Training Need Analysis
This training needs analysis article is based upon a publication in the Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer Training Annual.
Source: <link no longer exists - removed>
We provide training needs analysis that utilise competence studies. Why? Because in our experience competence studies provide the most accurate training needs analysis results. However there are other valuable sources of information relating to training needs analysis and that is why we also utilise HRD consultants who have in-depth experience of Human Resource Development and a range of HRD consultancy services.
This article examines six areas associated with the consultancy aspect of training needs analysis and provides guidance on how to use them through scenarios and checklists. To achieve effective training needs analysis we would encourage you to approach training needs analysis that considers the organisational context of the training requirement, users of the training, the content of the documentation used in the training, the suitability of training to resolve the identified organisation / performance problems / needs and, lastly, readers are encouraged to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed training.
Question: What kind of data pops up when you use an Internet search engine to look up the words training needs analysis ?
Answer: A mishmash, with a good dose of information about competency studies.
As a training needs analysis tool competency studies provide useful data about individual group members. Competency studies fill the role of focusing training needs analysis on employee performance and therefore provide the collaborative evidence for performance appraisal. With group statistics they produce training needs analysis from a cross sectional / functional / level perspective, thus providing direction for departmental / organisational generic training. Finally competency studies can feed personal development plans and supporting mentoring systems. Using competency studies particularly when conducted by outside agents adds considerable credibility to the training needs analysis process and results in a consensus about current skill levels and areas identified for improvement.
Competency studies should be in every training needs analysis tool box. However, if the only tool one has is a hammer, everything is a nail. Therefore we also provide capability and psychometric assessment studies. But it doesn't end there. One goal of this article is to identify other key contributors to training needs analysis.
Taking stock - What is training needs analysis?
One could say that training needs analysis is a process of gathering and interpreting data for identifying areas for personal and organisational performance improvement. The challenge is to obtain complete and accurate training needs analysis data. This amounts to answering who, what, when, where and why as well as how.
Competency studies analyses and describes work performed deal with the 'what' of the five training needs analysis W's. They do not collect a significant amount of data on who (trainers involved in the process), why (the reasons for training), nor when/where (or indeed whether training is the solution). In addition, competency studies miss an element of "what" (the documents, laws, procedures, equipment and other tools used on the job).
A thorough training needs analysis exercise comprises six types of analyses. These are a context training needs analysis of the business needs; a user training needs analysis dealing with potential participants and trainers involved in the process; a work training needs analysis of the tasks being performed; a content training needs analysis of documents, laws, procedures used on the job; a suitability training needs analysis of whether training is the solution; and a cost-benefit training needs analysis of the return on investment (ROI) of training.
Real-world training needs analysis scenarios
Do the following training needs analysis scenarios evoke memories, fond or otherwise, of situations you have faced as a training manager, designer, trainer or HRD consultant?
A director is concerned about harassment in the workplace. The present course is out of date. As a result, a designer is engaged to rejig the existing harassment awareness programme for all staff (900 people).
At a management meeting a senior manager says: "We have all these new safety policies. We need to inform employees about them. We need someone to prepare a self-study training programme for all 2,000 employees."
An employer has just given Internet access to 10 divisional heads. Management has tasked the Human Resources Director to "ensure they know how to use it and don't waste company time."
These three training needs analysis scenarios have ambiguity in common. Little has been said that indicates clear, measurable training needs analysis requirements or benefits or priorities, etc. We are not certain that training is the desirable solution. Maybe all that people require is information, or feedback or coaching, etc, not training. The mandate of the trainer is not clear. In short, these three scenarios simply represent an opportunity for a thorough training needs analysis exercise.
How do the six types of training needs analysis listed above apply to these three training needs analysis scenarios? What are the key questions a training manager can ask to uncover the information needed to complete a thorough training needs analysis?
Training needs analysis context
Consider the following training needs analysis context elements:
"Who decided there should be an intervention?"
"Why do they think there should be a training programme?"
"What is the business need for this proposed training?"
