Metaverse Hiring

Balancing potential and challenges in revolutionizing

The metaverse is set to transform the human resources sector, promising profound changes in recruitment, onboarding, training and employee engagement, mirroring its transformative effects in industries such as healthcare. Technology solutions, such as metaverse hiring, are currently at the forefront of achieving scalable recruitment processes amidst economic uncertainty. With traditional methods slowly dying out to be replaced with holographic meetings, for instance, more and more companies getting interested in undertaking HR processes in an alternate digital process, we can expect an exciting future in recruitment and selection thanks to the metaverse. However, with some challenges and obstacles that, if addressed, could pave the way for reimagined talent acquisition and work culture.  

Recruitment in the Metaverse: Navigating the Future    

HR leaders worldwide are battling to navigate the rapidly changing landscape brought about by economic uncertainty. The growing talent crunch, which Korn Ferry estimates will result in $8.5 trillion in unrealized revenue worldwide by 2030, burnout, isolation, and fatigue are all issues they must overcome to achieve scalable recruitment strategies amidst economic uncertainty. Fortunately, HR professionals remain resilient and are developing solutions to adjust recruitment and selection strategies during economic uncertainty. There’s a consensus pointing to technology as the ultimate answer to optimize recruitment, with metaverse technology expected to make the most significant impact. 

The revolutionary technology is already having a massive impact on industries such as healthcare, real estate, retail, and more. It is expected to make just as big a splash in HR and recruitment. Metaverse technology has the potential to attract the best talent and reduce turnover and absenteeism. Additionally, saves organizations money in recruitment and selection and creates a level playing field in recruitment and selection practices. 

Metaverse technology’s influence in HR is growing, and in time, practices such as metaverse hiring could be the new norm in recruitment. To understand why and how, it’s best to see how the technology has already penetrated the industry, with corporations migrating vital HR functions to virtualized platforms. Accenture is among the companies that are heavily investing in technology -which is projected to reach $5 trillion billion according to McKinsey- and has already implemented the metaverse for a unique and efficient onboarding process. 

Is the Metaverse Changing Global HR? 

The metaverse is revolutionizing HR, especially in key functions such as recruitment and selection, reimagining traditional methods with innovative virtual interactions. Although there is still a long road ahead for the metaverse to mature from infancy in the human resources sector, it has the potential to transform HR processes, functions, and professionals significantly. 

Recruitment and Selection in the Metaverse So Far

Here is what the metaverse in recruitment and selection looks like so far: 

● Virtual job fairs and recruitment events: According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg, hosting these events in the metaverse can “convey the full range of human expression and connection…deliver that deep feeling of presence” in a parallel digital universe. The metaverse provides job seekers an interactive space to communicate with potential employers, done at the convenience of their virtual avatars. For example, Samsung Electronics held a virtual career fair in the metaverse, where participants, through their avatars, engaged in job expectations and career counseling discussions. Employers fostered deeper connections with candidates and overcame body language barriers, allowing for more intimate understanding through HR practices. 

Additionally, hosting these events in the metaverse allowed for targeting a broader reach of candidates on a global scale while saving costs and time. 

● Greater accessibility to the global talent pool: The metaverse is a goldmine for recruiters since the revolutionary technology enables a global reach for talent. With the obstacle of geographical removal and a broader talent pipeline, HR professionals can ensure they have access to the right candidate from anywhere in the world. With better accessibility to global talent, the World Economic Forum believes that the metaverse can also solve talent scarcity and address inclusion for marginalized groups such as women and people of color.

● Virtual interview and onboarding: The metaverse is redefining HR with dynamic and interactive interviews and onboarding experiences. Because the metaverse ensures virtual interviews are as interactive and engaging as real-life ones, preparing accordingly is just as important. For example, dressing your avatar in appropriate interview attire. Accenture created “One Accenture Park,” a virtual campus showcasing the metaverse’s efficiency and scalability in onboarding a global workforce of more than 700,000. By leveraging Microsoft’s AltspaceVR platform, Accenture has an onboarding process that could set a precedent for future HR norms. 

This was evident after the large corporation successfully onboarded 150,000 new hires in the metaverse during the pandemic alone, which saw immersive meet-and-greets, group meetings, and town halls. This success hints at a future in which metaverse hiring and onboarding processes become the new HR norms. 

● Assessing skills in real-time: The metaverse is bridging the gap of acquiring top talent by accurately conducting skill assessments in an immersive environment. With interactive scenarios, recruiters can evaluate a candidate’s soft and hard skills utilizing tools such as Goshaba for cognitive evaluations via science-based video games. Gamification to demonstrate critical and problem-solving skills and approach to complex situations, interactive challenges to test hard skills such as design tasks for architects, and role-playing situations allow for a comprehensive understanding of a candidate’s capabilities through engaging methods in the metaverse. 

