TR

ANSFORM

WORK

SPACEEXPERIENCES

WITHIMMERSIVE

TECHNOLOGIESElevating

experiences:where

employeeengagement

meetscustomer

delightPicture

this

scenario:

A

new

Gen

Z

employee

is

excitedto

embark

on

their

?rst

dayof

work.

They

meet

fellowcoworkers

while

perusing

the

workplace

and

tools

thatwill

hopefully

engross

them

for

the

foreseeable

future.But

as

they

go

through

various

training

and

onboardingactivities,

the

excitement

quickly

dissipates

as

theyrealize

that

the

tech-driven

ways

of

how

they

shopwon’tbe

carried

overto

how

they

work.The

newly

established

attention

span

of

modern-dayconsumers

is

now

only

eightseconds.1

Brands

knowwhat

kind

of

experiences

engage

consumers,

but

mostworkplaces

are

still

playing

catch-up.

If

they

don’tstartproviding

equally

engaging

employee

experiences,

lowproductivity

and

high

turnover

and

absenteeism

willcontinue

to

be

a

rampant

theme.Behind

every

thriving

companythere’sa

stellarworkforce

built

on

a

strong

foundation

that

promotesemployee

engagement,

increased

productivity,personal

growth,

and

well-being.

But

lately,it

seemsthat

establishing

this

inspiring

basis

for

business

successis

more

elusive

than

ever.2TransformworkspaceexperienceswithimmersivetechnologiesdedicationindependenceconnectionexcitementmovementjourneyReignite

workplacemotivationWhy

isn’tthe

workplace

more

engaging?Simply

put,employees

and

employers

don’tsee

eye

toeye.Arecent

survey

by

the

Capgemini

Research

Institutefound

that

only

28%of

employees

say

they’re

happyat

work

or

havethe

necessary

tools

to

do

their

jobswell.

Conversely,

an

astonishing

92%of

companyleaders

believe

their

employees

are

genuinely

happyand

haveall

they

need

to

complete

tasks

e?ectivelyand

e?ciently.2

Clearly,

there’sa

disconnect,

and,if

left

unaddressed,

will

see

the

two

groups

driftfurther

apart,

leading

to

indi?erence

and

lowproductivity

among

workers,

followed

by

their

untimelyexit

–

leaving

employers

scrambling

to

ful?l

yetanother

vacancy.feel

the

futureadventuregratitudeemotionimpactIt’s

no

secret

that

great

employee

experiencessigni?cantly

reduce

sta?

turnover.But

they

also

leadto

consistently

high

company

performance.

So,

whatmakesan

employee

experience

great?

Some

sayit’s

triggered

by

a

positive

emotional

connection

tocompany

services

and

people.

Yet

others

still

add

thatit’s

strongly

present

when

employees

feel

engaged

andinspired

by

their

work.freedomwonderpowerDelivering

these

happy

moments

using

conventionalmethods

is

becoming

increasingly

harder

to

do,particularly

when

the

traditional

model

of

a

workforcebeing

in

one

location

has

all

but

been

replaced

witha

fully

remote

or

hybrid

work

scheme.

Facilitatingconnections

between

diverse

and

dispersed

peopleacross

an

organization,

while

catering

to

their

individualneeds

to

get

them

to

feel

good

and

perform

at

theirbest,

is

no

small

feat.

But

it

can

be

done.visioncollaborationcreativitymomentconveniencejoy12/en-us/us-partner-blog/2021/11/15/you-have-eight-seconds-di?erentiate-your-business-through-the-art-of-storytelling//wp-content/uploads/2022/10/People-Experience-Research_Report_web.pdf3The

power

ofimmersive

technologiesEnvision

having

the

ability

to

empower

teams

to

reactwith

lightning-fast

speed

by

giving

them

real-timeaccess

to

data.

Consider

being

able

to

explore

di?erentoptions

and

scenarios

in

a

virtual

world

to

simulateand

predict

the

future.

