Effective Training: Systems,

Strategies, and Practices, 4th Edition

Chapter Four
Needs Analysis
P. Nick Blanchard and James W. Thacker

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-1

 Needs Analysis - Definitions
 Training Needs Analysis (TNA) – a systematic method for determining what
causes performance to be less than expected or required. A process of
identifying training needs in an organization for the purpose of improving
employee job performance.
 Trigger – when actual organizational performance (AOP) is less than
expected organizational performance (EOP). This difference is referred to
as the organizational performance gap (OPG).
 Proactive TNA – focuses on anticipated performance problem in the
future.
 Reactive TNA – focuses on a current performance problem.
 Organizational Analysis – an examination of strategy, goals and objectives
of the organization.
 Operational Analysis – examines specific jobs to determine requirements,
KSA’s and tasks required.
 Personal Analysis – examines the employee in the jobs to determine if they
have the KSA’s required to perform at expected level.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-2

 Analysis Phase
Input Process Output
Organizational
Analysis
Objectives
Resources
Environment Training
Needs
TRIGGER
Operational Identify
Actual Organizational Analysis Performance
Performance Expected
Performance Discrepancy (PD)
(AOP) < Expected
Organizational (EP) PD = EP < AP
And Causes of PD
Performance (EOP)
Non
Person Analysis Training
Actual Needs
Performance
(AP)

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-2

 Needs Analysis – Input and Sources
 Organizational analysis – internal environment of the
organization influences that could affect employee performance.

 Operational Analysis – determines what is required of

employees for them to be effective.
 Job Analysis – job description, job specification, and

performance standards.

 Person Analysis – is each individual meeting the expected

performance level?

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-2

 Recommended Data Sources for
Locating Gaps in Performance
Part 1 of 4
Implications for
Sources of Data Examples
Training Needs

This source suggests where training Maintain a quality standard of no

1. Organizational Goals
emphasis should be placed. more than one reject per thousand.

Achieve a goal to become ISO

Objectives and budget
2. Labor Inventory
This source provides information on
certified and allow $90,000 for this
both standards and direction.
effort.
This source helps HRD identify
30% of our truck drivers will retire
where training is needed because of
over the next 4 years.
retirement turnover, age, etc.

3. Organizational Climate These “quality of working life” indicators at the organization level provide
Indicators indicators of organizational performance gaps.

Indicators relate to work participation or productivity and are useful in

a. Labor-management
discrepancy analysis and in helping management set a value on the
data, strikes, lockouts, etc. behaviors it wishes to improve through training.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-5

 Recommended Data Sources for
Locating Gaps in Performance
Part 2 of 4
Implications for
Sources of Data Examples
Training Needs
70% of the grievances are related to
b. Grievances
the behaviors of 6 supervisors.
c. Turnover

d. Absenteeism High absenteeism for clerical staff

e. Suggestions

f. Productivity
Accident rate for line workers
g. Accidents
increasing
Line workers’ attitude toward
h. Short-term sickness
teamwork is poor.
Surveys are good for locating discrepancies between organizational
i. Attitude surveys
expectations and perceived results.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-6

 Recommended Data Sources for
Locating Gaps in Performance
Part 3 of 4
Implications for
Sources of Data Examples
Training Needs

4. Analysis of Efficiency Indexes

Labor costs have increased by 8%

a. Cost of labor
in the last year.

Number of rejects has increased by

b. Quality of product 30% since the new batch of workers
began.

Wasted steel has increased by 14%

c. Waste since the company began using
part-time workers.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-7

 Recommended Data Sources for
Locating Gaps in Performance
Part 4 of 4

Implications for
Sources of Data Examples
Training Needs

The line has shut down about once

5. Change in System or New or changed equipment may
per day since the new machinery
Subsystem require training.
was installed.

One of the most common

6. Management Requests or Production manager indicates a drop
techniques of identification of
Management Interrogation in quality since the layoffs.
performance discrepancies.

Provides actual baseline performance data on a continuous basis. From

7. MBO or Work Planning and
these measures, the company is able to determine improvement or
Review Systems deterioration.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-8

 Operational Analysis
Job Analysis - Specifics

 Job description – a narrative statement which outlines the job’s

typical duties and responsibilities.

 Job specification – outlines specific tasks required for each

responsibility and is more specific than a job description.
 Job specifications identify the knowledge, skills and abilities needed.

 Performance standards – provide objectives related to tasks

required and standards in terms of performance expectation.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-2

 Data Sources For Operational
Analysis – Part 1 of 2
Sources for Obtaining
Job Data
1. Job Descriptions
Training Need Implications Practical Concerns
This source outlines the job’s Need to determine how
typical duties and developed. Often written up
responsibilities but is not quickly by supervisor or
meant to be all inclusive. incumbent with little
understanding of what is
required.

