Individual Needs
Assessment For Training
Kevin A. Heikkinen
February 19, 2001
OISM 470W, Section 03
Objectives
 1.
What is individual needs assessment for
training?
 2. How the whole process works.
 3. The involvement of training.
 4. The benefits of training.
Needs Assessment Includes?
Definition
Types of Assessment
Needs assessment includes:
-Educational skills
-Organizational needs
-Identifying gaps
Assessment Has Two Phases
Employee Assessment:
Environment Assessment:
Individual Needs Assessment
 Slowing down your work process or need
extra skills in a certain area of work?
– Example: get the correct skills training.
– Example: need more experience in a certain skills
area such as math skills or computer skills?
Internal Assessment
 Internal assessment can be very important
to a company.
– Employees.
– Managers.
Needs Assessment
 Needs assessment can be seen from the
inside of the company or it can be seen
through external sources.
Needs Assessment
Companies
often attack
productivity problems with more
training.
–“Needs assessment services can range
from a two-day observation-based model
to a comprehensive data-driven
approach with skills testing.”
–Example: Merex
Partnership Building
Conducting needs assessments:
–The needs assessments used in
companies which help make their
partnerships more productive and
also more agreeable.
Training Needs Assessment
 “A
training needs assessment
provides vital information about
the real needs of the organization.
This pre-training tool helps a
company to strategically identify
specific areas needing attention
(training and non-training). The
assessment results help target
training more cost-effectively.”
Types of Training
Formal training
–Example:
On-the-job (OJT) training
–Example:
Strategic Training
 Program AIM:
–Nature of assistance:
Making a Strategic Investment in
Training:
 Training
Issues:
– What happened when the United States Office
of personal management, Office of workforce
relations performs test on training.
– Results:
Training Design and Development
Services—
The
myth for good
training:
–Example:
Effective
training:
–Example:
NSW Vocational Education and
Training Strategic Plan 1998-2000
The
NSW Vocational
Education and
Training Strategic
Plan 1998-2000 is:
Employee Benefits
 Many employees get benefit out of
performing training.
 Employees get more job knowledge and
realize they have choices in their futures.
Organizational Benefits
 Know what their training needs are.
 Why provide a kind of training.
 Develop and new knowledge.
Additional Organizational
Benefits
 “Knowing what training is being planned
and why.”
 “Justifying costs in relation to training
benefits.”
Benefits:
Eliminate chaos from your training efforts
 Set the direction and tone of your training effort
 Align training with your business goals and
objectives
 Bring reason, cohesiveness and clarity to your
training effort
 Monitor the progress of your organization in
achieving its training goals

Summary
 “The bottom line of needs assessment is to
determine organizational needs, employee
needs, and organizational resources to
provide needed training.”
Summary
 Needs Assessments.
• Employee Assessments.
• Environmental Assessments.
• Training Assessments.
Summary
 Benefits from individual needs assessment
for training.
Bibliography
 BVET. 2001. Advice
on Introducing
Workplace Training. 2001
<http://www.bvet.nsw.gov.au/industry
/bv01in13.htm.>
 Center for Performance Technology. 1999.
Training Design and Development
Services. 1999
<http://www.centerpt.com/>.
Bibliography
Enhanced Training. Enhanced Training.
<http://www.enhancedtraining.com/establishtraining.html>.
 Department of State and Regional Development.
22 Dec. 2000. Business Information- Guide to
Programs and Services.
<http://home.vicnet.net.au/~entimp/nies/StratTr
ain.html>.

Bibliography
 Foster, Thomas.
Managing Quality: An
Integrative Approach. New Jersey: Prentice
Hall, 2001.
 Plishker, Gordon. A Guide to Promising
Practices in Educational Partnerships.
1996.
<http://www.ed.gov/pubs/PromPract/prom
5.html>.
Bibliography
 Merex Corporation.
27 July 1997. Merex
Corporation.
<http://www.merexcorp.com/index.htm>.
 ES&H Employee Training Assessment. 3 May
2000. ES&H Employee Training Assessment.
<http://www.slac.stanford.edu/esh/trainin
g.html>.
Bibliography
 United
states office of personal
management, office of workforce
relations. July 2000. A Guide to
Strategically Planning Training and
Measuring Results.
<http://www.opm.gov/hrd/lead/spguide.p
df>.
Bibliography
 Drake & Associates, LTD.
2000.
<http://www.drakehr.com/point2.html>.