Times are changing. Once upon a time we relied upon pens and paper to communicate our ideas, books to do research from, and landline telephones to speak to anyone we needed to speak to.
How times have changed!
Nowadays we can find out any piece of information we please by checking the world wide web, we can communicate with virtually anyone by video call, and we can work from anywhere in the world, simply by taking our laptop and finding a Wi-Fi connection. We don’t always need fancy office furniture sets to be able to do our job, we can move from place to place however we like!
The changes that have occurred over the last few years are crazy, but they are certainly changes which need to be embraced, in order to stay ahead of the game, ahead of the competition, and to make life much easier and more productive in general.
With the constant development of new technology, it looks like there could be some further interesting developments on the horizon, with the use of artificial intelligence and virtual reality possibly about to make moves in the office world.
Sounds confusing? Let’s check out a few ways which these two technologies could be used in the office workplace.
Virtual Reality Conference Calling
Hands up who finds conferences calls a little on the cringe-worthy side? Most of you are probably nodding. It’s strange to be sat in a quiet room, possibly even your home office, yet be virtually surrounded by people on the other side of the world, all dressed up in their suits, surrounded by luxurious office furniture! Well, that’s all about to change, as there are plans to launch virtual reality conference calling, which also makes use of artificial intelligence. This means you are more likely to feel like you’re in the room with the other callers, rather than far away. As a result, the quality of the call will be better, and all of this would be done by using a virtual reality headset.
The plus points of this is the ability to really immerse yourself in the call, therefore increasing communication quality and being able to read other subtle non-verbal clues, such as body language.
Virtual Meeting Spaces
Many organisations now have a mixture of workers in the office, and those who work on a distance basis, maybe even Freelancers or Digital Nomads. That means getting everyone together for a catch up or passing on information can be very difficult, with conflicting time zones and schedules. Virtual reality meetings could change all of that!
All workers would set aside time to meet in their virtual meeting room, and they would use an avatar to act as though they were in the room. There is also a technology called DORA, which is a robot linked to a VR headset, worn by the remote worker. That basically places him or her in the office with everyone else! It will be like you’re actually sat at the office desks with everyone else, perched on the same office chairs!
Situational Training Using Virtual Reality
Large organisations need their staff to be ready for anything, and these days there are a wide variety of different situations a member of staff could find him or herself in, without having any prior training. For instance, how about conflict resolution situations? How about what to do if you’re racially harassed by a client? What if you find yourself in a situation where you feel fearful at work?
Something called ‘situational training’ makes use of virtual reality, to help employees virtually encounter a situation, and then learn how to deal with it, through instruction. The idea is that by having been in that situation before, albeit virtually, you will be able to deal with it in real life much better. Of course, the idea is that you don’t have to ever deal with it, but you never know! VR headsets are used to put you right in the heart of that situation, which will obviously invoke the same feelings, because you feel like it is reality.
These are three models for virtual reality and artificial intelligence, which can be used in the future in the workplace, as part of your unique office solutions. Of course, this is probably quite a long way off in terms of mainstream use, but it’s vital to be one-step ahead of the game in terms of any types of technology which could be useful in your office or larger organisation. Helping your staff become more involved in technology is one of the best ways to stay head of the competition.