 2. Job Specifications
These are specified tasks May be product of the job
required for each job. description and suffer from the
More specific than job same problems
descriptions and may
include judgments of
required KSAs.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-12

 Data Sources For Operational
Analysis – Part 2 of 2

Sources for Obtaining Job

Data Training Need Implications Practical Concerns

3. Performance This source provides Very useful if available, and

Standards objectives related to the accurate, but often
tasks required and their organizations do not have
standards in terms of formal performance
performance. standards

4. Ask Questions About Asking both job holder and Muse be done correctly to be of
the job relevant supervisors value
a. Of the job holder provide accurate data.
b. Of the supervisor

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-11

 Person Analysis
Specifics

 Person Analysis – identifies those incumbents who are not

meeting the performance requirements and will determine why.
 Basic skills – reading, writing, speaking, math abilities required to
function in society and to perform a job effectively.
 Performance Appraisal - provide objectives related to tasks required and
standards in terms of performance expectations.
 Self ratings and peer ratings
 Proficiency Tests – measure both knowledge and skill
 Cognitive Tests – measure level of knowledge
 Behavioral Tests –measure skills and include work sampling
 Assessment Centers – involve several work samples and other tests
 Attitude Measures

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-2

 Person Analysis
Specifics

 Worker-Oriented Job Analysis – focuses on KSA’s that are

required on the job rather than on tasks or behaviors.

 Task-Oriented Job Analysis – identifies the various work

activities (tasks) required to perform the job.
 Job-Duty-Task Method – writing out duties

 Competency – a cluster of related KSA’s that differentiate

high performance from average performance.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-2

 Data Sources for Person Analysis
Part 1 of 5
Data Sources for Training Need
Obtaining Data Implication Remarks
1. Supervisor Useful if done specifically for Supervisor ratings often not just
Performance TNA. for TNA, and often not done well.
Appraisals

2. Performance Data Useful, easy to analyze and

quantify for the purpose of
a. Productivity determining actual performance.
b. Absenteeism and
tardiness
c. Accidents
d. Grievances
e. Waste
f. Product quality
g. Downtime
h. Customer complaints

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-14

 Data Sources for Person Analysis
Part 2 of 5
Data Sources for Training Need
Obtaining Data Implication Remarks
3. Observation – Work Sampling More subjective technique but This is done effectively
provides both employee in some situations, such
behavior and results of as customer service,
the behavior. where employees know
that the telephone calls
employees answer from
customers can be monitored.

4. Interviews/ Questionnaires Only individual knows what Need to be sure employee

he believes he (she) needs believes it is in her best
to learn. interest to be honest;
otherwise, she may not be
forthcoming as you would
like.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-15

 Data Sources for Person Analysis
Part 3 of 5
Data Sources for Training Need
Obtaining Data Implication Remarks

5. Proficiency Tests Can be tailor-made or Care in the development of

a. Job knowledge standardized. scoring keys is important and
b. Skills Care must be taken so that difficult to do if not trained in
they measure job-related the process
c. Achievement
qualities.

6. Attitude Surveys Useful to determine morale, Important to use well-

motivation, and satisfaction developed scales
of employees

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-16

 Data Sources for Person Analysis
Part 4 of 5
Data Sources for Training Need
Obtaining Data Implication Remarks

7. Devised Situations Certain knowledge, skills, Useful, but again, care in

a. Role-play and/or attitudes are development of scoring criteria
b. Case study demonstrated in these is important
techniques.
c. Business games
d. In basket

8. Assessment Centers Combination of several of the Although expensive to

above techniques into an
intensive assessment program
develop and operate, these
are very good, as they use
multiple raters and exercises
to assess employees. Also
criteria for performance are
well developed

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-17

 Data Sources for Person Analysis
Part 5 of 5
Data Sources for Training Need
Obtaining Data Implication Remarks

9. Coaching Similar to interview – Must choose coaches carefully

one-to-one. and train them if you want them to
be effective

10. MBO or Work Provides actual performance Good process when implemented
Planning data on a recurring basis properly
related to individuals’
goals

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-18

 Person Analysis
Alternatives

 Proficiency Tests – an exam which tests how proficient or skilled

someone is in a particular activity, field of study, language, etc.

 Cognitive Tests – measure levels of cognitive function and

including reasoning, understanding language, memory, etc.

 Attitude Surveys – measures motivation and overall satisfaction

of the internal environment.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-2

 Needs Analysis
Non-Training Needs

 Include those that show no KSA deficiency and those

characterized by a KSA deficiency but for which training is not
the best solution.
 Reward/Punishment that is contrasting
 Inadequate or inappropriate feedback
 Obstacles in the system.

 Job Aids – are a set of instructions, diagrams or other forms of

directional information that is available on the job site.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-2