Augmented reality has already become a part of our daily lives. Almost everyone has tried the Pokémon Go game at least once, or tested an AR mobile app offered by retail companies. Soon enough, augmented reality will become a part of our daily work in the office, in production facilities, board rooms and everywhere business is conducted.
A New Concept of Doing Business in a Global Village
Employee mobility had reached unprecedented heights in the last decade. Large international corporations have multi-cultural environments in every office, with employees from different continents working together. Sometimes, such business missions last a few years, and they offer people the time they need to adapt to a new culture. On other occasions, a foreign specialist’s input is needed on a temporary basis only. But they need to be there, in an unknown environment, to do their job – or do they?
Augmented reality promises to make things easier for potential expats whose expertise is needed in short and medium-term projects. Their actual presence will no longer be needed in a foreign branch office. With the help of augmented reality technology, they can monitor the activities, intervene at the exact moment when their input is needed, and confirm the successful outcome of the activity.
Your Office– Every Day A New Décor and Functionality
Augmented reality is also set to change the office itself. This will be a blessing for smaller companies that cannot afford sophisticated furniture, decorations and equipment needed to help employees work better. Comfortable augmented reality headsets, which can be worn for an extended period of time, will replace most of the physical items in an office, except for chairs and a table or two. Walls will become computer screens that project web pages, spreadsheets and Word documents.
Flipcharts will become obsolete, being replaced by 3D holographic presentations, where all the participants can give their input by interacting with the AR objects. And the boardroom will suddenly materialize before everyone’s eyes, in all the dignity needed for important negotiations.
A Sales Pitch Like No Other
A stellar salesperson is worth their weight in gold for some companies, but with augmented reality many more can greatly increase their rate of closing deals. Talent at making people imagine how it would feel to be using a product will be complemented by a 3D projection of the product itself and demonstrations of how it works. Prospects will also be encouraged to test it and become familiar with it. Without a doubt, this is the best way of persuading potential customers that buying a product will make their life better.
A Better Approach to Customer Assistance
Help desk assistants know the frustration of trying to guide a customer over phone in troubleshooting a technical glitch, without the possibility of seeing the device. But with the help of augmented reality, they will be able to see exactly what the customer sees, use their phone camera to zoom in to the problem area and even add AR annotations, indicating exactly what button to push.
This innovative approach will certainly improve customers’ ratings of tech assistance services and reduce the time needed to fix technical issues, allowing help desk technicians to become more productive.
Immersive Employee Training and Specialization
Even smaller companies will soon be able to afford training their new hires in the most professional manner possible. With augmented reality headsets and dedicated apps, employees can acquire the necessary skills in an interactive manner, without having to stand next to another employee, who would have to slow down their work to give explanations.
After the induction training, augmented reality will also serve for annual appraisals, taking further specialization courses and even tests and examinations for required certification.
