THE CONCEPTUAL ASPECT ON TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS (TNA) FOR TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS - - Bhuwan R Chataut*

THE CONCEPTUAL ASPECT ON

TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS (TNA)

FOR TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS

- Bhuwan R Chataut*

 “Winning becomes the habit as excellence is. It will spring from organizational capabilities such as speed, responsiveness, agility, learning capacity and employee competence.”

People are apex resource of any organization whether profit making or not for profit. They are the resources with knowledge, skills, attitude and potential. They possess infinite potential to grow and develop and hence, they are called human assets – the assets beyond the balance sheet. Human capital, knowledge resources and brain resources are some terms that can be used interchangeably for people. They need proper job environment, motivation and skills to perform with the desired pattern of behavior. Training becomes the effective instrument in an organization setting when people could not exhibit the desired set of behavior due to the lack of knowledge and skills.

Training Cycles

Transfer of learning or learning transference into job is the prime objective of any training center. The organization invests through the training center to develop its people as talent (employee who is competent and committed, contributes to deliver results, compatible to work in team and congruent with the organization’s philosophy, vision, mission, goals and objectives and the strategies) so that they could perform with excellence. Training center executes the training process or training cycle consists of several steps which are widely popular amongst the centers are – conducting training needs analysis, designing and developing the training programs/manuals, delivering the training program, and evaluating the training program.

Management along with the administration, logistic support, the resource persons, and technology and other instruments finally play crucial role to deliver the training with aim to achieve the intended goals. However, the training effectiveness depends upon effective execution of each step in the training cycle. The steps discussed in brief below are mutually important for any training program to be effective and efficient-

Step 1 – Conducting Training Needs Analysis

This step identifies activities to justify an investment for training. The techniques necessary for the data collection are surveys, observations, interviews, and customer comments and feedback. Several examples of an analysis outlining specific training needs are customer dissatisfaction, low morale, low productivity, and high turnover.

By determining training needs, an organization can decide what specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes are needed to improve the employee’s performance in accordance with the company’s standards and requirements. The primary objective of all training is to improve individual and organizational performance. The needs analysis is the starting point for all training and should always be the first step of the training process.

Step 2 – Designing and Developing the Training Programs/Manuals

This step establishes the development of current job descriptions and job performance standards and procedures. And, it involves in designing programs and manuals along with the developing the already designed one by incorporating the newness as per needed.

Step 3 – Delivering the Training Program

This step is responsible for the instruction and delivery of the training program. Once the center designates the trainers, the training technique must be decided. One-on-one training, on-the-job training, group training, seminars, and workshops are the most popular methods. Before presenting a training session, there must be a thorough understanding of the following characteristics of an effective trainer. The trainer should have:

- A desire to teach the subject being taught.

- A working knowledge of the subject being taught.

- An ability to motivate participants to “want” to learn.

- A good sense of humor.

- A dynamic appearance and good posture.

- A strong passion for their topic.

- A strong compassion towards their participants.

- Appropriate audio/visual equipment to enhance the training session.

Step 4 – Evaluating Training Program

This step will determine how effective and profitable the training program has been. Methods for evaluation are pre-and post- surveys of customer comments/feedback cards, the establishment of a cost/benefit analysis outlining the expenses and returns, and an increase in customer satisfaction and profits. The evaluation can be conducted in four levels (reaction, learning, behavior and result) as given by Donald Kirkpatrick. Measuring ROI for training is another effective way to determine the monetary value of training and is also known as fifth level coined by Jack Philips.

Training Needs Analysis

“Before prescribing the medicine, the doctor finds out what is the patient’s problem. It is necessary to provide effective solution and avoid the cost of wrong treatment.”

Put simply, TNA is the first step in the training process to determine who requires training, what kind of training is required and why a particular training is required. It identifies an organization’s goals and effectiveness in reaching these goals; discrepancies or gaps between employees’ skills (knowledge or skills or behaviors) and the skills needed to perform the job in desired pattern. The key elements of an effective TNA include

ü  professional trainers doing the analysis,

ü  using the credible data,

ü  following a structured methodology,

ü  linking training needs with business objectives and strategies,

ü  justifying cost to the likely benefits,

ü  gaining the commitment of top management,

ü  involving employees and theirs supervisors (immediate bosses), and

ü  communicating effectively with all those involved

A needs analysis often reveals the need for well-targeted training areas. However, it must be kept in mind that training is not always the best way to close a particular gap between an organization’s goals and its actual performance. Those conducting the needs analysis must get a clear idea of the problem, look at all possible remedies and report on their findings to management before deciding on the best solution. When properly done, a needs analysis is a wise investment for the organization. It saves time, money and effort by working on the right problems. Organizations that fail to support needs analysis make costly mistakes; they use training when another method would have been more effective; they use too much or too little training, or they use training but fail to follow up on it.

Process of conducting a training needs analysis is a systematic one based on specific information-gathering techniques. There is no easy or short-cut formula for carrying out this process. Each particular situation requires its own mix of observing, probing, analyzing and deducting. A needs analysis is not a one-time event. Professional organizations administer needs analysis at regular intervals, usually every year or two.

The Levels of Analysis

TNA generally occurs at three levels (discussed in brief below) namely: strategic/organizational analysis, task analysis and person analysis.

