training - aimed at inclusive leadership - in one of three learning modes: classroom, e-learn and v-learn (VR).

The results? The study showed that VR can help business leaders develop their employees faster, even when training budgets may be reduced and face-to-face training may be missed. Five key findings on the value of VR:

1. employees who take VR courses can be trained up to four times faster

What could be learned in two hours in the classroom could be learned in as little as 30 minutes using VR. When you factor in the extra time to teach first-time learners to review, mount and use a VR headset, learners still complete training three times faster than classroom learners. And this figure only counts the time actually spent in the classroom, not the additional time required to travel to the classroom itself.

2. VR learners are more confident in applying what they are taught

Confidence is the key to success. In difficult circumstances, such as when giving negative feedback to an employee, people usually want to be able to practice handling the situation in a safe environment. With VR, they can do so.

Learners trained with virtual reality were up to 275% more confident to act on what they had learned after training - a 40% improvement over classroom training and a 35% improvement over e-learning training.

3. Employees are more emotionally attached to VR content

People connect more deeply, understand and remember things when their emotions are involved. Learners felt 3.75 times more emotionally connected to content than classroom learners and 2.3 times more connected than e-learners.

4. VR learners are more focused

Today's learners are often impatient, distracted and overwhelmed. Many learners do not watch a video for its duration, and smartphones are a major cause of interruptions and distraction.

With VR learning, users' attention is significantly less distracted. In a VR headset, simulations and immersive experiences control one's vision and attention. There are no interruptions and no possibility to multitask. In our study, VR-trained employees were up to four times more focused during training than their e-learning counterparts and one and a half times more focused than their classroom counterparts. When learners are immersed in the VR experience, they tend to get more out of the training and achieve better results.

5. VR learning can be highly cost-effective

Previously, VR was too expensive, complex and challenging to deploy outside of a small group. Today, the enterprise headset ecosystem costs less than $1,000 one-time fee, and these units can be managed like any other enterprise mobile device and repeatedly reusable for training. Studios of all sizes are developing compelling content, while vendors are creating software packages that allow non-VR developers to create their own content in a cost-effective way. Elsewhere, some large learning management system providers are enabling easy integration of VR content into their platforms.

The value that VR brings is unmistakable when used properly. In our study, we found that when delivered to a sufficient number of learners, VR training is estimated to be more cost-effective than classroom or e-learning. Since VR content requires an initial investment of up to 48% more than comparable classroom or e-learn courses, it is essential that there are enough learners for this approach to be cost-effective. With 375 learners, VR training achieved cost parity with classroom learning. For 3000 learners, VR training was 52% more cost-effective than classroom training. For 1950 learners, VR training achieved cost paritywith e-learning. The more people trained, the greater the return on investment in terms of employee time saved during training, facilitation of courses and other cost savings.

Blended learning curriculum structure VR is unlikely to completely replace classroom training or e-learning any time soon. But as the metaverse accelerates and telecommuting continues to grow, VR learning should be part of most companies' blended learning curriculum. When done correctly, VR learning in the metaverse and beyond will include key elements of business expertise to overcome challenges, a human-centric experience and technology that increases productivity without sacrificing quality.

VR learning set in the metaverse can increase organisational knowledge of metaverse technologies and opportunities.

In PwC's 2022 US Metaverse Survey, "implementation and training" was the metaverse use case that companies said they are most likely to explore at this time. In other words, it is the most common way companies plan to launch in the metaverse.