How will Virtual Reality affect the recruiting industry?(4 min read)

With the emergence of virtual and augmented reality technologies, it seems that science fiction is losing the fictional element. The primary uses of it have so far been mostly entertainment, it has applications in the operation of companies or businesses looking to recruit especially in the Middle East where up take of new technology has been rapid across all sectors.

It can entirely change how both employees and customers interact with businesses in the Middle East. One area which can benefit massively from this is recruitment. Be that the initial stages of recruitment to employee onboarding, there are some clear benefits to be seen.

iTalent brought in their digital specialist Johnny Huntington (www.johnnyhuntington.com) to illustrate some ideas on how these new technological principles affect the hiring process.

Swift assessment and training with new employees

The assessment processes in recruitment are incredibly hit and miss, therefore candidate processing and candidate onboarding are commonplace and essential. If a UAE based company could accurately assess applicants, it would be easier for the onboarding process.

One common test that most recruiters use is a series of scenarios where the applicant has to say what they would do to resolve it. Instead of an applicant describing how they would handle a situation, they must put their money where their mouth is and react to several common on-the-job situations (virtually, of course) in monitored real-time.

One could take this even further with a day in the office or workplace being simulated where-by you can present a series of job related tasks to them, which you expect the applicant to perform on an average working day. This is more of course more intensive than a traditional interview, (were just turning up and their appearance and going through the standard interview questions are the norm).

Could this be a new way to engage with your job application candidates?

The normal recruitment process is as much about finding and attracting talent as well as assessing candidates. This is where virtual reality could play a role through more immersive applicant engagement techniques.

One example is at job fair events. Theirs is only so much that fliers, videos, and staff can do to portray the working experience. Virtual and augmented realities will allow candidates to see and interact with things, such as the office, rather than an interpretation of it.

Not only can they see the workplace, but they can also even have a go at the role in this new virtual or augmented world. Virtual reality puts the applicant right in the scenario, be that surgery or an engineering problem.

Training and onboarding new recruits with Virtual Reality

While you expect employees to have skills and knowledge for certain roles, else they would not be able to perform them very well, sometimes you want an new employee to grow into a role. There may also be an element of upskilling required regardless of their ability having augmented reality and VR can help get new recruits up to speed quickly.

Most UAE companies try to save money and time with instructional videos and courses provided online. Virtual reality allows full immersion and can provide the perfect training platform. Whether you need to stimulate the environment, so they can understand the pressures or have hands-on training on complex machines and technical parts, VR can help with this.

Thanks to the use of VR, recruits can be better oriented with their job tasks and get engaged with their job roles faster.

Discover more about iTalent and our recruitment offerings for the UAE, Saudi Arabia and broader Middle Eastern markets.

italent was founded in 2012 in the United Arab Emirates born in a challenging market, one key reason for our success is we have unparalleled commitment and determination to deliver the highest levels of recruitment and executive search.

These fundamentals allowed us to build a reputation and gain the trust and respect of some of the biggest clients and most Senior candidates in the Region. Our team is all seasoned professionals, and with over 100 years of recruitment experience in our office, we are a key part of our clients’ Talent Acquisition Strategies.

You can contact us by using our contact form or call us on +971 (0)4 421 3490 or email us at info@italent-me.com and we will be happy to help.

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