Turnover is a major challenge for companies, with costs that impact every facet of their operations: recruitment, training, lost productivity and team disruption. An effective talent management strategy can play a key role in minimizing these impacts. At the root of this phenomenon is often a mismatch between candidates' expectations and the reality of the positions on offer.
While traditional recruitment methods, such as interviews and tests, have their advantages, they often struggle to comprehensively assess candidates' technical and behavioral skills. This is where virtual reality (VR) comes into its own as an innovative solution. It's against this backdrop that virtual reality is emerging as an innovative solution to complement effective talent management.
Understanding the causes of recruitment-related turnover
1. Misaligned expectations
One of the main factors in turnover is the mismatch between the candidate's expectations and the realities of the job. A candidate may be attracted to a role on the basis of a job offer, an interview and the company's image, but once on the job they discover that the day-to-day work is very different from what they imagined. This disconnect between expectations and reality often leads to disappointment and, in many cases, premature departure.
Take the example of a junior web developer joining a start-up. During the interview, he was introduced to an innovative environment with challenging projects and learning opportunities. However, after a few weeks, he realizes that his work is essentially limited to repetitive maintenance and bug-fixing tasks, with no real scope for creativity or prospects of rapid advancement. A talent management approach would have helped to identify this discrepancy at an early stage and avoid a premature departure.
2. Lack of practical evaluation
The traditional recruitment process is often based on conventional interviews and personality tests, which don't always allow us to assess a candidate's real skills in a professional context. For example, in technical sectors such as industrial maintenance or logistics, it's difficult to judge a candidate's mastery of the job simply by asking theoretical questions.
Recruitment errors frequently occur in these cases, as standard tests do not reproduce real working conditions. This leads to recruitment based on assumptions and impressions. Integrating VR into a global talent management strategy would reduce this risk by offering realistic simulations.
The benefits of VR for recruitment
1. A better match between job and candidate
Using VR, we can better assess a candidate's suitability for the job. By immersing them in realistic scenarios, it becomes possible to test their skills on specific tasks and assess their behavior in everyday work situations. In this way, recruiters can ensure that the candidate not only possesses the required technical skills, but is also psychologically and behaviorally suited to the work environment.
This methodology, integrated into a talent management policy, guarantees better retention and reduces recruitment errors.
2. Skills assessment in real-life conditions
In addition to practical skills, VR allows us to observe candidates' behavior in stressful or collaborative situations.
For example, a recruiter can test a candidate's ability to manage conflict, work under pressure or communicate effectively within a team. This innovative approach strengthens talent management strategies by providing accurate assessments.
Companies like Walmart have been using VR since 2019 to recruit and train managers. By placing candidates in virtual environments simulating stressful situations, the company evaluates their reactions and identifies those with the desired skills. This method has enabled the company to target talent more precisely and significantly improve the recruitment process.
3. An objective, standardized environment
One of the great strengths of virtual reality in recruitment is its objective nature. By offering each candidate the same work simulation, VR eliminates the subjective biases associated with traditional assessment, which can be influenced by appearance, manner of expression, or other criteria unrelated to skills. All candidates face the same conditions, ensuring that assessment results are comparable.
What's more, VR generates precise, measurable data, such as reaction time, number of errors, quality of the decision made in a given situation, and so on. These elements enable recruiters to base their decisions on concrete data, rather than subjective impressions or assumptions.
4. An immersive experience to attract talent
In a context where companies are competing to attract the best candidates, VR stands out as an innovative and engaging tool. It allows applicants to discover their future work environment, boosting their motivation and understanding of expectations.
For example, Ubisoft uses VR to offer a virtual tour of its premises and present its corporate culture. This immersive approach helps create a strong bond with candidates from the very first stages of the recruitment process.
VR as a training and integration tool
1. Immersive training for lasting results
Beyond recruitment, VR is also proving invaluable for employee training. Companies like Renault use VR simulations to teach complex technical skills, such as battery repair or the handling of specific tools.
These immersive training courses fit perfectly into a talent management strategy focused on the evolution and enhancement of skills.
2. Easier integration for new arrivals
Onboarding is a key stage in talent management. It is the key to retaining new employees. VR offers an innovative way of familiarizing new recruits with the company's processes, tools and culture from their very first days.
For example, in the industrial sector, VR can simulate the use of machinery or safety procedures, enabling new employees to feel comfortable and operational more quickly. This reduces the stress associated with taking up a new post, and promotes better integration.
3. The importance of complementing VR with human approaches
Although virtual reality offers undeniable advantages for assessing technical skills and simulating real-life situations, it cannot replace a thorough assessment of human aspects. Soft skills, such as communication, adaptability and leadership, play a crucial role in a candidate's integration and long-term success. In addition, corporate culture and compatibility with organizational values are decisive factors that a technological simulation cannot fully assess. Last but not least, the candidate's personality, commitment and development potential require an attentive human eye, often through in-depth interviews or informal exchanges.
Thus, VR should be seen as a complementary tool at the service of recruiters, but should not replace human intuition and judgment, which are essential for building solid teams aligned with the company's vision.
Conclusion
Virtual reality is an innovative opportunity for companies looking to optimize their recruitment processes and reduce turnover. By integrating it into a global talent management strategy, companies can not only recruit accurately, but also retain their employees over the long term.
Adopting VR means investing in sustainable technological solutions that improve both recruitment quality and talent management. If you want to transform your recruitment practices, discover MIMBUS' innovative solutions, designed to meet the specific needs of every company.
