HR Strategy: How to Easily Integrate the Metaverse Technology in Your Recruitment Process?

HR strategy: How to easily integrate the metaverse technology in your recruitment process?

Metaverses (as there are several of them) are 3D universes which allow users to interact between them. Each metaverse has its own characteristics in terms of graphic design, targeting, access conditions and function.

As those digital worlds are constantly changing, it could be difficult to realize how this new technology represents great opportunities. However, more and more businesses resort to metaverse as it improves their visibility, sales and promotion. In matters of HR strategy, not many HR managers have been thinking about using metaverse to recruit new talents. 

Through this article, we will examine the advantages of including metaverse in your recruitment strategy and give you some advice about how to integrate this solution in your processes. Here are some examples of companies that have already implemented metaverse in their recruitment processes: Carrefour, Publicis or Casino…

The recruitment on metaverse: which benefits?

Here are some key data and examples about these advantages:

1. Accessibility: You will be able to reach a more diverse and wider audience. A recent study of Statista shows that the number of VR users will reach 78 million by 2025. Among them, there are several types of potential candidates including people that are not able to be present physically for interviews.

2. Interactivity: Metaverse platforms increase the interactions with the candidates. For example, Decentraland offers several opportunities to create virtual environments where the candidates can introduce themselves, take part in test sessions or role plays, and even discuss with recruiters in real time.

3. Diversity: Metaverses offer innovative ways to promote diversity in recruitment strategy. As an example, the presence of avatars can help to reduce discrimination related to the appearance, the gender or the age of the candidates. Companies such as H&M, Deloitte, or KFC have already organized recruiting events on metaverse platforms (Ultiplace, MeetinVR, VRChat).

4. Creativity: Recruitment on metaverse allows your company to be more innovative and creative in the ways you manage your HR department. Recently, Wolkswagen organized an event on SecondLife where the candidates had to create their own avatar to participate in online role plays. Axa has also started up a digital experience on The Sandbox called “Axadia”. It takes the form of a quest where candidates are identified in the gamers section. In case you want to reach a more general target, there are other more professional metaverses such as Ultiplace’s one where you can easily organize virtual career fairs.

Recruitment on metaverse can thus offer an innovative, interactive creative and accessible experience for companies looking for new talents. In the meantime, it is important to choose the appropriate platform in line with your target.

Some advices about the integration of metaverse recruitment in your HR strategy:

Here are some steps to follow: 

1. Choose the right platform: There are several metaverse platforms available but each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. To choose the best platform, you will need to evaluate your needs, your budget and the technical complexity of the platform.

2. Create a pleasant recruitment environment: The customization degrees are different according to the metaverse and the most famous, such as Decentraland or The Sandbox, offer you the opportunity to buy a piece of land and build your experience. It will cost you several tens of thousands of euros and at least the same for the creation of your experience made by a specialized development team. Hopefully, there are alternatives which allow you to launch easily into this investment without a huge budget. Therefore, your solution you are looking for could be Ultiplace’s platform which offers a straightforward experience, fast to set up.

   In the case you are willing to create a 100% custom made experience, you will need to design a welcoming virtual space where the users’ browsing is made easier. You will have to use visual elements that reflect your brand and your corporate culture.

3. Create avatars for the candidates and the recruiters: avatars are virtual characters that the users control in the virtual environment. The avatars can sometimes be customized in order to represent the true physical appearance of the users.

4. Organize virtual recruiting events: Virtual career fairs are a great way, for the HR team, to meet several candidates at the same time. The Ultiplace platform offers a turnkey solution to organize virtual recruiting exhibitions. Candidates can walk around the fair, interact with the managers and take part in group discussions.

5. Use the metaverse’s features to assess the skills of your candidates: There are several features that can be used in the metaverse such as role plays, skills tests or working simulations. You will be able to assess your candidates in a more immersive and interactive way than in a traditional job interview.

