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Questionnaires are the most usual approach
for determining training needs, but this is not the only
way, by any means.
Other
ways include:
Organisational
data
Your
company will no doubt have data on sales figures, customer
complaints, productivity, call rates, lost customers, etc.
These
figures are useful in that they provide an objective figure
that can be specifically measured. However, you might assume
that deteriorating figures indicate training needs, when
this might not be the case.
Key
competencies and job descriptions
These
can be used to ascertain training needs. The JD might point
you in the direction of needed skill adjustments in certain
key areas.
Guidelines,
like Health and Safety measures, might identify areas that
require mandatory training. Competencies will always give
you a picture of the gap that exists between required levels
and existing levels.
Focus
Groups
These
are useful when an in-depth analysis of an area is required.
Normally consisting of between 6-10 persons, they create
the catalyst for a wide-scale TNA survey.
The
group can quickly give you feedback on major issues and
the synergies created can be worth the time taken to hold
such a meeting.
Interviews
Face
to face and phone interviews can give you more background
to situations.
You
may know of challenges that the organisation is facing,
but require more in-depth feedback before ascertaining whether
there is a need for training and development. It might be
a different root cause that is creating the poor figures.
Interviews will help you explore the current working practices
and skill gaps.
Workplace
observation
This
is valuable as it captures what is happening in the real
world.
Depending
on your expertise and skill levels, you can pick up a lot
of information in a short time by watching people perform
their roles in a ‘normal’ environment.
Tests
Sometimes
used in specific TNA processes, tests help you to ascertain
the current skill levels and can compare them with the norm
or required performance. Quick to administrate, the test
can sometimes put undue pressure on people and may not equate
to normal performance levels.
Questionnaires
These
are usually the quickest way of ascertaining needs, although
the quality of feedback depends on the value that the participants
put on filling it in. It’s ideal if you require a
large-scale feedback, because you can send it out instantly
via email.
Questionnaires
can help you prioritise among competing training needs and
are relatively easy to administrate, especially if they
are handled on-line
Development
Plans
Feedback
from employees development plans can be fed into the training
department and then the team can collate these and provide
an overall requirements specification
Appraisal
Feedback
Strengths
and weaknesses of employees can be gathered from the appraisal
process
To
make sure you achieve results from your analysis quickly
and effectively, ensure you do the following:
- Explain
the purpose for the TNA clearly and carefully
-
Explain how you intend to use the information gained
-
Focus specifically on needs and don’t get drawn
into long wish-lists
-
Make sure the questionnaires are based on real world situations,
to stop people becoming sarcastic and cynical
-
Do something with the finished product – distribute
the main findings and your action plans
-
Don’t forget to thank all participants
By
doing the above, you will find you have a much better chance
of getting necessary training needs information quickly
and effectively
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