Technology plays a huge role in the HR department the way they store employee data, provide data to management, look into metrics for analysis, a tool to connect with employees or analyze employee performance. When it is used well, technology makes HR practices more efficient and get poorly used it can get in the way of managing the company’s human resources.
After more than a year (nearing two years) on a flat zoom screen, a 3D virtual office sounds more interesting. Facebook, recently announced that it’s all-in on the Metaverse. After seeing the remote work /hybrid work will stay for long big tech companies have already invested heavily in Metaverse or developing their version of 3D virtual reality. Is it the next big thing in the virtual workspace? HR needs to understand what Metaverse is, how can it help?
What is Metaverse?
The word Metaverse is made of the prefix “Meta” (meaning beyond) and the stem “Verse”(a back-formation from “universe”). The term is used to describe the concept of a future iteration of the internet,3D, virtual space linked into a perceived virtual universe.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, HR had faced numerous challenges while onboarding virtually, engaging employees so that they do not feel in secured or isolated, also while creating a culture of collaboration. A metaverse is a tool that is a great way to collaborate in a virtual work environment. Employees can interact with each other in the 3D model like one in the actual room and the other in the virtual room. Instead, of zoom call employees can interact with co-workers and clients in a virtual environment. Also, this helps to write on Meta-wall during meetings. It looks like an actual meeting room and reduces the strain of looking at the computer screen in grid form when a big team is in a meeting.
The pandemic has further accelerated organizations to be more digitalized and technology-driven. It will be a matter of time when virtual reality goes mainstream and play a bigger role in our workspace. But of course, this does not mean there won’t be challenges in adapting it and cost will be one of the major factors. There will be security worries too in this new way of working as with the new technology accessing information will be an area of concern.
Accepting and adapting to new collaboration tools needs a cultural change for employees and organization leaders. HR needs to be ready for adapting to this change. The product will connect people in the future’s hybrid and the remote-work world and this will help HR. While it took a global pandemic to encourage employees and leaders to use collaboration tools widely.
Organizations will take time to use Metaverse, but this big shift will happen in the times to come and the next generation of employees can look forward to it. It will enhance the work-from-home experience that will make employees feel part of the team without feeling isolated. Even conducting interviews will be exciting to be done in Metaverse.
It’s a good collaboration tool and HR can look into it how to use it as a tool to collaborate when the talent will be spread across the demographic location. It is a big cultural shift and will be a growing part of how the organization operates.
Author- Moumita Ray
Moumita Ray is a human resource leader with rich experience in designing & developing strategies, processes, enhancing capabilities, and building a culture to help businesses achieve their excellence.