Walmart Taps VR To Train Store Employees

Walmart has revealed the latest method it is using to train store employees: virtual reality. The big-box retailer got the idea from observing football players using VR to train, and it has since implemented the technology into 30 of its 'Walmart Academy' training centers. The idea behind the training method is to introduce future employees and managers to situations they will encounter during the course of their job, but that they would benefit from experiencing ahead of time in a safe environment.

The retailer uses Black Friday as an example, explaining that a manager-in-training who has never worked on a Black Friday can experience what it is like via virtual reality. 'Wouldn't it be helpful to understand the dynamics of such a busy day,' the retailer asks, 'before you ever had to actually manage your associates and customers through it?'

The Walmart VR experience puts trainees into a 'lifelike' environment that mimics an actual Walmart store. The training has proven more effective than real-life training situations, according to the company, which has spurred it to expand the training method's implementation. Walmart says it will roll out VR training to all of its Walmart Academy facilities (200 of them) by the end of this year.

Virtual reality is increasingly making its way into various facilities and usage scenarios beyond the scope of consumer gameplay. Hospitals, for example, has started testing the technology as a pain management tool, essentially using the headsets as a way to distract patients from pain that may otherwise require painkillers.

SOURCE: Walmart