Facilitator: Eric Lim Wee Hiok
PARTICIPANT’S NAME: _______________________
1
WHAT IS TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS?
Training needs analysis (TNA) is concerned with addressing skills gaps at the
organisational level, the group level and the individual level, and falls under the remit
of learning and development.
Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is an assessment of the gap between the knowledge,
skills and attitudes that the people in the organization currently possess and the
knowledge, skills and attitudes that they require to meet the organization's objectives.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS?
The purpose of a training needs analysis is to close the gap between the actual and
desired situations by determining discrepancies in outcomes, placing them in order of
priority and selecting the most important for closure or reduction (Rothwell and
Kazanas 1998).
TNA therefore consists in collecting, analysing and comparing concrete (measurable)
data representing, on the one hand the actual 'performance' of a system (objectives,
outputs or variables in terms of actions) and, on the other hand, its desirable
'performance', whether wanted internally or externally, with the overall goal of
identifying as accurately as possible the specific needs of the clienteles affected by
the activities of an educational or training system” (Lapointe 1992).
The training needs analysis must be carried out before training activities are organized,
since it guarantees the success of those activities. It ensures synergy among individual
learning needs and the quest for effectiveness, job performance, and strategic
organizational development (Potter et al. 2003).
To do so, the data analysis process must allow collection of the largest possible
volume of information concerning the type of optimum skills required to perform a task,
the actual level of skills among the population(s) under review, their opinion
concerning their own performance, potential causes of the gap between the actual and
desired situations, and various possible solutions, from a number of perspectives
(Rossett 1987). In fact, the training needs analysis outcome is expressed not in the
form of a training policy or program, but a database defining the measured training
2
needs of the population(s) under review. This database will provide the foundation for
development of the training specification.
WHEN IS IT NECESSARY TO PERFORM A TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS?
The training needs analysis is a vital phase in planning training that will successfully
close the gap between the actual and desired situations. It ensures that the right
remedy is applied to the right problem. Since limited budgets are available for training,
the preferred areas of training must be
those ensuring that the anticipated outcome
will be achieved, as well as maximum gains
for the professionals and their organization
(Sims 1990). In some contexts, as
described below, needs analysis is crucial
(McConnell 2003).
Changes in the system or in work: When a work description is changed or operating
methods are reviewed, or simply in the case of new expectations, training is often
required. At that time, a training needs analysis allows identification of staff training
needs, to enable them to adapt appropriately to the changes introduced. Example:
The director of nursing and the physician responsible for the emergency department
have adopted a new work allocation protocol for each staff member involved in cardiac
arrest cases in the emergency department. They want to inform the various staff
members in question.
Introduction of new technology: Where a work environment adopts a specific new
technology, this normally goes hand in hand with a method of use that must be the
subject of training. In addition, this training must anticipate how use of this new
technology will be adapted to the specific organizational context to which it is
introduced. Accordingly, learning to operate a specific new technology requires
acquisition of additional skills or knowledge, which may vary in the various staff groups
likely to make differing use of the technology in question. It is therefore appropriate to
perform a training needs analysis to specify the training needs of each of these groups
as regards use of the new technology.
Example: With the establishment of a public health information centre
including, among other things, environmental data concerning air and potable
water quality, a training needs analysis was ordered for regional
environmental health staff. The purpose of this analysis was to determine the
additional knowledge this population needed to correctly interpret and apply
the environmental data provided by the Department of Sustainable
Development, Environment and Parks.
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Introduction of new government standards: Revised or new government standards
normally require training for professionals whose practice is affected by these changes.
This is the best way to ensure compliance with the new standards. At that time, the
training needs analysis will allow definition of the skills that must be developed for
correct implementation of these new standards. Example: The government introduces
new occupational health and safety rules in clinical laboratories. Laboratory
coordinators must therefore analyse training needs with respect to implementation of
these rules and the skills required to implement them correctly. Following this needs
analysis, they organize training activities for all medical technologists, so that they will
have all the necessary tools to apply the new government rules.