1.      Strategic/Organizational Analysis: It is a process used to better understand the characteristics of the organization, unit or department and its basic business strategy, objectives and goals to determine where training efforts are required and the conditions within which they will be concluded. Some of the key points to address in conducting an organization analysis are:

ü  What are the organization’s business strategies and objectives? Have these changed from the past?

ü  How is organization facing the external environment? Is the external environment stable or turbulent?

ü  Has the organization’s culture, climate, and norms changed or have the needs changed?

ü  What are the implications of these answers for jobs in the organization?

ü  What are the important characteristics of workforce demography?

2.      Task Analysis: It explains what must be done to perform a job or complete a process successfully. It is a detailed examination of a job role to find out what are the knowledge, skill, attitude, motives, values and self-concept needed in a people for superior or effective performance. Job analysis can provide the substantial information about the tasks and their significance. The four steps that may involve in task analysis are:

ü  developing the task statements

ü  developing the task clusters

ü  developing a list of KSAs

ü  assessing the importance of tasks

3.      Person Analysis: It intends to find to be trained and what kind of training they need (McGehee & Thayer, 1961). It addresses the question of whether certain employees are deficient in the required capabilities/KSAs, and whether training would remove such deficiencies. Performance data, observation at work, interviews, questionnaires, tests, attitude surveys, training progress charts, critical incidents, work diaries etc., may provide information for effective human resource development need analysis of a person. The important sources of data for analysis:

Six Component Approach of TNA: The components of TNA are:

1.                  Context Analysis: This involves an analysis of the business context or reasons for the training are desired. The important questions being answered by this analysis are:

ü Who decided there should be an intervention?

ü Why do they feel there should a training program?

ü What is the business need for this proposed training?

ü What is the history of similar programs in organization?

ü What can the trainer do to ensure success?

2.                  Participants’ Analysis: Here, participant means both learners and trainers who access the program. The important questions being answered by this analysis are:

ü Who is going to receive the training and what do they already know about the subject?

ü How do they prefer to learn?

ü Who is going to instruct and what are their expertise/capabilities in that subject?

ü How do they prefer to conduct (methodological) their sessions?

ü What training has been given previously, and what were the results?

3.                  Work Analysis: It considers the following training needs analysis work elements:

ü What is the job under review and what are the main duties?

ü What are the high level skills required?

ü To what standards are people expected to do at the job?

ü Are they currently meeting these standards?

4.                  Content Analysis: The important questions being answered by this analysis are:

ü Are there essential building blocks one needs to learn in order to do this job?

ü Are these building blocks of knowledge laid out in manuals or other documentation?

ü In what order and how are these building blocks normally taught?

5.                  Suitability Analysis: Is non-performance due to lack of knowledge and skills or are there other reasons? This is the essential question of a suitability training need analysis. Training is often seen as quick fix for changing individual and organizational performance, but in reality the impact of training is limited to provide knowledge and skills and practice to develop them.

6.                  Cost-Benefit Analysis: In a cost-benefit training needs analysis, the training manager takes a long, hard look at the financial side of training, to determine whether training makes economic sense. It considers the following elements:

ü Is it worthy to undertake the proposed training?

ü What will be the return on investment of the proposed training?

ü Are there any cost-benefit benchmarks for the proposed training?

Data Collection for TNA

A TNA involves collecting information relevant to training. Typical methods to collect information include:

ü  Reviewing existing documents like performance appraisal reports, customer complaints, supervisory recommendations and employee requests, personal file, workshops and focus group

ü  Individual interview

ü  Work diaries

ü  Observation

ü  Self-assessment

ü  Questionnaires

ü  Critical incident technique

Where to start?

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." - Goethe

Though there are various approaches to TNA, the training manager should know how to go about it easily and where to begin. Let’s have a glimpse at the easy to follow steps given below:

1.      Examine the operations and processes of the organization and its business needs.

2.      Examine the external and internal environment.

3.      Examine the job role of the people and its capability demands.

4.      Examine the knowledge, skills and behavior of the employee.

5.      Identify the performance gaps between 3 and 4.

6.      Identify the ways and options to fill performance gaps. For example, if training is not seen as a solution, change the working environment; change the resources input; change the job/tasks; or change the work methods.

7.      If training is the possible solution, then find out the best approaches in a given situation like coaching, mentoring, feedback, classroom training, on-the-job training, team building etc.

8.      Re-analyze training needs in relation to business needs. At the end of this process, the next stage would be to design a training program.

Reference

Brinkerhoff, R. O. (1986). Expanding needs analysis. Training and Development Journal. 40(2), pp. 64-65.

McGehee, W. & Thayer, P. W. (1961). Training in business and industry. New York: John Wiley.

Moore, M. L. & Dutton, P. (1978). Training needs analysis: Review and critique. Academy of Management Review, 3, pp. 532-545.

Naik, G. P. (2007). Training & Development: Text, Research and Cases. New Delhi: Excel Books.

http://www.brefigroup.co.uk/training/training_needs_analysis.html

http://www.dirjournal.com/guides/how-to-conduct-a-training-needs-analysis/

http://www.london.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/staff/staff_development/tna.pdf

http://www.development-opportunities.co.uk/other_strategic.htm

*About the author

Author is a team member at R&D Wing, Nepal Telecom and faculty at Shanker Dev Campus (TU); also involved in research, training and consulting.

(This article was Published in Journal of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal, 15(4), 53-56. Kathmandu: ICAN.)