After talking about where and how VR can be used, the logical next step is taking a look at what actual difference the technology makes.
In the past, companies have utlized in-person training as their primary way of educating employees. Traditionally, this method made sense and often times there was simply no alternative to experiencing things in person. However, this approach can often be quite costly, as the employee might need to be relocated to a different location and maybe also accomodated for multiple days during the training. This becomes more of an issue the further said employees need to travel to and from the training site. This is where VR training can help cut down costs, both concerning money and time. Especially industries with complex or very specific training scenarios can benefit a lot from this, as they are proportionally much easier to simulate than meet the reqiurements in real life.1
Due to this obvious benefit, a large number of professionals are alrady shifting budgets to VR training. But the benefits are not only monetary, as there are many more soft-skill or employee comfort related advantages. For example, a study conducted by assessing the impact of VR on training shows that managers who experienced training through VR were 40% more confident to apply new skills than the other two groups, which had consumed similar content through e-learning or in traditional classrooms. The study also showed that users were 3.75 times more emotionally connected to the content than classroom learners, which resulted in them completing the training four times faster.2
Though some people may certainly prefer traditional training, this aspect of user satisfaction can not be ignored, as most users prefered virtual learning environments. The increase in attention, satisfaction and effectiveness is most likely a result of the entire experience being much more pleasant. Being able to learn at their own workplace, without having to travel hours to training facilities, meetings or workshops and maybe even having to stay there multiple days just sounds like a better alternative to most people. But of course, the two ways of teaching can always co-exist, and compliment each other in areas where they are at their best, respectively.
Sources
1. Facilitate. “Virtual Reality vs. Traditional Training Methods: Which is More Effective?” LinkedIn. Published February 15, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/virtual-reality-vs-traditional-training-methods-which
2. Future Visual. “VR vs Traditional Training & When You Should Adopt it” FutureVisual. n.d. https://www.futurevisual.com/blog/vr-training-traditional-training/
