How HR can enhance company culture in the metaverse

At the start of the pandemic, employees and business owners were shellshocked by how fast the working environment changed. However, a specific department was most affected by the new working world: human resources.

Fast forward to today, and the virtual working environment is on the verge of stepping into the metaverse. Also known as Web 3.0, the metaverse represents a collaborative and immersive virtual space where people can interact from anywhere in the world.

If this is the future of work, HR departments have their work cut out to maintain the human touch in the company culture.

In our Embracing the Metaverse Without Losing the Human Touch eBook, we discuss how HR professionals can do this.

Here’s a taster of what you can expect:

Less human interaction requires more humanity

Company culture is undoubtedly the pillar of an organisation’s productivity and profitability, employee experience and satisfaction, and workplace stability. When the work environment changes, so does the company culture, increasing the need to focus on maintaining a healthy working environment.

But how do you do this with less face-to-face connection?

Surprisingly, the answer lies in metaverse technology.

The metaverse: A tool to increase the human touch, virtually

Imagine going online and finding yourself in “the office” (and not the series starring Steve Carrell) where there are virtual chairs, desks, collaboration spaces, and conference rooms. Your colleagues are moving around and interacting, except they’re geographically in another country and using 3D avatars to communicate.

This is the metaverse concept. It looks and feels like an office environment, but you can access it anywhere without sitting in traffic or packing a lunch bag.

In this virtual world, you can still onboard new talent, collaborate with colleagues, and spontaneously interact with the people around you, effectively giving you the best of both worlds – interaction and remote working.

The role of HR in the metaverse

Regardless of where employees are, HR must ensure that emotion, trust, privacy, communication, and safety are part of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive company culture.

Access to all the interactive, training and social support needed to maintain the human touch in a meta setting is made possible through a single virtual platform.

But there’s a catch.

HR must encourage continuous employee feedback to ensure a happy work environment for the metaverse system to work.

Adapting HR to the metaverse

• Virtual interviews and simulations

Virtual interviews will go beyond a standard Zoom meeting to become a comprehensive and immersive experience where candidates can complete aptitude tests and simulations of tasks that are part of the job – like flying a plane or performing heart surgery. This lowers the risk of mistakes that could have real-life consequences while giving HR a good idea of the candidate’s capabilities.

• Simplified onboarding

Remote teams can “meet” their colleagues through virtual introductions in the business’s metaverse setting. This way, HR won’t need to allocate full working days to orientation, giving them more time to focus on pressing tasks while the new employee tours virtually.

• Training made easy

Centralised “training centres” within the metaverse give employees access to development opportunities without needing additional guidance or introduction from HR. Moreover, they can try different approaches and roles while practising and encouraging creativity and imagination.

• Policies

As with any working environment, there will be misconduct within the metaverse. That is why HR managers must comply with new and existing legislation and establish new policies to ensure confidentiality, privacy, and appropriate interactions.

• Technology and accessibility

Unsurprisingly, technology plays a vital role in the success of the metaverse. With cloud-based HR management solutions, HR professionals can automate and streamline mundane tasks and handle strategic responsibilities.

The metaverse is a new and exciting development that demands effective planning and implementation. Done right, the resulting employee experience will be worth the time and effort.