"What is the history of similar programmes in this organisation?"
"What can the trainer do to ensure success when intervening in this organisation?"
Most organisations are multi-faceted entities and an effective training needs analysis process tries to understand specific complexities through a context training needs analysis. In this initial phase, a learning programme designer consults decision makers, lends an attentive ear and generally takes the pulse of the organisation.
In our three scenarios, a context training needs analysis will help define what the clients hope to accomplish through the training, hopefully expressed as performance outputs. If one starts the training design process in January and fails to grasp the thinking of the key person, or group, who conducted the initial training need analysis, that oversight will come back to haunt us in March, when presenting a finalised training programme design to the client.
Whilst this article examines the six training needs analysis methods, we have included 49 questions in a training needs analysis checklist that one needs to answer when either designing training needs analysis studies or when conducting a training needs analysis.
User training needs analysis
Consider the following training needs analysis user elements:
"Who is going to take the training and what do they know about the topic?"
"How do they prefer to learn?"
"Who is going to instruct and what do they know about the subject?"
"How do they prefer to conduct their sessions?"
"What training has been given previously, and what were the results?"
User training needs analysis, forming a clear impression of learners and trainers, is a critical step in training needs analysis. By users we mean both learners and trainers who will access the programme in whatever format: a classroom setting, a self-study programme, an action centred or experiential learning programme or a multimedia format. New trainers are being appointed on an ongoing basis. In particular, training programme design must consider the specific requirements of trainers, who have been selected for their content expertise and communication style, not their knowledge of the organisation, its culture or business plans, etc. To produce training materials that fit users' backgrounds, a course designer must use training needs analysis to find information about the users to design the training programme according for their needs, preferences and abilities.
Factors such as education, age, time availability / constraints, etc, influence how people learn. Negative experiences with certain learning methodologies can create resistance to some approaches to training. The user phase of training needs analysis identifies such potential pitfalls.
User training needs analysis should also gather crucial information pertaining to learning styles. People learn differently and for our purpose we can consider four types of learners: visual, auditory, kinesthetic (those who like to get their whole body into their learning), and tactile (people who like to use their hands when they learn). Having identified learners' preferred styles in the user training needs analysis phase, later, the training programme designer will incorporate these findings when developing training materials.
User training needs analysis will be pivotal in our three scenarios. In the Internet example, a solid user training needs analysis will identify current levels of knowledge, attitudes and skills in using the Net. Based on data acquired about participants' current levels of knowledge and learning styles, one might decide, for example, to design different courses for a range of expertise and application scenarios.
Work training needs analysis
Consider the following training needs analysis work elements:
"What is the job under review and what are the main duties?"
"What are the high-level skills required?"
"To what standards are people expected to do the job?"
"Are they currently meeting these standards?"
These are some questions answered by a work training needs analysis, an umbrella term coined to include job study, task analysis, performance analysis and competency studies. All are variations on the training needs analysis approach of analysing the job, the required levels of performance and the ability of individuals or groups to perform at the required level.
Where does work training needs analysis fit into our three scenarios? In designing a programme about harassment, safety, the Internet, or for that matter, any topic, it is important that training material be anchored in the work performed. With work training needs analysis couching course information in the language, metaphors and projects of the workplace, course materials are rendered more concrete and easier to learn.
In our Internet training needs analysis example, if we capture how management wants employees to use the Internet; if we identify the knowledge and skills required to meet this standard of performance; if we identify gaps in the target group's knowledge and skills; and if we then provide training that bridges these gaps, then, our training will enhance employee performance - as defined by management.
Content training needs analysis
Consider the following training needs analysis content elements:
"Are there essential building blocks one needs to learn in order to do this job?"
'Are these building blocks of knowledge laid out in manuals or other documentation?"
"In what order and how are these building blocks normally taught?"
These are some of the analysis questions that are answered in a process called content training needs analysis. With this approach, material such as administrative procedures, laws, and computer application documentation are used to identify learning topics.
