Multimedia-based training promising for vendors - training of health care personnel

The need for effective corporate training in healthcare is critical as more employees are arriving in the workplace lacking skills they need to contribute to their company's performance.

In the face of these deficiencies, healthcare products are more sophisticated, and the techniques to market and sell them are increasingly complex. Furthermore, shifting demographics have America's existing work force aging and its entry-level labor pool shrinking. The underlying key to their proficiency rests on the quality of training they will receive on the job.

Interactive multimedia-based training programs offer healthcare vendors a way to make up these deficiencies and improve the effectiveness of their sales and marketing efforts. By combining advanced training software with videodisc players, computers and various output and input devices that make it easy to access information and interact with the system, interactive multimedia system provide employees with a tailored approach to training.

Nowhere is the need for improved training methods of greater importance then in the sales, service and support functions. But as Tom Peters says in his book Thriving on Chaos, "Our investment in training is a national disgrace.

"Despite lip service about people as our most important asset, we value hardware assets over people, and have done so for the last century. Analyze the competition and the story gets grimmer. The Japanese, Germans and others outspend us wildly on training, especially in company skill refurbishing and upgrading."

An extensive survey of sales personnel in the U.S. and Canada, published in

Sales & Marketing Training magazine, reported:

* Less than 45% of all corporations provided formal sales training programs for new employees.

* Salespeople who had formal sales training rated their companies higher in virtually every aspect than did their untrained counterparts.

* Almost half of all salespeople who had formal sales training programs exceeded their sales quotas.

Assuming that the need for training is not in dispute, the question is, How can training techniques and tools be upgraded so as to keep pace with the increasing complexity of tomorrow's healthcare products? In addition, are there ways to compress training so that it can be done in any location, at any time and in an environment that is the same as the one in which the skills will be used?

The answer to both these questions is interactive multimedia-based training, an alternative to traditional classroom teaching. During the past decade, there has been a growing trend to enhance traditional instructional techniques with media-based teaching aids.

Using these technologies interactively makes learning non-threatening because the trainees work on their own and use the computer to control the flow of information themselves. Programs are flexible and can be designed for skill levels specific to training needs.

Most important, multimedia reaches employees through a combination of sight, sound, written text and simulated experiences. It maintains employee interest by presenting on-the-job problems and solutions that apply to real-life situations.

Learning time is reduced by one-third to one-half with computer-assisted instruction, compared to traditional methods. It can be further reduced because instruction is self-paced and can be individualized. The training could cover everything from basic, generic skills to specific information about a product line.

In healthcare, multimedia-based training would be most applicable for companies with enough employees to justify the expense of setting up the program and, if computers are used, writing the software. It should not be limited to large companies, however. Trade associations could use multimedia-based training to educate or certify their members.

Even small companies could use these techniques if they banded together to develop mutually beneficial training programs. The companies would have to manufacture or distribute non-competitive equipment. Training could cover subjects such as working more effectively with distributors or selling to the orthopedics or operating room markets.

It's the providers who are taking the lead in healthcare when it comes to using advanced, interactive training techniques. Suppliers, unfortunately, are not very involved. I only know of a handful of vendors that use these methods.

Programs are advanced, versatile

Many trainers are excited by the promise of multimedia, but are unsure of how to use it in their courses. They see a term like video and conclude that these programs are similar to linear videotapes. They are then surprised to discover programs that have multiple levels of menus, different degrees of difficulty, help sections, glossaries, libraries, pre- and post-testing and more.

Here's how multimedia could be used to train salespeople: Trainees take a preassessment test, a computer-based examination of their knowledge of a device or drug. The computer then presents text and graphics dealing with areas where they need help.

As each section is completed, the system puts users through a question-and-answer drill that tells them if they've mastered the data. It administers a postassessment quic made up of a different set of questions than those in the first test, then supplies immediate feedback.

Finally, it produces a report for management that documents progress, retention levels and areas that need human assistance.

I've worked with multimedia and can say without equivocation that once you've experienced this kind of learning process, most other forms of training seem dull.

You can get information about multimedia media materials and methods by calling the Society for Applied Learning Technology in Warrenton, Va., at (800) 457-6812. It's essential to select and work with a supplier who not only knows hardware and software, but has significant experience in the design and application of training courses.

What's ahead is even more exciting. As Sales & Marketing Management magazine puts it, "Waiting in the wings are better methods of grading trainee performance-and more natural-looking (and-sounding) simulations. Computers equipped with artificial intelligence will able to think along with trainees. Machines will one day be able to recognize each individual user and instantly customize the training session to his or her particular needs. Trainees willing to go beyond what's merely required and get deeper into a subject will be able to tap expert systems to master such challenges as pricing or negotiating."

Advanced training methods are not only the key to improving your company's productivity. They can be your competitive edge in the 1990s.

COPYRIGHT 1991 J.B. Lippincott Company
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group