Growth Academy Asia recently launched an out-of-this-world virtual reality L&D platform that engages teams and provides instant HR feedback on individual and group performances
A key issue for heads of L&D right now is not just adopting new tech to help enhance engagement and allow programmes to be run virtually, but rather embracing new technologies that will help make a real difference to their teams. Sending staff into space might sound a bit farfetched, but throwing your teams into a completely alien environment might just be the best thing you ever do for your talent.
According to a poll conducted by Growth Asia Academy, while almost 60% of us have used a virtual reality (VR) headset before, only 24% have used VR for training purposes. And while HR is increasingly utilising a range of technologies to help facilitate L&D programmes, uptake is still relatively slow with:
- 8% having used drones, AI or VR for training;
- 28% having used gamified platforms for training on LMS;
- 41% sticking with traditional PowerPoints and video tools such as Zoom, Teams and WebEx for training.
What does this mean for the future of L&D?
Jena Davidson, Founder, Jenson8, noted, "Things have moved on a lot since a circle of chairs, a flip chart and Post-it® notes towards the adoption of tech in L&D. But if you are going to use technology as an enabler, it needs to be done smartly, and it needs to make a difference." After several years of research into the technology available and marrying this with something that talent would feel passionate about using as an L&D platform and help develop emotional intelligence, Jenson8 created a unique L&D platform based around VR.
Davidson said, "The pandemic has pushed HR to find ways of resolving remote learning, and in also to find ways of still creating intimacy at a distance, building trust and enhancing communication and collaboration. These issues are not new, and long before COVID came along, HR and L&D heads were already asking if there was really still the need to get on a plane, take two to four days out of the office, stay in a hotel, and get everyone together to be able to conduct a team-building exercise?"
Driving trust, accountability & teamwork
She added, "Pandemic or no pandemic, it's imperative for HR to do several things to ensure effective teamwork. Firstly, to create an organisation of trust. Secondly, to drive employee accountability, which is even more challenging when talent is WFH, as it's easier to become invisible and for accountability to slip a little. Thirdly, is the need to be good team players, particularly in organisations that have multiple cross-functional teams." With this in mind, J-LEAD was created to facilitate a psychologically and physically safe group environment to help HR evaluate, establish and expand team members' leadership characteristics. Davidson noted, "What makes the Jenson8 VR experiences unique is that they focus on multiplayer VR, which means HR can take a group of people from anywhere around the world, sitting at home with their headsets on, and put them into a variety of environments. And with the ability to create any environment, to be able to dial up the pressure and change key parameters to see how talent really react to that and interact with each other.
The VR platform allows people to be themselves and help them recognise their strengths and weaknesses. The platform empowers organisations to have conversations around constructive feedback based on the experience that talent has just engaged with." David Simpson, Co-Founder, Growth Academy Asia, also highlighted the importance of this, "One of the key benefits of the VR platform is that it helps talent feel psychologically safe. Feedback is given with a focus on the task rather than the person, which allows HR to comfortably initiate conversations about people's approach to tasks, both in the VR game and at work. So, rather than saying 'there's a problem here because of you', the conversation can be led much more around 'let's look at the way you approached that challenge'."
Psychometric validation
Dr Bryan Barnes, Head of Research & Assessment, Jenson8, who oversees the research projects and development of psychometrics for the group's applications and platforms, explained the validation of the VR applications like J-LEAD. He said, "The system features onboarding psychometrics based on both the Five-Factor Model and key measures of empathy and ethical leadership scales. These are then cross-referenced with the Apollo task performance—which is monitored by trained facilitators who watch the gameplay footage and use a behaviourally-anchored rating system to identify key behaviours exhibited that correspond to personality measures." He added, "There is ongoing validation and testing for things like inter-rater reliability, to ensure that multiple facilitators are consistently rating behaviours in the same way. The Apollo task's ongoing validation is a behavioural yardstick for the primary constructs measured, including direction, cohesion, task contribution, and communication. This all provides HR with meaningful psychometric feedback that they can use to better their teams and leadership."
Things have moved on a lot since a circle of chairs, a flip chart and Post-it® notes towards the adoption of tech in L&D. But if you are going to use technology as an enabler, it needs to be done smartly, and it needs to make a difference.
Instant HR metrics
The outputs from the experience are then available pretty much immediately for HR to analyse, including onboarding, psychometrics and critical metrics, as well as the option of garnering peer assessment—all in one cohesive webpage. Dr Barnes noted, "The biggest value the reporting adds is that it gives a quick snapshot and quantitative assessment of the performance of that game and provides an objective overview of how the facilitator viewed the behaviour of individual talents and the group as a whole. This allows HR to discuss this with team members, with the facilitator and even ask questions and get feedback on what was done well and what could have been done better to keep succeeding as a team."
From directing to empowering
The Apollo task presents HR with a unique and much-needed opportunity to assess how staff work together and the behaviours they display, based on what they know, versus how they then react, behave and communicate in an environment that's completely different and (quite literally alien) to them. This helps HR highlight a range of traits that perhaps are more difficult to observe in day-to-day operations. The game itself already helps put staff more as it creates an enjoyable experience that carries great subsequent value to HR in them being able to debrief and ask penetrative questions and encourage experience sharing among the team.
Through the interactive platform, team members observe how they operate differently and need to change roles and adapt according to others' needs. They learn that by empowering each other, great things can be achieved as a group and, more importantly, can take those tools back to their workplace. In this way, staff members whose natural style is one of being more directing are able to become more empowering.
So, for those in HR looking for an engaging training platform that throws staff (safely) into a completely alien environment, provides validated insights on individual and group preferences, and gives feedback on key working traits—the Apollo task via VR looks set to be a gamechanger in L&D.
Learn more here: https://growthacademyasia.com/
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
