Training Needs Analysis
Work with The Training Practice to clarify your organisation’s training needs, develop a competency framework or develop training material to be delivered in-house.
Training Needs Analysis with Training Plus
Our Training Plus approach achieves breakthroughs in your organisation’s performance and improves people capability. It achieves this by examining five elements before recommending the best people development solution.
ELEMENT ONE – STRATEGIC
At the strategic level, Training Plus asks:
- Where is the organisation or team heading long-term?
- What are the strategic needs for developing capability?
Why?
The strategic needs of the business should drive capability development.
Any capability development intervention should support an organisation’s strategic direction.
Example
An organisation or team may need to influence a large number of others to achieve its outcomes. Increasing the organisation’s or team’s capability to influence is, therefore, of strategic importance. This may involve strategic management changes, performance improvements and systems changes.
ELEMENT TWO - OPERATIONAL
At the operational level, Training Plus asks:
- What are the day-to-day business needs of the organisation or team?
- What capability improvements are needed to achieve operational objectives?
Why?
Operational objectives highlight gaps between desired and present performance.
Example
An organisation may be introducing new technology and higher standards of customer service to improve service delivery. There will be gaps between existing capability levels and those needed in the future, affecting people and managers.
ELEMENT THREE - PERFORMANCE
At the performance level, Training Plus asks:
- What are the performance improvement needs of individuals or groups to meet operational and strategic business needs?
- Do performance gaps concern engagement, attitude, knowledge or skills?
Why?
Articulating specific performance competencies identifies gaps between present and desired performance.
Example
An organisation or team may identify that employee engagement is low and needs to be improved. One area to focus on is management behaviour. A performance gap may identify that managers need to perform better in understanding and engaging employees. Specific management competencies with performance criteria can then be developed and specific interventions planned to close managers’ performance gap.
ELEMENT FOUR - ENVIRONMENT
At the environmental level, Training Plus asks:
- What systems or work environment changes are needed to create performance improvements?
- What management actions or support are needed to create performance improvements?
Why?
Systems changes, structures, or internal communication may have significant effects on performance.
Management actions or support for people learning new skills is vital to reinforce new attitudes or behaviours.
Example
An organisation or team may want to improve standards of customer service. To be successful, it will need to articulate what standards they want their people to achieve. They can then be measured against the standards and receive regular coaching from their managers.
ELEMENT FIVE - DIRECT PEOPLE INTERVENTION
At the direct people intervention level, Training Plus asks:
- What intervention will be most effective?
- Are environment changes needed as well?
- How will you know if an intervention has been successful?
Why?
Training may be the solution or part of the solution. Other interventions include coaching, self-directed learning, action learning sessions, secondments, buddying, stretch projects or web-based support.
Training, other interventions and environment changes together, may produce the best combined results.
Example
A leadership development programme may include self-directed learning, workshops, on-the-job projects and coaching. To evaluate the programme successfully we would use a combination of the Appreciative Inquiry and the Success Case Method.
What methods do we use to complete a training needs analysis?
- Examination of all key documents
- Job shadowing.
- Interviews.
- Observation
Why is this important?
