NEEDS ASSESSMENT & TRAINING

Produced byDr. James J. KirkProfessor of HRD

What You Will Learn

• The meaning of systems, performance, needs, assessment, and training

• The relationships between performance and training needs assessment

• Basic steps in conducting a needs assessment

Systems

A systems is a set of individual parts (elements) that function as a whole. Each part receives inputs from other parts and elements. In return each part produces outputs that serve as inputs to other elements.

Business Systems Contain Elements Such As..

• Financial Resources• Human Resources• Raw Materials• Production Processes• Technology• Customers• Management

A Business System Must Perform

• A business system must perform its mission (ie., fulfill its purpose and achieve its goals).

• A business systems performance is measured in terms of desired outcomes.

Some Desired Outcomes

• Make a profit of $5 billion

• Gain 70% of the market share in the sale of athletic apparel

• Become recognized as the leader of quality in their industry

Performance Analysis

•Organizations secure, allocate, and distribute resources (inputs) they believe will enable them to achieve the desired outcomes (perform).•They constantly measure inputs and outputs throughout the business system (performance analysis).•When measured outcomes fall short of desired (targeted) outcomes, the result is a performance gap.

Performance Gaps

Organization Level

Team or Department Level

Individual Employee Level

Desired Performance

Actual Performance

GapGap

Gaps in performance can appear at various levels.

Causes of Performance Gaps

• Standards are set too high

• Poor management• Insufficient resources• Poor operation

systems• Unskilled workers

Training Needs Analysis

When there is a gap in an employee’s job performance (or group’s performance) and the cause of the performance gap is probably a lack of knowledge, skill, understanding, or experience, a needs assessment may be in order.

Conducting A Needs Assessment

1. Identify what knowledge, skills, and or understanding an employee (group) needs to know, do, or solve in order to perform.

Conducting A Needs Assessment

2. Measure what knowledge, skills, and or understanding an employee (group) currently knows, can do, or solve.

Conducting A Needs Assessment

3. Compare what knowledge, skills, and or understandings an employee (group) currently knows, can do, or solve to what they need to know, do, or solve. Are there any gaps?

Gap (Objectives-Centered)

Needs To Be Able To Do To Perform The Job

Competency Gap

Currently Able To Do To Perform The Job

Gap (Experience-Centered)

Needs To Understand To Perform The Job

Conceptual Gap

Currently Understands To Perform The Job

Gap (Opportunity-Centered)

Capable Of Becoming To Perform The Job

Is Becoming While Performing The Job

Growth Gap

Remember!

Human resource development is the integrated use of training and development, organizational development, and career development to improve individual, group, and organization effectiveness.

The Scope of HRD Includes

• Training and development

• Organization development

• Career development

Training & Development Includes

• Training (Learning to improve performance on current job)

• Education (Leaning to improve performance in a new job in the very near future)

• Development (Long term learning that is not job related)

The 45 Caliber Test

Many managers believe that training is the solution to all performance gaps.

Before doing a formal needs assessment, one trainer should ask managers, “If you held a 45 caliber gun to this employee’s head, could she/he perform the job.” If the answer is yes, no needs assessment is performed.

Three Approaches To Getting Employees To Change Their Behavior

Coercive

Makes use of threats by more powerful employees/owners.

Persuasive-Rational

Makes use of sales tactics to convince people to change.

Normative Re-Educate

Encourages and helps individuals make informed decisionsto change their behavior. Trainers favor this strategy.

Needs Assessment

• Training needs assessments involve careful and systematic research into what employees need to know, do, and understand to perform on the job.

• Depending on circumstances in the workplace, many research approaches and designs are used.

Reasons For Needs Assessments

When done properly, needs assessment procedures enable organizations to deliver only needed training.

What You Have Learned

• The meaning of systems, performance, needs, assessment, and training

• The relationships between performance and training needs assessment

• Basic steps in conducting a needs assessment