Metaverse and E-Learning at redBus: Challenges and Benefits

redBus, the well-known online bus ticket provider, required all employees across various data engineering and product teams to interact with each other daily for agile product development. 

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the development of a quick and interesting mechanism to deliver new-hire induction that would reduce the time-to-productivity of new hires. To address this need, Prabhanjan Kulkarni, the CHRO of redBus, and Srijeet Sarkar, Director of the Learning & Development (L&D) team, developed an immersive web-based online induction, which they extended to a partially immersive meta-based virtual reality platform sans an interactive avatar. 

The platform delivered an engaging experience and reduced time-to-productivity, while also releasing leadership bandwidth otherwise required for repetitive onboarding activities and providing a ready knowledge repository for all employees. It yielded additional benefits but also presented some challenges. 

The millennial and centennial new hires were delighted by this technology’s experience and use, which was enhancing the employer brand of redBus. However, older-generation employees found the experience uncomfortable and preferred the conventional physical induction process. 

The success of meta-learning initiated the development of an in-house mobile and web-based learning management system (LMS). Replete with assessments mapped to individual role levels and competencies for the various departments and teams, the e-learning modules provided learning guides for free online learning, before and after score tracking, and enabled employees to own their learning and development journey. The customized assessment framework also enabled redBus to map the trainee engineers to appropriate teams based on their skill capabilities, ensuring the high productivity of the young engineers.

The teaching objective of the case is to present the application and potential of meta-based platforms for Learning and Development.  This case has been designed for use in the core Micro-Organization Behavior and Human Resource Management (HRM) courses and elective courses on Strategic HRM, Talent Management, Emerging Technology and Future of work, and Learning & Development. 

As HR functions grapple with the application of new-age technologies in their organizations, the expected benefits and associated costs need to be clear.  Further, the need for empowering employees through customized e-learning linked to career growth and organizational productivity presents its own set of challenges.  Organizations face major challenges in mapping organizational learning requirements with individual learning intent and interests.  This case provides an appropriate context to discuss the importance of introducing meta-based learning for more efficient induction management.