How to Conduct a Training Needs Analysis
Summary
TLDRSean McKesson discusses the importance of conducting a training needs analysis to identify performance and skill gaps, prioritize areas of need, and develop data for performance evaluation. He outlines a four-step process: identifying business goals, gathering data through surveys, interviews, and focus groups, assessing training solutions, and building a training plan. The goal is to ensure effective use of resources, improve employee morale, and meet learning objectives.
Takeaways
- đ Conducting a training needs analysis is essential for defining and prioritizing areas of need within an organization.
- đ It helps identify performance and skill gaps that may not be immediately apparent.
- đ A needs analysis is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of training and measuring return on investment.
- đŒ It aids in obtaining management support and increases the likelihood of reaching learning goals.
- đ It improves employee morale by ensuring that training is relevant and beneficial.
- đŻ The process involves four main steps: identifying business goals, gathering data, assessing training solutions, and building a training plan.
- đą Start by taking stock of organizational goals and deficiencies to understand where training can have the most impact.
- đ Use surveys, leadership interviews, and focus groups to gather a comprehensive view of training needs.
- đ Consider various data sources like document reviews, observations, performance appraisals, and tests to assess training effectiveness.
- đ Compare business objectives with gathered data to determine if training can fill knowledge, skills, or attitude gaps.
- đ Make recommendations for training delivery methods, personnel, technology, and address any regulatory requirements identified.
Q & A
What is a training needs analysis?
-A training needs analysis is a process of gathering data in a structured manner to effectively build a training plan from that data.
Why is conducting a training needs analysis important?
-It is important because it defines and prioritizes areas of need, identifies performance and skill gaps, helps evaluate performance measures, determines the cost and benefits of training, and improves employee morale.
What are the four categories of the training needs analysis process?
-The four categories are: identifying business goals, gathering data, assessing training solutions, and building a training plan.
How does identifying business goals help in a training needs analysis?
-Identifying business goals helps in understanding organizational targets, deficiencies, and challenges that may be solved with training.
What is the KSA model mentioned in the script?
-The KSA model stands for Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes. It's a way to determine if training is the correct solution by identifying gaps in these areas.
What are the three best methods for gathering data during a training needs analysis?
-The three best methods are surveys and questionnaires, leadership and management interviews, and focus groups.
Why is it important to diversify data sets when gathering information for a training needs analysis?
-Diversifying data sets ensures a holistic view of training needs by combining both tangible data and more holistic information.
What are some ground rules to consider when conducting a training needs analysis?
-Some ground rules include starting with the end in mind, setting a timeline, and ensuring a diverse set of data.
How can you assess the training options after gathering data?
-Assess training options by comparing business objectives to the data collected and connecting those to the hard and soft costs associated with training.
What are some questions to consider when building a training plan?
-Questions to consider include the goals of the business or department, teaching styles that work best for the audience, and available training resources.
What book is recommended for further reading on the topic of training needs analysis?
-The book recommended is 'Return on Investment and Training in Performance Improvement Programs' by Jack Phillips.
Outlines
đ Introduction to Training Needs Analysis
Sean McKesson introduces the concept of training needs analysis, explaining it as a structured way to gather data for building an effective training plan. He discusses its importance in defining and prioritizing needs, identifying performance and skill gaps, evaluating performance measures, determining cost-benefit, gaining management support, reaching learning goals, and improving employee morale. The process is broken down into four categories: identifying business goals, gathering data, assessing training solutions, and building a training plan. Sean emphasizes starting with organizational goals and deficiencies, considering external influences like compliance standards, and using the KSA model to determine if training can solve knowledge, skills, or attitude gaps.
đ Gathering Data for Training Needs Analysis
The second paragraph delves into the methods of gathering data for the training needs analysis. Sean suggests using surveys and questionnaires, leadership interviews, and focus groups to obtain a comprehensive view of training needs. He also recommends considering document and process reviews, observations, performance appraisals, and tests and assessments. Sean stresses the importance of setting ground rules, such as starting with clear goals, setting a timeline, and diversifying data sets with a mix of open-ended and close-ended questions. He provides examples of questions to ask regarding business goals, teaching styles, and available training resources. The paragraph concludes with a step towards assessing training options, connecting business objectives with the gathered data, and considering hard and soft costs.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄTraining Needs Analysis
đĄPerformance Gaps
đĄData-Driven
đĄBusiness Goals
đĄKSA Model
đĄSurveys and Questionnaires
đĄLeadership Interviews
đĄFocus Groups
đĄAdvisory Committees
đĄReturn on Investment (ROI)
đĄTraining Plan
Highlights
Training needs analysis is a structured way to gather data for building a training plan.