How the Metaverse Helps HR 

There is no denying that the metaverse can be helpful in HR, particularly in recruitment and selection, aiding in bridging the gap to top talent. As can be seen from Accenture and Samsung Electronics, the revolutionary technology has already made significant contributions to onboarding at a large scale and attracting prospective employees through virtual job fairs, respectively. Summarized below are some of how the metaverse is paving the way for seamless recruitment and selection processes using augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and virtual worlds: 
 

• Enhanced candidate and new hire onboarding experience, allowing candidates to engage virtually and experience a prospective workplace and culture and to have the same experience in onboarding and training 
• Strengthened employer branding via innovative and engaging recruitment experiences reflecting a company’s progressive culture 
• Better diversity and inclusion initiatives in hiring, reducing bias, and ensuring equal playing field for all applicants 
• Improved data analysis and insights aiding in tailoring recruitment strategies and improving hiring 
• Efficient skill assessment, allowing recruiters to evaluate a candidate's full range of capabilities effectively in a dynamic and interactive environment
• Cost efficient as travel and logistical expenses linked to traditional recruitment processes are cut down 
• Better global talent reach thanks to broken geographical boundaries, allowing for effective remote interviews and evaluations. 

Leveraging metaverse technology allows companies to streamline recruitment and selection processes. Ultimately, with metaverse hiring or onboarding solutions, employers stand a chance at scaling their global talent acquisition and training with VR and AR in innovative digital spaces. Retention levels could increase, gaining a competitive advantage in the unstable labor market. However, it’s important to note that, like any technological advancement, the metaverse has several HR landscape limitations. 

Challenges Associated with Metaverse Hiring and Other HR Functions 

So far, the metaverse has made a significant entrance into the field of HR. Although it’s still in the early days, and many professionals are still deciphering its long-term feasibility for streamlining HR operations and functions, several well-known corporations have embraced it. One of them being industry leaders in our field, Hays which in 2022 became the first recruiter to enter the metaverse. Amidst all the buzz of the metaverse revolutionizing HR functions such as recruitment and selection, there are several limitations of the technology in our field to consider, as summarized below: 
 

• Technical obstacles and concerns regarding accessibility: Overly relying on technical connectivity, bandwidth limitation, advanced technology expertise, software, and tools (e.g., VR headsets) can limit user experience and talent pool, particularly among participants in digital poverty-stricken conditions. 
• Narrow scope of use: Because not all work functions can be effectively performed in digital spaces, obstacles in fully implementing a metaverse working environment for specific roles or industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and construction that require physical presence are inevitable
• Reluctance to adopt new practices: As seen with the great return-to-office resistance post-pandemic, some employers and even employees will likely be closed to virtual work in the metaverse, opting for the physical and social interactions in-house office culture provides
• Risks associated with security and privacy: Critical privacy concerns that could affect users and businesses include limits in privacy regulations, intrusive and extensive data mining, and privacy issues affecting users' rights and ownership. 

Despite these challenges, acknowledging and tackling them is key for organizations. This way, they can make strategic decisions on how to incorporate the metaverse effectively and efficiently into their HR strategies. 

To Integrate or Not to Integrate, That is the Question 

From the perspective of an HR professional, what the metaverse has done so far for HR practices makes me more excited to see what the future holds. I’m not the only one. Predictions from Gartner show that by 2027, the development of engaging and interactive virtual workspaces will represent 30% growth in corporate investment, aiming to reimagine the workplace experience. Leveraging metaverse technology to transform HR digitally has yielded benefits in enhancing talent acquisition and management. The list of benefits and possibilities is endless. 

As the metaverse continues to revolutionize HR practices, the creation of new roles, such as metaverse leader, will arise. Yes, the metaverse poses challenges to onboarding, hiring, workplace culture, and, crucially, compliance. However, with traditional HR practices still functioning effectively, there is still time and rather no pressure to essentially find solutions to make the metaverse work in favor of us HR professionals and those that we serve. However, this could require putting pressure on governments, regulatory bodies, and companies to create and pass laws that protect all stakeholders, particularly candidates. 

It is important to note again that the metaverse in HR is still in its early stages. The revolutionary technology will likely take at least another decade or more to immerse in HR operations such as recruitment and selection fully. Nevertheless, the future is exciting. Soon, more and more companies could be considering whether to integrate the metaverse into their HR operations. The future, as always, is unwritten. 

Author Bio

Gergo Vari is the CEO & Founder of Lensa.