As a professional services film advising clients on rapidly evolving technologies, EY needs to show itself as a technology leader and demonstrate to potential candidates that it is aligning technology with future innovative thinking. It decided to use virtual reality to bring together diverse, inclusive teams that would augment solutions across different geographies, as well as support staff to become more proficient using technology.

In 2020, a poll showed that 47% of employees felt disconnected from their teams, while 93% rated real work experience as their preferred method of engagement with employers. During the pandemic, VR would allow candidates to experience potential roles and even complete simulated tasks when they were not able to participate face-to-face. During EY’s VR internship – EY Internship of the Future – students experience a realistic client meeting in the form of an immersive 360 video. They are asked to design and create a response to the client’s challenge, presenting their solution in real-life with peer-to-peer interaction and input from stakeholders. This increases their knowledge and understanding of life at EY.

The first VR experience took place in 2022 for 19 diverse tech interns over five weeks, and Cappfinity supported EY to expand this in 2023, scaling it to more than 100 interns across all service lines. For 2024, the aim is to scale this even further across 50% of all summer intern roles. More than nine in 10 candidates describe EY as forward thinking and innovative, and more than eight in 10 say it is tech-centric. The VR experience has helped EY attract and retain more diverse recruits and sustain a 100% conversion to offer rate.