When you think about virtual reality, you may envision adults or kids laying around the house being entertained by three-dimensional movies, games or other immersive experiences. While this is one of the more common uses of virtual reality, this technology has numerous applications that are more functional and practical. In fact, many businesses have adopted virtual reality technology to improve different processes or functions. These are some of the top ways virtual reality is being used in business environments today.
Virtual Showrooms and Product Demonstrations
At one time, it was necessary for customers to visit a showroom or store in person to browse through inventory and to see products on display. With the Internet, online images or even videos have been used to assist with an online buying decision. However, online photos and videos often fail to fully capture the full user experience, and some people still feel more comfortable seeing the product in person before making a buying decision. A well-designed virtual reality experience can be used to better demonstrate products and even to immerse customers in a virtual showroom to overcome some hurdles associated with the online buying decision. This has helped some companies to bolster sales and even expand into new markets.
Real Estate Design and Sales
Virtual reality also is increasingly being used in the real estate world. There are now virtual reality home tours available for listings, and these can help agents garner more interest in properties that otherwise may have sat on the market for weeks or more because they did not photograph well. They may also decrease the number of live tours that the homeowner must endure before an offer is made on the home. The interior design world is also benefiting from virtual reality. It can be difficult for homeowners to envision how different changes will affect their home when renovating their property, and virtual reality makes it easier for homeowners to determine the right design and decorating efforts for their space.
The Hiring Process
Phone interviews have commonly been used as a type of pre-interview screening process. Most phone interviews are rudimentary or basic, and they are often completed within five to ten minutes. They lack personalization and do not give the hiring manager an opportunity to really get to know the individual in a more personal way. Virtual reality is now being used to by HR professionals to interview different candidates as well as to see how individuals may react in a real-life situation that they may actually be exposed to on the job. This may save time during the interview process and may help the hiring manager to make a more informed decision.
Employee Training
Regardless of the size of a company, additional training and education of the entire team may be necessary at some point. Virtual reality and related technology enables businesses to train their employees on-site without having to pay for everyone to travel to another city for training. It also may facilitate the learning process and provide a more realistic scenario that employees can learn from. It is imperative that a professional team is properly trained and has the right combination of skills to get a job done more effectively, and virtual reality training solutions are increasingly being used for this purpose in a wide range of industries.
Virtual reality likely will continue to be used heavily as a form of entertainment for movies and games for all ages in the years to come. However, this immersive experience also has numerous applications in the business world. Regardless of the industry that you work in, you may find multiple reasons to introduce virtual reality technology into your operations today.