<![CDATA[AlignVR - Press Releases]]>Fri, 28 Mar 2025 08:06:50 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[AlignVR Hosts Open House in Edmonton]]>Tue, 28 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.alignvr.com/press-releases/alignvr-hosts-open-house-in-edmontonJune 28, 2022 | As Edmonton companies return to in-person operations and tackle new challenges of team-building and talent management, AlignVR launches a new virtual reality service. One that allows the local business community to understand and elevate their teams through a novel, accurate, soft skills evaluation toolset.

In development for several years and honed through a successful pilot project with France-based Airbus, AlignVR’s downtown Edmonton VR labs will be the first place in the world where companies of all sizes can effortlessly access this new technology as needed.

“AlignVR approaches the question of soft skills evaluation by using virtual reality to give business owners and HR managers insight that traditional methods miss,” said Co-Founder and CEO Alex Rossol. “This means managers can better understand the hidden strengths and weaknesses of their teams, retain talent, and make better hiring decisions.”

In a traditional team-building exercise, the evaluator does not get a true representation of a person compared to their day-to-day self because the employee will act differently knowing they are being evaluated — or answer questions by trying to provide the ‘right’ answer.

With the immersion of the virtual world and the immediacy of the team-based VR tasks developed in-house, the AlignVR session imposes a cognitive load that results in people acting much more like themselves. The result is the reliable, organic production of more authentic behaviours that illustrate more accurately how well the participants perform in terms of common desired soft skills:
  • Team-working skills (coordinating and collaborating with others)
  • Analytical reasoning and critical thinking
  • ​Complex problem-solving
  • Agility and adaptability, decision-making
  • Ethical judgement

“Managers and employees are far better equipped to understand how they can grow both as a team and as individuals because they’re working with real information and a powerful shared experience,” Rossol said.

Edmonton business leaders, HR professionals, and media are invited to AlignVR’s Open House on July 14, 2pm-5pm, to experience a hands-on demonstration of the virtual reality system. Attendees will try VR tasks and challenges, and will be shown how AlignVR uses observational data to develop actionable professional development plans, select better-qualified candidates, and reduce the impact of personal bias in team building and recruitment.]]><![CDATA[AlignVR to prepare for the US market through the Canadian Extended Reality Market Accelerator]]>Wed, 23 Dec 2020 23:09:25 GMThttps://www.alignvr.com/press-releases/alignvr-to-prepare-for-the-us-market-through-the-canadian-extended-reality-market-accelerator
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December 21 2020 | AlignVR announces it has been selected to take part in the Canadian Extended Reality (XR) Market Accelerator. One of 10 startups selected, this program allows AlignVR to examine and prepare for entry into the Washington state market.

Taking place over January and February of 2021, this program will occur virtually and include introduction to local Washington state companies, community leaders, and investors for market validation, mentorship, coaching and advice. This will assist the Canadian VR company develop its go to market strategy for the US.

“AlignVR seeks to help organizations better understand their most important resource: their employees,” CEO Alex Rossol says.

“Our virtual reality innovations are set to revolutionize how companies hire, how they train soft skills — even how they come together casually — to build positive working relationships and stronger teams. We’re thrilled to be a part of this program and look forward to learning how to better prepare our unique services for the US market.”

AlignVR is an Edmonton, Alberta company founded by Alex Rossol and Nathaniel Rossol. With 50+ partners worldwide delivering its entertainment product, the organization has innovated a leap in hiring and training by putting virtual reality to use to help companies gain incredible insight into the soft skills of its employees and candidates.

​By creating scenarios that fully immerse participants in an approachable yet challenging environment, it exposes behaviours and relationships that normally remain hidden allowing for a more authentic and transparent approach to developing soft skills than ever before. More information is available here.
]]><![CDATA[Edmonton Company AlignVR Reinvents Holiday Office Parties As COVID-Safe Virtual Reality Experiences for Local Businesses]]>Thu, 12 Nov 2020 21:17:17 GMThttps://www.alignvr.com/press-releases/edmonton-company-alignvr-reinvents-holiday-office-parties-as-covid-safe-virtual-reality-experiences-for-local-businessesNovember 12, 2020 | Many Edmonton companies have been forced to cancel traditional large in-person holiday events due to the ongoing pandemic. AlignVR has responded with an innovative way for local businesses to show appreciation — and learn something about themselves and their team along the way.

“By creating a new version of our virtual reality escape room team-building service with COVID-19 safety top of mind, AlignVR gives companies a new way to end 2020 on a high note,” co-founder and CEO Alex Rossol says
All companies need is a little empty space in their office for groups of up to four people per scenario to enjoy an immersive free-roam room-scale VR experience that sees them collaborating to overcome incredible challenges — from stopping a meteor impact on a space station to defeating a dragon.

For those without the office space — or looking for the maximum possible safety — AlignVR also runs these sessions entirely remotely. The technology allows for people to join the experience from the comfort of their own homes with the equipment dropped off ahead of time.

In all cases, the equipment is fully sanitized and ready to use between groups.

While this service can be run entirely as an entertainment experience, AlignVR is also pioneering the use of VR as a psychological tool to promote better teamwork.

“Companies will also get the opportunity to see how these virtual scenarios produce valuable real-world insights around how individuals work together — and offer pointed guidance for developing soft skill growth,” Alex Rossol says.

AlignVR is a local Edmonton company founded by Alex Rossol and Nathaniel Rossol. With entertainment products supported by 50+ businesses worldwide, AlignVR’s expertise has innovated a leap in hiring and training methodology that allows for authentic evaluation and development of soft skills using virtual reality.

