Virtual reality (VR) training typically costs anywhere from $40,000 – $150,000 or more. Although the upfront cost may be intimidating, the long-term benefits of VR can save your organization time and money.
VR training can cut costs at your organization in the following four ways:
- Reduces turnover by providing realistic job previews
- Lessens the time needed for onboarding new employees
- Reduces safety risks
- Creates more consistent training experiences
Setting a realistic budget is of the utmost importance when it comes to planning a new training program.
Lucky enough, future learning technologies, like VR, have become affordable options for organizations looking to reimagine their existing training program and save money.
This article will dive into what VR training is, explore multiple factors that affect VR training costs, and explain four ways VR training saves organizations money.
Use VR Training To Create An Unforgettable Immersive Experience
VR training simulates any world you can imagine, enabling your learners to encounter true-to-life scenarios without facing real-world risk. By putting on a headset, learners are fully immersed in a new simulated environment where they can look around, walk up to computer-generated objects, and interact with items and people.
There are two types of VR technology: full VR and 360° VR. Full VR allows a learner to move freely in their virtual world and interact with objects, while 360° VR has a fixed viewpoint where learners can look around them and interact with their surroundings via gaze control or laser pointer.
Examples of VR for corporate training include:
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- Scenario-Based Learning — Learners refine soft skills with a first-person perspective of real-life scenarios, like customer interactions or coaching.
- Technical Skills — Teach learners how to assemble products or complicated machinery by allowing them to interact with digital recreations.
- Onboarding — Introduce new employees to your organization by showing them the ins and outs of the business, shop floor, and more from their own training room across different locations.
- Simulations — Military, aviation, and law enforcement are great examples of simulation-based training where you can work on reactions in hazardous situations.
VR is a versatile training option for any business need. Whether you need to train your employees in what to do in the event of a robbery or need to train leaders on how to properly coach their employees, VR can be an fascinating, engaging experience for learners at your organization.
HOW CAN VR TRAINING SAVE YOUR ORGANIZATION MONEY?
VR is best utilized when organizations want to prevent or eliminate a problem before it happens. An example is allowing an employee to experience a dangerous situation, like a fire emergency, and better understand how to react in the moment. This prepares them if the situation were to occur in real-life. This saves your organization time, money associated with damages, and potentially lives.
Read More: How To Use VR Training Metrics To Measure Success
VR training can range anywhere from $40,000 – $150,000 or more depending on several factors:
- Required training equipment, including headsets, and developmental personnel
- 360° VR or a full computer-generated environment
- Existing data that can be leveraged (CAD data, blueprint data, etc.)
The good news is that VR pricing has become considerably lower. Between equipment and developmental costs, VR has become a more affordable option for organizations looking for interactive, exciting training solutions.
1. VR training reduces turnover by providing realistic job previews
VR offers the unique opportunity of reducing employee turnover by providing potential employees with an interactive job preview. This means that before someone is hired for a specific role, VR can be used to experience a glimpse of their role that helps determine if they’d be a good fit.
A VR training program that previews a role sets realistic job expectations and prevents quick employee turnover for new employees. For tasks like technical training, VR is a great way to provide a job preview and prepare learners for their position.
For example, a potential warehouse employee could preview their day-to-day duties by completing a VR program for the proper stacking methods for shipment boxes. This way, the learner has a chance to preview their job duties and determine if the role is a long-term fit.
2. VR training lessens the time needed for onboarding new employees
VR training reduces the time needed for onboarding new employees. Onboarding material typically takes hours to present, but can be done in minutes with VR.
A structured onboarding program has four phases: orientation, role training, transition, and ongoing development. VR can be integrated into all four stages of onboarding and take an otherwise unengaging, traditional program to the next level through interactive activities.
eBook Download: 5 Ways To Integrate Technology Into Your Onboarding Program
For example, organizations can purchase cardboard VR headsets that double as swag and success -builders. They cost $7-$12 a set and can be customized with an organization’s brand.
You can use cardboard VR headsets for onboarding through the following four ways:
- Showcase specific workspaces, like a sales or warehouse floor
- Have employees learn about the company’s story through VR scenarios
- Train new hires in role-specific skills, like providing feedback
- Show your new hires different locations without having to travel
3. VR training reduces safety risks
A major advantage of VR training is that it removes learners from potentially dangerous environments, like a shop floor or construction site. VR can recreate any real world environment where learners can take risks, learn from mistakes, and repeat activities.
VR training allows learners to interact with and perform processes on simulated versions of large, expensive equipment. For example, warehouse employees could practice operating a forklift. In this example, learners can practice technical work and make mistakes without facing costly consequences.
Another example is a driving simulation where learners can sit behind the wheel of a delivery truck. Learners are tasked with turning on the vehicle, adjusting mirrors, and steering the truck appropriately to avoid collisions and pedestrians. This full VR experience takes an otherwise dangerous, potentially costly learning program and makes it risk-free without sacrificing quality.
4. VR training creates more consistent training experiences
Consistency across training experiences is key to ensuring every employee is adequately instructed and prepared for their job. VR also ensures consistency in task completion across locations and training facilitators. VR training creates more consistent training experiences because every learner completes the same virtual experience with the same material.
Consider the following two examples:
- 360° VR for Customer Service Training — By using 360° VR to recreate customer interactions, employees can learn how to manage interactions with customers the same way across different store locations. Plus, 360° VR uses actual actors that can demonstrate real emotions and facial expressions.
- Full VR for Technical Training — In this hands-on VR experience, learners can practice stacking pallets. They can view informational text boxes identifying key information, watch videos explaining regulations, and correct improper placement or orientation.
These two examples listed above have the additional benefit of being accessed at any time from anywhere however many times a learner needs. When each of your learners completes the same virtual experience, you can ensure that everyone has the knowledge needed to perform the essential functions of their role correctly.
LEVEL UP AND SAVE BIG WITH VR TRAINING!
As we’ve discussed, VR training can save your organization money by preventing costly problems before they occur. High upfront costs may be intimidating, but the good news is that VR costs have become more affordable and are worth it in both the short and long term.
Ready to learn more about VR training and all it has to offer? Reach out to one of our experts today or feel free to browse more of our resources on everything you need to know about VR.
