Needs Assessment
The design process begins with needs
assessment
First, is training needed?
The Needs Assessment
Process
Pressure points
Legislation
No basic skills
Poor performance
New technology
Customer requests
New products
Higher performance
standards
New jobs
What is the context
Organizational
analysis
Person analysis
Task analysis
In what do they
need training?
The Needs Assessment Process
Continued
Outcomes
What should be trained?
Who should be trained?
How much training?
Buy vs. Build training decision
Other HR options such as selection or job
redesign
Needs Assessment Process #75
Organizational
analysis
Business strategy
Resources available for
training
Management support
Person analysis
Why do performance
deficits exist?
Who needs training?
Employees readiness for
training
Task analysis
What tasks? KSA’s
Knowledge
Skills
Behaviors
Abilities needed
Who Should Participate in Needs
Analysis? #76
Upper
Level
Middle
Level
Original
analysis:
Is it needed
to achieve goals
& strategy?
Person:
What business
units need it?
Who should be
trained?
Task:
Do we have
the right
people? KSA’s
What jobs are
critical for
How much will
it cost?
training?
Subject Matter Exports Know
SME’s
Trainers
What do I
need for a
training budget?
Who needs
training?
What KSA are
needed?
Who else should?
Jpb encumbents
Subjects matter experts
Methods Used in Needs
Assessment #79
Technique
Advantages
Disadvantages
Observation
1. Cheap
2. No work interruptions
3. Work environment is
included
1. Needs skilled observer
2. Hawthorne effect
Questionnaires
1. Information from large
number of people
2. Data can be summarized
1. Time consuming
2. Low return rate
3. Lacks detail
Technical manuals
& records
1. Good information for new
jobs
2. Objective
1. Hard to understand
technical language
Interview SME’s
1. Good at knowing problems
& solutions
1. Time consuming
2. Difficult to analyze
3. Needs skilled interviewer
Needs Assessment Process
Organizational
analysis
Strategy
Managers support
Resources
Do we want to train?
Person analysis
Input
Output
Consequences
Feedback
Task analysis
Work activity (task)
Knowledge, skills,
abilities
Work conditions
Support of Managers & Peers
This is critical!
Must be supportive!
Training Resources
Three possibilities
Internal consultants
2. Testing for skills, those who do not score
high are reassigned to other jobs
3. Purchase training from outside consultant
1.
Request for Proposals
The state, Oklahoma, does this
Training venders send in biography &
resumes-qualifications
Give examples of the programs
Give evidence of the programs worth
Development of a Program
Takes Time
1. Rule of thumb
2. 10-20 hours for each hour of
instruction
3. CD Rom development time

300-1,000 prep hours per hour program
(depending on the amount of animation
etc.)
Factors That Influence Employee
Performance & Learning
Pressure points
Customer complaints
Poor job performance
Input
Understands the need to
perform
Necessary equipment
Interference
Opportunity to perform
Output
Standard to judge
successful performance
Consequences
Incentive to perform
Consequences for poor
performance
Feed back
Frequent & specific
feedback about
performance
Personal Characteristics
1. Motivation to learn
2. Basic skills
3. Three levels of cognitive ability
a) Verbal competency
b) Quantitative ability
c) Reasoning ability
Personal Characteristics
Continued
4. Readability
a)
Need basic skills, instruction, & literacy
training
5. Self efficiency “I can attitude”
a) Helping employee succeed
b) Reassure them that training will help
them improve not hurt them
c) Give feedback
Task Analysis
Job
Task
Knowledge
Skill
Ability
Other
Steps In Tasks Analysis
1. Select job
2. Develop a preliminary list of tasks
3. Validate preliminary list
4. Identify necessary knowledge, skills,
and abilities
Competency Models
1. Used to identify knowledge, skills, and
abilities for a job
2. Used to identify personal
characteristics
3. Match competencies to job analysis