I n 2017, Walmart began using virtual reality headsets at its training centers, Walmart Academies, and the company is using the technology to improve employee experience, better assess employee skills, and introduce new ways to train staff. Its training programs promote morale and self-confidence by concise and effective real-world experiences for employees.
The technology offers employees the ability to be trained in real-world environments and simulated situations. Walmart has also used the technology to identify employees for leadership positions. according to the Vice President of learning at Walmart, Virtual Reality makes a lot of sense in retail when stores are open 24 hours a day. Walmart uses Virtual Reality in a variety of ways against this backdrop, such as to prepare employees for the hustle and bustle of customers pouring into stores on Black Friday and to assess how workers react to angry shoppers.
VR creates exactly the environment and the situation in which employees find themselves. this means retailers can keep their best staff on the ground and pull out of training. retail VR training is more engaged and helps employees retain more information that can be put into practice before they hit the ground.
„The larger the number of employees who undergo VR training, the more cost-effective it becomes„
Some companies have incorporated this type of retail training into their practices, while others have only scratched the surface. at Lowes, more than 400 employees were trained in VR, and 90 percent reported that VR training helped them serve customers better. people who were trained to use VR reported that it helped them to perform their tasks better and learn new ways to deal with difficult situations.
Virtual Reality is particularly effective when it comes to enabling successful group-dynamic training scenarios in which employees on the ground and employees in the house have to solve problems together in time-sensitive and stressful times. On the other hand, using VR to train employees is an efficient way to guide employees through the required onboarding training without wasting a lot of time for employees who stay on short notice. New employees need to be familiarized with best practices as soon as possible and current employees need to be trained, while retailers introduce new technologies and develop best practices.
New employees on the front line can be intimidated on the first day and overwhelmed with operations, logistics, and customer operations. by creating lifelike simulations of the store, they can build situational awareness and trust in employees when they encounter customers. This creates a dilemma for retailers seeking to bring new workers up to date through hands-on training. VR training solution is designed to give employees a physical feel for the situation through an immersive version of a normal computer-aided course. Employers can then use the results to teach a person and improve their skills.
Through the use of VR training, retailers can simulate the practice so that employees have confidence in their skills and devices when they enter the store. VR can help retailers make the most of technological innovation and gain a competitive advantage through fast and consistent rollouts. Comprehensive learning that retailers capture real-life experiences on retail floors and checkout lines full of customers in chaos and stress helps employees be better prepared to interrupt business.
„Research by PWC found that employees learned soft skills four times faster in class, were 27.5% more confident in applying skills, and focused 4x more on their e-learning colleagues”
Virtual reality is not only effective in scaling training programs but also puts trainees in difficult and unique situations with consequences for the real world. Employers hire employees with situations and practices for dealing with customers and other situations specific to their company.
Realistic job previews can help retailers recruit and retain informed and engaged employees. For sales training, learning security procedures and preparing for the trading environment is less stressful as trainees become more familiar with transactions and customer interactions. Activities such as a tour of the sales area and meeting with the team are ideal for getting to know the company.
VR is not only effective in training employees but also cost-effective in personal training, which involves multiple users and enables a higher quality of training. Pioneer adaptive learning combines VR’s boundless scalable potential with the latest approaches in applied neuroscience to pilot tailored retail programs to develop skills ranging from empathy, diversity, and inclusion development to customer service, sales, machine operations, and order processing. The combined solution creates an immersive, realistic and personalized training experience that enables pioneers to interpret physiological data and predict learning needs in real-time.
