There are several methods of VR recruitment, which are designed to assess different aspects of a candidate’s abilities. One of which is immersive job previews, where candidates are immersed in simulations of a typical day on the job. This allows for the candidate to generate an understanding of the job at hand, and whether it is a suitable role for themselves. Additionally, VR can be used for skill assessments, allowing candidates to perform tasks that directly relate to the job. These tasks can be technical, from coding to mechanical skills, providing a more accurate assessment of their abilities. Furthermore, due to VR being able to recreate workplace scenarios, behavioural assessments can be undertaken, This allows for candidates to react and respond as they would in real life to specific scenarios, providing valuable insights into their problem-solving, communication, and teamwork abilities. Finally, cultural fit assessments can also be integrated, with simulated environments being used to assess how well a candidate aligns with the company’s culture. This can help to ensure that new candidates will integrate smoothly into the organisation.

Soft Skills Assessment

Virtual Reality (VR) is revolutionising the landscape of soft skills assessment within the realm of VR recruitment. Unlike traditional methods, VR offers an immersive and dynamic environment where candidates can authentically demonstrate their interpersonal skills, leadership qualities, and emotional intelligence (Dangui, 2019). Through VR simulations integrated into the recruitment process, candidates engage in lifelike scenarios that mirror real-world challenges, allowing recruiters to observe and evaluate their responses in a contextually rich setting. This approach not only provides a more accurate reflection of a candidate’s soft skills but also enhances the overall VR recruitment experience. From teamwork exercises to customer interactions, virtual reality for recruiting opens up new avenues for assessing intangible qualities crucial for success in the modern workplace.

Technical Competence

In the dynamic landscape of VR recruitment, assessing technical competence takes on a new dimension. VR offers an immersive platform for candidates to showcase their technical prowess in a simulated environment, providing a hands-on demonstration of their skills. From coding challenges to complex problem-solving scenarios, candidates engage with tasks that directly relate to the job they’re applying for. This not only provides a more accurate assessment but also enhances the recruitment experience. Notable companies, such as Deutsche Bahn HR have embraced VR for recruiting, which in turn has increased apprentice applications for complex roles (Deutsche Bahn, n.d.). This innovative approach not only streamlines the hiring process but also ensures that candidates’ technical abilities align seamlessly with the demands of the position.

Stress and Pressure Handling

With VR technology becoming more innovative, the assessment of stress and pressure handling has also taken a step into the virtual realm. To assess stress and pressure handling, VR provides a simulated environment where candidates can authentically respond to high-pressure situations, allowing recruiters valuable insights into the candidate’s composure and decision-making under stress. These immersive scenarios mirror real-world challenges, with candidates navigating through time-sensitive tasks, crisis management situations, or intense decision points, which in turn enhances the recruitment process.

Why is VR Recruitment more Advantageous than Traditional Recruitment Strategies?

Conventional recruitment methods are well-trodden paths, primarily revolving around resumes, interviews, and references. Yet, despite the rigorous processes, they often fail to paint a comprehensive picture of the candidate. Resumes, while they do offer a structured overview of qualifications and experiences, can be subject to embellishment. Interviews, on the other hand, can sometimes be misleading, as nervousness or overconfidence might cloud a candidate’s true abilities, as well as interview biases occurring (Salazar, 1990). VR recruiting can overcome this by objectively assessing abilities through performance-based challenges, which prevents demographic biases, and in turn, fosters a more inclusive and diverse hiring process (Khandelwal & Upadhyay, 2021). Moreover, reference checks are limited by what the referee chooses to disclose. The result is a gap between what the candidate appears to be on paper and what they are in action, and that is where VR recruitment bridges the divide. Recruiting with virtual reality offers a glimpse into a candidate’s real-world skills, competencies, and behaviour through the use of various virtual scenarios and environments.

Additionally, these remote VR evaluations eliminate the costs of candidate travel and accommodations, with American companies spending an average of $4,700 on costs per candidate hire (Navarra, 2022). VR recruiting can reduce expenses while accelerating hiring by reducing time spent coordinating schedules. This allows for maximisation of recourses and recruiting efficiency, with automated analytics saving time and analysing results.

Furthermore, VR provides a novel, futuristic element which allows candidates to experience their potential job roles through an interactive and captivating platform. Through VR, candidates are able to display their skills and abilities in a hands-on manner, which contributes to a positive e and enriching candidate experience. This dynamic engagement not only captures the candidate’s attention but also offers a unique and memorable recruitment opportunity. Furthermore, this not only provides a positive candidate experience but reflects the organisation’s commitment to embracing technological advancements, which is of importance in this fast-paced, modern world.

Is VR the Future of Recruiting?

As VR technology advances rapidly, its influence on recruiting is expanding exponentially. Projections foresee the global VR market surging from $4.8 billion in 2021 to surpass $12 billion by 2024 (Alsop, 2023). Furthermore, pioneering companies, such as Walmart, report enhanced training outcomes with VR, noting a 10-15% reduction in training time (Incao, 2018). Similarly, Deutsche Bahn credits VR for increased apprentice applications, underscoring its tangible impact (Deutsche Bahn, n.d.). Major corporations, including Goldman Sachs, UPS, and BMW, are actively developing and implementing VR training, signifying a pivotal shift in talent acquisition strategies. The global adoption of VR implies that recruiters may soon engage in metaverse evaluations, highlighting VR’s transformative role in recruitment.

Which Companies are already using VR Recruitment?

The adoption of VR recruitment has been steadily growing, with some companies already beginning to embrace this transformative approach. These companies include:

  • Lloyds Banking Group: Lloyds incorporated VR recruitment for customer service positions, where candidates navigate a virtual bank, requiring them to interact with customers and deal with inquiries.
  • KFC: This fast-food giant uses a VR game in order to assess candidates for cook positions. This tailor-made assessment tool evaluates a candidate’s ability to multitask and remain calm under pressure.
  • PwC: The global professional services firm utilises VR to assess candidates’ problem-solving skills by presenting them with a series of challenges. This allows for recruiters to observe their responses, leading to a streamlined hiring process and improved quality of hires.
  • BNP Paribas: This banking company has embraced the metaverse and uses an interview simulator for VR recruitment.

VR Recruitment and VRE

Here at VRE, we acknowledge that VR recruitment stands as a transformative force in the field of talent acquisition. It goes beyond the limitations of traditional recruitment methods, offering a dynamic platform to assess a candidate’s genuine skills, adaptability, and soft skills in a practical and immersive environment. This innovative approach is not only cost and time-efficient but also enhances the overall candidate experience (Dangui, 2019). VR recruitment enables us to bridge the gap between a candidate’s resume and their true potential, making it a valuable and promising advancement in the quest for the perfect hire. Due to this, VRE offers and facilitates the necessary VR recruitment services and tools required in order to implement bespoke, tailor-made VR recruitment experiences.