Decline in quality of work or performance in department or organization: Many factors
contribute to a decline in quality of work or performance of a given department or area
of activity. A training needs analysis among the various professional groups involved
will indicate whether training is one of the ways to improve attainment of preset
objectives.
Example: A team of social workers is responsible for preventing sexually
transmitted and blood-borne infections among injection drug users (IDUs) in
a specific neighbourhood. Over time, the team notices that its activities are
reaching fewer and fewer IDUs in the neighbourhood and that the incidence
of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections is rising, while the number
of its social workers is also increasing. A training needs analysis will establish
what these workers need to acquire or change to have a greater impact on
their environment and counter this decline in performance.
Departmental meetings, opinion surveys,
organizational studies and separation
interviews
Departmental
meetings,
opinion surveys, organizational studies
and separation interviews of employees
leaving their job, although conducted for
other purposes, are often opportunities
for disclosure of felt or demonstrated
training needs.
Training needs analysis will then provide the possibility of establishing whether these
needs are common to all staff. Example: At a team meeting, a professional states that
she does not feel she has the necessary skill to perform a specific part of her job. After
listening to this individual, other professionals also admit that they feel they have the
same shortcoming regarding this part of the job. Conducting a training needs analysis
is then appropriate, since it will be used to accurately identify the weaknesses in
capacities making up the skills enabling them to perform the part of the job in question.
4
Lack of skills and knowledge: Setting of specific objectives by an organization does
not provide information as regards staff capacity to attain them. A training needs
analysis will determine whether training needs exist associated with attainment of
these objectives and, if so, which ones (Rossett 1987, 43). Example: A work team
promotes physical activity among the teenagers of a community. The team realizes
that it is having problems communicating with its
target public. Given the rapid changes in
teenagers’
communications methods and
lifestyles, the team leader carries out a training
needs analysis to identify the knowledge and skills
the professionals must improve in order to make
better use of the resources available to reach their
target public.
Absence or lack of motivation: Absence or lack of motivation affects work performance.
Two factors increase in proportion to work motivation: the value ascribed to work and
the level of its performance. The greater value an individual ascribes to their work and
the higher their performance, the greater will be their motivation. The inverse
relationship also holds true. In such a situation, a training needs analysis can help
identify the causes of lower performance or bring to light undeveloped skills. Welltargeted training, by cultivating deficient skills, could quickly raise the level of self
confidence–a factor often intrinsically linked to motivation. Training can be beneficial
for an individual lacking in motivation if it enables the person to achieve quick gains in
their level of confidence.
Example: A work team is responsible for promoting pro-health public policies.
Although it performs a large volume of activities designed to raise awareness
among decision-makers of the social, economic and environmental
determinants of health, the group loses motivation because its work seems to
have no impact on emerging public policies. A training needs analysis
identifies a need for training in decision-making processes leading to
establishment of public policies. Following a training activity on public policy
development, the work team learns to intervene more effectively in the
decision-making process. As a result, it has an impact on development of
public policies and its motivation accordingly increases.
Changes in Manpower or Structure: In today’s context, changes in the organisation’s
manpower is becoming more common. With companies attempting to optimise their
business models amidst the digital transformation era, the organisation’s structure
may need to evolve faster than expected. To ensure continuity, the existing manpower
within the organisation may be forced to undergo a Job-Redesign to fulfil the
organisation’s strategy and requirement.
5
CAN TRAINING OVERCOME PROBLEMS IN THE WORKPLACE?
Despite the benefits provided by well targeted training, other factors must be taken
into account to improve operations and work quality. Although a training needs
analysis suggests shortcomings related to work performance or quality, training will
not necessarily solve the problem. To avoid misconceived training needs, it is essential
to draw a distinction between causes and symptoms. The gap between actual and
desired levels of skills in a specific organization is a symptom that may have both
multiple and varied causes (Sims 1990). For example, staff shortage, mismanagement,
incorrect work allocation, lack of procedures, inaccurate work descriptions and
unrealistic set objectives may all be causes of a gap between the actual and desired
situations. Where the obstacles are organizational in nature, training may achieve little
or nothing, since it will only change those subjected to the learning process. The author
of The Revolution in Training, Robert F. Mager, makes the point clear in the following
way: “If a man doesn’t have a skill, train. If he has the skill but doesn’t perform, manage”
(Tracey 1971).
