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<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\nArticle: Is VR the Future of Employee Training Programs? Bank of America Thinks So<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Published on October 28, 2021 – By Emma Ascott<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Within the article, links to press release, Bank of America is First in Industry to Launch Virtual Reality Training Program in Nearly 4,300 Financial Centers<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n by Bank of America (BoA) dated October 7, 2021 here: https:\/\/newsroom.bankofamerica.com\/content\/newsroom\/press-releases\/2021\/10\/bank-of-america-is-first-in-industry-to-launch-virtual-reality-t.html <\/a><\/span><\/span> I find 3 errors:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 1. The bolded statements right at the top of the allwork article version allude to “executive summary” or “highlights”. But look at that middle one. Remember, when you do something to get your audience\u2019s attention (97%!), you better deserve it. In this case, BoA really does not.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 2. The general hand-wave effect of statements made throughout are signalling a weak foundation. I worry about this. Who sold what snake oil to which BoA leader for this entire project to proceed.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 3. A lack of needs analysis might have happened, but claiming that a \u201clack of evidence\u201d is evidence for something is shaky ground. Nonetheless, BoA leaves a few hints. (“<\/span>We are constantly seeking ways to implement advanced technologies that Bonus points: the headset are rolling out at 4,300 locations but called \u201cVR\u201d—- which is funny because you could roll out VR at an infinite number of locations with zero headsets (cough WebXR)…but I guess that memo didn\u2019t make it around.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span>Immediately one\u2019s hackles are raised by bullet #2.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I mean. really. Here, I fixed it for you:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I must credit the “hand wave” phrase to my former colleague Gideon Weinstein when we used to do Master’s Degree Oral Defense Examinations together. He’d say “We don’t allow ‘hand wave’ explanations in math.” This means that you can’t get to a formula, for example, and instead of saying “we just solve it from here”. You MUST show your work and that includes showing every step<\/i> of the solution. No hand waving as if it is so obvious that we don’t need to explain it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So this article does an uncomfortable amount of hand waving. It’s tucked in with weak evidence statements which I also indicate.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc4b <\/b>= hand wave evidence<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \ud83d\ude14 <\/b>= weak evidence, could be improved with more specificity<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Whether helping a client through a difficult moment or picking up on cues from a person who didn\u2019t even realize they needed help understanding their accounts, the life-like <\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span>\ud83d\udc4b <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>simulations made possible by <\/b><\/span>VR<\/b> are highly effective<\/b><\/span>\ud83d\udc4b<\/b> <\/b>at helping employees <\/b><\/span>\ud83d\ude14 <\/b><\/span><\/b>build and retain <\/b><\/span>\ud83d\ude14<\/b><\/span><\/b> new skills and <\/b><\/span>\ud83d\ude14<\/b><\/span> <\/b><\/b>better connect <\/span>\ud83d\ude14 <\/b><\/span>with clients in real life. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Currently, we offer five training modules but are slated to roll out a total of 20 different VR simulations that will help our teammates practice a wide range of skills such as <\/b><\/span>\ud83d\ude14<\/b><\/span><\/b>strengthening and deepening relationships<\/span>\ud83d\ude14 <\/b><\/span> with clients and <\/b><\/span>\ud83d\ude14 <\/b><\/span><\/b><\/span>listening and responding with empathy. <\/b><\/span>\ud83d\ude14<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>We began piloting the VR program in 2019 and <\/b><\/span>\ud83d\ude14<\/b><\/span><\/b>after seeing its success in driving employee engagement and knowledge retention, <\/b><\/span>\ud83d\ude14 <\/b><\/span><\/b> [<\/span>notice that they *could* tell you more about this success but they do NOT. So there are no claims of “better” here. We could guess that the VR learning was “equal” to other forms of learning.]<\/span> <\/b><\/span><\/b><\/span>\ud83d\udc4b<\/b> it became clear<\/b><\/span>\ud83d\udc4b<\/b> <\/b>this was a program we wanted to extend to more employees. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc4b<\/b>We know VR is a highly effective<\/b>,<\/span>\ud83d\udc4b<\/b> immersive learning technology that <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc4bVR has shown early promise for replicating real-life scenarios <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n At Bank of America, we pride ourselves on being a great place to work,
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
\noffer better solutions for our teammates and our clients. “)
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1. You got my attention, bold bullet<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n
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2. Hand Wave Statements<\/b> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n
\nhelps teammates to be <\/span>\ud83d\ude14 <\/b><\/span>more engaged <\/span>\ud83d\ude14<\/b><\/span>, [“more engaged” is really questionable wording for VR, it often seems to mean “we cut off all vision except what we want you to see and we dominate the sounds with what we want you to hear, so you are forced to pay more attention to the training.” See more engaged from the PwC report for further explanation<\/a> of how this is problematic.] \ud83d\ude14 <\/b><\/span>better prepared <\/span>\ud83d\ude14 <\/b><\/span> [what is “better”?] \ud83d\udc4d <\/span>and develop new skills more quickly. \ud83d\udc4d [yes, agreed, quickly is the right word here IF there are enough headsets] It\u2019s an <\/span>\ud83d\udc4b<\/b><\/b><\/span> intuitive tool <\/span>\ud83d\udc4b<\/b><\/b><\/span> [would the 12 think so?] \ud83d\udc4d <\/span>that allows teammates to practice client interactions on their own time and at their own speed in a realistic environment. <\/span>\ud83d\udc4d<\/span> [OK, that appears to be true!]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nand\u202fgiving our teammates meaningful practice and confidence.<\/b> \ud83d\udc4bFollowing a
\n successful pilot with 400 employees, 97% of the participants felt more
\ncomfortable performing their tasks after going through the simulations.
\nBy giving employees the tools to be more prepared and confident in their
\n roles, <\/b>\ud83d\ude14 <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/b>we can create a better overall experience for\u202fboth\u202four employees
\n and our clients.\ud83d\ude14<\/span><\/span>\u202f\u202f [that’s a reaching statement, but this isn’t research, so…]<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n