By following these steps, you will efficiently and in an innovative way, integrate metaverse in your recruitment process. As we mentioned, the virtual trade shows on Ultiplace can be the ideal solution for the companies willing to organize a virtual career fair on a quality platform, easy to get familiar with and offering an immersive experience for the candidates.

Potential challenges for metaverse recruitment and how to overcome them

Here are some of the most common challenges facing metaverse platforms. These challenges should be considered as points of caution when choosing your future platform:

1. Privacy: As with any recruitment process, privacy is essential to protect candidates' personal data. It is important to implement adequate security measures to ensure the confidentiality of virtual interviews and candidate data. RGPD compliance must be a point of vigilance for the recruiter. From this point of view, local metavers are to be favored to fit in well with with the country's data repositories. Check the existence of documents such as legal notices or data use agreements, which allow you to verify the platform's compliance.

2. Security: Metavers can be vulnerable to cyber attacks and hacking. It is therefore important to choose a secure platform that offers security and data protection features. However, be careful not to make it too complicated to enter the metaverse, as this could lead to applicants giving up the registration phase.

3. Accessibility: Not everyone has access to the technology needed to access metaverse platforms, such as virtual reality headsets or high-performance computers. It is therefore important to consider accessibility constraints and to make the platforms accessible to the greatest number of candidates. For recruitment purposes, we will always favour platforms that are accessible on a computer to reach as many candidates as possible and on a browser without downloading to avoid blocking candidates who use professional computers and who cannot install programs without the authorization of their IT department.

4. User Experience: Meta-version platforms can be complex and difficult to navigate for inexperienced users. It is therefore important to provide candidates and recruiters with a proper tutorial to ensure that the user experience is optimal or move to platforms that emphasize click-to-move.

5. Art direction: There are worlds ranging from the most cubic, such as Decentraland, to the most realistic, such as Ultiplace. Make sure that the style of the metaverse you choose matches your target candidates.

To overcome these challenges, it is important to take time to choose a metaverse platform that is secure, accessible and easy to use. It is also important to have clear security and privacy policies in place to protect candidate data. Finally, it’s important to provide adequate training for candidates and recruiters in order to ensure that the user experience is optimal. By following those good practices, metaverse recruiting can be a powerful tool to attract new talents and improve your recruitment process.

Metaverse platforms for HR managers

Here is a list of some metaverse platforms with information about the target, their operating costs and their functions for HR managers:

1. Ultiplace: 

Users target: Professionals

Operating costs: Free to create a recruiting event for up to 10 exhibitors

Function for HR managers: Recruitment, virtual career fairs and virtual exhibitions, company’s events

Analysis: A turnkey metaverse, designed for the professionals which makes easier and faster the organization of career fairs and employment exhibitions. Key point: Ultiplace is accessible on browsers without installation.

2. Second Life:

Users target: General public

Operating costs: Free to create an account but the costs can increased depending on the use of the solution

Function for HR managers: Virtual recruitment, remote trainings, company’s events

Analysis: One of the oldest metaverse that has established itself over time. It offers experiences created by the game users.

3. VRChat:

Users target: General public

Operating costs: Free 

Function for HR managers: Virtual recruitment, remote trainings, company’s events

Analysis: A metaverse accessible on VR headset with several universes to discover

4. Mozilla Hubs:  

Users target: General public

Operating costs: Free 

Function for HR managers: Virtual recruitment, remote trainings, company’s events

Analysis: A well-built app with designed for the younger

5. Engage: 

Users target: Professionals

Operating costs: Price range on quotation and according to the needs

Function for HR managers: Virtual recruitment, remote trainings, company’s events

Analysis: A platform with several features available on every device. It needs the installation of the software.

There are scores of other metaverse platforms available or in development (Decentraland and Somnium Space), that can be used for similar needs.
It's up to you to choose the one that best suits your project!

#Recruitment ; #HRManagement ; #Employment ; #Innovation ; #VirtualCareerFair