What

if

employees

could

learnand

adapt

faster

than

ever

using

new,exciting

waysof

interaction?tools

and

systems

people

work

with.

Now

employeeslog

time

and

expenses,

request

holidays,

?nd

out

aboutrelevant

courses,

and

more

in

one

intuitive

app.

Since

itsaves

them

time

and

aggravation,

they

can

concentrateon

more

meaningful

tasks

that

bring

joy

and

a

senseof

purpose.It’s

important

to

consider

the

optimal

blend

ofinteractions

these

technologies

can

create

throughoutthe

user

journey.

It’s

also

crucial

to

determine

theappropriate

balance

between

ambient

and

explicitinteractions,

as

immersive

experiencesdon’talwaysneed

to

involve

direct

engagement.

And

lastly,whatever

employers

decide

to

introduce

must

be

in

linewith

employee

needs.Immersive

technologies

can

include

extended

reality(virtual,

augmented,

mixed)

and

multisensory

interfaces(voiceinteraction,

gesture,

haptic).

These

technologiesfully

immerse

users

in

a

digital

experience,

creatinga

sense

of

presence

and

interactivity

beyond

whattraditional

screens

or

devices

cano?er.This

can

beachieved

through

virtual

reality

headsets,

augmentedreality

glasses,

or

haptic

technology

that

simulates

thesense

of

touch.A

highly

engaging

example

would

be

a

metaverse,where

employees

meet

in

a

shared

virtual

space,

fromwherever

they

are.

However,immersive

technology

isnot

only

about

engrossing

people

in

a

virtual

world.

Infact,

anytechnology

that

captures

and

holds

people’sattention,

while

improving

the

waythey

work,

can

beconsidered

immersive

in

the

workplace.

This

includes2Dinterfaces.Capgemini

recently

partnered

with

Microsoft

Viva

tobuild

a

people

experience

portal

where

all

services

arebrought

together

in

one

place.

It

simpli?es

the

daily4TransformworkspaceexperienceswithimmersivetechnologiesTime

to

embrace

theextraordinaryattracted

and

hosted

over100potential

candidates

–considerably

expanding

the

pool

of

talent

attractedcompared

to

traditional

in-person

events

(andat

thesame

time

increasing

employer

branding).

The

?exibilityand

format

of

these

events

also

allowed

for

severalvirtual

rooms,

with

recruitment

challenges

tailored

todi?erent

persona

clusters(e.g.,white

collar

vs.

bluecollar)

–

which

provided

further

insight

into

selectingthe

right

candidates

for

the

client.Many

organizations

across

di?erent

industries

arebringing

advanced,

high-impact

use

cases

tolife,wherethe

focus

is

on

increasing

creativity

and

e?ciency,improving

support

and

worker

safety,

and

providingan

environment

where

people

can

continuously

learn,develop,

andgrow.Daily

work

and

productivity.

Extended

reality

canbe

used

to

create

immersive

spaces

that

allow

remoteteams

to

work

better

together.For

example,

VR

and

ARcan

makedata

visualization

more

immersive

through

3Dvisual

content.

This

can

help

speed

up

the

design

andtesting

of

new

services

and

products

and

reduce

thenumber

of

prototypes

built.Here

are

some

ways

they’re

using

immersivetechnologies

to

give

employees

a

valued

experiencealong

their

workplace

journey:Recruitment

and

onboarding.

Metaverse-basedhiring

and

onboarding

allows

companies

to

save

timeand

money

while

helping

new

hires

to

network

andbuild

professional

connections.

It

also

improves

theemployee

experience

by

providing

an

interactive,engaging

wayto

learn

about

the

company

culture.For

example,

new

employees

can

be

transported

toa

virtual

o?ce,where

they

take

a

virtual

tour

of

thecompany’s

facilities,

meet

their

coworkers,

and

learnabout

the

company’s

mission

and

values,

before

evenstepping

foot

inside

the

workplace.A

client

in

the

energy

sector

wanted

to

improve

thewayimportant

information

was

shared

within

itsemployee

teams.