Here are some examples of solutions not involving training (Wright 1999): • review and
rewrite work descriptions;
• increase staff or budgets;
• make changes in staff;
• implement methods and measures to stimulate motivation among professionals;
• develop management policies and structures.
In a work environment where there are no
incentives, productive professionals are
burdened with the heaviest workload, while
less competent professionals are simply
ignored. In other words, high-performance
individuals are penalized. In such a
situation, introduction of new policies may
be beneficial: • reorganize work methods.
It is said that the work environment is
harmful when its organization, spatial layout and available tools are inadequate. The
work quality of the organization’s staff will then decline despite their motivation and
adequate skills. Development of better work methods, redesign of the work area or
better matching of individuals and jobs may be beneficial in a situation where the work
environment is harmful (Rossett 1987): • enhance communication systems and
practices; • even…do nothing. To conclude, we will introduce here an essential
element of successful training activities. If we want to see training produce the best
possible results, it is necessary to create a situation allowing transfer of gains from
training in the organization’s daily operations. For example, work tools must be
consistent with what the professionals have learned during training. In fact, where
training is part of the solution to a specific situation, it is often necessary to apply
complementary organizational methods, so that the organization can truly benefit from
the training (Pérusse 2001).
6
EVOLUTION OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
*Put a Tick in the circle which best describes your current situation
TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS CYCLE
Analysis of
Current
Situation
Consolidating
and Analysing
Results
Conducting
the TNA
Identifying
Desired
Outcome(s)
Designing TNA
Methods
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ANALYSIS OF CURRENT SITUATION
In order to analyse the current situation, you will need to examine the factors
involved in designing the desired outcome(s). In the boxes below, write down
your company’s situation.
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Other Factors:
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COMPETENCY MAPPING
Competency Mapping is a process of identifying key competencies for an
organization and/or a job and incorporating those competencies throughout the
various processes (i.e. job evaluation, training, recruitment) of the organization.
HOW TO MAP COMPETENCIES
1. Skill identification from the job description. Every resource has their designated
set of job description allotted. Identify the skills from the explained job description.
2. Club all the skills across organization. Repeat the above-mentioned process
department wise. Talk to managers and resources. Sum up all the Job description and
list down every possible skill that contribute towards an effective task performance.
3. Categorize skills. Fix the categories appropriate for your organization. This may
depend on your organizational industry, product, strength and client base too.
Example- Technical, Behavioural and Processes; are some of the category that are
common to almost all.
4. Develop a skill dictionary. As the name suggests, it is the explained dictionary of
every skill that we have mentioned above. We have to explain level wise description
of every skill. You can either choose a three - level or four – level dictionary. Level 1
being lowest, Level 2 is Needs improvement, level 3 being Average and level 4 is good.
If the highest level is level 5, try to mark accordingly.
Other types of Mapping



Behaviour
Technology
Event
Lominger Competency List: https://academianlp.org/lominger-67-competencies
https://www.inspq.qc.ca/pdf/publications/884_Cadre_reference_ang.pdf - PAGE 23
EXAMPLE OF FRAMEWORK
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PLANNING YOUR DESIRED OUTCOME(S)
To be able to identify the desired outcomes, it is therefore important to consider all the
factors affecting this. The overall organisation strategy tends to be the over-arching
factor above all the other factors. In order to identify this, you will need to engage the
key stakeholder, usually the HR Lead or the CEO/COO.
Example: A new CEO wanted to implement 5 training days for each employees
across the entire organisation. He is willing to fund the training fees involved.
However, there are many barriers involved. As the organisation is an
engineering firm, one of the biggest challenges is for operations to miss out 5
days of productions per operator. The operators will in turn has to clock more
hours in Overtime which is a result of this policy. Productions might also be
affected.
