Hands Up, This Is a (Virtual) Robbery!

Until late last year, Bank of America branch staffers would learn how to handle a potential stick-up through guidebooks and online videos. Today, tellers are immersed in a 3D virtual reality environment, in which a gunman aims a weapon at them or furtively hands them a threatening note demanding money.

The bank measures tellers’ reactions and the time it takes them to respond to a robber’s threat. With those analytics in hand, trainers can do more-targeted coaching, said Michael Wynn, who oversees 3D training for the bank’s Academy Innovations and Training Solutions team. “We want them to remain calm,” said Wynn. “We want them to understand their choices are important and have serious consequences to their safety and the safety of others.”