Data,

such

as

the

temperature

andvolume

of

?uid

?owing

through

oil

pipelines,

neededto

be

communicated

between

di?erent

people.

Ourteam

developed

a

user

assistance

system

with

a

userinterface

that

enables

unidirectional

video

transmission–

from

an

operator

to

a

remote

technician

supervisingoperations

–

as

well

as

bidirectional

audio

transmissionbetween

both

parties.

Our

system

also

includedfeatures

for

real-time

tracking

and

analysis,

furtherimproving

the

waypipeline

operations

were

monitoredand

serviced.One

of

our

clients

was

facing

a

decrease

in

new

hireapplications,

especially

among

young

IT

experts.

Weworked

with

the

client

to

design

and

launch

severalvirtual

recruiting

events

in

the

metaverse.

Each

event5Learning

and

development.

Immersive

technologyis

having

a

major

impact

on

training

and

education.Employees

can

fully

immerse

themselves

in

a

simulatedenvironment,

allowing

for

hands-on

learning

andexperience

–

minus

the

risks.

Taskscan

be

tailored

toindividual

employee

needs

and

preferences

to

maximizeengagement

and

enjoyment.organizations

replicate

workplaces.

With

the

abilityto

test

various

scenarios

in

a

digital

copy

of

a

real-lifeenvironment,

employees

can

visualize

their

designsand

rehearse

complex

settings

to

ensure

accurate,safe,

and

e?cient

results

are

carried

overinto

thephysical

world.Our

team

created

a

digital

twin

of

a

client’s

factoryproduction

lines

that

gives

operators,

engineers,and

managers

full

visibility

and

control

of

productionprocesses

and

operations.

Wealso

developed

anapplication

that

displays

the

status

of

sensors

in

realtime

and

consists

of

an

early

warning

system

thatgenerates

alarms

in

case

of

deviations.

Our

work

hashelped

reduce

maintenance

costs

by

20%,

decreaseenergy

consumption

by

10%,and

improve

overalldata

accuracy.A

gas

sector

client

tasked

us

to

create

a

VR

applicationthat

would

simulate

and

teach

its

energy

workers

howthe

gas

process

works.

Our

application

guides

usersthrough

di?erent

scenarios

with

information

and

tipsalong

the

wayso

they

can

be

better

prepared

for

whatto

expect

in

a

real-world

situation.Safety

and

well-being.

Data

from

digital

twins

(digitalrepresentations

of

physical

objects)

is

also

helping6TransformworkspaceexperienceswithimmersivetechnologiesGenerative

AI

atyour

serviceSupport

and

assistance.

Field

service

engineersworking

on

complex

machinery

need

timely

accessto

detailed

information

and

instructions.

Using

ARheadsets

or

AR-enabled

smartphones,

they

can

scancomponents

of

machinery

to

get

AI-guided

voice

andtext

assistance

to

speed

up

repair.One

of

the

hottest

and

most

exciting

topicsof

today

is

generative

AI.

Wecould

not

havewritten

this

paper

without

a

nod

to

how

it

willdramatically

impact

the

workplace.A

client

wanted

to

increase

the

precision,

e?ciency,and

safety

of

their

engineering

construction

teams’work.

Using

a

Unity

environment,

we

developed

across-platform

AR

app

that

enables

a

constructionengineer

to

“see”through

walls

to

accurately

locaterebars,

voids,

cables,

cavities,

and

other

objectsburied

in

structures

before

proceeding

with

incisionsand

drilling

procedures.

The

app’sinterface

allowsfor

depth

and

heat

map

visualization

and

datainterpretation,

which

helps

engineers

conduct

moreaccurate

and

e?cient

structural

surveys

in

a

muchsafermanner.Generative

AI

will

havea

signi?cant

impacton

workplace

behaviors

in

the

coming

years

–there

is

no

doubt

about

that.

One

of

the

mostsigni?cant

ways

this

technology

is

expectedto

impact

the

workplace

is

byautomatingrepetitive

and

mundane

tasks,

which

will

freeup

employees

to

focus

on

more

strategicand

creative

work.

