Answering a customer across the counter.

A major bank: inclusion practised at the counter

Bank staff felt a customer being refused for his sexuality, then practised speaking up as a colleague.

The brief

Speak up when something is wrong

A major bank set out to empower its employees to take personal responsibility, to question, and to act when something does not seem right (Equal Reality case study; Equal Reality is a subsidiary of People Tech Revolution).

A customer stands across a plain service counter. A first person VR training scenario for immersive training and roleplay, seen through the headset. — A customer across a service counter.

Two people practise a service conversation. A VR training scenario for virtual reality training and simulation. — Two people practise a service conversation.

A woman stands in a bright atrium with a conversation panel in front of her, seen through the headset. — A woman faces a conversation panel.

A wheelchair user and colleague rehearse a conversation. A VR training scenario for virtual reality training and simulation. — A wheelchair user rehearses with a colleague.

Refused at the front desk, then behind it

In Finding Common Ground, staff become Jack, refused a partner gym membership with Pierre because of their sexuality, then Freddy, who works there and watches a colleague do it.

The simulation came from an employee’s lived experience, so staff could make value-based decisions and practise acting in the moment (Equal Reality).

A visitor beside an empty chair in a consultation room, for practising a first meeting. A first person AI roleplay scenario for applied AI in sensitive conversations, seen through the headset. — A visitor beside an empty chair.

A wheelchair user chairs a three-person meeting. A VR training scenario for aged care and disability services. — A wheelchair user chairs a meeting.

A supervisor talks with a student and visitor. A VR training scenario for education. — A supervisor talks with a student.

What changed

Understood, prepared, and clear on what to do

Pilot results published by Equal Reality, measured across empathy, readiness to act and knowing how to report.

Two practice partners stand at separate workshop stations. A first person VR training scenario for immersive training and roleplay, seen through the headset. — Two partners at separate stations.

From feeling it to acting on it

99.2% of the 161 participants understood and felt what it was like to be treated disrespectfully.

96% felt prepared to act if they saw this behaviour at work, and over 99% understood the reporting options open to them.

A colleague across the table, arms folded. A first person AI roleplay scenario for applied AI in sensitive conversations. — A colleague across the table, arms folded.

What this tells you

Our reading: the two roles do different jobs. Being the customer builds the feeling; being the colleague who sees it happen turns that feeling into a choice about what to do.

Close every session on the practical step, how and where to report, because that is what turns readiness into action.

A director waits in a plain meeting room. A first person VR training scenario for government and public sector, seen through the headset. — A director waits in a meeting room.

Two colleagues test a connected task. An AI roleplay scenario for digital twins. — Two colleagues test a connected task.

A participant follows a lit pathway. A first person rapid prototyping scenario for event experiences and activations, seen through the headset. — A participant follows a lit pathway.

For your organisation

Equal Reality titles, in PTR’s library

The PTR VR Library includes Equal Reality titles on race, gender and allyship, tested and reviewed independently in the Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research.

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