IT’S YOUR UP
NFWAU’s Digital Badges
F
Brett Miller, NWFA VP of
Education & Certification
Brett Miller is the Director
of Certification & Education
at the National Wood
Flooring Association where
he is responsible for the
development, coordination,
implementation and
presentation of the NWFA’s
technical training schools,
workshops, and on-line
training, as well as the
NWFA’s certification program.
looring retailers understand that one of the key attributes of successful flooring
sales is product knowledge. Gaining that knowledge for all the diverse product
offerings in today’s flooring industry, however, can be a real challenge. This is espe-
cially true for business owners who have multiple locations, so how can retailers ensure
that their sales crews get the information they need in a convenient, and affordable, way?
Online education is one solution.
Online education is a relatively new concept in the flooring industry. Many associa-
tions have offered hands-on training programs for many decades, but few had compre-
hensive online programs available, and fewer still had training available, specifically for
sales teams. Until now.
These courses are focused on three areas of wood flooring expertise: Installation,
sand & finish, and sales. Currently, more than 90 individual courses are available within
these three career paths. A fourth career path for wood flooring inspections is currently
under development.
Since its launch a little more than a year ago, more than 15,000 courses have been
completed, which averages out to more than 40 courses per day. What is especially appeal-
ing to retailers, however, is that this training is available for their sales team when and
where they want it. Courses are just 10–20 minutes each, and can easily be tackled during
coffee breaks, slow times, or even during company-sponsored lunch-and-learns, where all
employees are presented with the training simultaneously. Best of all, NWFAU costs just
$100 per company and all of its employees can participate in the training.
“With NWFAU, retailers can provide comprehensive training that is affordable and
convenient,” says NWFA’s President & CEO, Michael Martin, “because sales team mem-
Unlike a static image that can be found on the internet, your digital badge is “the total package” — a hyperlinked image that leads to a webpage that
showcases your achievements.
4 Premier Flooring Retailer | Q3 2017