This

could

lead

to

a

moreproductive

and

ful?lling

work

environmentwhere

employees

can

focus

on

tasks

thatrequire

human

judgment

and

creativity,

ratherthan

being

bogged

down

by

routine

tasks.As

a

result,

generative

AI

can

help

improveemployee

engagement

and

satisfaction,

as

wellas

enhance

overall

organizational

performance.Accessibility

and

engagement.

Today’sdistributedand

hybrid

workforce

has

a

range

of

needs

thatcan

be

catered

to

using

immersive

technologies.For

example,

using

intelligent

cognitive

platforms,employees

with

disabilities

can

enable

text

orspeech,

allowing

them

to

participate

in

meetingsand

events

on

an

equal

footing

with

their

coworkers.This

increases

engagement

and

presents

a

futureworkplace

where

technology

provides

an

opportunityfor

all,

regardless

of

location

and

ability.However,there

are

also

concerns

thatgenerative

AI

could

lead

to

job

displacementand

skill

obsolescence.

As

more

tasks

becomeautomated,

workers

may

need

to

develop

newskills

and

competencies

to

remain

relevant

inthe

workplace.

Additionally,

generative

AI

couldalso

impact

workplace

communication

andcollaboration,

as

employees

may

need

to

learnhow

to

e?ectively

work

alongside

AI

systems.Therefore,

it

is

essential

for

organizations

toinvest

in

training

and

development

programsto

help

employees

develop

the

necessary

skillsto

adapt

to

this

new

technological

landscape.Ultimately,

generative

AI

has

the

potential

totransform

the

workplace,

but

it

will

requirecareful

planning

and

management

to

ensurethat

ultimately

there

is

a

positive

impact

onemployees

and

organizational

performance.A

client

needed

to

change

the

wayits

employees

heldmeetings

–

both

online

and

o?ine.

Weconducteduser

research

to

?nd

out

what

people

wanted

in

theset-upof

their

conference

rooms,

then

introducedMicrosoft

TeamsRooms

to

transform

the

client’s

750existing

conference

rooms.

Several

features

wereadded

to

makeit

easier

for

people

to

participatein

meetings,

including

live

captions,

transcriptionservices,

and

voice

assistance.

MS

Surface

Hubs

werealso

installed,

which

havehelped

makemeetingsmore

interactive

and

collaborative

for

everyone.Although

still

requiring

a

review

andcopyediting

–

as

humans

need

to

alwaysbe

in

control

of

what

AI

produces–

thetwo

paragraphs

above

(onlyin

this

boxed-out

section)

werewritten

bygenerative

AI.Impressed?

This

is

just

a

sample

of

how

AI

couldrevolutionize

the

waycontent,

audio,

code,images,

and

more

are

created

in

the

workplace.7Why

now?maintain

peoples’

attention,

particularly

as

peoplehavemore

choices

and

control

overhow

and

wherethey

work.2.

Immersive

capabilities

are

becoming

increasinglyembedded

into

core

technologies,

moving

beyondthe

niche

applications

and

industries.The

global

extended

reality

industry

will

reachapproximately

$345.9billion

in

sizeby

2030,with

agrowing

CAGR

of

33%.3

Although

immersive

technologyis

already

being

used

in

healthcare,

education,

andmanufacturing,

it’s

attracting

even

more

attention.Webelieve

there

are

three

major

shifts

underway

thatmakeimplementing

an

immersive

strategy

essential

fortoday’s

workforce:3.

Organizations

are

recognizing

the

importanceof

diversity,

inclusivity,

and

accessibility

in

theworkplace.

They’re

taking

on

the

responsibility

ofequipping

and

empowering

their

employees

whileensuring

their

safety.

These

factors

contributeto

the

longevity

and

success

of

a

business.Additionally,

real-time

data

access,

data

intelligence,and

visualization

are

now

critical

to

making

betterbusiness

decisions.1.

