Training needs analysis

Depends on the scope of the need - I suppose.

In many cases of single problem areas to be addressed - I simply compare the desired outcomes or performance with the actual or current outcomes/performance and determine if training is actually the solution. This is often done by just observing the process and asking some questions from time to time of those who do the work and of those who supervise the work. It is interesting to compare that data.

Do people know the process but ignore it or do they not know it at all? Is it something that a different piece of equipment could fix? This could be as quick as a few hours or perhaps a few days.

Sometimes training is requested but it isn’t necessarily the answer. It is good to identify those times. Don’t be afraid to say that training isn’t the answer for things if you believe that to be the case.

In a much larger program evaluation - I like to use self-perception surveys and, of course, we cover more ground than a single problem area. I also need to have different questions for different groups of people. For instance, veteran employees with 20+ years under their belt wouldn’t get questions about the onboarding process like recent new hires would.

These would include questions like 

“On a scale of 1 to 10: To what extent do you feel you receive adequate training for the implementation of new processes?

or open ended questions like

In what areas do you feel you could use more training?

I would do a great deal of shadowing various areas that may have been identified as needing improvement. Lots of auditing existing training and follow-up with attendees, etc. 

A comprehensive evaluation of the entire company could take months - perhaps as long as a year but something in-between might just take a few months for a solid evaluation of a single department or training focus.

You’ll want to identify the following things:

1. What the business goals are
2. What tasks are the employees asked to do
3. What skills are needed to perform the tasks
4. Do the employees have those skills

As you make recommendations - you will want to tie them back to the needs of the organization.

So - short answer - I guess I don’t really use a lot of tools per se. Survey tool of choice to collect some data and then a lot of time with personal interviews, meetings, and observation. Take lots of notes.

Hopefully that is helpful in some way.