Chapter

6
Training Needs Assessment

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Introduction

 Effective training practices involve the use of

an instructional systems design process.

 The instructional systems design process

begins by conducting a needs assessment.

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Needs Assessment
 Need assessment means the identification and prioritization of
training requirements. Training needs starts with the
determination of knowledge and skill essential for maximum
effectiveness in an organization position.

 Refers to the process used to determine if training is necessary.

 Because needs assessment is the first step in the instructional

design process:
 If it is poorly conducted, training will not achieve the outcomes
or financial benefits the company expects.

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Importance of Need Assessment

 Training may be incorrectly used as a solution to a

performance problem.

 Training programme may have the wrong content, objectives

or methods.

 Trainees may be send to training programmes for which they

do not have the basic skills or confidence needed to learn.

 Training will not deliver the expected learning, behavior

change or financial results that the company expects.

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Types of Needs
 Democratic needs are options for training that are preferred, selected or
voted for by employees or managers or both.

 Diagnostic needs focus on the factors that lead to effective performance

and prevent performance problems, rather than emphasizing on existing
problems.

 Analytic needs identify new and better ways to perform a task. These
needs are generally discovered by intuition, insight or expert
consideration.

 Compliance needs are those mandated by law. Mandated training

programme deal with safety training, prevention of sexual harassment,
training under various acts etc.

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The Needs Assessment Process
Reasons Outcomes
•What Trainees Need
•Lack of Basic Skills What is the Context?
to Learn
•Poor Performance •Who Receives
Organization
•New Technology Training
Analysis
•Type of Training
•Customer Requests Task Analysis In What Do
They Need •Frequency of Training
•New Products
Training? •Training Versus Other
Person
•Higher Performance Analysis HR Options Such as
Standards Selection or Job
Redesign
•New Jobs Who Needs the
Training?

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Levels of Needs Assessment

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Needs Assessment Involves:
 Organizational Analysis – Involves determining:

 The appropriateness of training

 Resources available for training
 Support by managers and peers for training

 Company may consider issues like:

 Increased competition
 Greater emphasis on efficiency and cost reduction
 Increased needs on cooperation
 Business strategies of the competitive companies
 Research and Innovation
 Mergers, acquisitions and expansion
 Manpower plan on hiring, retrenching of employees

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 Task Analysis – Involves:

 Identifying the important tasks and knowledge, skill, and behaviors that need to
be emphasized in training for employees to complete their tasks.

 Task analysis should only be undertaken after you have determined from the
organizational analysis that the company wants to devote time and money for
training.

 Four Steps in Task Analysis

 Develop a list of tasks performed in a given job.

 Segregating tasks into groups in case of large number of tasks.
 Identify the KSA,s required for superior performance.
 Assess the importance of tasks and difficulties involved in mastering them.

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Needs Assessment :Involves: (continued)

 Person Analysis – Involves:

 Determining whether performance deficiencies result from a lack of

knowledge, skill, or ability
(a training issue) or from a motivational or work design problem
 Identifying who needs training
 Determining employees’ readiness for training

 Ways to determine employees deficiencies

 Performance and feedback reports, critical incidents provides enough
data.
 A person may be capable but he has had no opportunity at work to
show his capabilities.

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Key Concerns of Upper- and Midlevel Managers
and Trainers in Needs Assessment
Upper-Level Managers Midlevel Managers Trainers

Organizational Is training important to achieve Do I want to spend money on Do I have the budget to buy
analysis our business objectives? training? training services?
How does training support our How much? Will managers support training?
business strategy?

Person analysis What functions or business units Who should be trained? How will I identify which
need training? Managers? employees need training?
Core employees?

Task analysis Does the company have the For what jobs can training make What tasks should be trained?
people with the knowledge, the biggest difference in product What knowledge, skills, ability,
skills, and ability needed to quality or customer service? or other characteristics are
compete in the marketplace? necessary?

