Running head: DETERMINING TRAINING NEEDS AT SUMMIT CREDIT UNION 1

Determining Training Needs at Summit Credit Union

Sheree Starkey

West Georgia Technical College

Sheree Starkey
DETERMINING TRAINING NEEDS AT SUMMIT CREDIT UNION 2

Abstract

According to the text on page 153, the Summit Credit Union, located in Madison,

Wisconsin, is a small company with 366 employees. A merger in 2008 doubled the size of the

company and made it necessary to build a new corporate culture. Summit’s mission is to improve

credit members’ financial lives to help them achieve their dreams. Summit has invested in

creating a word-class learning function, which includes a team of seven professionals who are

able to design and deliver instructor-led raining as well as e-learning. Summit has shifted away

from generic off-the-shelf training to develop online and face-to-face programs customized to

employee needs and the company’s goals and initiatives. For example, the learning function is

expected to play a key role in dealing with business issues such as efficiency, loan growth, and

increased sales. All learning staff members are expected to contribute to nee company initiatives,

such as new products and services, systems, or regulations. Summit has recently identified a

problem with its new lenders. They were starting to perform their jobs without the necessary

skills, information, and knowledge that they needed. One potential reason for this is how the

lending training curriculum is organized. New lenders attend a course on different types of loans

and the lending system; start their jobs, and then later return for a course on lending guidelines,

underwriting, and sales skills. In this study we will discuss how would one conduct a needs

assessment to determine if new lenders are starting their jobs without the necessary knowledge

and skills to perform well, and if the organization of the training curriculum (or another training

issue) is responsible for this problem? Who would be involved in the needs assessment?

Sheree Starkey
DETERMINING TRAINING NEEDS AT SUMMIT CREDIT UNION 3

Determining Training Needs at Summit Credit Union

How would you conduct a needs assessment to determine if new lenders are starting their jobs

without the necessary knowledge and skills to perform well, and if the organization of the

training curriculum ( or another training issue ) is responsible for this problem? For any job to

perform well it is essential to take adequate training on the specific job description. It is also very

essential to ensure that the employees are receiving sufficient training so that they can perform

the basic job effectively. Here in the given case, the lenders of the organization S has started

working without the basic knowledge about how to perform this job. Certainly the team of

training department is responsible for this issue. Here the team should have performed some

assessment on the training requirements depending the job description of each candidate. For any

job to perform well it is essential to take adequate training on the specific job description. It is

also very essential to ensure that the employees are receiving sufficient training so that they can

perform the basic job effectively. Here in the given case, the lenders of the organization S has

started working without the basic knowledge about how to perform this job. Certainly the team

of training department is responsible for this issue. Here the team should have performed some

assessment on the training requirements depending the job description of each candidate.

Who would be involved in the needs assessment? For the purpose of conducting the analysis

the team should first research on the job description and should prioritize the topics which should

be covered in training so that the candidates can get an idea about their roles and responsibilities.

Here as far as the lenders are taken into consideration they should be aware of the lending

guidelines, underwriting, sales skills etc. So the training team should focus on these areas. Then

the priority can be given to the learners awareness about their roles and responsibilities.

Sheree Starkey
DETERMINING TRAINING NEEDS AT SUMMIT CREDIT UNION 4

References

Noe, Raymond (2016) Employee Training and Development, 7th edition. Cengage Learning

Reinhardt, Vicki. (18 January 2016)Deterning Needs Training Using Needs Assessment.

Retrieved on February 5, 2017 from https://prezi.com/t4av0lralsks/determining-training-

needs-using-needs-assessment/

Sheree Starkey