Dive Brief:
- In a different use case of the metaverse, beauty conglomerate Coty Inc. plans to launch Coty Campus, an internal virtual environment for its 11,000 employees, this fall, according to a Tuesday press release.
- The beauty company teamed up with Spatial, a 3D experience and social platform, to create the digital space where Coty employees can share files, create custom avatars and communicate via text or voice chats. Users can also receive rewards by collecting items, exploring the digital environment and completing quests, per the press release.
- The company said the Coty Campus is part of its efforts to upskill its workforce and is a “key development” in the company’s digitalization strategy.
Dive Insight:
Coty has placed itself on a long list of companies, including Gucci, Walmart and Gap, that have experimented with the metaverse. But where many retailers have used the metaverse in the hopes of driving sales from digital goods and connecting with online consumers, Coty Campus is only available to employees and follows a broader trend of employers testing virtual technologies to keep workers engaged.
Per a 2022 Challenger, Gray & Christmas survey, over 80% of human resources executives were worried about their workers exiting for other jobs. Some employers are relying on augmented and virtual reality environments to engage workers. Meta, which has invested heavily in the concept, released a survey of more than 2,000 employees and 400 business executives last year and found that 65% of workers said they were more likely to remain in their position if they could use AR and VR tools. Seventy-four percent of business executives said they planned to set aside funds for VR, AR or metaverse expenditures in 2022.
“Coty is committed to being a leader in digital and continues to push the boundaries of innovation,” Coty Chief Digital Officer Jean-Denis Mariani said in a statement. “With Coty Campus, we are proud to leverage Spatial’s Web3 and gaming technology on a groundbreaking scale to create new immersive experiences that will provide the most interactive solutions for collaboration and co-creation.”
Upskilling workers could help boost retention. A 2022 report from the Taco Bell Foundation and Jobs for the Future noted that learning opportunities could ultimately lead to greater retention. Another report from the University of Phoenix Career Institute found that a large share of the 5,000 workers surveyed said they would remain employed at their company if it offered more reskilling or upskilling opportunities.
