Why XR Could Be the Tool HR Leads Are Overlooking in Hiring

Kristian McCann sits down with Doug Stephen, President of CGS Immersive, to explore why extended reality might be the most underused tool in the modern HR leader's kit.

Immersive Workplace & XR TechInterview

Published: March 27, 2026

Kristian McCann

At a time when AI is making every candidate look polished on paper, Doug Stephen, President of CGS Immersive, makes a clear-eyed case for why XR — used alongside AI — is the missing layer that turns promising CVs into provable hires. Whether you’re recruiting for a fast food drive-through or a high-stakes LNG plant, the numbers make the argument hard to ignore.

Key topics:

The ROI case is concrete. A drive-through generating $500–$1,000 an hour over a 2,000-hour shift means the difference between a good and a poor hire is worth $1 million. XR lets you simulate that pressure before someone walks through the door.

AI and XR work best together. AI handles scale — screening thousands of applicants down to a shortlist. XR handles validity — putting the top candidates into real-world simulations to test dexterity, decision-making, and performance under pressure before a costly hire is made.

The 90-10 rule lowers the barrier. For teams not ready to go all-in, CGS starts candidates with web-based XR simulations. Only those who pass move to a full immersive environment — making adoption practical without disrupting existing workflows.

Start small, prove it fast. Doug’s advice for companies dipping a toe in: pick one MVP use case, define a quantifiable ROI upfront, and make sure the person funding the pilot is the one who’ll own scaling it.

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Augmented RealityEmployee Onboarding ToolsExtended RealityMixed RealitySpatial Computing & XR​
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