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The Needs Analysis Process
Person Analysis
Person Characteristics
• Input
• Output
• Consequences
• Feedback

Organizational Analysis
• Strategic Direction
Do We Want To Devote Time
• Support of Managers & and Money For Training?
Peers for Training
• Training Resources
Task Analysis
• Work Activity (Task)
•Working Conditions
Factors that Influence Employee Performance
and Learning:

 Personal Characteristics
 Ability and skill

 Attitudes and motivation

 Input
 Understand need to perform

 Necessary resources (equipment, time or budget etc.)

 Opportunity to perform

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Factors that Influence Employee Performance
and Learning: (continued)
 Output
 Standard to judge successful performers

 Consequences
 Positive consequences/incentives to perform

 Feedback
 Frequent and specific feedback about how the job is
performed

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Self-Efficacy
 Self-efficacy is the employee’s belief that she can
successfully perform her job or learn the content of the
training program.

 The job environment can be threatening to many

employees who may not have been successful in the
past.

 The training environment can also be threatening to

people.

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Employees’ self-efficacy level can be
increased by:

 Letting employees know that the purpose of the training

is to try to improve performance rather than to identify
areas in which employees are incompetent.

 Providing as much information as possible about the

training program and purpose of training prior to the
actual training.

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Employees’ self-efficacy level can be
increased by: (continued)

 Showing employees the training success of their peers

who are now in similar jobs.

 Providing employees with feedback that learning is under

their control and they have the ability and the
responsibility to overcome any learning difficulties they
experience in the program.

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To ensure that the work environment
enhances trainees’ motivation to learn:

 Provide materials, time, job-related information, and other

work aids necessary for employees to use new skills or
behavior before participating in training programs.

 Speak positively about the company’s training programs to

employees.

 Let employees know they are doing a good job when they
are using training content in their work.

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To ensure that the work environment
enhances trainees’ motivation to learn:
(con’td)

 Encourage work-group members to involve each other in

trying to use new skills on the job by soliciting feedback
and sharing training experiences and situations in which
training content was helpful.

 Provide employees with time and opportunities to

practice and apply new skills or behaviors to their work.

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To determine if training is the best solution,
assess whether:

 The performance problem is important, and has the

potential to cost the company a significant amount of
money from lost productivity or customers.

 Employees do not know how to perform effectively.

 Perhaps they received little or no previous training or

the training was ineffective.
 (This problem is a characteristic of the person)

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To determine if training is the best solution,
assess whether: (continued)

 Employees cannot demonstrate the correct knowledge or

behavior.

 Employees were trained but they infrequently or never

used the training content on the job. (This is an input
problem.)

 There are positive consequences for good

performance, while poor performance is not rewarded.

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To determine if training is the best solution,
assess whether: (continued)

 Employees receive timely, relevant, accurate,

constructive, and specific feedback about their
performance (a feedback issue).

 Other solutions such as job redesign or transferring

employees to other jobs are too expensive or unrealistic.

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Is training the best solution?

 If employees lack the knowledge and skill to

perform and the other factors are satisfactory,
training is needed.

 If employees have the knowledge and skill to

perform but input, output, consequences, or
feedback are inadequate, training may not be
the best solution.

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Competency Models
 A competency refers to areas of personal capability that enable
employees to successfully perform their jobs by achieving
outcomes or successfully performing tasks.

 A competency can be knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, or

personal characteristics.

 A competency model identifies the competencies necessary for

each job as well as the knowledge, skills, behavior, and
personality characteristics underlying each competency.

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Competency models are useful for training
and development in several ways:

 They identify behaviors needed for effective job performance.

 They provide a tool for determining what skills are needed to meet
today’s needs as well as the company’s future needs.

 They help determine what skills are needed at different career points.

 They provide a framework for ongoing coaching and feedback to

develop employees for current and future roles.

 They create a “roadmap” for identifying and developing employees who

may be candidates for managerial positions.

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