Vantage Point and IKEA US partner to roll out VR-based DEI training across 62 locations in the US
November 8th, 2022 — Los Angeles, California In 2022, Vantage Point and IKEA US joined forces to roll out Vantage Point’s VR-based DEI training program to 62 IKEA locations across the US which were well received by all of the managers and leaders who participated in the training.
A preview into Vantage Point
A scene from Vantage Point’s DE&I Virtual Reality training program. Vantage Point works with anthropologists, race relations experts, and psychologists to develop training geared towards both a US lens, and an International lens.
The three-tiered deployment that spanned over five months combined a logistics effort that included 62 IKEA locations throughout the East Coast, Central US, Southern US, Midwest, and the West Coast, implementation support for employees participating in the training, program analytics around performance, and a follow-on group facilitation session that unpacked the lessons learned in a location-based conversation.
“The commitment from IKEA shows a tremendous step forward in where we are in the world today — both in training, technology, and in the importance placed on connectedness in such a global and connected society.”
— Morgan Mercer, CEO of Vantage Point
Vantage Point, a Los-Angeles based company, “creates experiences that change the way you think.” As the leading provider in VR training, Vantage Point specializes in developing immersive experiences around complex workplace interactions, including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), and Compliance / Anti-Sexual Harassment training.
Vantage Point’s headsets sit on a table at an IKEA office.
IKEA US is committed to being an inclusive business and this is a mission that the organization embodies inside and out. IKEA and Vantage Point curated a set of experiences to train employees at all levels, from Country Management to recruiters to employees, on topics including “Carrying the Burden of Racism,” “How to be an Ally,” a first-person point-of-view of being racially profiled, “Promoting from Within,” and “Being Overlooked in a Meeting.”
Stationing VR headsets at each office location, participants from IKEA joined immersive photo-realistic environments where they were then able to interact and engage with life-like characters to practice speaking up, developing empathy, recognizing bias and discrimination, and practicing being active bystanders. Participants then debriefed learnings with each other to drive the lessons home through a facilitated discussion.
Morgan Mercer, the CEO of Vantage Point, comments, “the commitment from IKEA shows a tremendous step forward in where we are in the world today — both in training, technology, and in the importance placed on connectedness in such a global and connected society.”
She continues, “as a global household brand, IKEA is leading by example within the industry promoting inclusivity and changing hearts and minds, through effective and eye-opening forms of training that develop empathy and teach new skills, will pave the way to all organizations leveling up their approach to training and development.”
Read More about the deployment
Read IKEA’s Life at Home Annual Report