Metaverse is the new buzzword that has been making a lot of noise recently. From social media platforms to workplaces- the waves of this new technology are touching everyone around the world.
Previously metaverse was just part of the gaming industry and people used it as nothing more than a means of entertainment. But today it is more than that, from hosting virtual weddings to conducting virtual job fairs, the scope of the metaverse is unlimited.
But do you think that metaverse has the potential to transform HR? I think it has. According to the World Economic Forum, approximately 58% of companies will embrace this technology over the next 2 years. But before diving deep into its application in the workplace, let’s first understand what does it mean by metaverse?
Understanding the basics
Metaverse refers to virtual reality where people can come together and communicate, work, attend meetings, go on adventures, and even host their weddings from anywhere in the world. This is the most advanced and interactive version of social networking platforms.
However, its usage is not just limited to communication, it can also be used for work, shopping, education, or entertainment. So basically, a metaverse is a virtual man-made world in which humans are replaced by avatars and digital depictions thus enabling them to gather and connect in the same place without any geographical constraints.
Let’s now understand the impact of the metaverse on HR. We all know that the pandemic has transformed the way we hire, work, and engage with our employees. With almost every organization transitioning to the work from home mode or hybrid workplace model, it became difficult to connect and collaborate with the employees. Metaverse is solving that problem.
I think metaverse has the potential to bring the human element back to HR processes that got lost somewhere during remote working. Apart from that, metaverse can have a significant impact on some principal HR functions and some of them are as follows:
Recruitment and Onboarding
Remote hiring has been really challenging for recruiters. With the lack of physical interaction, limited gestures, and measured cadence, they find it difficult to know employee behaviors and judge their responses or attitudes.
Recruiters can overcome this challenge with the help of metaverse which enables them to not only interact but also notice any changes in the applicant’s behavior during the hiring process. Apart from that, employees can also have a virtual tour of the workplace to get familiar with the work environment.
Furthermore, various organizations conduct virtual recruitment fairs to engage potential candidates. These fairs also give candidates the opportunity to explore their options. Metaverse also helps organizations offer a memorable onboarding experience to their new hires by introducing them to their peers in a more immersive way.
Employee Engagement
Employee engagement has become elusive in a work-from-home environment. To solve this problem, organizations are reimagining their remote work collaboration with the use of metaverse.
Metaverse allows you to make communication and collaborations much more interactive with the help of hands-free devices and avatars. This allows employees to connect with their peers and have those water-cooler conversations that were profoundly missed by the employees.
Moreover, employees can join in a meeting and get in touch with their bosses, seniors, or peers from anywhere in the world. The metaverse technology also allows organizations to use virtual keywords to brainstorm ideas, share and display documents, and even conduct fun-Friday activities.
Learning and Development
Metaverse plays an integral role in upskilling candidates and fulfilling training needs in organizations. The virtual reality experience can help employees train and educate employees by offering them perpetual training opportunities in a more flexible and convenient manner.
The application allows employees to develop new skills by learning from real, tangible, and relatable examples. Metaverse technology also reduces the time in providing training thus helping employees and employers grow together.
The road to adopting the metaverse is surely going to be bumpy!
The use of metaverse in the workplace is one of the most important breakthroughs that has happened recently. However, this insanely unique technology comes with its own set of challenges. Data security and privacy are some of the concerns that arise with the use of metaverse technology.
Protecting data from getting exposed and keeping a tab on the processing of sensitive employee and company data should be a major responsibility for HRs. The other thing that is going to suffer at the hands of this new technology is employees’ health and wellness.
Headaches, teary eyes, back pain or neck pain, and stress when using bulky VR headsets are some of the health implications caused by wearing heavy VR head stations. Furthermore, the costs of adopting the tools to use this newly emerged technology are quite high and not all companies would be able to afford it.
Final Words
Well, for now, businesses don’t have a well-paved path for implementing metaverse technology in their systems. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. HR needs to be a little careful and implement the technology.
They need to ensure the security and privacy of their employees by keeping themselves updated with the workplace safety laws that govern these virtual spaces.
Organizations can win this newly emerging technology with diligent planning, strategizing, keeping a tab on security measures, and providing training to both employees and HR managers.
