Need Analysis

Training efforts has to aim at meeting the needs of the organisation (long-term) and the individual workers (short-term). This involves discovering answers to questions like: Whether training is required? If yes, where is it required? Which type of training is needed? etc. Once we recognize training gaps within the organisation, it becomes simple to design suitable training programme. Training needs can be recognize through the following types of analysis, as indicated in Box 2.

1.       Organisational analysis: It involves a learning of the whole organisation in terms of its objectives, the utilisation of these resources, its resources, to attain stated objectives and its communication pattern with environment. The significant elements that are closely checked in this connection are:

• Analysis of objectives: This is a study of long term and short term objectives and the strategies followed at several levels to meet these objectives.
• Resource utilisation analysis: How the several organisational resources (physical, human and financial) are put to use is the major focus of this study. The contributions of several departments are also checked by establishing efficiency indices for each unit. It is done to discover comparative labour costs, whether a unit is over-manned or under-manned.
• Environmental scanning: Here the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological environment of the organisation is verified.

Box : Data Sources utilized in Training Needs Assessment

• Organisational climate analysis: The climate of an organisation speaks regarding the attitudes of members towards work, supervisors, company policies, etc. Absenteeism, generally turnover ratios reflect the prevailing worker attitudes. These may be used to discover whether training efforts have developed the overall climate within the company or not.

2.      Task or role analysis: It is a detailed examination of a job, its components, its several operations and conditions under which it must be performed. Here the focus is on the roles played by specific and the training required performing such roles. The entire exercise is meant to discover how the various tasks have to be performed and what types of skills, knowledge, and attitudes are required to meet the job needs. Questionnaires, reports, interviews, observation, tests and other methods are used generally to collect job associated information from time-to-time. After gathering the information, suitable training programme can be designed, paying attention to (i) performance standards required of worker, (ii) the tasks they must discharge, (iii) the methods they will utilize on the job and (iv) how they have learned such type of methods, etc.

3.       Person analysis: Here the focus is on the particular in a given job. There are three   issues to be determined through manpower analysis. First is, we try to discover whether performance is satisfactory and training is needed. Second is, whether the worker is able of being trained and the particular areas in which training is needed. At last, we need to state whether bad performers (who can develop with requisite training inputs) on the job need to be replaced by those who may do the job. Other alternative to training such as modifications in the job or procedure should also be looked into. Personal observation, , supervisory reports, performance reviews ,diagnostic tests help in gathering the required information and choose particular training options that attempt to improve the performance of individual workers.  

To be effective, training efforts has to monitor continuously and coordinate the three types of analyses explained above. A suitable programme that meets the company's goals, task and worker needs may then is introduced. Furthermore, the training requirements have to be prioritised so that the restricted resources that are allocated to fill up training gaps are put to utilize in a proper way.

Box : Model Form for Conducting a 'Training Needs' Assessment