MEDICAL DEvICE
spend;the;20;minutes;doing?;Well,
we noted that at the seven minute mark into their allotted time,
all role play had stopped or been
“completed.”;So;65;percent;of;their
practice time was wasted.
When we observed the feedback
the reps provided each other, it
was clear that just about all of it
was overwhelmingly positive with
very little constructive criticism.
This is not unusual with peer-to-peer feedback, especially when
both parties appreciate the difficulty in attempting to master messaging that is still very new to them as
it is in these scenarios.
We also asked these reps directly
for their opinions on the value of
traditional classroom role play.
This is what they told us:
•;“Time;is;usually;rushed;at;an
in-person training, therefore role
plays seem to be rushed as well.”
•;“Normally;the;room;does;not
want to do it. People hate getting
put on the spot.”
•;“It’s;good;to;hear;other;people’s
role plays, but it’s too nerve-wrack-
ing to do it yourself.”
•;“It’s;hard;to;have;everyone;en-
gaged.”
•;“I;need;to;solidify;my;talk;track
at home and practice in front of a
mirror.”
These comments, coupled with
what we saw and tracked, rein-
forced much of what we already
knew. First, role play in a class-
room setting is typically rushed
and that limited time cannot real-
istically build mastery. Second, it is
difficult to drive engagement, even
in smaller size cohorts. Third, reps
prefer to practice on their own to
master messaging before being
asked to be observed and evalu-
ated. And finally, peer feedback is
seldom of high value and individu-
als are far more likely to be more
critical of themselves than a peer.
All of this should lead you to the
important question of: If mastery
of messaging is not taking place
in the classroom during role play,
where is that practice taking place?
We know the answer, and you can
cringe with me, in front of the
customer. We realized we needed
to find a way to engage our reps
in role play that actually allowed
them to master messaging before
they were in front of a customer.
Clearly, traditional classroom role
play was not accomplishing that.
What Learners Want…
Knowing;the;realities;of;the;value
of role play, but also the challenges of traditional classroom role
play, we next focused on what the
learners;(in;this;case;reps);want
with regard to delivery of training
content or learning. This information is not exclusive to sales, or any
particular function. These learner
wants are what is driving the
academic and professional areas of
learning today. What learners want
today includes:
•;On Demand—access to content
and learning, when and where
they need it and can access it
•;Micro learning—small “snack
bites” of learning that are targeted
to a specific objective
Pat D’Amico discusses the results