PRINCIPAL CONSIDERATIONS
Organisation Goals: This is probably the first and top priority which you need to
address. If the organisation is beginning her sales in a new product, training resources
have to be dedicated to any activity related to the product. Examples: Product
Knowledge, Procurement procedures, Finance processing, Sales Training, templates
and checklists etc.
Budget Available: The budget available in your disposal will determine how extensive
your TNA should go. If you have very modest budget, there is no point in conducting
TNA which will go into areas which your budget cannot support.
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Training Hours vs Operations: One of the main challenges of running training in an
organisation is the time taken out of the employee’s time to attend the program. If the
training is not related to the employee’s work, but due to company policy, the employee
has to attend the training, the employee is less motivated to learn, or even attend. In
cases where the employee is contributing to production or operation figures, training
presents a challenge to their supervisors and in productions lagging behind deadline.
In such instances, overtime will need to be clocked which might reduce the company’s
profit margin.
Equality across departments: One of the considerations you have to pay attention to
is the amount of training which each department is receiving. It is difficult to strive for
full equality. Thus, whatever plans you made, make sure you have valid reasons for
the plans.
Why is it important to think about the desired outcome(s) beforehand
conducting the TNA?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Mantra: Leave no stone unturned
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YOUR APPROACH TO THE TNA IN YOUR ORGANISATION
Imagine you have been appointed as the in-charge to conduct a TNA in
your company. Using the knowledge you have acquired, make a plan on
how you would approach the project.
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DESIGNING YOUR TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS
After analysing your current situation, you should have a much better idea on what
type of training the organisation needs. The competency categories also allows you to
simplify any of the methods you choose for
the participants or employees. Your next
step is to design the methods of collecting
the data. Below are some factors to consider
before you design your TNA:
Organisation Structure: This is perhaps the
most important consideration. You need to
think about how the data collection is to be
done and how in-depth. Do you go all the way down to the last employee, or should
you stop at supervisory levels? Do you have assistance within your team to collect the
data and arrange the schedules?
Depth of TNA: The depth of the TNA is important, as it will affect participant’s
perception. If you go too in-depth during data collection, you might create a false
impression that the training will be made available. Thus, it is vital that the depth you
are going to collect the data is close to how much your budget can manage. You can
also consider to put a disclaimer at the beginning of all the data collection methods.
Timeline: Ideally, you should complete your TNA and plans before the beginning of
the financial year for your organisation. The best time to begin all the plans is in the
last quarter of the financial year. That would allow you to go through the entire process,
and made the necessary communications.
Focus Area(s): In some instances, there are some areas which your management are
more interested than others. When that is the case, you have to ensure that your TNA
is highly focused on those areas. For example, if the CEO is wanting to push new
products for next year, then the training budget should be spent on that first, before
the other competencies are to be considered. In another example, the management
team might implement a new training policy to ensure all employees clock at least 5
days of training. In this example, you can consider more comprehensive TNA methods
to ensure you have sufficient choices for the employees to choose from.
There are many methods of conducting the TNA. The data collection process is
essential to prepare yourself to present the overall training schedule to the
management team. Data provides support to your plans, with references to the budget,
type of training selected, target participants and objectives. The data allows you to
present a more compelling case.
Mantra: Under-promise, Over-deliver
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Below are the types of Data Collection Method:
Quantitative:
- Online Surveys
- Manual Questionnaires
- Delphi Technique
- Aptitude Test
- Part of Performance Appraisal
- Part of Employee Engagement Survey
Qualitative:
- Interviews
- Focus Group Discussions
- Observations
- Part of Team Building or Strategic Retreat
https://www.inspq.qc.ca/pdf/publications/884_Cadre_reference_ang.pdf - PAGE 54
EXAMPLE OF TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS PLANS
The key components of a detailed TNA are shown above. It is important to know your
resources. You can also choose to add more components such as business
objectives or challenges that the data is trying to resolve, or the new product which
the organisation is rolling out. Once you have your plan, you can develop a Gantt
Chart to follow through the entire process.
