Kyphon located in sunnyvale, california, is a relatively new company that sells its own patented devices for correcting painful spinal conditions. Employee training in a varie of skills, including operations and accounting, as well as the specialized medical knowledge necessary to Triage consulting group, a new company located in san francisco that helps hospitals identify and recover outstanding medical insurance payments, faces a similar challenge for hiring and training new employees. Both companies that new employees don't walk in the door with knowledge and expertise about. As such, hiring and training are critical to both companies' continued success and growth however the two companies address hiring and training much differently. At kyphon there is a broad, flexible approach to employee development almost any type of learning is considered valuable. Employees are encourages to pursue knowledge in any format that suits them, inside or out, formal or infarmal. The company spends over 4,000 per year per employee on training, and support for learning extends to employees' families. Employees are responsible for seeking out opportunities for learning, and the company helps the employee find learning opportunities. This approach to training and the company's opportunities for quick advancement are important recruiting and retention tools, which are critical at kyphon. Loyalty and long-term employee commitment are important goals at kyphon because their porduct is so specialized requiring both medical and technical knowledge to sell. In contrast to kyphon, triage's employee lifecycle is much shorter and their model is to hire a large number of entry-level employees and replace them three or four years later when they leave. Triage is perceived by new employees as a good place to learn about the field, and many move on to graduate school or medical school. This is a similar hiring model to many types of consulting firms. Triage must get new employees up to speed quickly and retain them long enough to justify the development investment before they move on. Most new employees come in with a blank stafe about the health care field, medical jargon, and interpersonal skills necessary to work with clients, who may be resentful that triage is trying to correct their mistakes (failure to collect insurance payment). Triage employees receive approximately 12 hours of orirntation, and over 21 months they complete 15 formal trining modules. However, however unlike kyphon which values learning in general triage is jop specific requiring employees to focus on what they need to know to come up to speed quickly and generate immediate revunue. Outside training is not generally supported at triage school is perceived as an outside diversion from the task at hand and if an employee wants to pursue an outside degree the employee must do it on their own, if they have time. Thus although hiring and training at kyphon and triage are dramatically different the success if both companies beiles the fact that their individual approaches work for them