How To Use a Metaverse Workplace Effectively for your Teams
Decentraland, The Sandbox, virtual reality, and augmented reality are all terms
entering the common dialogue. And what do they all have in common? Enter the Metaverse.
The Metaverse is a virtual platform where users can work, collaborate, and even play
using digital avatars. What started as a popular way for gamers to interact on games
like Fortnite and Roblox has become a possible opportunity for remote workers to become
more immersed in their workplace activities.
Both
Facebook's Horizon Workrooms
and
Microsoft Teams
are experimenting with the virtual and augmented reality offerings of the Metaverse to
help workers and teams feel more connected with their co-workers and have an easier
time collaborating.
But, how can the Metaverse impact project management and improve project workflows?
If used efficiently, it can. Here are some tips for using the Metaverse workplace
effectively for your teams.
Benefits of the Metaverse
When's the last time you had an impromptu conversation at the company watercooler?
If you've had to switch to a remote work arrangement, then it's highly likely that
this hasn't happened in a while.
Mimic In-person Spontaneous Conversations and Interactions
The Metaverse workspace could help this become a staple again for your project teams.
A Metaverse interface can mimic your in-person office and even show digital avatars
representing yourself and your team members sitting at desks.
You can virtually get up to interact with other co-workers and even have the interface
trigger a video call so you can immediately communicate with your colleagues.
The Metaverse workplace platform can reproduce your office's actual physical layout,
making it easier to interact with others in real-time.
Solve Video Call Fatigue
One of the main hallmarks of Metaverse platforms is that you can use a 3D digital
avatar to represent yourself. While video conferencing tools like Zoom and Skype are
great for facilitating workplace conversations, it can be burdensome to always have
a camera on — particularly for individuals who may have to manage home distractions
or have caretaking commitments that require their attention.
These items could be data or a product model. Not only does this allow you to define
project specifications clearly, but it also enables you and your team to have more
significant opportunities for collaboration.
You can even involve clients to ensure that their real-world specifications and details
are met and addressed before you start work.
Easily Access Project Tools
Today's internet allows for a lot of flexibility and ease of movement between apps
and tools, but what if you had even greater access to the tools around you? A Metaverse
platform makes it even more possible to have regular and on-demand access to these
apps and software tools.
Eventually, you and your teams may be able to move through the current apps you use
with more ease. That 3D modeling software tool you have to leave your Zoom conference
to access? Well, it might be as easy as swiping your finger to start using it.
A Metaverse platform can even allow you to seamlessly design or draw out a project
deliverable or quickly trigger a virtual whiteboard to display project details with
your team members. And the same can likely be said for video conferencing and
presentation software.
How to Implement the Metaverse In Your Project Teams
Even though aspects of the Metaverse have been around for a long time, it's still a
very new type of technology. Never before have the masses interacted with one another
in a virtual or augmented reality forum to increase immersion.
Whether you're thinking of implementing all of what the Metaverse has to offer or
only a tiny part that benefits your project teams, here are some tips for implementing
this at your workplace.
Find the right platform for you: Facebook's Horizon Worlds, Microsoft
Teams, or another solution altogether comes with its own sets of pros and cons. Look
at each one to see the features you would need and determine if it'll help your project
teams. One may have features that benefit you, while the other may not.
Determine if you'll need additional equipment - What makes the Metaverse
workplace so unique is that it allows for augmented and virtual reality. However, you may
need additional tools to access these features. For example, to get the most out of
Facebook's Horizon Workplace, you need to use an Oculus VR headset, whereas Microsoft's
offering can still be used on a laptop or smartphone. If you only want to mimic the
in-person processes, then Microsoft's offering may be enough. However, if you're going
to engage in 3D modeling or more intensive collaboration, then Facebook's option may be
the way you want to go.
Determine what gaps you need to fill: Maybe collaboration isn't the issue,
but you instead want to make it easier for your team members to socialize with one another
to strengthen their workplace connections. On the other hand, you may be concerned that
you're missing those impromptu collaboration sessions because your team members haven't
been able to run into one another because they're working remotely. Decide what your needs
are, and create a more streamlined strategy for addressing them with Metaverse tools.
Always measure progress - If you decide to implement a Metaverse solution
at your company, be sure to have a way to measure its impact on your project teams. Has
productivity gone up? Is turnover decreasing? Is job satisfaction rising? Determine your
KPIs to see how much of an effect this new technology is having on your teams so you can
see if it's successful. You can then decide whether to keep using the tool or switch to
another option.
Update your security policies: Because of the new capabilities of the
Metaverse, it's highly likely that your security policies will have to change. You should
lay out policies regarding where people use this technology, password requirements, how
everyone should handle data, what to do if they've exposed any data, and security risk
factors they should watch out for. The more comprehensive the policy, the easier it will
be to prevent any potential data breaches.
Online tech publication, VentureBeat, laid out what organizations can do to protect data in
a recent article
:
“Many organizations will need to prepare ahead and implement the use of theta hunting,
penetration testing, and vulnerability scans to ensure their security systems are safe,
secure, and uncompromising. It is only with each individual recognizing the dire need to
secure themselves and understand the risks associated with even the slightest bit of neglect
that we can ensure a cyber secure 2022 with the metaverse.”
The Metaverse Workplace is Rapidly Approaching
A survey by Lenovo revealed that
44% of their respondents
were ready to work in the Metaverse. Considering how normalized this technology is becoming
in our daily lives, it's highly likely that this number may increase, especially since more
companies are embracing remote work.
Your goal as a project manager is to see if a Metaverse workplace benefits you, your
team members, that company as a whole, and the clients you serve. Either way, whether
you decide to implement a Metaverse solution at your company or work with another business
that does, it will become a significant part of the workplace. Understanding its function
can help you prepare for a future influenced by the Metaverse.
Sources:
Can We Work in the Metaverse?,
https://www.uctoday.com/collaboration/can-we-work-in-the-metaverse/
Horizon Workrooms: Facebook’s Metaverse Is a VR Meetaverse,
https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-horizon-workrooms-metaverse/
How the metaverse could shape cybersecurity in 2022,
https://venturebeat.com/2022/02/12/how-the-metaverse-could-shape-cybersecurity-in-2022/#:~:text=The%20fact%20that%20the%20Metaverse,data%20theft%2C%20harming%20all%20users
Mesh for Microsoft Teams aims to make collaboration in the ‘metaverse’ personal and fun,
https://news.microsoft.com/innovation-stories/mesh-for-microsoft-teams/