The raw material of content training needs analysis may present itself as an existing course that needs to be updated (our harassment training needs analysis scenario), policies that need to be taught (our safety training needs analysis scenario), or material that a group of experts has brought together. Content training needs analysis helps to establish a logical flow (teaching people to walk before they run), ensures that definitions are found for key terms (sometimes experts assume that everyone knows key terms), groups the data into digestible parts (if the material is easy-to-follow, participants will feel comfortable with it) and ensures that the level and clarity of the training content are appropriate to the needs of the users - as established in the user training needs analysis.
"Criticality" needs to be benchmarked during content training needs analysis. If it is essential that the users understand the material, then teach it. If it is not critical, do not teach it. A seasoned trainer establishes criticality in concert with the course designer who challenges the trainer to justify why it is essential to learn the identified material.
Training needs analysis of suitability
Consider the following training needs analysis suitability element:
"Is non-performance due to a lack of knowledge and skills or are there another reasons?"
This is the essential question of a suitability training needs analysis. Training is often seen as a quick fix for changing individual and organisational performance but in reality the impact of training is limited to providing knowledge and skills and practice to develop them. For example, training will not render competent, those employees who simply do not have the capacity to learn to do a given task, the key reason why capability assessment and psychometric tests are performed. Training will not replace the role of managers in giving feedback to employees whose work does not meet performance standards. Training will not set the performance standards in a workplace where there are none. Training will probably not bring radical changes to employees' attitudes and sense of commitment unless the organisation's culture is supportive. Training will not fill voids due to sickness, layoffs and downsizing. Nor will training create incentives, rewards or reduce on-the-job de-motivators.
Suitability training needs analysis is partially to ensure that training is not being used my management to abdicate their developmental responsibility but to support it.
In our training needs analysis scenarios, one has to wonder if there is a clear justification for the costs associated with designing and delivering training to learn policies related to harassment or safety? Maybe a video would suffice to convey the required information. Or perhaps managers could change employee performance and help to ensure employee compliance simply by explaining management's expectations of them.
Cost-benefit training needs analysis
Consider the following cost-benefit training needs analysis elements:
"Is it worth our effort to undertake the proposed training?"
"What will be the return on investment or ROI of the proposed training?"
"Are there any cost-benefit benchmarks for the proposed training?"
In a cost-benefit training needs analysis, a course designer takes a long, hard look at the financial side of training, to determine whether training makes economic sense. Before we can accurately forecast the costs of training we need to know details about the design process proposed, the learning methods, the participants, and compensation packages of people associated with the training programme. Before we can accurately forecast the benefits of training we need to know the bottom-line benefits of similar programmes, since this information will help us forecast benefits from the proposed programme.
In our real-world scenarios, a cost-benefit training needs analysis would compare the costs of designing and delivering the training to such things as the savings resulting from reducing the number of harassment complaints, or the number of workplace accidents. In the Internet training needs analysis scenario, a cost-benefit training needs analysis could conceivably calculate the financial benefits resulting from the time saved by having skilled Internet users seek information as opposed to untrained workers.
Selecting training needs analysis methods
In the authors' experience, many training needs analysis exercises are strongly oriented to one of the six training needs analysis methods listed here, or use one exclusively. For example, if clients hired us to design a training programme and provide policy manuals as the sole source of information for our training needs analysis exercise then this clearly would be a content training needs analysis exercise without the benefits of training needs analysis covering context, users, and work performed. The result of this limited training needs analysis approach would be a training course that was restricted to teaching what was in the organisation's policy manual with no opportunity to deal with participants' learning styles, the way the policies were used in the workplace, nor the politics of the topic. Yet the organisation will get what they wanted: a low budget programme. Where therefore is the training needs analysis to determine what is really needed?
On the other hand take a training needs analysis exercise based on a work training needs analysis exercise conducted in focus groups. The result would be a report that dealt almost exclusively with a high-level description of the work performed. Without a training needs analysis of the tools and documentation used on-the-job, a limited understanding of the flavour of the work and workplace would be gained and not much would be learnt about the context, or politics of the organisation and the culture in which learning was to be applied.