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CONSOLIDATION OF RESULTS AND PRESENTATION
Your next step is to consolidate the results and prepare a presentation to
your HR Lead and/or the management team. By now, you will have loads
of data and information to present. Presenting them all will be a disaster
as it is information overload. Not preparing sufficient information will give
management the impression that you are not well prepared.
Mantra: Always go through your presentation
with your HR Lead first
There are some key components in presenting your TNA and training
plans which you should take note of.
Presentation of Results: You would have quantitative and qualitative
data to crunch. Your role is to highlight the findings which enable you to
derive your training plans. This linkage is essential to the success of your
role. For quantitative data, you can opt to use charts and tables to present.
Support the data using the qualitative data you find to summarize based
on departments, categories or competencies. Always summarize your
data with some key findings.
Business strategies / Challenges: It is also important to understand that
while your data says one thing, the management team might be saying
another. Thus, it is vital that you take into account the business strategies
and challenges, and your plans can also facilitate or assist in strategies or
addressing certain gaps.
Training Plans: As much as possible, your derived training plans should
take both the data, and the business strategies and challenges into
account. Arrange your plans into various categories, e.g. technical training,
soft skills training, team learning, computer skills. You should also take
note of the timeline in terms of frequency needed to fulfil the participant’s
requirement and possible blackout periods. If you can, build in a buffer
where participants turnout might not be good.
Budget required: For this portion, it will be very different depending on
whether your training budget is centralised or de-centralised. It is
important to ensure that the costing per pax is as low as possible. If you
find difficulty in doing that, you can also split up the number in accordance
16
to the seniority of the participants. In theory, the more senior the staff, the
more expensive is the cost of each day of training. If the budget is decentralised, then the cost should be presented on a functional/
departmental level.
Timeline: The timeline should include the frequency of each training, and
any black-out or peak period which you have avoided to ensure that
operations are not affected. In this portion, you should demonstrate your
ability to practice your due diligence before presenting the plans with
timeline.
Next Steps: This step may or may not be necessary depending on your
plan. If your plan includes programs which straddles across departments,
e.g. Microsoft Excel training, then you can include steps necessary for the
departments to fill up the various training classes which are scheduled.
This is likely to be done by the supervisors working under the Functional
or Department Leads,
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CASE STUDY 1
You are now a HR Generalist working in an engineering company which produces
metal parts for large machineries. You just have a change of CEO from the founder,
to the founder’s eldest son. He has approached your HR Lead, and expressed his
interest in implementing training programs internally within the organisation. Your HR
Lead has in turn approached you to lead the project in finding out more on the training
needs of the organisation and make a proposal to her.
Historically, the company has never had any training programs implemented. The
company is largely divided into several departments: (1) Corporate Office (Inclusive of
HR, Finance and Admin), (2) Marketing and Sales, (3) Productions and (4) Delivery.
There is about 150 staff across the company, divided into 4 levels, (1) C-suite, (2)
Department Heads, (3) Supervisors and (4) Operators.
Within your group, discuss how you would approach the project.
CASE STUDY 2
You are now a Generalist in a logistics firm with a call centre of about 50 operators.
The team lead of the call centre has approached your HR Lead to ask for assistance
in conducting training to improve the level of call handling in the call centre to better
facilitate client’s queries and to promote the business in a positive way.
The HR Lead has assigned you with the project. The company has recently gone
through a cost saving exercise which resulted in the headcount cut in the team through
a redundancy exercise. These are done through a skills assessment process and a
voluntary exercise.
The remaining staff were unmotivated and the level and quality of the call centre had
dropped significantly. There were also rumours of a further round of job cuts planned
by the management.
Within your group, discuss how you would approach the project.
CASE STUDY 3
You are now working in a medium sized hotel with 156 rooms. The hotel is local in city
fringe and is near a train station. The building is now under construction and will be
completed in three months’ time and the hotel will begin operations one month after
completion, and the official launch is three months after completion. You have just be
hired as the L&D Lead for the hotel. Your role is to design a training plan in conjunction
with the recruitment of the staff.