You can learn more about AlignVR’s holiday party service here.
]]><![CDATA[AlignVR accepted into Creative Destruction Lab Prime Stream program]]>Thu, 12 Nov 2020 21:10:06 GMThttps://www.alignvr.com/press-releases/alignvr-accepted-into-creative-destruction-lab-prime-stream-programNovember 12, 2020 | AlignVR is proud to announce today that it has been accepted into the Creative Destruction Lab Prime Stream program at CDL-Toronto.

AlignVR’s innovative approach to the hiring and training process enables forward-thinking companies to make better hiring decisions and effectively coach their employees toward positive personal and professional growth.
With the renowned mentorship of the Creative Destructive Labs program, AlignVR will work to hone its advanced VR product line with valuable insight from sophisticated business and technological innovation experts. Lessons learned will enhance its 21st century solutions to age-old challenges in the hiring process that impede reliable success.

“This represents a fantastic step for AlignVR. We’ve had extremely positive reactions from the companies we’ve been working with around our fresh approach to the hiring process.”

“I’m looking forward to taking our product line to the accomplished expertise at CDL and working with the organization to bring our transformative solutions to the wider recruitment world,” says Alex Rossol, CEO and Co-founder of AlignVR.

Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is a nonprofit organization that delivers an objectives-based program for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies. Its nine-month program allows founders to learn from experienced entrepreneurs, increasing their likelihood of success. 

Founded in 2012 by Professor Ajay Agrawal at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, the program has expanded to nine sites across four countries.

Since its inception, companies that have participated in the CDL program have created more than $7.5 billion (CAD) in equity value. CDL alumni include North (Waterloo), Atomwise (San Francisco), Kyndi (Palo Alto), Xanadu (Toronto), BenchSci (Toronto), Kheiron Medical (London), and Roadbotics (Pittsburgh).

AlignVR was founded in Edmonton, Alberta by Alex Rossol and Nathaniel Rossol. With entertainment products supported by 50 businesses worldwide, the AlignVR experts have developed the next stage in hiring and training that allow for authentic evaluation and development of the soft skills that make stronger teams.
]]><![CDATA[AlignVR Takes on the Job Interview]]>Fri, 03 Jan 2020 08:00:00 GMThttps://www.alignvr.com/press-releases/alignvr-takes-on-the-job-interviewThe job interview is about to get a major overhaul. Whether it is for jobs, med school, or even dating, AlignVR is changing the way we get to know people in interviews 

​AlignVR is a 30 minute interview that uses a series of virtual reality experiences and puzzles to essentially give candidates the chance to show who they really are. Candidates go through live social interactions between themselves and other candidates in a variety of contexts and situations. The idea is to show enough behavior that an assessor can determine whether you are a good fit for the team. 

And here’s the hook. You can’t fake it. ​
Really though, you can’t. AlignVR actually has what they call an Impression Management Inhibitor. Impression Management is the psychological term that describes the mental effort we put into trying to make a positive impression on those around us. For example a first date. In an effort to be liked, we try to say the ‘right’ things and avoid saying things that could, well, end the night early. We do this all over the place in our lives, especially when we meet someone new. It is particularly potent during the job interview process. AlignVR breaks the Impression Management feedback loop so that you are substantially less able to use it. You become much more likely to say and do things inline with your nature rather than what you think you should say to get the job. The result is authentic behavior. 

“The interview process is broken. It just doesn’t accomplish what we think it does. In the real world, the way we get to know people is by observing their behaviors over time. There is no magic interview question you can ask that will show you anything other than one behavior - and that is how does the candidate act under pressure in a one on one interview setting. Frankly, that is far less useful than we think and not very applicable to most of our jobs. What the job interview needs is to demonstrate a variety of behaviors that relate to the types of social interactions we expect in a functioning team. And then it needs to show them in a genuine way.” Tom Viinikka CEO, AlignVR 

By the numbers, job interviews are only slightly better than flipping a coin. Leadership IQ did a study of 20,000 new hires that showed 40% of them were considered failures by their organizations because of soft skill deficiencies. Isn’t soft skill assessment exactly why we do a face to face interview? By comparison, only 6% of all candidates were failed hires based on their hard skills. 

“We’re good at assessing hard skill. We have certificates, degrees, and tests that can show us what a candidate’s skill level is. We’re horrible at assessing soft skill. It’s not because we can’t, it’s just that we don’t have a good method. Virtual reality technology has made some really neat things possible for us in this area. We now can predictably observe natural behaviors of interest that otherwise would have taken months to surface, usually after you have spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to train and integrate a new hire into your business.” 

Align is starting to get some attention too. They are working with a Global 500 company to change their recruitment process. “We have completed a successful proof of concept that will be converting into an installed system. Our customer is thrilled with the results they have seen.” 

​It’s not just the company that is thrilled. Candidates have loved it as well. “It turns out that people hate job interviews”, grins Alex Rossol, Co-founder. “People would rather not be trying to impress an assessor. They just want to be themselves. This product gives them that and they love it. It’s almost like giving them a couple beers to help them relax and just do them.” Candidates have also reported an increased perception of the hiring company and increased likelihood of accepting a job after the VR interview. “They see it as a progressive move in hiring. It makes them excited to work.”

AlignVR is currently raising a seed round and actively seeking new customers. 

For more information please visit us at Alignvr.com or contact us at info@alignvr.com.
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