With training needs analysis like in most things you tend to get what you pay for.
The more training needs analysis can gather information about the context, users, work and the content of training, the better prepared one will be to draw solid conclusions from the training needs analysis of organisation requirements, existing capability, the change/learning gap and how best that gap can be closed. With answers to the 49 training needs analysis questions listed in this article's accompanying training needs analysis checklist one can develop a learning programme with confidence.
Regards
Sujeet Kumar
Strategist: HR, Training & Development
Oscar Murphy Life Strategist Pvt Ltd
Bangalore-38
Cell No: +91-9342504365
From India, Pune
5This training needs analysis article is based upon a publication in the Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer Training Annual.
Source: <link no longer exists - removed>
We provide training needs analysis that utilise competence studies. Why? Because in our experience competence studies provide the most accurate training needs analysis results. However there are other valuable sources of information relating to training needs analysis and that is why we also utilise HRD consultants who have in-depth experience of Human Resource Development and a range of HRD consultancy services.
This article examines six areas associated with the consultancy aspect of training needs analysis and provides guidance on how to use them through scenarios and checklists. To achieve effective training needs analysis we would encourage you to approach training needs analysis that considers the organisational context of the training requirement, users of the training, the content of the documentation used in the training, the suitability of training to resolve the identified organisation / performance problems / needs and, lastly, readers are encouraged to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed training.
Question: What kind of data pops up when you use an Internet search engine to look up the words training needs analysis ?
Answer: A mishmash, with a good dose of information about competency studies.
As a training needs analysis tool competency studies provide useful data about individual group members. Competency studies fill the role of focusing training needs analysis on employee performance and therefore provide the collaborative evidence for performance appraisal. With group statistics they produce training needs analysis from a cross sectional / functional / level perspective, thus providing direction for departmental / organisational generic training. Finally competency studies can feed personal development plans and supporting mentoring systems. Using competency studies particularly when conducted by outside agents adds considerable credibility to the training needs analysis process and results in a consensus about current skill levels and areas identified for improvement.
Competency studies should be in every training needs analysis tool box. However, if the only tool one has is a hammer, everything is a nail. Therefore we also provide capability and psychometric assessment studies. But it doesn't end there. One goal of this article is to identify other key contributors to training needs analysis.
Taking stock - What is training needs analysis?
One could say that training needs analysis is a process of gathering and interpreting data for identifying areas for personal and organisational performance improvement. The challenge is to obtain complete and accurate training needs analysis data. This amounts to answering who, what, when, where and why as well as how.
Competency studies analyses and describes work performed deal with the 'what' of the five training needs analysis W's. They do not collect a significant amount of data on who (trainers involved in the process), why (the reasons for training), nor when/where (or indeed whether training is the solution). In addition, competency studies miss an element of "what" (the documents, laws, procedures, equipment and other tools used on the job).
A thorough training needs analysis exercise comprises six types of analyses. These are a context training needs analysis of the business needs; a user training needs analysis dealing with potential participants and trainers involved in the process; a work training needs analysis of the tasks being performed; a content training needs analysis of documents, laws, procedures used on the job; a suitability training needs analysis of whether training is the solution; and a cost-benefit training needs analysis of the return on investment (ROI) of training.
Real-world training needs analysis scenarios
Do the following training needs analysis scenarios evoke memories, fond or otherwise, of situations you have faced as a training manager, designer, trainer or HRD consultant?
A director is concerned about harassment in the workplace. The present course is out of date. As a result, a designer is engaged to rejig the existing harassment awareness programme for all staff (900 people).
At a management meeting a senior manager says: "We have all these new safety policies. We need to inform employees about them. We need someone to prepare a self-study training programme for all 2,000 employees."
An employer has just given Internet access to 10 divisional heads. Management has tasked the Human Resources Director to "ensure they know how to use it and don't waste company time."