It helps define and prioritize areas of needs, identify performance and skill gaps, and evaluate performance measures.
Conducting a needs analysis is crucial for determining the cost and benefits of training, and measuring return on investment.
It aids in obtaining management support and increases the chances of reaching learning goals.
An effective needs analysis improves employee morale and ensures resources are spent wisely.
The process of needs analysis falls into four categories: identifying business goals, gathering data, assessing training solutions, and building a training plan.
Start by identifying organizational goals and deficiencies to understand what training might address.
Consider external influences like compliance standards and legal requirements when identifying business goals.
The KSA model helps determine if training is the correct solution by identifying knowledge, skills, or attitude gaps.
Gather data through surveys, leadership interviews, and focus groups to get a holistic view of training needs.
Consider other data sources like document reviews, observations, performance appraisals, and tests.
Set ground rules for data collection, such as starting with clear goals, setting a timeline, and diversifying data sets.
Ask open-ended and close-ended questions to gather tangible and holistic information for decision-making.
Assess training options by comparing business objectives to the gathered data and identifying hard and soft costs.
Recommend solutions based on the data, focusing on knowledge, skills, or attitudes that can be improved through training.
Get buy-in from the organization by showing raw data, visualizing information, and connecting costs to goals.
Recommendations for training delivery should consider discovered needs, technology trends, and regulatory requirements.
For further reading on training needs analysis, consider Jack Phillips' book on return on investment in training.
Transcripts
hello everyone my name is sean mckesson
and today i'm going to be talking about
how to conduct an effective training
needs analysis
what is a training needs analysis this
is a question we get quite a bit um and
very simply stated it's a way of
gathering data in a structured manner to
effectively build a training plan from
that data
there's a lot of ways to go about this
and there's some best practices that
we've learned as an organization that
we'd like to share on this this quick
video
um why would anyone want to do a
training needs analysis that's a great
question
the root of everything
first
it defines and prioritizes the greatest
areas of needs great to know that it
allows you to identify performance and
skill gaps that you may or may not have
known about
allows you to develop data where you can
actually evaluate performance measures
it's uh
integral to
determining the cost and the benefits of
training so you can measure a return on
investment
obtaining management support
it increases the chances of
reaching learning goals and it improves
employee morale
all of these are really good reasons why
instead of just jumping into building a
training plan you want to do an
effective needs analysis so that you're
either spending your money well or
you're spending your time well
the process as we have found uh to be
effective
falls into four categories first we're
going to identify the business goals
that's step one step two we're then
actually going to gather the data step
three we're going to assess the training
solutions that are available
and then we're going to build a training
plan based off the the results that
we've seen and comparing that to our
business goals so without further ado
we'll go straight into step one
identifying those business goals so
we're starting with the end in mind uh
you'll want to start by taking stock of
the organizational goals and
deficiencies that are are known
throughout the organization and there's
a couple of places that will help you
start by categorizing what you're
looking for what are your organizational
targets sales goals operational output
what are your department specific goals
if you have a manufacturing department
or you have a a
an operations staff that has a certain
service level agreement
or outside influences whether it be
compliance standards legal
legal things that are going to be coming
down the pipe so these things are really
good ways to identify what are those
goals that you were trying to achieve
and then is there a challenge or
opportunity that may be solved with
training in any of these areas
this will help us uh identify
what opportunities we really will have
for training
there's a great model out there the ksa
model
and what this means is if if one of
those challenges comes down to knowledge
skills or attitude gaps
then training is the correct solution if
it's not one of these three things
training may not be the the single
solution here it may be a process issue
it might be
a product issue but if it's knowledge
skills or attitudes
then we can change that with training
so with that in mind now we want to
gather the data we're going to step two
we're going to understand those goals of
the
the organization or the departments and
then we're going to find out
what we actually need to deliver and we
want to do this with an open mind a
couple of ways that the big three if you
will best three ways to get this
information that we've seen after doing
this for years is
surveys and questionnaires is one right