The

modern

workforce

has

higher

expectations

fortechnology

to

deliver

consumer-like

experiences.There

is

greater

pressure

on

organizations

toprovide

immersive

experiences

that

capture

andSustainability

asa

driverto

remote

working,

but

balance

it

by

in-personcollaboration.

Metaverse

technologies

o?er

thepotential

to

create

an

environment

that

provides

thebest

of

both

workplace

scenarios

–

and

that

meet

theneeds

of

the

employee,

the

employer

and

the

planet.Wealso

emphasise

the

importance

of

our

peoplebecoming

sustainability

promoters

through

a

globaltraining

program,

delivered

via

a

dedicated

virtualinteractive

sustainability

campus.

This

both

connectspeople,

wherever

they

are

in

the

world

and

eliminatesthe

need

for

travel.

Weare

currently

investing

infurther

developments

in

the

metaverse

that

willprovide

a

more

inclusive

and

immersive

experience

toour

people.There’sno

doubt

of

the

increasing

importanceplaced

by

employees

on

their

employer’s

stance

onsustainability,

evidenced

by

the

workplace.

This

ispartly

due

to

the

in?uence

of

Gen

Z,

a

cohort

placingsigni?cant

importance

on

employee

ful?llment

andpurpose,

and

invigorating

interaction

with

colleagues.Virtual

experiences

are

already

integral

to

their

lives,

sothere

is

a

natural

con?uence

of

achieving

sustainabilityaims

through

the

use

of

immersive

technologies.Weare

working

with

a

number

of

clients

from

aroundthe

world,

developing

immersive

solutions

relatingto

recruitment,

onboarding

and

training

initiatives.This

is

particularly

the

case

for

highly

dispersedemployee

teams

that

may

never

actually

meet

forenvironmental

reasons,

or

in

high

tech/

researchand

development

units

where

there

is

a

scarcity

ofin-depth

technical

support.At

Capgemini,

we

havea

long-term

commitment

toenvironmental

sustainability

and,

as

part

of

our

science-based

carbon

reduction

targets,

we

look

at

the

peopleaspects

of

our

own

environmental

impact,

such

asreducing

the

e?ect

of

business

travel

and

commuting,as

well

as

work-life

balance.

Covid

experience

hastaught

us

that

it’s

possible

for

a

business

to

pivot3

/extended-reality-market8TransformworkspaceexperienceswithimmersivetechnologiesStart

with

thefoundation

–

thepeopleMaking

experiencestangibleOrganizations

are

hesitant

to

makenew

investmentsthese

days.

It’s

understandable

that

they

want

to

getmaximum

value

out

of

the

tools

they

already

have.Ifthey’re

going

to

invest

in

new

technology,

they

want

tobe

absolutely

positive

it’s

the

right

investment

for

theirworkforce.

This

is

where

an

end-to-end

partner

comesin,

one

that

can

explore

and

test

various

options

andconnect

the

right

solutions

to

their

needs.

This

partnershould

take

a

consultative-led

approach,

workingclosely

with

the

company

to

understand

their

goals

andobjectives,

and

conducting

studies

to

gain

insights

intotheir

workforce

and

workplace.The

knee-jerk

reaction

to

all

this

would

be

to

?nd

apartner

that

can

quickly

implement

exciting,

interactivesolutions

that

dazzle

and

delight

customers.

This,however,would

be

the

wrong

approach.

Not

allimmersive

experiences

are

right

for

every

employeerole,so

a

cookie-cutter

strategy

will

likelyfall

short

ofexpectations.Rather

than

o?oading

an

industrialized,

standardo?ering

onto

an

organization,

there

should

be

a

greaterfocus

on

?rst

understanding

the

people:

their

roles,pain

points,

and

what

they

need

to

be

e?ective

andproductive.

This

information

can

be

used

to

designexperiences

that

truly

resonate

with

employees.

