Medical Device Maker Gives Backbone to Its Training

Hard Sell, Soft Skills: Companies across many industries are spending money to strengthen the informal ways that employees learn on the job. The latest example is DuPuy Spine Inc. in Raynham, Massachusetts. The company, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, develops and markets products to physicians for treating spinal injuries. DuPuy has launched an online collaborative network to “drive knowledge sharing in our network of sales professionals,” according to a statement by Max Reinhardt, U.S. vice president of sales. Known as SpineShare, the online community is intended to help 1,000 employees share product knowledge, collaborate and develop mentoring networks. Building the network for DuPuy is Syndicom, a New York company that provides Web technologies and learning tools to the medical device industry.