Did you know that more than 2/3rds of organizations have either already implemented or plan to implement a virtual reality (VR) training program for soft skills within the next two years?
While the future of corporate training is ever-evolving, it’s evident that organizations are seriously considering the use of VR for soft skills training.
At Roundtable Learning, we know the benefits that VR brings to all types of training, from technical and safety training to soft skills development. Our team of experts has seen firsthand how VR can transform traditional training through hands-on, realistic activities.
What Are Soft Skills, and Why Are They Extremely Important?
Interpersonal interactions are characterized by our soft skills, which are more intangible qualities or characteristics. Soft skills, which also go by the names “human skills” and “social skills,” are the result of a person’s emotional quotient and unique personality.
The following are examples of soft skills:
- Communication
- Empathy
- Work Ethic
- Adaptability
Relationship building, problem-solving, time management, and the ability to prioritize tasks are all made easier when workers possess strong soft skills.
How Are Traditional Soft Skills Taught?
During an ILT, employees may take part in any of the following activities designed to improve their soft skills:
- eLearning
- Role-playing
- Feedback and coaching
In-person group exercises are a great way to put students’ knowledge to the test and foster collaboration. Participants can learn in real-time alongside one another and from one another’s errors in a safe setting if they work together.
While these conventional approaches enable students to practice what they have learned through hands-on exercises, they can be difficult to implement for students who are geographically dispersed or who aren’t yet comfortable working on developing their interpersonal skills in a group setting. Fortunately, virtual reality provides a way out of this predicament.
Five Advantages of Virtual Reality for Soft Skills Training
Induces an Emotional Reaction in the Learner
Virtual reality (VR) may provide an extremely lifelike representation of any real-world event. Learners will feel as though they are participating in the activity in its most realistic form, whether it be performing a task or having a conversation with another person.
A student’s ability to remember what they’ve learned increases immediately as a result of the emotional response prompted by the greater realism.
As part of their leadership development, trainees may participate in a 360-degree virtual reality (VR) training session in which they are tasked with guiding an employee who is having trouble keeping to their regular schedule.
This worker has come clean about some personal issues that have been making it difficult for them to concentrate on their career.
The student is more likely to empathize with the employee’s plight and come up with a solution tailored to the employee’s needs if the situation is filmed with real actors and the learner experiences it first-hand. This facilitates the transfer of knowledge from the virtual reality exercise to the actual world.
Trains Students Up to Four Times Quicker Than in-person Instruction
Virtual reality (VR) training has been shown to be up to four times faster than in-person training, according to research by PwC. This is because when students are fully immersed in the program on a desktop, laptop, or mobile device, they are able to pay much closer attention to the training material.
Learners can focus entirely on the VR content being shown to their eyes when using a VR headset. Learners can do the following during the exercise:
1. Carry out tasks requiring the use of the laser pointer, triggers, directional stick, and more by holding a Virtual Reality controller in each hand.
2. Practice their vocal reactions to the activity using speech recognition software (e.g. practice tonality, expressions, loudness, etc.).
These interactions thoroughly immerse the student in the event and demand their undivided attention, bringing the VR experience closer to a real-world role play.
Will Be Used Together With Other Modalities
Virtual reality (VR) is expected to become a popular technique for teaching soft skills as part of a blended learning program. Virtual reality (VR) won’t completely replace traditional classroom teaching, but it will likely complement current methods by providing students with engaging opportunities to put their knowledge to use.
During an in-person ILT, for instance, a company might discuss the different communication preferences of its staff.
As a way to put what they’ve learned into practise, students might take part in a 360-degree virtual reality (VR) experience in which they detect markers of each social style through things like body language, speech patterns, and more.
After completing the VR experience, students can reflect on what they learned from both the ILT and VR by responding to questions posed in a learning journal.
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Reduces Logistical Efforts by Reaching Remote Students
The program’s scalability is severely restricted by the fact that traditional soft skills training must be delivered in person to students. Fortunately, virtual reality training can be scaled across the entire corporation to reach students anywhere in the world.
The right virtual reality (VR) technology and software can help businesses lower the logistical barriers of soft skills training. Scalability in virtual reality training can be achieved with common hardware and software, such as:
1. Cardboard Virtual Reality Headsets: Cardboard VR headsets offer a low-cost access option ($7 – $12), are lightweight, and are simple to mail to students who have a mobile device that is compatible with the headgear.
2. Standard Virtual Reality: Wireless, standard virtual reality headsets are bulkier and more expensive, but they may be supplied to each student for a truly lifelike, immersive experience.
3. Alternative Access Options: Organizations can offer desktop and mobile device access via a URL for students who aren’t comfortable using a VR headset.
4. An Extended Reality System (XRS): To host, distribute, and monitor virtual reality (VR) training, businesses need an Extended Reality System (XRS). An XRS functions much like an app that you’d find on your phone’s home screen.
Also Read:-VR Second Home Rehab: What is Virtual Reality in Healthcare?
Increases Consistency Throughout Role-playing Activities
Companies must ensure that all of their trainees have the same quality training experience in order to get the full benefits of any training program. A significant advantage of VR training is that, with the help of an XRS, firms may quickly scale consistent role-playing activities across their entire organization.
One of the challenges of using role-playing exercises to teach soft skills is that participants’ individuality can shine through. One person’s deviation from the expected appearance, dialogue, or action might change the entire dynamic of the role-play. Virtual reality mitigates the potential for harm.
This allows students to participate in the same role-playing exercise in VR as their classmates, ensuring that they all receive the same foundational knowledge and abilities.
Virtual Reality May Increase Your Soft Skills Training!
Virtual reality (VR) has the ability to revolutionize your current soft skills training by creating memorable, interactive training experiences for your students.
Is your company open to the possibilities that virtual reality training may offer for developing soft skills? Schedule a virtual reality (VR) demonstration with us today, or peruse our library of corporate learning and development (L&D) materials.
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Frequently Asked Question
How Are Businesses Using VR to Build Soft Skills?
Employees might utilize a laptop or virtual reality headset to have a simulated chat with a digital avatar representing a challenging customer, allowing them to practice such encounters and receive immediate feedback (without risking a real client relationship).
What Are Virtual Reality’s Benefits?
The world around us is simulated in virtual reality. It has the potential to drastically improve today’s instructional methods. It has applications in the business world, the medical field, the security sector, the armed forces, the fight against terrorism, the prevention of traffic accidents, the prediction of weather, and so on.
What is Virtual Reality’s Main Purpose?
The term “virtual reality” refers to a type of computer-generated simulation that creates a three-dimensional space for the user to move through and interact with in a manner that is intended to mimic the user’s sensory experience of the actual world.