surveymonkey's a great tool there's a
lot of survey tools that will help you
build this internally or using a partner
like new horizons
second is leadership and management
interviews going to that middle level of
the organization or top of the
organization and seeing what the
perspective is from those leadership
roles and then finally there's the focus
groups where you can get a group of the
knowledge workers the people are
actually doing this day to day and get
their perspective on on what training
needs are there between the three of
these you get a really holistic view of
what training needs are out there
other things that you may want to
consider
document and process reviews
observations actually sitting down and
watching somebody do the work
performance appraisals whether you have
monthly or quarterly reviews how are
people graded how can they improve
using tests and assessments is also
really key you don't want to just ask
how training was you want to assess how
effective it was and you can do that by
testing the actual skills that they've
learned and then one thing that i don't
see a lot of but i'd love to see more
are advisory committees getting groups
of employees to actually give their
feedback
a couple of
ground rules that i like to set
begin with the end in mind think about
those goals and build your questions
build your interviews around that set
timeline set a deadline make sure that
everybody stays on task so that you can
get the most data and then diversify
data sets when you're asking questions
make sure you have open-ended questions
as well as close-ended questions so you
can get some more tangible data as well
as
some of the more holistic information
that will help you make some smart
decisions about training
some questions you can ask what are the
goals of the business the department the
individuals what kind of teaching style
does the target audience best respond to
what kinds of training resources do you
already have available that you might
utilize
just a few examples of questions you
might want to start figuring out the
answer to and incorporating into how you
are building surveys or building out
interviews
and if you don't know the answer to any
of these questions ask anyway or if you
if you you don't know for sure but you
think you might don't
assume step three we're assessing the
training options now we've gotten the
data we've compiled how many students or
how many potential employees want what
training and what we can do is start
looking at what the actual options are
for training
so first thing you want to do is take
those business objectives that you you
found out at the beginning of this
process compare that to the data does it
tell you that what you expected or does
it tell you a different story
and connect that those
uh those data points the the objectives
and goals to where hard and soft costs
come from if i'm you i might want to
pause on this screen and take a look at
this really nice cheat sheet uh of hard
costs that you might increase or
decrease as well as soft costs that you
might increase or decrease
again really good cheat sheet i
encourage you to pause this and come
back to it and take a look and and see
what resonates with you and your team
once again coming back to the ksa model
knowledge skills or attitudes if in
comparing the goals and objectives to
the data that you found
it
the solution seems to be telling you
that knowledge skills or attitude gaps
can be filled to improve the likelihood
of meeting those objectives and goals
you have a clear solution and it's told
you exactly what you wanted to find out
and then you can recommend a solution
and that starts to entail
building a training plan so now that
you've identified all this you're
connecting the dots
getting buy-in is huge whether you're
going up and you're trying to explain
this to your c-suite or you're trying to
get buy-in from the rest of the
organization show your work
show the raw data show that you've put
in
you've done this in a logical way
visualize that information so it's
really easy to read and then connect
those hard and soft costs that we talked
about
to those goals what dollar amount are
you actually gaining or subtracting on
the top line or the bottom line of the
organization this will help you get that
buy-in from everyone within the
organization from the top to the bottom
and then making recommendations right
for how you're going to be delivering
training
think about all those things that you've
discovered but you'll be recommending
training delivery methods how it's going
to be
how people are going to be trained the
the personnel that's going to be
delivering the training internal or
external
technology trends learning gaps
deficiencies that you found regulatory
requirements that you need to address
whether it be compliance sexual
harassment anti-harassment things like
that
last thing i'll leave you on
is
this
is a great recommendation if you're
really interested in this topic i would
highly recommend the book return on
investment and training in performance
improvement programs by jack phillips
one of my go-to uh training bibles um
and
yeah you can learn a lot more from this
this was a short introduction to this
topic um if for whatever reason you did
have any questions i am more than happy
to help out uh feel free i've put my
phone number and my email here reach out
and we can help you otherwise have a
great day thank you so much
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