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New to VR? Here’s how you can use it in the workplace
Mon, 22nd Jan 2018
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Virtual reality might seem like a completely foreign concept, rooted in science fiction and only something that the most tech savvy know about.

Yet, over the last 5 years, VR and automated tech services have made their ways into our daily lives, influencing everything from how we connect with one another, to helping professionals connect more deeply with their consumers.

Whether you are a manager in a large company or running your own business, there are various ways that you can use virtual reality in the workplace that will help you expand your consumer base and fine-tune your brand identity.

Virtual reality can help build stronger teams

Building a strong team is essential to the foundation of any successful workplace. Companies are looking towards virtual reality to help them create more dynamic teams.

Of course, there is always the company picnic and the tradition trust-building activities, but in the context of the contemporary workplace, those tactics may seem outdated.

Investing in some VR for the office can provide more opportunities to bring employees together in a relaxed and innovative way.

Virtual applications range from adventure games to group strategy games that will encourage employees to work together, while also having fun.

Virtual reality can encourage customer loyalty

From personal shopper chatbots, to interactive marketplaces, business today know that consumers want their needs met, personally and promptly.

While automated tools like chatbots can certainly enhance the consumer experience by offering tailored recommendations, making use of virtual reality might just be what takes online businesses to new levels of success.

With major brands like Ikea already implementing virtual reality into their business model, businesses can bring customers directly to the product by simulating a world where they can experience and experiment with their future purchase before entering their credit card details.

Virtual reality can help promote connection

As counterintuitive as it may seem, virtual reality has been shown to promote empathy and connection.

By literally experiencing new realities, maybe what it's like to be living on the streets, or what it takes to be a single mother working a full-time job, people can learn to become more empathetic and kind in their day to day lives.

Businesses can use VR to encourage connectivity amongst employees by encouraging them to work together in challenging settings.

Not for profits and social enterprises can also use VR to show consumers exactly what it is they are doing and by bringing them inward, they can feel closer to the cause, thus boosting engagement in the long run.

Virtual reality can help bring remote teams together

It's commonplace for businesses today to work with freelancers, as technology enables swift and easy communication.

But, even with Slack and Skype making it easier to always be in contact, there is a certain sense of being disconnected that inevitably comes with remote teams.

Utilising virtual reality to create meeting rooms that bring teams together can help to cultivate a sense of belonging, even if your headquarters are in New York City and the rest of your team is in Bali.

Overall, it's up to each company to decide how they want to use virtual reality to benefit their business and their employees.

Fortunately, there are various ways that it can be used to both benefit professional and personal growth.