St. James’s Place: Elevating Soft Skills with VR

In this podcast episode, Josh Ellick and Hannah Frame from St. James's Place, a leading FTSE 100 financial services firm, share their journey in successfully implementing VR training. Although they faced initial skepticism due to the company's traditional approach, they won over their colleagues through engaging demonstrations and positive word-of-mouth. The VR role-playing scenarios they introduced greatly enhanced trainees' soft skills, such as empathy and active listening, resulting in boosted confidence and quicker training completion. They tackled challenges like accessibility and logistics by developing desktop versions and setting up VR hubs in various offices. Looking ahead, they plan to incorporate AI and explore mixed reality to further elevate their training programs.