Need Analysis

Training Needs Analysis

 The process ofidentifying training needs in the organization forthe purpose of improving
employee performance.
 It is a systematic method for determining whatcaused performance to be less than expected
orrequired.
 Focus of training needs analysis is to improve the performance of theemployee
 Effective TNA involves systematic planning, analysis andcoordination across the organization, to
ensure that organizational priorities are taken intoaccount, that duplication of effort is avoided
and economies of scale are achieved.

The TNA model

 model will combine two types of theoretical models

 firstly, the three levels analysis that is more popular among academics interested in
investigating training needs to meet organizational, operational and personal needs
 secondly, the performance analysis model, popular among practitioners, which highlights the
gaps between expected and current performance

Where to look for OPG

 A company’s archival data provide indicators of how it is operating.(e.g. profitability, market share,
productivity, etc.)
 The process work – First data source:

organizational goals- This source suggests where training emphasis should be placed

For eg - Maintain a quality standard of no more than one reject per thousand

 Second data source

Labor inventory- This source helps HRD identify where training is needed because of retirement turnover,
age, etc

For eg - 30% of our truck driver will retire over the next four years

Framework of conducting TNA

3 levels of analysis are -:

1. Organizational analysis –
 Examining the internal environment of the organization and determining its fit with
organizational goals and objectives
  Finding out whether internal policies or practices are preventing the firm from achieving it’s
objectives
 Ex- Maybe firm wants to be more team-oriented, but salary structure and bonuses are based on
individual performance, so teamwork is not encouraged
2. Operational Analysis –
 Examine jobs to determine the required KSAs necessary to get the job done, as well as the
specific duties and responsibilities of the jobs
 Usually done through a job description and a job specification
 Gives us the expected performance level (in terms of KSA’s) required for a job
3. Person Analysis
 Examine specific, individual employees to see whether they possess the required KSA’s
necessary for the job
 So, this gives us the actual performance level (i.e. actual KSA’s employees have right now). For
example, employees can produce 50 sweaters/day (currently)
 From this information, we can then calculate the Performance Gap (Performance Gap =
Required KSA’s – Actual KSA’s)

Organizational analysis.

 An organizational analysis should collectdata about:

1. The mission and strategies of an organization
2. The resources and allocation of the resources, given the objectives- Capital Resources- such as
machinery, equipment etc. If new machinery is installed, is training focused on using these
resources etc
3. The factors in the internal environment that may be causing the problem
4. Organizational environment.

Operational analysis

 Determine what KSA’s are required by employees in order to meet the expected performance
 This is done to find out the expected performance level required for a job, so that we can find
out performance gaps
 the duties and responsibilities give us the KSA’s which are required (indirectly)
 So, we use both a job description and a job specification for operational analysis
 But the focus is more on job specification, because training can improve KSA’s, which are listed
in a job specification (not a job description)
 Process of analyzing job
1. What is the job where to collect job?
2. Who to ask?
3. Who should select incumbents?
4. How many to ask?
5. How to select?
 6. What to ask about?

What to ask?

2 main categories are -:

1. Worker-Oriented Approach -:
 Focuses on the KSAs that are required on the job
 Usually, this information can be obtained from a job specification
 Even though we are directly getting the expected KSA’s required for a particular job, we are
not able to see the link or connection between the KSA’s and the tasks that the worker has
to do.
2. Task-Oriented Approach
 Focuses on the work activities (tasks) required to perform the job
 Usually, this information can be obtained from a job description
 From the duties and responsibilities, we can guess and find out (infer) the KSA’s required to do
those duties
 This approach enables us to see for ourselves the link between a task and the KSA required to
do that task

Competency: cluster of related KSAs that differentiates high performers from average performers.

Why competencies? As compared to KSAs ,competencies-

1. Are more general in nature

2. Create common vocabulary to discuss successful performance
3. Help employees better understand how to target their efforts.
4. Promote dialogue between managers and employees that focuses on performance.
5. Have a longer term fit.
6. Include knowledge, skills, attitudes and motivation.
7. Tie into corporate goals.

How to develop competencies?

 Meet upper management to determine strategies, goals , specific challenges

 Identify special jobs
 Meet high performers of those jobs and their supervisors
 Determine competencies that overlap with upper management competencies

Issues related to competencies?

 Training based on only task analysis can become dead quickly as nature of work undergoes
constant change.
 Hourly paid employees are expected to participate much more in decision making and ensure
customer satisfaction rather than simply produce a product
  Corporate downsizing forces a move away from tight job design to more flexible job design
 Competencies help the HRD department focus its training

Person Analysis: identify those incumbents who are not meeting the performance requirements and will
determine why. Expected performance - Actual performance= Performance gap

Data Sources for person analysis:

 Supervisor performance appraisals

 Performance data
 Observation- work sampling
 Interviews/questionnaires
 Job knowledge tests
 Skills test
 Assessment centers
 Coaches
 Individual’s objectives

Performance appraisals: supervisor ratings often suffer lack of reliability and validity for a number of
reasons:

 Lack of supervisor training on how to use appraisals

 Lack of opportunity for the supervisor to see substantial amounts of a subordinate’s
performance
 Rater’s errors such as bias and halo and leniency effects, among others
 Poorly developed appraisals and appraisal processes.

Self ratings: Much of the research suggests that the individual tends to overrate her capabilities. Self
ratings are accurate if subordinates are more involved in the development of the appraisal system.

Job knowledge tests: measures a person’s knowledge. Every job has a knowledge component.

1. Declarative knowledge tests: if job requires some sort of factual knowledge. paper and pencil
tests such as multiple choice tests are often used.
2. Procedural knowledge: learner begins to develop meaningful ways of organizing information
into mental models.
3. Strategic knowledge: deals with the ability to develop and apply cognitive strategies used in
problem solving.

Skills behavioral tests: Measure skills and are an important means of determining an employee’s
training needs.

Attitude measures: important part of organizational effectiveness. Developing attitude scales requires a
great deal of skills, therefore it is much better to use well developed scales found in the literature.

OUTPUT OF TNA
  Training needs
 Non training needs

Non training needs: include those that show no gap in required KSAs and those characterized by a KSA
gap but for which training is not the best solution.

 Performance consequence incongruence

 Inadequate feedback
 Barriers to performance

Non training solution choices for a ksa gap:

 Job aids
 Practice with coaching
 Redesign the job
 Termination or transfer

APPROACHES TO TNA

1. Proactive TNA: focuses on future HR requirements.

2. Reactive TNA: begins with existing discrepancy in job performance.