These three training needs analysis scenarios have ambiguity in common. Little has been said that indicates clear, measurable training needs analysis requirements or benefits or priorities, etc. We are not certain that training is the desirable solution. Maybe all that people require is information, or feedback or coaching, etc, not training. The mandate of the trainer is not clear. In short, these three scenarios simply represent an opportunity for a thorough training needs analysis exercise.
How do the six types of training needs analysis listed above apply to these three training needs analysis scenarios? What are the key questions a training manager can ask to uncover the information needed to complete a thorough training needs analysis?
Training needs analysis context
Consider the following training needs analysis context elements:
"Who decided there should be an intervention?"
"Why do they think there should be a training programme?"
"What is the business need for this proposed training?"
"What is the history of similar programmes in this organisation?"
"What can the trainer do to ensure success when intervening in this organisation?"
Most organisations are multi-faceted entities and an effective training needs analysis process tries to understand specific complexities through a context training needs analysis. In this initial phase, a learning programme designer consults decision makers, lends an attentive ear and generally takes the pulse of the organisation.
In our three scenarios, a context training needs analysis will help define what the clients hope to accomplish through the training, hopefully expressed as performance outputs. If one starts the training design process in January and fails to grasp the thinking of the key person, or group, who conducted the initial training need analysis, that oversight will come back to haunt us in March, when presenting a finalised training programme design to the client.
Whilst this article examines the six training needs analysis methods, we have included 49 questions in a training needs analysis checklist that one needs to answer when either designing training needs analysis studies or when conducting a training needs analysis.
User training needs analysis
Consider the following training needs analysis user elements:
"Who is going to take the training and what do they know about the topic?"
"How do they prefer to learn?"
"Who is going to instruct and what do they know about the subject?"
"How do they prefer to conduct their sessions?"
"What training has been given previously, and what were the results?"
User training needs analysis, forming a clear impression of learners and trainers, is a critical step in training needs analysis. By users we mean both learners and trainers who will access the programme in whatever format: a classroom setting, a self-study programme, an action centred or experiential learning programme or a multimedia format. New trainers are being appointed on an ongoing basis. In particular, training programme design must consider the specific requirements of trainers, who have been selected for their content expertise and communication style, not their knowledge of the organisation, its culture or business plans, etc. To produce training materials that fit users' backgrounds, a course designer must use training needs analysis to find information about the users to design the training programme according for their needs, preferences and abilities.
Factors such as education, age, time availability / constraints, etc, influence how people learn. Negative experiences with certain learning methodologies can create resistance to some approaches to training. The user phase of training needs analysis identifies such potential pitfalls.
User training needs analysis should also gather crucial information pertaining to learning styles. People learn differently and for our purpose we can consider four types of learners: visual, auditory, kinesthetic (those who like to get their whole body into their learning), and tactile (people who like to use their hands when they learn). Having identified learners' preferred styles in the user training needs analysis phase, later, the training programme designer will incorporate these findings when developing training materials.
User training needs analysis will be pivotal in our three scenarios. In the Internet example, a solid user training needs analysis will identify current levels of knowledge, attitudes and skills in using the Net. Based on data acquired about participants' current levels of knowledge and learning styles, one might decide, for example, to design different courses for a range of expertise and application scenarios.
Work training needs analysis
Consider the following training needs analysis work elements:
"What is the job under review and what are the main duties?"
"What are the high-level skills required?"
"To what standards are people expected to do the job?"
"Are they currently meeting these standards?"
These are some questions answered by a work training needs analysis, an umbrella term coined to include job study, task analysis, performance analysis and competency studies. All are variations on the training needs analysis approach of analysing the job, the required levels of performance and the ability of individuals or groups to perform at the required level.
Where does work training needs analysis fit into our three scenarios? In designing a programme about harassment, safety, the Internet, or for that matter, any topic, it is important that training material be anchored in the work performed. With work training needs analysis couching course information in the language, metaphors and projects of the workplace, course materials are rendered more concrete and easier to learn.