The hotel headcount is targeted at 300-350 staff, divided into the following
departments (1) Corporate Office (Inclusive of HR, Finance, Admin and Security), (2)
18
Marketing and Sales, (3) Housekeeping and laundry, F&B and (4) Front Office, and (5)
Cleanliness and maintenance. The staff will be divided into 4 levels, (1) C-suite, (2)
Department Heads, (3) Supervisors and (4) Operators.
Within your group, discuss how you would approach the project.
CASE STUDY 4
You are now working in a medium sized hotel with 156 rooms. The hotel is local in city
fringe and is near a train station. The hotel has been in operations for one and a half
years.
The HR Lead of the hotel felt that the hotel is in a steady state. The training within the
hotel are mostly conducted within the various departments with the senior doubling up
as trainers to new hires and juniors. Staff turnover in the hospitality industry is high at
close to 20%. The hotel’s staff turnover is about 15% for the time in operations.
He wants you to ENHANCE the training within the hotel staff to improve productivity
and service standards, to assist in the staff turnover rate and improve the hotel’s
reputation as a service oriented hotel.
The hotel headcount is targeted at 300-350 staff, divided into the following
departments (1) Corporate Office (Inclusive of HR, Finance, Admin and Security), (2)
Marketing and Sales, (3) Housekeeping and laundry, F&B and (4) Front Office, and (5)
Cleanliness and maintenance. The staff will be divided into 4 levels, (1) C-suite, (2)
Department Heads, (3) Supervisors and (4) Operators.
Within your group, discuss how you would approach the project.
19
References and Recommendations
1. Training and Development: Enhancing Communication and Leadership Skills, by Steven A. Beebe,
Timothy P. Mottet and K. David Roach

Training and Development presents a step-by-step approach to developing training programs
organized around the Needs-Centered model of training. This book suggests that every aspect of
developing a training program should be based upon trainee needs. It includes application and
discussion questions at the end of each chapter, offering readers the opportunity to put principles and
skills to the test. It also provides readers with examples of needs assessment questionnaires, task
analysis, training plans, and other tools that can be used as models when planning their own training
programs.
2. Employee Development on a Shoestring, by Halelly Azulay

It has been estimated that 70 percent of employee development takes place through informal
learning, rather than through formal learning events. Employee Development on a Shoestring offers
insights and lessons for leveraging non-training activities for on-the-job employee development. It
therefore offers specific implementation techniques for developing motivated, engaged employees in
today’s “do more with less” business environment and acts as a tool kit for any employee developer
including: Step-by-step guidance for initial goal-setting, templates, worksheets, checklists, ways to
capitalize on development ideas that are easy to implement immediately and cheaply, and the hidden
value of job rotation, stretch assignments, and special teams.
3. Telling Ain’t Training- 2nd Edition, by Harold D. Stolovitch and Erica J. Keeps

First published in 2002, this book is full of training myth-busting research and ready-to-use
tools, delivered in a lighthearted and entertaining style. This new edition has been updated, expanded
and enhanced to reflect almost a decade of progress. This is a book that faithfully practices what it
preaches, engaging the reader from page one and immediately involving them in the first of many tryit-yourself exercises in learning.
4. Design For How People Learn (Voices That Matter), by Julie Dirksen

Products, technologies, and workplaces change so quickly today that everyone is continually
learning. Many of us are also teaching, even when it’s not in our job descriptions. Whether it’s giving
a presentation, writing documentation, or creating a website or blog, we need and want to share our
knowledge with other people. But if you’ve ever fallen asleep over a boring textbook, or fastforwarded through a tedious e-learning exercise, you know that creating a great learning experience is
harder than it seems. In this book the authors describe how we can all use the key principles behind
learning, memory, and attention to create materials that enable an audience to both gain and retain the
knowledge and skills being shared.
