By creating a virtual learning environment with easy access to content, experts, and fellow peers, you take employees out of their normal work environments and set them in a more comfortable learning space. Moreover, you offer a meeting space which is more convenient than the fixed location of a traditional classroom.                

One benefit of creating a virtual learning environment was demonstrated by a University of California-Berkeley professor who had a class that met Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Mondays and Wednesdays, attendance in the lecture-style class averaged around 100 students. But on Fridays, attendance would drop to just 20 students.              

To see if he could regain just a few students from the lure of an early weekend, he created a virtual environment and offered the Friday class online. Attendance quickly went back up to the levels reached on the other days. And, as an added bonus, the number of questions asked during the class also increased. In person, students asked about 4-5 questions while online, 40-50 questions would come in the same time period. This again demonstrates that people feel more at ease asking questions when they can remain anonymous, or at least are not face-to-face with their peers.

Another good example is a large technology company that was able to educate 2,000 partners spread across 81 different countries using a virtual environment. Had they tried to do this in the physical world, the barriers would’ve been astronomical. The cost of travel (and personnel being out of the office) alone would have been exorbitant. The time factor to reach those partners country-by-country (or region-by-region) would have greatly slowed the process down as well.

Instead, they used a virtual environment that included information in seven languages and chat translations for 50 languages, all available to everyone at the same time. The program was completed quickly, and the company was able to gather data on usage that will help them make it even better as time goes on.

HR stands apart within an organization. The department interacts closely and regularly with everyone from temps to the executive level. Virtual environments can make those interactions simpler and better, by connecting people in innovative ways and offering content both educational and informative.

Eric Vidal is the Director of Product Marketing for the Event Services Business Segment at InterCall, the world’s largest conferencing and collaboration services provider. He can be reached at ericv@unisfair.com.

As the center of the global economy shifts to Asia, companies are vying for the best managers to drive and grow their business. A shortage of global executive talent is hitting crisis proportions. How to develop and manage the world's best people for economic success--that's the challenge.

Peter Cappelli, HRPS Board member and George W. Taylor Professor of Management at The Wharton School and Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resource, participates in this Bloomberg Singapore Sessions round-table discussion with prominent industry experts on topics related to leadership and executive development in Asia and Asian business schools.

Hear the latest on The Talent Wars, featuring Peter Cappelli:

 
(Source: Bloomberg)

Human resources is undergoing some big changes thanks to virtual environments. In my previous post, I introduced this concept and wrote about some of the general ways HR has evolved. This time, we’ll take a closer look at how virtual environments are changing one of HR’s most important responsibilities:  recruiting.  

James Gilliam of CareerBuilder.com says that the HR virtual environment is a "game changer.” He believes that being able to connect with worldwide audiences at any time allows organizations to move beyond the limitations of time and place more easily as well as "wow” prospective employees like never before.    

While the Internet makes company information and reviews readily available, virtual environments allow HR to elevate brand impressions while still vetting candidates thoroughly. For example, multimedia presentations embedded in a website featuring employee testimonials and words from the company president can serve to entice prospective candidates.  

But perhaps most importantly, with a physical job fair, when it’s over it’s over. Whereas a virtual job fair can remain open as long as the organization chooses. Visitors can still collect information and ask questions, greatly extending the value of resources invested in its creation. This makes a virtual job fair not only more cost effective, but also capable of reaching far greater numbers than a traditional one. 

Virtual career fairs also make it simple for organizers to collect detailed information on attendees’ behaviors. HR professionals can learn what was interesting to candidates and which links and resources were most popular, but also find out what information was lacking, so they can make improvements for future events.    

The bottom line is that virtual events can reach more interested candidates for a fraction of the costs associated with traditional job fairs, putting another advantage in the virtual environment column.    

Be sure to check back again next time as we wrap up our analysis of the impact of virtual environments on HR. This time, we’ll address changes in employee training and education.

Eric Vidal is the Director of Product Marketing for the Event Services Business Segment at InterCall, the world’s largest conferencing and collaboration services provider. He can be reached at ericv@unisfair.com.