Virtual Reality Has Arrived. For Real.
Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to change so much of what we do and how we do it. There is no longer any doubt that VR will realize this potential. One look at the market projections and trends makes this clear: VR is a USD 32.1 billion dollar market in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 58.1 billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 12.60% from 2023 to 2028.
Moving with the speed of technology, VR has become an invaluable asset for many industries and sectors.
VR is Much More than Gaming
Gaming may be the first driver behind the rise and growth of VR, but the applications go far beyond entertainment. Automotive engineers use VR to test designs before creating any physical prototype to speed innovation and lower cost. Retail, especially fashion retail, is using VR to give customers the ability to see what clothes will look like on them without being in-store and trying on a physical product.
Then there’s training. Doctors can experience the operating room in a virtual environment, the military can learn complex equipment, and companies can train employees on almost any skill, including soft skills.
Simply put, the capability of VR to simulate the physical world or create physical-world scenarios means that VR has the ability to teach people physical-world skills in a safe, engaging way that’s also cost effective.
Brands Currently Using VR to Train Employees
VR Training is Now For All Brands & Companies
It may seem like VR training only makes sense for the really big brands—as our brand list above has some of the biggest brands in the world. Keep in mind, however, that these are brands that use VR for training right now, and so have had VR planning, strategizing and testing for at least several years already. These brands are the leaders in the space.
So while big brands may be ahead of the game, every company should have, or be putting plans in place to have, VR in their strategic roadmap. With 51% of companies reporting that they are in the process of integrating VR into their strategy or have already built VR into at least one line of their business, we can see that wide-spead adoption is underway.
If your brand does not yet have a VR strategy, the time is definitely now.
VR Training for Credit Unions
Credit Unions can benefit greatly from a VR training program. The ability for VR to create physical-world scenarios in an engaging way, helps people learn faster and retain the information longer. That’s true of even soft-skills that are so valuable for credit union teams to help deliver the best possible member experience. In fact, a PwC study showed that VR training for soft skills was 3-4 times faster than traditional methods.
Let’s break down the benefits of VR training, specifically for credit unions.
An Immersive Learning Experience
VR provides team members a realistic environment that is much more open than traditional training. Aequilibrium VR partner, Motive.io, for example, delivers open-world training where employees are free to act in any way they choose rather than predetermined choices that dictate actions—just like they can in real life. This immersiveness means training is much more valuable and gives much more insight into how ready people are for the real life tasks.
This open-world training is particularly relevant for soft skills training as team members can react in any way they feel appropriate. The immersion quality of life-like characters also helps your team more easily interact with the virtual characters in a real way.
The Safety of a Controlled Virtual Environment
Since the VR environment isn’t ‘real’ it’s quite easy to see how VR training is much safer for physically dangerous situations. For businesses like credit unions, however, the safety aspect of VR training is just as powerful, but a little more subtle.
With conversational AI and an open-world approach, employees can have difficult interactions and conversations in an environment that is judgement-free and emotionally safe, yet incredibly lifelike. This emotional safety allows team members to experiment and learn more comfortably, and more quickly, with their own voice.
VR Training is Cost-Effective
VR training can have significant up-front cost with planning, testing, consultation, development support and hardware purchase all springing immediately to mind. These costs, however, are more than offset by the long-term savings and efficiencies.
VR training requires no travel and modules can be completed without the need for other people—which is a major advantage when we consider soft skills. Your team members can rapidly learn and retain important soft skills with individual training completing more modules than ever possible previously.
VR is Ready for Business. Is Your Credit Union Ready?
VR Training is no longer the future—it is impacting the present day operations of many businesses and the benefits and value are becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
51% of companies are in the process of integrating VR or have already done so. The reasons why are clear:
- Faster training with better retention
- Immersive learning that is perfectly suited to soft skill training
- Virtual environments are completely safe and controlled, including emotional safety for soft skill training
- VR training is cost effective, even though there is an initial cost
- Personalized training that can be tailored to your team members unique needs
At Aequilbrium, we’ve believed in the power of VR from the beginning. We’re years ahead of the curve and have partnered with industry leaders Motive.io and Unity to deliver best-in-class VR training.
Our background and experience working with many credit unions’ digital transformation makes us the ideal credit union VR training partner. In fact, we’ve recently kicked off with Ent Credit Union to deliver VR training to their team members.
Inspired by the innovative possibilities of XR and real-time 3D content? Reach out to AEQ for a free, personalized consultation. Our experts are ready to help you navigate and leverage the latest technologies for your unique needs, whether in immersive training, education, or entertainment. Let’s transform your ideas into cutting-edge realities. Contact us today to begin your journey into the future of technology.
