Institute of Management Technology

Hyderabad

Subject:
Learning & Development (L & D)

Instructor:
Dr. Pavan Kumar Balivada
 NEEDS ANALYSIS SOURCES

• Employees and managers

• Subject-matter experts

• Professional shoppers

• Computer-based analysis

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 OBSTACLES
• Not rewarded for taking the time (and money) to
conduct

• Feel that they can accurately identify training

needs and that more analysis is a waste of time
and money

• Managers may even have their own agendas

• Cost and time are often viewed as constraints

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Questions to Ask in an Organizational Analysis

• How might the training content affect our

employees’ relationship with our customers?
• What might suppliers, customers, or partners
need to know about the training program?
• How does this program align with the strategic
needs of the business?
• Should organizational resources be devoted to
this program?
Questions to Ask in an Organizational Analysis

• What do we need from managers and peers

for this training to succeed?
• What features of the work environment might
interfere with training?
• Do we have experts who can help us develop
the program content and ensure that we
understand the needs of the business as we
develop the program?
Questions to Ask in an Organizational Analysis

• Will employees perceive the training program

as:
– an opportunity?
– reward?
– punishment?
– waste of time?
 Person Analysis: Self-Efficacy
• Self-efficacy - the employees believe that they
can successfully perform their job or learn the
content of the training program
– The job environment can be threatening to many
employees who may not have been successful in
the past
– The training environment can also be threatening
to people who have not received training or
formal education for some length of time
Employees’ self-efficacy level can be
increased by:
• Letting employees know that the purpose of
the training is to try to improve performance
rather than to identify areas in which
employees are incompetent

• Providing as much information as possible

about the training program and purpose of
training prior to the actual training
Employees’ self-efficacy level can be
increased by:
• Showing employees the training success of
their peers who are now in similar jobs

• Providing employees with feedback that

learning is under their control and they have
the ability and the responsibility to overcome
any learning difficulties they experience in the
program
To determine if training is the best solution,
assess whether:

• The performance problem is important and

has the potential to cost the company a
significant amount of money from lost
productivity or customers
• Employees do not know how to perform
effectively
–Perhaps they received little or no previous training
or the training was ineffective
–(This problem is a characteristic of the person)
To determine if training is the best solution,
assess whether:

• Employees cannot demonstrate the correct

knowledge or behavior
–Employees were trained but they infrequently or
never used the training content on the job
–(This is an input problem)

• Performance expectations are clear (input)

and there are no obstacles to performance
such as faulty tools or equipment
To determine if training is the best solution,
assess whether:

• There are positive consequences for good

performance, while poor performance is not
rewarded
• Employees receive timely, relevant, accurate,
constructive, and specific feedback about their
performance (a feedback issue)
• Other solutions such as job redesign or
transferring employees to other jobs are too
expensive or unrealistic
 Steps in a Task Analysis
1. Select the job(s) to be analyzed
2. Develop a preliminary list of tasks performed
by the job
3. Validate or confirm the preliminary list of
tasks
4. Identify the knowledge, skills, or abilities
necessary to successfully perform each task
Key Points to Remember When Conducting a
Task Analysis

• Task analysis should identify both what

employees are actually doing and what they
should be doing on the job

• Task analysis begins by breaking the job into

duties and tasks

• Use more than two methods for collecting

task information to increase the validity of the
analysis
Key Points to Remember When Conducting a
Task Analysis

• For task analysis to be useful, information

needs to be collected from subject matter
experts (SMEs)
– SMEs include:
job incumbents
managers
employees familiar with the job
Key Points to Remember When Conducting a
Task Analysis

• In deciding how to evaluate tasks, the focus

should be on tasks necessary to accomplish
the company’s goals and objectives
– These may not be the tasks that are the most
difficult or take the most time
Competency models are useful for training and
development in several ways:

• They identify behaviors needed for effective

job performance

• They provide a tool for determining what skills

are needed to meet today’s needs as well as
the company’s future skill needs

• They help determine what skills are needed at

different career points
Competency models are useful for training and
development in several ways:

• They provide a framework for ongoing

coaching and feedback to develop employees
for current and future roles

• They create a “roadmap” for identifying and

developing employees who may be candidates
for managerial positions