Across industries and functions, soft skills are a clear differentiator in individual and team performance. They are both rare and valuable because they typically require real experience (mistakes, failure and reflection) to master and apply on the job. But how can learners practice high-stakes interpersonal situations in a safe and efficient fashion? Powered by a blend of AI and live human interaction, human-in-the-loop VR simulation has become the ideal way to gain essential skills in the workplace. It combines true human intelligence with AI in order to unlock empathic potential in your workforce and ensure organizational readiness to perform. Practice is authentic and spontaneous while cost-effective and scalable. 

Whether your goal is to drive productivity gains or improve engagement/retention, simulation can cascade ROI across the entire value chain. Research from Chief Learning Officer magazine shows an average return of $4,000 for every $1100 spent developing such skills. In this session, we’ll review several case studies and show how several companies incorporated simulation into training to achieve immediate return and long-term advantage. 

Together we will explore:

• The learning science behind soft skills training
• How organizations like H&R Block, Genentech, BNSF, and T-Mobile are leveraging VR in areas like leadership development, customer service, and sales enablement
• Quantifying success and ROI of soft skills training
• Benchmarking attributes of XR providers 

Christina Yu is a learning technology executive, an expert in virtual reality simulation and the application of this technology to workforce productivity and engagement. She speaks frequently at human capital conferences on the subjects of soft skills, learning science and the psychology of performance. Prior to her current role, she was on the founding team of a new PaaS adaptive learning division at McGraw-Hill Education, working to open and license technology to corporate learning and higher education partners. She holds an A.B in English and Creative Writing from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A from the NYU Stern School of Business.