20
5. The Adult Learner, Seventh Edition, by Malcolm S. Knowles Ph.D., Richard A. Swanson Ph.D. and
Elwood F. Holton III Ed.D,

The late Malcolm S. Knowles, Ph.D., was one of the leading authorities on adult education in
the second half of the twentieth century. He wrote the first major accounts of informal adult
education and the history of adult education in the United States, authoring more than 200 articles
and 18 books. He is famous for his adaptation of the theory of Andragogy as a conceptual basis for
adult education and learning, and was a significant force in reorienting adult educators from
‘educating people’ to ‘helping them learn’. This update of a pioneering classic contains all Knowles’
original chapters alongside a newer second part by Elwood “Ed” Holton and Richard A Swanson
charting the advancements on these core principles. A third section includes selected readings from
previous editions to illustrate the theory’s evolution, as well as important articles from other key
experts around the world for a comprehensive view.
6. The Learning and Development Book, by Tricia Emerson and Mary Stewart

This book was written for the experienced, L&D professionals looking for ways to be more
effective. The insights in this book are meant to help when you feel stalled. This book gives you
simple ideas and concepts to illustrate these needs and illuminate learning and development efforts
for you, your clients, your teams and your company leadership. L&D is simple. Chapters are written
to be short and easy to digest. Each contains just one “nugget of wisdom” from years of learning and
development consulting experience. Each chapter is self-contained, so read one or read them all, in
any order you like.
7. Essentials of Online Course Design: A Standards-Based Guide, by Marjorie Vai and Kristen Sosulski,

In spite of the proliferation of online learning in higher education, creating online courses can
still evoke a good deal of frustration, negativity, and wariness in those who need to create them.
Essentials of Online Course Design takes a fresh, thoughtfully designed, step-by-step approach to
online course development. At its core is a set of standards that are based on best practices in the field
of online learning and teaching. Pedagogical, organizational and visual design principles are
presented and modeled throughout the book and users will quickly learn from the guide’s hands-on
approach. The course design process begins with the elements of a classroom syllabus which, after a
series of guided steps, easily evolve into an online course outline.
8. The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and
Education, by Karl M. Kapp

Learning professionals are finding success applying game-based sensibilities to the
development of instruction. This book shows how to design online instruction that leverages the best
elements of online games to increase learning, retention, and application. It explains how to match
different game strategies to types of learning content for the right learning outcome and discusses
how gamification techniques can be used in a variety of settings to improve learning, retention and
application of knowledge. Supported by peer-reviewed studies and examples from corporations who
have adopted game-based learning successfully, the book illustrates how combining instructional
design thinking with game concepts can create engaged and interactive learning experiences across a
variety of media, from online to face-to-face.
21
9. Training on Trial: How Workplace Learning Must Reinvent Itself to Remain Relevant, by James and
Wendy Kirkpatrick

While upbeat lingo abounds about ‘complementing strategic objectives’ and ‘driving
productivity’, the fact is that most training does not make a significant enough impact on business
results, and when it does, training professionals fail to make a convincing case about the value added
to the bottom line. The vaunted ‘business partnership model’ has yet to be realized – and in tough
economic times, when the training budget is often the first to be cut, training is on trial for its very
existence. Using a courtroom trial as a metaphor, “Training on Trial” seeks to get to the truth about
why training fails and puts the business partnership model to work for real. Readers on both sides of
the ‘courtroom’ will learn how to stop viewing training as a cost center, and bridge the gulf between
what learning functions deliver and what business units need to execute their strategies. “Training on
Trial” provides a new application of the Kirkpatrick Four – ‘Level Evaluation Model and many tips
and techniques that allow lessons learned to be put into action now.
10. The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning: How to Turn Training and Development into Business
Results, by Calhoun W. Wick, Roy V. H. Pollock and Andy Jefferson

Whether you’re an HR or OD professional or work in a training department, learn to apply the
principles of follow-through management within your organization in the new edition of this
bestselling resource. Incorporating new research on learning and learning transfer, along with new
case studies, interviews, and tools, this edition shares guidelines, proven in practice by many Fortune
500 companies, on how to design comprehensive learning experiences in leadership and
management, sales, quality, performance improvement, and professional certification. You’ll
discover the theories and principles underlying the approach, as well as the practical methods, tools,
and roadmaps for bridging the “knowing-doing” gap.
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