“Our customers don’t want a client or student in a virtual location changing what they are supposed to see or others need to see in the next meeting, or for a CEO coming in for a global meeting to find his VPs have deleted the floor by accident,” LeMoine said. “This is a critical focus difference between a consumer open grid environment and one for secure use.”
Behavioral Risks
Canadian telecommunications company Telis uses the AvayaLive Engage virtual environment to onboard employees. So far, more than 1,200 new hires have used it to get basic orientation training. Telis finds that the virtual environment helps break down geographic barriers between people. Another Avaya customer, a large financial services organization, finds that the technology helps reduce social barriers, with junior staff in particular demonstrating a higher level of collaboration in a virtual world than in a traditional physical meeting.
“Based on the feedback that we’ve seen, customers seem to very much appreciate the experience of the avatar,” said Paul McDonagh-Smith, Avaya’s learning practice leader. “It is almost like a mask that they can sit behind.”
But this mask could also have a dark side, as employees may use the avatar to channel more destructive behaviors. Virtual reality environments offer the same potential for rudeness, harassment and stalking as any other communication channel while also making the interaction seem even more real and personal.
“It’s similar to social media, to a certain extent. When somebody is going into a virtual world or virtual environment as an avatar for the company, you want to have a code of conduct,” said attorney Charles Lee Mudd, president of Chicago-based firm Mudd Law Offices. “Just because you’re in a virtual space that might be game-like doesn’t mean that your employees can have alter egos that act differently than they would in real life.”