Ahead of our upcoming event, The Metaverse and the new challenges it poses to HR directors and business leaders, we will be releasing a series of insights relating to this changing landscape, delving into how HR leaders can best prepare themselves for the challenges and opportunities it provides.
 

Communication is the beating heart of human interaction and the metaverse looks like it will turn business communication on its head, and with it the HR function.

In simple terms, the Metaverse is the internet, in 3D. It allows users to interact digitally by immersing them in a simulation. Where peer-to-peer interaction is not physically possible, it creates an alternative, virtual dimension and uses avatars, virtual versions of ourselves, to carry out our actions and deeds.

There are already many examples of the Metaverse being applied to everyday life with people of all ages becoming accustomed to co-existing with friends or colleagues in virtual environments. Anyone who games will certainly know the sensation of a shared, live virtual experience – and it is estimated that there are over 3 billion active video game players in the world. One of the leading metaverse platforms, Roblox, receives a staggering 42 million visits each day. In leisure and sport, avid cyclists have been using apps like Zwift and Peloton for some time now to race friends through the Swiss Alps without leaving their garages.  

The world of retail is starting to realise that it can augment, or replace, the physical shopping experience by taking consumers to virtual stores, or allowing a shopper’s avatar to ‘try on’ products. In manufacturing and engineering, businesses are now simulating designs entering production in a virtual world before raw materials are purchased. Similar ‘concept modelling’ applications are transferrable to almost every sector. 
 

So what does the Metaverse bring to HR?
 

Communication and collaboration – The possibilities for online meetings seem endless. At Facebook, which rebranded as Meta, Horizon Workrooms enable employees to meet as avatars or dial into virtual rooms by video from anywhere. Once in a room, virtual keyboards are used to co-create ideas. 

Recruitment and Onboarding – Both of these are happening already through the Metaverse and will help to ease some of the issues we have faced through hybrid working. Remote interviewing can be more compelling and accurate on both sides, and the cultural induction process can be far more effective and rewarding by enabling new starters to meet key colleagues before they start or experience a virtual version of their working environment without stepping foot inside a factory, depot or office.

Enhanced Hybrid working - After Covid limited physical interaction and travel, enterprising employers are now looking to build more interactive remote working environments through the Metaverse - Zoom or Teams but with the sense that you are sitting with colleagues. According to research by Regus, 66% of business leaders see the Metaverse as the natural progression for hybrid working, with half exploring office space in the online world for meetings, training sessions, workshops, company conferences and even employee awards ceremonies. 

Reward and Recognition 2.0 - if used well the Metaverse could also change the way employees experience and engage with reward and recognition. We have already seen organisations pay wages or bonuses fully or partially in cryptocurrency. As the use of avatars increases, so too will the value of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which can be used to purchase or reward unique digital consumables such as fashion, art or content for those avatars. This may seem fanciful but the trend has already been set in gaming: in-game consumer spending has now overtaken the value of actual game purchases, accounting for a staggering 65 billion dollars in 2022, expected to rise to 74 billion in 2025. 
 

Challenges to consider
 

Changing the HR skillset? – Creative HR directors will definitely look to leverage immersive technology to build engaging and collaborative working environments for staff. But that is not to say they will know how to do it. If businesses and HR want to do more in this space, they may need to invest in the talent or partners/suppliers to make it happen. 

Championing creativity - There is evidence that moving meetings and workshops from a physical setting to Teams or Zoom has inhibited creativity. The Metaverse will be far more immersive but businesses will still need to take the time to tailor it to their own creative needs to convert creative thought into physical output.

Collective responsibility - This new virtual world will certainly have an impact on how we think about our actual world, so we need to learn from the mistakes of the ‘first’ internet. There should be a way to reap the benefits of communication while policing and curbing the harmful by-products of that such as bullying, trolling and scamming.

The Metaverse is happening. It is down to each of us to shape it with responsibility and use it with purpose.

If you are interested in the opportunities the Metaverse can provide to your organisation, we are releasing further insights, including blogs and whitepapers, ahead of our exclusive event on 5th July 2023. Please keep an eye on your inbox for further information, or contact sarah.lardner@innecto.com to discuss in more detail.

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