Training Needs Assessment

  1. Identify three essential training needs you would implement for a group of entry-level workers as a HR Manager of a fast food restaurant.
  2. Explain why you chose the identified skills and how the training will be implemented (e.g. 2-week period at the restaurant; off-site at a training facility, etc.)
  3. Support your post with examples from your experience with customer service in a fast food restaurant.

The original discussion should be a minimum of 300 words in length.

LO 3

Identify three types of analyses used to determine training needs.

Assessing organizational training needs is the diagnostic phase of a training plan. This assessment includes issues related to employee and organizational performance to determine if training can help. Needs assessment measures the competencies of a company, a group, or an individual as they relate to what is required. It is necessary to find out what is happening and what should be happening before deciding if training will help, and if so, what kind of training is needed. Identifying gaps in performance is key to the assessment process. For instance, suppose the frequency of accidents in a manufacturing plant has increased from previous levels. Managers might review a wide range of possible causes such as changes in procedures, equipment malfunctions, increased production requirements, and worker capabilities. A thorough needs assessment will help managers zero in on the specific reasons for the increase in accidents. Training may be identified as one of the possible solutions to the problem. Since the organization has historical records of accident frequency, it will be fairly straightforward to determine the impact of the training.

Effective training planning efforts consider the following questions:

  • Is there really a need for the training?
  • Who needs to be trained?
  • Who will do the training?
  • What form will the training take?
  • How will knowledge be transferred to the job?
  • How will the training be evaluated?

Analysis of Training Needs

  • The first step in assessing training needs is analyzing what training might be necessary. Figure 8-7shows the three sources used to analyze training needs.

Figure 8-7Sources of Information for Needs Assessment

Organizational Analysis

  • Training needs can be diagnosed by analyzing organizational outcomes and looking at future needs. A part of planning for training is identifying the KSAs that will be needed now and in the future as both jobs and the organization change. Both internal and external forces will influence training and should be considered when doing organizational analysis. For instance, the problems posed by the technical obsolescence of current employees and an insufficiently educated labor pool from which to draw new workers should be considered and incorporated into the training design.
  • Organizational analysis comes from various measures of organizational performance. Departments or areas with high turnover, customer complaints, high grievance rates, high absenteeism, low performance, and other deficiencies can be pinpointed. Following the identification of problems, objectives can be developed if training is a solution. During organizational analysis, managerial focus groups can be conducted to evaluate changes and performance that might require training.

Job/Task Analysis

  • A second level of analyzing training needs involves reviewing the jobs and tasks performed. Comparing worker skills in a job category to the skills needed for successful job performance can identify gaps that can be filled by training. For example, at a manufacturing firm, analysis identified the tasks performed by engineers who served as technical instructors for other employees. By listing the tasks required of a technical instructor, HR established a program to teach specific instructional skills, and the engineers were able to become more successful instructors.
  • Another way to pinpoint training gaps in the job or task being performed is to survey employees and have them anonymously evaluate the current skill levels of themselves and their peers. This not only identifies job needs but also heightens employees’ awareness of their own learning needs. A training needs survey can take the form of questionnaires or interviews with supervisors and employees individually or in groups. Web-based surveys, requests, and other inputs from managers and employees can be used to identify training needs for jobs.
  • A good example of needs assessment for a particular job occurred in the construction industry where there was a rash of accidents among Spanish-speaking construction workers. Construction companies recognized the need for training in English as a second language for many people. Restaurants, hospitals, and hotels have faced the same issue for jobs that are staffed by individuals with diverse backgrounds.

Individual Analysis

  • The third means of diagnosing training needs focuses on individuals and how they perform their jobs. The most common approach for conducting individual analysis involves using performance appraisal data. In some instances, a good HR information system can be used to identify individuals who require training in specific areas to be eligible for promotion. To assess training needs through the performance appraisal process, a supervisor first determines an employee’s performance strengths and inadequacies in a formal review. Then the supervisor can design training to help the employee overcome the weaknesses and enhance the strengths. Tests can be a good means of individual-level analysis. For example, a police officer might take a qualification test with his or her service pistol every six months to indicate his or her current skill level. If an officer cannot qualify, training would certainly be necessary.
  • Another way of assessing individual training needs is to use both managerial and nonmanagerial (or peer) input about the kind of training that is needed; individuals can also identify their own training needs.Obtaining this kind of input can be useful in building support for the training from those who will attend, particularly because they are well-positioned to help identify training needs.

8-4bEstablishing Training Objectives and Priorities

Once training requirements have been identified using needs analyses, training objectives and priorities can be established by a “gap analysis,” which indicates the distance between where an organization is with its employee capabilities and where it needs to be. To close the gap, training objectives and priorities are then determined. Three possible focuses for training objectives can be as follows:

  • Knowledge: Imparting cognitive information and details to trainees (e.g., understanding how a new product works)
  • Skill: Developing behavioral changes in how jobs and various task requirements are performed (e.g., improving speed on an installation)
  • Attitude: Creating interest in and awareness of the importance of something (e.g., sexual harassment training)

The success of training should be measured in terms of the objectives that were set before it took place. When creating learning objectives, it is helpful to start at the end by specifying what a learner should be able to do after completing the training. This type of thinking guides the design and development of the training. Another key consideration is that useful objectives are measurable. For example, an objective for a new sales clerk might be to demonstrate the ability to explain the function of each product in the department within two weeks. This objective is specific and can be evaluated by the trainer or the employee’s supervisor.

Most organizations do not have unlimited valuable resources such as time and money. Training competes with other HR and non-HR programs to secure financial and time support from the organization’s leaders. Since training is seldom an unlimited budget item, and because organizations have multiple training needs, prioritization is necessary. Ideally, management looks at training needs in relation to strategic plans and as part of the organizational change process. Then training needs can be prioritized on the basis of objectives. Conducting the training most needed to improve organizational performance will produce visible results more quickly.

Training Design

LO 4

Specify how to design a training program for adult learners.

Once training objectives have been established, the design of training can begin. Whether job-specific or broader in nature, training must be established to address the specific objectives. Effective training design considers the learners and instructional strategies, as well as how to maximize the transfer of training from class to the job site.

Working in organizations should be a continual learning process. Different approaches are possible because learning is a complex psychological process. For the training design to be effective and produce learning, each of the elements shown in Figure 8-8 must be considered.

Figure 8-8Training Design Elements