Like many companies in this global pandemic, we’ve had to adapt—however, moving at “cheetah speed” is normal for NuVasive. No one knows this better than 16 of our newest commercial Shareowners who recently completed the second half of their required training from their home offices!
The NuVasive Sales Training program has played an instrumental role in the training of our commercial teams since NuVasive developed the XLIF procedure. Historically, NST included two months of online pre-work, culminating in a two-week in-person course.
“By preparing our commercial teams to be the most knowledgeable assets in the operating room from both a technology and clinical perspective, we deliver on our commitments to the most important customer – the patient,” says Stephanie Sheehan, Lead Sales Trainer. “We use this program to align regionally and globally, across languages and countries, to ensure a global footprint that matches our core principles and long term strategies.”
Back in March, the Sales Training team was in the middle of their in-person training program when the pandemic struck, forcing all Shareowners to follow stay-at-home orders. The training team had to quickly pivot from their once hands-on training experience to a virtual format to ensure their new commercial Shareowners could successfully complete their training requirements on NuVasive procedures and technologies, while adhering to company and public health protocols.
While the training format changed, NuVasive’s rigor and learning expectations for each Commercial team member did not, as Sales Training was committed to delivering a best-in-class educational experience.
“The workload and amount of information we were expected to know by the end of the class didn’t change from in-person to virtual. What changed was how the individual juggled everything else going on in their territory—and personal life—while they were training.”
-Tyler Mercer, Sales Associate, NuVasive U.S.
After more than 30 hours of online learning, presentations and exams, March’s NST cohort was able to virtually complete and pass their second week of sales training with increased clinical and procedural knowledge under their belt.
“There is so much to enjoy, the exchange of experiences, the opportunity to talk about surgical cases with a spine surgeon and personal development after being challenged by the NST.”
-Sandra Jaco, Associate Marketing Specialist, NuVasive Brazil
Additionally, the Sales Training team also quickly addressed the educational needs of the commercial team members when elective surgeries were shut down earlier this year. The team developed and delivered an “8 Weeks of Learning” program, which consisted of training modules featuring our industry-leading, comprehensive procedures to keep Commercial teams engaged and learning when they couldn’t be in the OR.
What’s next for the Sales Training team? They have been hard at work evaluating and building a plan to add virtual reality capabilities to our digital and remote-learning environment—which will help further NuVasive’s commitment to train and support the best commercial teams in spine.