What analysis should be done to determine the training needs of an organization?

Question

What analysis should be done to determine the training needs of an organization? After the needs are determined, what is the next step?

Suppose that you are the manager of an accounts receivable unit in a large company. You are switching to a new system of billing and record-keeping and need to train your three supervisors and 28 employees in the new procedures. What training method(s) would you use? Why?

Participants in a training course are often asked to evaluate the course by means of a questionnaire. What are the pros and cons of this approach? Are there better ways of evaluating a course?

A new employee is likely to be anxious the first few days on the job. a. What are some possible causes of this anxiety? How may the anxiety be reduced?

Explanation / Answer

Skill gap analysis should be conducted to ascertain the training needs of the employees within the organization. The skill gap analysis identifies the requirement of skills and proficiency required to achieve a desired performance and the present skills and proficiency level of the employees. The gap between these two aspects are identified by the skill gap analysis and training program is prepared to achieve the desired level of skills and technical proficiency in the employees. The next step is the preparation of training programs that can fulfill the training needs of the organization. On a simultaneous basis, the best method of training can also be ascertained that will be used while delivering the training.

There is an implementation of new system of billing & record keeping and the employees and supervisors are to be trained. In this scenario, the workshop based training method will be most suitable, because it will make these employees to work upon the new system under the guidance of trainers after a proper demonstration of the function of the new system. As a result, the employees will gain valuable experience of work and hands-on experience of the application. It will also bring much needed confidence in the employees.

Pros of the questionnaire method are:

1. Objective based evaluation that can be quantified.

2. Structured evaluation of the trainings

3. Training impact can be identified

Cons of the questionnaire method are:

1. Generalization of response takes place

2. Actual learning of the employees cannot be ascertained.

Other than this method, observation method can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the training. It will explain the comfort level, accuracy at work and the confidence instilled in the employees after the training.

New employees are anxious in their early days of employment. Some of the possible reasons are the new environment of work, fear to loose job if not performed, lack of skills to meet the job requirements and pressure to deliver the performance as expected by the organization. Such anxiety level can be eliminated by conducting an orientation & training program where a new employee works to become acclimatized in the environment, get a custom training as per the organization’s requirement and works under the guidance of a senior employee. It will eliminate the element of anxiety from the new employees.

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