In our Internet training needs analysis example, if we capture how management wants employees to use the Internet; if we identify the knowledge and skills required to meet this standard of performance; if we identify gaps in the target group's knowledge and skills; and if we then provide training that bridges these gaps, then, our training will enhance employee performance - as defined by management.
Content training needs analysis
Consider the following training needs analysis content elements:
"Are there essential building blocks one needs to learn in order to do this job?"
'Are these building blocks of knowledge laid out in manuals or other documentation?"
"In what order and how are these building blocks normally taught?"
These are some of the analysis questions that are answered in a process called content training needs analysis. With this approach, material such as administrative procedures, laws, and computer application documentation are used to identify learning topics.
The raw material of content training needs analysis may present itself as an existing course that needs to be updated (our harassment training needs analysis scenario), policies that need to be taught (our safety training needs analysis scenario), or material that a group of experts has brought together. Content training needs analysis helps to establish a logical flow (teaching people to walk before they run), ensures that definitions are found for key terms (sometimes experts assume that everyone knows key terms), groups the data into digestible parts (if the material is easy-to-follow, participants will feel comfortable with it) and ensures that the level and clarity of the training content are appropriate to the needs of the users - as established in the user training needs analysis.
"Criticality" needs to be benchmarked during content training needs analysis. If it is essential that the users understand the material, then teach it. If it is not critical, do not teach it. A seasoned trainer establishes criticality in concert with the course designer who challenges the trainer to justify why it is essential to learn the identified material.
Training needs analysis of suitability
Consider the following training needs analysis suitability element:
"Is non-performance due to a lack of knowledge and skills or are there another reasons?"
This is the essential question of a suitability training needs analysis. Training is often seen as a quick fix for changing individual and organisational performance but in reality the impact of training is limited to providing knowledge and skills and practice to develop them. For example, training will not render competent, those employees who simply do not have the capacity to learn to do a given task, the key reason why capability assessment and psychometric tests are performed. Training will not replace the role of managers in giving feedback to employees whose work does not meet performance standards. Training will not set the performance standards in a workplace where there are none. Training will probably not bring radical changes to employees' attitudes and sense of commitment unless the organisation's culture is supportive. Training will not fill voids due to sickness, layoffs and downsizing. Nor will training create incentives, rewards or reduce on-the-job de-motivators.
Suitability training needs analysis is partially to ensure that training is not being used my management to abdicate their developmental responsibility but to support it.
In our training needs analysis scenarios, one has to wonder if there is a clear justification for the costs associated with designing and delivering training to learn policies related to harassment or safety? Maybe a video would suffice to convey the required information. Or perhaps managers could change employee performance and help to ensure employee compliance simply by explaining management's expectations of them.
Cost-benefit training needs analysis
Consider the following cost-benefit training needs analysis elements:
"Is it worth our effort to undertake the proposed training?"
"What will be the return on investment or ROI of the proposed training?"
"Are there any cost-benefit benchmarks for the proposed training?"
In a cost-benefit training needs analysis, a course designer takes a long, hard look at the financial side of training, to determine whether training makes economic sense. Before we can accurately forecast the costs of training we need to know details about the design process proposed, the learning methods, the participants, and compensation packages of people associated with the training programme. Before we can accurately forecast the benefits of training we need to know the bottom-line benefits of similar programmes, since this information will help us forecast benefits from the proposed programme.
In our real-world scenarios, a cost-benefit training needs analysis would compare the costs of designing and delivering the training to such things as the savings resulting from reducing the number of harassment complaints, or the number of workplace accidents. In the Internet training needs analysis scenario, a cost-benefit training needs analysis could conceivably calculate the financial benefits resulting from the time saved by having skilled Internet users seek information as opposed to untrained workers.
