The Need for an Assessment

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What do you think when you hear an organization wants to conduct a needs assessment? When deciding to conduct a needs assessment an organization or human resource specialist must ask: 1) what is the purpose of the assessment, 2) who is being observed, 3) how is the data collected, and 4) what feedback will be provided?

Raymond A. Noe believes that organizations can use several methods when conducting a needs assessment. They include observation, questionnaires, interviews, surveys, focus groups, or online technology. The needs assessment should be conducted as an organizational analysis, task analysis, and personal analysis. Organizational analysis looks at the effectiveness of the organization and determines where training is needed and under what conditions it will be conducted. A task analysis identifies the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics needed to achieve optimum performance for a group of workers. An individual analysis analyzes how well the individual employee is doing the job and determines which employees need training and what kind of training. (Noe, 2013)

Therefore, what is the “need” of the assessment? Is there a need to improve organizational or employee performance?

I reviewed Liz Couchon's blog Three Steps to an Effective Needs Assessment for Corporate Training. She begins by recommending a free informative website, NeedsAssessment.org, to assist any organization that is planning to begin the arduous process of a needs assessment. First, you determine what questions should be answered by the employees. Second, which questions should be answered by management. This is necessary since employees, supervisors, and upper management play different vital roles in the organization and have different experiences on a daily basis. Liz recommends checking out the book Performance Consulting that will guide mangers, trainers, and practicioners on what type of questions that need to be asked. Third, you tabulate the results that will put you on the path with deciding what type of training is needed. (Couchon, 2013)

I agree with Liz that senior managers, front line managers, and workers need a different set of questions to determine what is causing the performance gap. Their different perspectives are vital to discovering any training, morale, and management deficiencies. I feel that the results of the needs assessment is used to develop new training or improve upon current training. An organization has to decide if it has the time, budget, and resources for training. The needs assessment may also determine that there is not a need for training.

 Liz provides three simple steps to an overwhelming process that requires buy-in from the top with senior management to the bottom with workers. The organization has to make an investment in an organizational analysis, person analysis, and task analysis.These thorough steps can help save money by investing training in the correct human capital or employees. Also the employer learns which type of training is required and preferred by particular employees.

"Conducting a training needs assessment is a great way to step back and make sure you have all of the information before you dive into your next learning project.  Maybe what your learners need isn’t a new training opportunity at all. You will know this, of course, because you conducted a needs assessment." (Couchon, 2013)

 I agree with Liz that training is not the be all and end all solution or absolute intervention that will magically erase the performance gap. An employer gains a lot of information through employee feedback which should not be overlooked or dismissed as unnecessary. Employee feedback can glean valuable insight when a needs assessment is on the right track and determine based on the business strategy and budget if employee training and education should be provided short-term, during scheduled intervals, or long-term. Now let us begin closing your performance gap.

Works Cited

Couchon, L. (2013, April 24). Brainshark. Retrieved from Brainshark.com: https://www.brainshark.com/ideas-blog/2013/April/training-needs-assessment-steps

Noe, R. A. (2013). Employee Training and Development, Sixth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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