Byomitting

this

keystep

and

proceeding

with

solutionsbased

on

hunches,

any

investment

in

immersivetechnology

will

be

a

waste

of

time

and

money

thatcould

cause

more

harm

than

good

to

a

workforce.Capgemini’s

Living

Labs

are

physical

spaces

wherewe

showcase

what’s

possible

and

what

the

bene?tscould

be.Weuse

them

to

test

and

validate

use

casesso

organizations

can

experience

solutions

earlybefore

further

investing

in

them.

We’reconstantlyexperimenting

with

emerging

technologies

andexploring

how

they

can

be

practically

applied

to

variousworkplace

contexts.

If

something

looks

promising,

wedemonstrate

its

potential

in

action

through

interactivesimulations

and

real-world

examples.

This

allowseveryone

to

see

?rsthand

how

the

technology

willimpact

their

workforce

and

daily

operations.

But

it’scrucial

to

look

beyond

just

implementation.

It

shouldbe

a

continuous

journey

of

progress,

where

the

focusgradually

shifts

to

monitoring

and

improving

things

asemployee

needs

evolve.It’s

a

process

that

spans

fromconsultation

to

deployment

and

constant

improvement.Quiet

quitting

and,

more

recently,rage

applying

gives

aclear

signal

that

people

are

dissatis?ed

with

their

jobs,which

puts

pressure

on

companies

to

?gure

outwhy.As

the

cost

of

labor

climbs,

businesses

can

no

longera?ord

to

turn

a

blind

eye

to

a

disengaged

workforce.Employees

want

a

better

wayto

work,

and

employersmust

sit

up

and

listen.

This

includes

?guring

out

howto

equip

people

to

inspire

peak

performance

andcomfort.

Organizations

must

also

factor

in

accessibilityand

diversity

challenges

to

ensure

that

everyone

canbene?t

regardless

of

their

background

or

location.9IMPROVINGequipment

tickets

and

hand-written

notes,

evenbeyond

the

standard

operating

procedures

(SOPs).DAILY

LAB

WORKWITH

AUGMENTEDREALITYTo

help

ease

their

burden,

Sano?

introducedan

AR

customized

interface

that

projects

SOPsonto

lab

table

surfaces.

Now

with

all

necessaryinformation

clearly

visible,

the

technicians

canperform

each

procedure

in

an

intuitive,

step-by-step

manner,avoiding

errors

and

inconsistencies.And

with

direct

access

to

cross-references,

such

asmethods

and

regulations,

they

are

more

organizedand

e?cient

to

meet

the

rigorous

demands

oftheir

work.Lab

technicians

at

Sano?

are

responsible

forconducting

many

procedures

and

following

amultitude

of

methods

to

achieve

their

desiredgoals.

With

the

sheer

number

of

internal

protocolsand

external

regulations

to

adhere

to,they

often?nd

it

di?cult

to

keep

up.They

frequently

mustresort

to

using

paper-based

support,

includingThe

whole

process

of

documentary

managementand

audits

is

now

signi?cantly

better,which

ispositively

impacting

overall

lab

performance.10

TransformworkspaceexperienceswithimmersivetechnologiesdedicationindependenceconnectionexcitementmovementjourneyA

new

erain

employeedevelopmentProviding

immersive

experiences

in

theworkplace

is

more

than

just

a

passing

trend;it’s

become

a

necessity

in

today’s

competitivejob

market.

Investments

in

technology

andautomation

can

inspire

people

to

work

attheir

best.

Many

employees

are

digital

nativeswho

expect

technology

to

be

an

integralpart

of

their

work

environment.

Failingto

meet

these

expectations

can

lead

todisengagement

and

decreased

productivity.Employers

that

get

this

right

can

makeapositive

?rst

impression

that

sets

the

tonefor

a

long-lasting

and

successful

employeetenure.feel

the

futureadventuregratitudeemotionSo,

let’sreimagine

that

Gen

Z

newcomerwalking

into

their

?rst

dayand

being

greetedwith

a

cutting-edge

onboarding

process

thatcaptures

their

attention.

They

learn

about

thecompany

and