New Study Reveals Virtual Reality Skills Training Is Poised for Explosive Growth

Mursion, the industry leader in immersive virtual reality training for emotional intelligence in the workplace, and Future Workplace, an advisory and membership organization that prepares HR leaders for the future of work, today announced their partner study: VR Changes the Game for Soft Skills Training. The report examines the rapidly growing trend of VR simulation training being adopted as a means to close the soft skills gap amid a wave of high-pressure situations and changes that managers and business leaders are experiencing in the workplace right now.

According to the report, by 2022, more than 72 percent of learning and development leaders across industries will have tried VR for soft skills training at their organization. This is more than double the 35 percent of respondents who are currently deploying VR skills simulations to help employees navigate challenging workplace scenarios in customer service, peer conflict resolution, and sales, as well as timely and critical training for diversity and inclusion, harassment, and even bedside manner for healthcare workers.

“Amid the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruptions, employee layoffs, and furloughs, the needs for employees have never been greater and the stakes have never been higher for managers to possess the ‘human’ skills needed to drive business performance,” said Mark Atkinson, CEO, Mursion. “The challenge of working remotely is intersecting with major societal shifts that are transforming workplace communications and company values at their core. Companies are looking for a solution, and VR training accelerates skill mastery in a realistic, efficient, and measurable way.”

Additional takeaways from VR Changes the Game for Soft Skills Training

  • More than half (51 percent) of respondents put VR in their top three buckets for where they would invest more money if they could double their learning budget – higher than social learning, gamification, in-person learning, and artificial intelligence
  • VR for soft skills training delivers on what these learning leaders say is the future of learning: “engaging” (55 percent), “personalized” (49 percent) and “measurable” (41 percent)

Corporate Customer Success

  • H&R Block’s customer call center data shows that two 30-minute sales VR sessions saved 4,119 hours (171 days) of average handling time – a 10 percent overall reduction – leading to a performance improvement equal to 3+ months of on-the-job learning.
  • T-Mobile had to handle high-stakes corporate change management communications prior to its merger with Sprint. After VR simulations with a “change-resistant” employee, 90 percent of managers showed strong competency in their real conversations. T-Mobile then expanded its scope to include customized simulations of executive presentation and communication skills.
  • Read more about these case studies in the VR Changes the Game for Soft Skills Training eBook
    Mursion is among the companies that have experienced tremendous growth through this surge of corporate skills training demands, including a doubling of revenue and staff in less than a year, a 90 percent customer retention rate, a 140 percent increase in customer spend year-over-year, and achieving profitability.

“The future of VR training for employees to learn critical communication and interpersonal skills is limitless,” explained Jeanne Meister, Managing Partner, Future Workplace. “Businesses and employees are harnessing the value of VR for soft skills. VR is becoming a top modality for training in conflict resolution, communications, and sales of new products and services.”

For more information, you can read the VR Changes the Game for Soft Skills Training report here.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

engineering community
The Future of the Engineering Community: Equity, AI, and Real Connection
July 15, 2025

The Engineer Who Builds Communities, Not Just Systems! Angelie Vincent has spent more than two decades in aerospace engineering, but her real legacy might be the communities she’s built along the way. Now an AI Integration Engineer at Boeing, Angelie joins Professional Quotient host Jason Winningham for a wide-ranging conversation on neurodivergent leadership, workplace…

Read More
hvacr
Women in HVACR Are Driving Change Across the Skilled Trades
July 15, 2025

Trade school enrollment climbed 4.9% between fall 2020 and fall 2023, signaling a national shift toward skills-based careers as alternatives to four-year degrees. This modest but meaningful rebound underscores growing interest in trades like HVACR, where demand is high, but representation remains lopsided. For decades, women in the field have been overlooked despite playing…

Read More
personal assistant
The People Business: How To Make AI Your Personal Assistant and More
July 14, 2025

In today’s fast-paced world, AI has moved from being a corporate buzzword to a hands-on tool for everyday life. With tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude now widely accessible, the conversation is shifting from what AI is to how it can actually help individuals. From boosting productivity to transforming education, AI is poised to become…

Read More
cardiac care
Just Thinking… About the Role of Critical Thinking in Cardiac Care With Dr. Minh Tran
July 14, 2025

As cardiovascular disease continues to rank as the leading cause of death globally, the importance of expert cardiac care has never been more evident. The American Heart Association reports that over 800,000 Americans experience a heart attack each year, and many rely on the fast, critical thinking of cardiac specialists to survive. In an…

Read More