Needs Assessment

Chapter 2

Edition
5th

Raymond A. Noe
 Introduction
The design process begins with a needs assessment

Subsequent steps in the process include

Ensuring that employees have the motivation and basic skills

necessary to learn
Creating a positive learning environment

Making sure that trainees use learned skills on the job

Choosing the training method and evaluating the results

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Needs assessment: Process used to
determine whether training is necessary.

Involves

Organizational analysis: involves determining the

appropriateness of training, given the company’s
business strategy, its resources available for training, and
support by managers and peers for training activities.

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Needs assessment: Process used to
determine whether training is necessary.

Person analysis: Determines

Whether performance deficiencies result from a lack

of knowledge, skill, or ability or from a motivational

or work-design problem.
Who needs training

Employee readiness for training

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Task analysis: Identifies the important tasks and

knowledge, skills, and behaviours that need to be

emphasized in training for employees to complete their
tasks.

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Why is Needs Assessment Necessary?

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Training may be incorrectly used as a solution to a

performance problem.
Training programs may have the wrong content,

objectives, or methods
Trainees may be sent to training programs for which

they do not have the basic skills, prerequisite skills, or

confidence needed to learn

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Why is Needs Assessment
Necessary?..Cont.
Training will not deliver the expected learning, behaviour
change, or financial results that the company expects.

Money will be spent on training programs that are

unnecessary because they are unrelated to the company’s
business strategy

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 Types of analysis involved and Resulting
Causes and Outcomes of Needs Assessment
Csuses or “Pressure Points”
(Suggest training is necessary)
Outcomes
•What Trainees Need to Learn
• Lack of Basic Skills
•Who Receives Training
• Poor Performance
•What Training Method is Appropriate
• New Technology
•Frequency of Training
• New Products
•Buy versus Build Training Decision
•Higher Performance Standards
• New Jobs
• Customer Dissatisfaction
• Improve Quality

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 Note that these pressure points do not guarantee that
training is the correct solution.

 For example, consider, a delivery truck driver whose

job is to deliver anaesthetic gases to medical facilities.

 The driver mistakenly hooks up the supply line of a

mild anaesthetic to the supply line of a hospital’s
oxygen system, contaminating the hospital’s oxygen
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 The driver may have made this mistake because of a
lack of knowledge about the appropriate line hook-up
for the anaesthetic

 Because of anger over a requested salary increase that

the driver’s manager recently denied

 Because of mislabelled valves for connecting the gas

supply. Only the lack of knowledge can be addressed by training.
The other pressure points require addressing issues related to the consequence of good
performance (pay system)
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Who Should Participate in Needs
Assessment?

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The goal of needs assessment is to determine:

-Whether a training need exists

-Who it exists for, and
-For what tasks training is needed

Include managers, trainers, and employees in the

needs assessment process.

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Subject-matter experts (SMEs): Employees, academics,

managers, technical experts, trainers, and even customers

or suppliers who are knowledgeable with regard to
Training issues

Knowledge, skills, and abilities required for successful task

performance
Necessary equipment and conditions under which task has

to be performed

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Who Should Participate in Needs
Assessment?..Cont

Job incumbents: Employees who are currently

performing the job

-They tend to be most knowledgeable about the job

-They can be a great hindrance to the training process if they do

not feel they have had input in the process

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Key Concerns of Upper-Level and Mid-Level
Managers and Trainers in Needs Assessment

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METHODS USED IN NEEDS
ASSESSMENT

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 METHODS USED IN NEEDS
ASSESSMENT

 Observing employees performing the job

 Utilizing online technology (to monitor and track employee
performance)
 Reading technical manuals and other documentation
 Interviewing SMEs (Subject-matter experts)
 Conducting focus groups with SMEs
 Asking SMEs to complete questionnaires (designed to
identify tasks and knowledge, skills, and abilities required
for a job.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Needs
Assessment Methods

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1) Needs assessment involves organization, person, and task analyses. Which one of these analyses do you
believe is most important? Why?

2) Write advantages and disadvantages of any two needs assessment methods.

3) Who should participate in needs assessment?

4) What are the key concerns of upper-level managers in needs assessment?

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