Pernod India launches VR onboarding platform

Pernod Ricard India has unveiled Cheers VRorld, an industry-first virtual reality (VR) powered onboarding platform designed to transform how new employees are inducted across its India operations. Moving beyond traditional orientation formats, the initiative delivers a fully immersive 360-degree storytelling experience through VR headsets, enabling real-time engagement from day one.

The virtual journey begins with a personalised welcome from Pernod Ricard’s CEO and concludes with an introduction to the leadership team, helping new joiners build early familiarity with senior leaders. Employees are then virtually transported to the company’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Nashik, where they witness the craftsmanship behind its brands from grain to glass. The experience further extends into simulated on-trade and off-trade market environments, capturing the pace and vibrancy of the business.

Commenting on this further, Nitu Bhushan, Chief Human Resource Officer, Pernod Ricard South Asia said, “Onboarding is the first moment where employees begin to form a connection with the organisation, Cheers VRorld allows us to deliver that moment in a way that is consistent, immersive and deeply personal. It enables every new colleague to get introduced to our company right from the top leadership, office culture to witnessing how our iconic brands come to life in our plant and gain a deeper understanding of the business.”

Whether based at the Nashik plant, headquarters in Gurugram, or regional offices in Hyderabad or Pune, employees receive a consistent onboarding experience, creating a shared starting point across locations. The programme integrates leadership connections, brand galleries, factory visits and retail market interactions into a single cohesive narrative.

Designed as an interactive journey, the platform allows participants to engage actively through avatars, quizzes and guided touchpoints rather than remaining passive viewers. Successfully piloted with around 100 new employees across 14 locations, Cheers VRorld will be scaled up further this year.