Selecting training needs analysis methods
In the authors' experience, many training needs analysis exercises are strongly oriented to one of the six training needs analysis methods listed here, or use one exclusively. For example, if clients hired us to design a training programme and provide policy manuals as the sole source of information for our training needs analysis exercise then this clearly would be a content training needs analysis exercise without the benefits of training needs analysis covering context, users, and work performed. The result of this limited training needs analysis approach would be a training course that was restricted to teaching what was in the organisation's policy manual with no opportunity to deal with participants' learning styles, the way the policies were used in the workplace, nor the politics of the topic. Yet the organisation will get what they wanted: a low budget programme. Where therefore is the training needs analysis to determine what is really needed?
On the other hand take a training needs analysis exercise based on a work training needs analysis exercise conducted in focus groups. The result would be a report that dealt almost exclusively with a high-level description of the work performed. Without a training needs analysis of the tools and documentation used on-the-job, a limited understanding of the flavour of the work and workplace would be gained and not much would be learnt about the context, or politics of the organisation and the culture in which learning was to be applied.
With training needs analysis like in most things you tend to get what you pay for.
The more training needs analysis can gather information about the context, users, work and the content of training, the better prepared one will be to draw solid conclusions from the training needs analysis of organisation requirements, existing capability, the change/learning gap and how best that gap can be closed. With answers to the 49 training needs analysis questions listed in this article's accompanying training needs analysis checklist one can develop a learning programme with confidence.
Regards
Sujeet Kumar
Strategist: HR, Training & Development
Oscar Murphy Life Strategist Pvt Ltd
Bangalore-38
Cell No: +91-9342504365
From India, Pune
SUJEET,
It is a pretty good article.
In the past , I have used PFIFFERS management tools.
For line managers, the major changes/ outcome they expect
from training is BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES in employees.
Based on that, I have adopted this approach [ YOU CAN STILL
USE PFIFFERS TOOLS ]
TRANING NEEDS ANALYSIS
A thorough and accurate assessment of needs must precede the
design of a training intervention so that it can assist managers
in improving in the areas that need it most.
1.Factors external to the job and the culture surrounding the job
are studied. These include the values, practices, and heritage
that are characteristic of the industry , firm, division, department,
and work unit.
2.The jobs are studied:
-level in organization.
-role within the organization.
-technical features/ demands.
3.Forecast of changes in:
-factors external to the job.
-The demands of the job.
-Challenge to and demands that will be made on the individuals
as they receive promotions, transfers, and changes in assignments.
4.Definitions and classifications of the importance of knowledge,
skills, and attitudes identified as being relevant by steps 1,2 &3.
5.Study and assessment of the trainees: their knowledge; their
skills; their attitudes.
6.Deficient areas are identified and ordered in terms of their
importance.
THIS IS THE BROAD GUIDELINES ONE CAN TAKE.
REGARDS
LEO LINGHAM
From India, Mumbai
It is a pretty good article.
In the past , I have used PFIFFERS management tools.
For line managers, the major changes/ outcome they expect
from training is BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES in employees.
Based on that, I have adopted this approach [ YOU CAN STILL
USE PFIFFERS TOOLS ]
TRANING NEEDS ANALYSIS
A thorough and accurate assessment of needs must precede the
design of a training intervention so that it can assist managers
in improving in the areas that need it most.
1.Factors external to the job and the culture surrounding the job
are studied. These include the values, practices, and heritage
that are characteristic of the industry , firm, division, department,
and work unit.
2.The jobs are studied:
-level in organization.
-role within the organization.
-technical features/ demands.
3.Forecast of changes in:
-factors external to the job.
-The demands of the job.
-Challenge to and demands that will be made on the individuals
as they receive promotions, transfers, and changes in assignments.
4.Definitions and classifications of the importance of knowledge,
skills, and attitudes identified as being relevant by steps 1,2 &3.
5.Study and assessment of the trainees: their knowledge; their
skills; their attitudes.
6.Deficient areas are identified and ordered in terms of their
importance.
THIS IS THE BROAD GUIDELINES ONE CAN TAKE.
REGARDS
LEO LINGHAM
From India, Mumbai
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Training Needs Analysis Questionnaire.d oc