How VR can help put the right people in the right places

‘The war on talent is raging’

Recent job market developments have demonstrated the increased leverage that employees have within organisations. While employer branding departments of many companies are searching for innovative ways of finding new talent, companies face another challenge with wide-ranging consequences: retention. For example, 20% of respondents to PwC’s current Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey said that they were extremely likely or very likely to want to change jobs within the next 12 months (2022).

Finding new talent is one thing – retaining talent productively in the long-term is quite another. And that is not (only) because employers are not following through on their promises. Instead, it can take weeks or even months before it becomes clear whether new joiners fit with the company culture and values. But what does that really mean – and what role can our virtual reality personality assessment tool play in measuring this company or values fit?

The problem with organisational fit

‘Organisational fit’ essentially means being or having ‘the right X at the right Y’. Applied to our case, this key-to-lock principle specifically means that the right employee (X) should be in the right company with the right culture in the right position (Y). What is ‘right’ depends on the values and personal qualities of those involved. What is already in place, and what is needed to move the company or team in the desired direction?

Certain values such as courage and transparency may be of relevance for all company employees, while some personal qualities such as extraversion or (highly pronounced) orderliness may only be important for certain functions or jobs. 

However, this doesn’t mean that every company should be looking for twenty creative, extroverted, detail-oriented, consensus-seeking applicants for its marketing department. In other words, ‘fit’ shouldn’t translate to ‘lack of diversity’. On the contrary, teams should be composed of a variety of different individuals who fulfil specific roles (Belbin, 2014) and jointly contribute to achieving the company’s goals. 

This needs to include certain team members who don’t respect certain decisions and frequently question the status quo (so-called “mavericks”). A critical perspective can play a valuable role – at least in theory. In practice, however, mavericks are often seen as troublemakers. This perception can have various causes – for example, not enough preparation when integrating a critical new member into an existing team. Managers can play a key role here by supporting the team to create a suitable environment for constructive discussions.

And this is where ‘fit’ comes back in, because clear, shared principles and frameworks are required to support discussion and development. A play can only commence if the playing field has been clearly defined. 

‘Corporate culture is the sum total of shared values, norms, attitudes and basic assumptions within an organisation. It manifests itself in the behaviour of members of the organisation and the appearance of the organisation.’ (Schein, 1985)

Why is ‘fit’ important?

In the long term, employee satisfaction and productivity is higher in companies where individuals are able to contribute successfully, and where such contributions are encouraged because they fit the culture (Nzuva & Kimanzi, 2022; Owoyemi & Ekwoaba, 2014). Apart from the obvious advantages for companies of having more engaged employees, there are also other effects that are not immediately visible: People shape corporate culture through their own actions and thus by influencing others.

Workplaces have complex cultural dynamics whether staff are aware of them or not. Building awareness of these dynamics is crucial to managing them to benefit the company and its staff, as well as developing appropriate strategies and measures.

How is ‘fit’ determined?

To see how two pieces fit together, each needs to be clearly defined. Assessments are one way of achieving this, applying various models and methods to cover diverse professional areas (intelligence, specific competencies, knowledge etc.).

Common assessment methods include BIP (Hoosiep & Paschen, 2019), which uses a scientifically validated questionnaire. Questionnaires can be used for self-assessment and assessment by others, although a combination – as in the case of 360° feedback – can provide an all-round picture of an individual. This serves as a basis for determining fit, which in turn depends on multiple factors (e.g., what Y should component X fit to?).

However, questionnaires tend to be relatively transparent and can thus elicit socially desirable responses. In other words: Who wouldn’t claim to be highly creative in a graphic design job application? 

There’s only one right answer… or is there?

The advantage of our Virtual Reality Personality Assessment (VRPA) tool over conventional paper-based methods (questionnaires) lies in immersive gamification, which allows participants to forget that they are being observed or even ‘tested’. Observing behaviour in an immersive environment helps minimise socially desirable responses, which could lead to applicants and team members giving a distorted image of themselves. This renders self-assessments of creativity or friendliness superfluous – and the experience reduces the sense of there being ‘a right answer’.

In the VRPA tool, participants make decisions and interact with fictive colleagues following a storyline developed in line with the psychologically validated HEXACO model (Ashton & Lee, 2007). Relevant professional behaviours are recorded, enabling conclusions to be drawn about underlying personality traits. Each step within VRPA helps develop a personality profile with four scales – i.e., four different dimensions of personality, such as teamwork and willingness to compromise. 

How can VRPA be used?

Our tool is suitable as a means of digitalising and enriching the recruitment process and can also be used for staff development purposes. Consequently, VRPA can help staff members joining a new company or team – but can also play an important role in staff development by making individual qualities and values visible, and thus enabling discussions around them. 

VRPA in recruiting

In the feedback conversation for the VR experience, recruiters and hiring managers will discuss with applicants the extent to which they can identify with the results – and how these personal qualities play a role in their working lives. The results of the experience should not be viewed as ‘standalone’ or ‘knock-out’ criteria (within the application process). Instead, they form a stable foundation for the ensuing conversation with applicants or existing staff members. VRPA provides a playful starting point and a unique experience in which applicants dive into a virtual world that is quite unlike conventional assessment frameworks. For their part, recruiters and hiring managers can determine whether the personal qualities shown would be a valuable addition to the existing team.

VRPA in employee development

The same principle applies to employee development. Feedback conversations provide deeper insights into the employee’s personality and growth areas, enabling a discussion of the extent to which the staff member can identify with the image captured by VRPA. They also facilitate the creation of a step-by-step development plan for the staff member, showing how they can best function within the team and the company. ‘Fit’ is once again an important aspect: If individual employees feel a need to adapt and change drastically in order to be successful in the long term, it is important to resolve this situation (which could have knock-on consequences for health). An assessment can provide a starting point for jointly determining why the individual feels a need to adapt – and what would have to change for the individual concerned to ‘be themself’. The focus is on the (playful) engagement of the staff member with their own personality.

Companies, too, may wish to engage with the issue of ‘fit’. How do we as a company ‘fit’ with our applicants? Or: What is the most effective way we can help our staff members to develop themselves? The goal of having ‘the right people in the right place’ not only creates a clear competitive advantage, but also contributes to employee wellbeing. For this reason, ‘fit’ is essential to turn companies into quality working environments for employees – and places they want to experience.