The Evolution of Employee Onboarding with AR and VR
The journey of employee onboarding has evolved from manual and digital processes to the immersive realms of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). Initially, onboarding was paper-based and focused on face-to-face interaction, transitioning to digital mediums with the advent of online technologies. However, these new digital methods often fell short in engagement and interactive learning, leaving employees isolated and lacking critical knowledge. AR and VR technologies are addressing this issue by offering interactive, collaborative, and real-world onboarding scenarios for new hires, whether for virtual tours, safety training, or technical know-how.
Documents and slide decks are now being replaced by 360 images, 360 videos, and even interactive 3D models, easily viewable on any phone, tablet, PC, or VR/AR headset. These technologies foster a two-way interactive experience, enabling new hires to interact with the content, ask questions, and receive instant feedback, thus creating a conducive learning environment.
The transition to AR and VR in onboarding isn’t a mere trend, but a substantial stride towards enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the onboarding process. By addressing the core challenges of traditional onboarding, AR and VR have not only made the process more engaging but have significantly upgraded the onboarding experience, ensuring that new hires are well-equipped and confident as they step into their new roles.
Common Employee Onboarding Challenges Solved with AR and VR
The traditional onboarding process often presents numerous challenges that can hinder the smooth transition of new hires into their roles. AR and VR technologies offer innovative solutions to many of these hurdles, ensuring a more efficient and engaging onboarding experience. Here’s how AR and VR tackle common onboarding challenges:
VR and AR Throughout the Employee Onboarding Process
Virtual Tours
- Facility Walkthrough: virtually guide employees through offices, factories, or other facilities in an interactive and engaging process to ensure productivity from day one.
- Team Integration: enable new hires to meet their future team in an interactive and immersive virtual environment.
Safety and Security
- Building Security: leverage VR technology to teach new employees on proper sign-in procedures, fire evacuation and protocols, electrical safety, etc.
- Equipment Safety: create realistic and interactive training scenarios for equipment handling, lockout-tagout, proper PPE, and more.
Technical Know-How
- Technician Onboarding: use VR and AR technologies to virtually train new technicians on proper repair and maintenance procedures with step-by-step instructions.
- Manufacturing Processes: Train manufacturing personnel in equipment handling, machine operations, and product inspections.
Skills Assessment
- Candidate Assessment: provide a realistic, contextual skill assessment to verify that the prospective employee is a good fit.
- Training Evaluation: make the onboarding process more efficient by using AR and VR technology to assess the skill set of new hires and adapting the training content to meet their specific needs.
Sales and Marketing
- Product Knowledge: onboard sales & marketing teams with interactive and engaging virtual product demonstrations and information, empowering them to start selling with confidence.
- Customer Communication: train new hires on how to effectively communicate technical information and handle objections.
The ROI of AR and VR Onboarding
Incorporating AR and VR into your onboarding process is not only effective but also cost-efficient. Businesses that adopt AR and VR onboarding report significant improvements in training outcomes, training costs, and employee retention. The investment in AR and VR technology pays off by creating a more engaged and productive workforce at lower cost, reducing the rate of employee turnover and consequently lowering related expenses such as hiring and training costs.
What Sets iQ3Connect Apart?
iQ3Connect’s platform is designed to empower anyone to cost-effectively build & deploy AR and VR experiences for employee onboarding, without programming knowledge or modeling expertise.
Web-Based
No software or application downloads required, ensuring a seamless experience throughout the onboarding process, from experience creation to end-user access and performance monitoring. All you need is a web browser.
Immersive Collaboration
In addition to single-user, on-demand AR and VR onboarding experiences, iQ3Connect’s platform supports multi-user, instructor-led training. Transcend geographical barriers and enable real-time remote interactive learning.
No-Code Authoring Tools
Build AR and VR experiences as easily as a slide deck. Our platform includes no-code authoring tools, empowering your team to create compelling immersive experiences without coding expertise, facilitating a more efficient creation process and enabling rapid customization of training modules.
Access Anywhere, Anytime
Our web-based platform (either on-premise or in the cloud) ensures that the onboarding experiences are accessible from anywhere, at any time, without sacrificing user or data security. Collaborate with your global team or train on your own.
AR and VR Onboarding for Engaged Learning
The key to effective onboarding is engagement and retention, and this is where AR and VR truly excel. By providing realistic, immersive, and interactive experiences, these technologies ensure that the learning process is not only engaging but also deeply impactful. Employees are more likely to remember and apply the lessons learned in an AR/VR setting due to the contextual nature of the training. Testimonials from various industries, including manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, and energy, underscore the effectiveness of AR and VR in enhancing learning outcomes and ensuring a more productive workforce.
Trusted By
C M Venkat
Vice President, Aker Solutions
We see this platform being used as a strong review and training tool for our engineers as it provides an in-depth, real-life perspective of the products they engineer and design.
Dennis (Chip) Herrick
Sr. Information Technologies Specialist, Bosch
I have never seen anything as easy as iQ3Connect for brining raw CAD into virtual reality or augmented reality.
Jeffrey Jacobson
XR Project Manager, Boston Children’s Hospital
I can’t imagine an easier way to launch a collaborative workspace in VR. With iQ3Connect, I just click on a link, and I’m there.
Joe Strelow
President, AVL Power Systems
iQ3 is as easy as Zoom! You click on your calendar invite and you are taken straight into the VR workspace along with your colleagues. You are up and running with your design review, instantly. It is VR on-demand.
Indian Aerospace Company
Principal Scientist
We have been using iQ3Connect extensively for VR design evaluations and maintenance ergonomics on our cockpit designs. We initially started with a more complex system using trackers and gloves, but have been able to use the much leaner system from iQ3Connect to achieve the same results at much lower cost.
BJ Foster
CEO, PRR
I have seen iQ3Connect in action, and its application is endless. iQ3Connect will change your view of the virtual world!
Device & Software Compatibility
Use Any Device
iQ3Connect prioritizes the accessibility of immersive experiences, ensuring that even those without an AR or VR device still have access to the critical onboarding content. Every experience created with our platform can be used with any AR, VR, PC, tablet, or mobile device, ensuring a hassle-free experience for anyone.
Seamless Content Import
Our platform supports direct import of 3D CAD and point cloud files, eliminating the need for modeling expertise or model simplifications. We not only automate the process but also ensure that the integrity and precision of the original data is maintained without performance deterioration. In addition, 360 videos and images, documents, images, videos, and audio files can all be imported to create training experiences.
Enterprise Integration
Seamlessly integrate AR and VR experiences into your everyday processes. Our platform can connect to single sign-on, learning management systems, access control lists, product lifecycle management tools, and more, ensuring data security and interoperability. Moreover, our open web-based platform makes it easy and cost-effective to integrate into any other business tool or processes.
Ready to revolutionize your onboarding process? Discover the world of possibilities with iQ3Connect’s AR and VR platform.
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