Needs Assessment

Chapter 3

6th Edition
Raymond A. Noe
McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Objectives
Discuss the importance to conduct training needs
assessment
Identify different methods used in needs assessment
and identify the advantages and disadvantages of each
method
Discuss the concerns of upper- and mid-level
managers and trainers in needs assessment
Organization analysis:
Elaborate major components of organization to be analysed

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Objectives
Person analysis:
Explain how personal characteristics, input, output,
consequences, and feedback influence performance and
learning
Create conditions to ensure that employees are receptive to
training
Task Analysis:
Discuss the steps involved in conducting a task analysis
Analyze task analysis data to determine the tasks for which
people need to be trained
Explain competency models and the process used to develop
them
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Introduction
The design process begins with a needs assessment
Needs assessment: Process used to determine
whether training is necessary
Involves
Organizational analysis: Determines the
appropriateness of training, given the company’s
business strategy and resources
Person analysis: Determines
Whether performance deficiencies result from a lack of
knowledge, skill, or ability
Who needs training
Employee readiness for training 3-4
Introduction
Task analysis: Identifies the important tasks and knowledge,
skills, and behaviors that need to be emphasized in training
for employees to complete their tasks

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Why is Needs Assessment Necessary?
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?
Training will not deliver the expected learning,
behavior 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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Figure 3.1 – Causes and Outcomes of Needs
Assessment

Reasons or “Pressure Points”

• Legislation Outcomes
• Lack of Basic Skills • What Trainees Need to Learn
• Poor Performance • Who Receives Training
• New Technology • What Training Method is Appropriate
• Customer Requests • Frequency of Training
• Buy versus Build Training Decision
• New Products
• Training versus Other HR Options Such
• Higher Performance Standards
as Selection or Job Redesign
• New Jobs
• How Training Should Be Evaluated
• Customer Dissatisfaction • How to Facilitate Transfer of Training
• Reduce Scrap
• Improve Quality

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Who Should Participate in Needs Assessment
Upper level managers, mid-level managers and trainers
are involved in training needs assessment process.
Upper level managers are concerned on whether training
is related to business strategy
Middle level manager are concerned on how training
may affect the attainment of financial goals
Trainers should ensure training is aligned with the
business strategy. Therefore they use TNA information to
administer, develop and support training programs.

© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This id proprietary material for authorized instructor use. Not authorized
for sale or distribution. This document can't be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or
posted on websites in part or whole.
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Table 3.1 – Key Concerns of Upper-Level and Mid-
Level Managers and Trainers in Needs Assessment

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Who Should Participate in Needs Assessment
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
Job incumbents: Employees who are currently
performing the job
It is important to get a sample of job incumbents
involved in the needs assessment because:
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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Table 3.2 – Needs Assessment Techniques and
Their Advantages and Disadvantages

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Table 3.2 – Advantages and Disadvantages of
Needs Assessment Methods/Techniques

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Historical data review provides information regarding
current performance levels. This method is suitable for
newly created jobs.
Online technology is available to monitor and track
employee performance
 Focus groups: Type of SME interview that involves a face-to-
face meeting with groups of SMEs in which the questions that
are asked relate to specific training needs
Crowdsourcing: Asking a large group of employees to help
provide information for needs assessment that they are not
traditionally asked to do
 Benchmarking: Using information about other companies’
training practices to help determine the appropriate type, level,
and frequency of training
 Because no one technique of conducting needs assessment is
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superior to the others, multiple methods are used.
Figure 3.2 - The Needs Assessment Process

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Organizational Analysis

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Person Analysis
Helps to identify employees who need training
The need for training may result from the pressure
points
Readiness for training: Refers to whether:
Employees have the personal characteristics necessary
to learn program content and apply it on the job
The work environment will facilitate learning and not
interfere with performance

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Person Analysis
This process includes evaluating person
characteristics, input, output, consequences, and
feedback
A major pressure point for training is substandard or
poor performance
Another potential indicator of the need for training is
if the job changes such that current levels of
performance need to be improved or employees must
be able to complete new tasks

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Figure 3.3 – Process for Analyzing the Factors That Influence
Employee Performance and Learning
Person Characteristics
• Basic Skills
– Cognitive Ability
– Reading Level
• Self-efficacy
• Awareness of Training Needs, Career Interests, Goals,er
• Age & Generation

+
Input
• Understand What, How, When to Perform
• Situational Constraints
• Social Support
• Opportunity to Perform
+
Output
• Expectations for Learning and Performance

+
Consequences
• Norms
• Benefits
• Rewards

+
Feedback
• Frequency
• Specificity
• Detail

Motivation to Learn
Learning
Job Performance 3-20
Person Characteristics

Person characteristics refer to employee knowledge, skill,

ability, and attitudes.
It consists of basic skills, cognitive ability, language skills,
and other traits that employees need to perform their jobs or
learn in training program.

© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This id proprietary material for authorized instructor use. Not authorized
for sale or distribution. This document can't be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or
posted on websites in part or whole.
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Basic Skills
Skills that are necessary for employees to perform on
the job and learn the content of training programs
successfully
Cognitive ability
Reading skills
Writing skills

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Cognitive Ability
Includes three dimensions:
Verbal comprehension, quantitative ability, and
reasoning ability
Trainees’ level of cognitive ability also can influence
how well they can learn in training programs
To identify employees without the cognitive ability to
succeed on the job, companies use paper-and-pencil
cognitive ability tests

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Reading Ability
Readability: Difficulty level of written materials
Readability assessment usually involves analysis of
sentence length and word difficulty
If trainees’ reading level does not match the level
needed for the training materials, four options are
available
Trainers can determine whether it is feasible to lower
the reading level of training materials or on-the-job
training

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Reading Ability
Employees without the necessary reading level could be
identified through reading tests and reassigned to other
positions more congruent with their skill levels
Using reading tests, trainers can identify employees
who lack the necessary reading skills and provide them
with remedial training
Alternative training methods need to be considered, or
managers can elect a nontraining option
To develop basic skills or close the skills gap, many
companies are engaging in skills assessment, training,
or a combination of the two
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Self-Efficacy
Employees’ belief that they can perform their job or
learn the content of the training program successfully
Employees’ self-efficacy level can be increased by:
Letting employees know the purpose of training
Providing as much information as possible about the
training program and the purpose of training prior to the
actual training

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Self-Efficacy
Showing employees the training success of their peers
who are now in similar jobs
Providing employees with feedback that learning is
under their control and they have the ability and the
responsibility to overcome any learning difficulties they
experience in the program

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Awareness of Training Needs, Career
Interests, and Goals
Managers should communicate the link between
training and improvement of skill weaknesses or
knowledge deficiencies
Employees need to be given a choice of what
programs to attend and must understand how actual
training assignments are made to maximize
motivation to learn

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Awareness of Training Needs, Career
Interests, and Goals
To ensure that the work environment enhances
trainees’ motivation to learn:
Provide materials, time, job-related information, and
other work aids necessary for employees to use new
skills or behavior before participating in training
programs
Speak positively about the company’s training
programs to employees

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Age and Generation
Millenniums and Generation Y (born after 1980):
Optimistic, willing to work and learn, and technology-
literate
Gen Xers (1965 to 1980): Need feedback and
flexibility; they dislike close supervision
Baby boomers (1946 and 1964): Competitive,
hardworking, and concerned that all employees be
fairly treated
Traditionalists (1925 and 1945): Patriotic and loyal;
great deal of knowledge of the history of
organizations and work life 3-30
Input
Refers to the perceptions of employees about:
Situational constraints: Include lack of proper tools
and equipment, materials and supplies, budgetary
support, and time
Social support: Managers’ and peers’ willingness to
provide feedback and reinforcement

* If employees have the knowledge, skills, attitudes

and behaviour needed to perform but do not have
proper tools, their performance will be inadequate.
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Output
Trainees need to understand what specifically they are
expected to learn in the training program
Employees may have the knowledge, skills and
attitude to perform but fail to perform because they
are not aware of the performance standards.

© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This id proprietary material for authorized instructor use. Not authorized
for sale or distribution. This document can't be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or
posted on websites in part or whole.
3-32
Consequences
One way to motivate employees to learn and perform is
employees should aware on type of incentives that they will
receive for performing well
Employees will be unlikely to perform well if they
perceives rewards or incentives is inadequate, even if they
have the necessary KSA.

Feedback
For employees to perform to standard, feedback needs
to be given frequently, not just during a yearly
performance evaluation
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Determining Whether Training is the Best
Solution
If employees lack the knowledge and skill to perform
a job and the other factors are satisfactory, training is
needed
If employees have the knowledge and skill to perform
but input, output, consequences, or feedback is
inadequate, training may not be the best solution

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Task Analysis
Job: Specific position requiring the completion of
certain tasks
Task: Employee’s work activity in a specific job
Knowledge – Includes facts or procedures
Skill – Indicates competency in performing a task
Ability – Includes the physical and mental capacities
to perform a task
Other - conditions under which tasks are performed
(e.g equipment, environment, time constraint,etc)

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Task Analysis
Task analysis should be undertaken only after the
organizational analysis has done.
Steps involved in a task analysis
Select the job or jobs to be analyzed
Develop a preliminary list of tasks performed on the job
by:
Interviewing and observing expert employees and their
managers
Talking with others who have performed a task analysis
Validate or confirm the preliminary list of tasks
Once the tasks have been identified, it is important to
identify the knowledge, skills, or abilities necessary to 3-36
Key points to remember when
conducting task analysis
 A task analysis should identify both what employees are
actually doing and what they should be doing on the job
 Task analysis begin by breaking the job into duties and tasks
 Use more than two methods for collecting task information
to increase the validity of the analysis
 Information needs to be collected from SMEs, including job
incumbents, managers and employees familiar with the job
 Should focus on tasks that can accomplish company’s goal
and objectives.

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Competency Models
Identifies the competencies necessary for each job
Competency models provide descriptions of
competencies that are common for an entire
occupation or organization
They can be used for:
Performance management
Identifying the best employees to fill open positions

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Figure 3.5 - Process Used in Developing a
Competency Model

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Competency Models
Competency models are useful for training and
development in several ways
Identify behaviors needed for effective job performance
Evaluate the relationship between the company’s
current training programs and present needs
Provide a framework for ongoing coaching and
feedback to develop employees for current and future
roles
Help in succession planning
Help integrate and align the company’s HR systems
and practices 3-40
Scope of Needs Assessment
Most organization skipped TNA due to its lengthy
process, however it is necessary to determine if a
problem or pressure point exist and to identify
whether training is the best solution.
Rapid needs assessment: Needs assessment that is
done quickly and accurately, but without sacrificing
the quality of the process or the outcomes
There are several ways to conduct a rapid needs
assessment
Scope of needs assessment depends on the size of the
potential pressure point
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Scope of Needs Assessment
Consider using already available data collected for
other purposes e.g sales data, customer complaints, etc
If business problems, technological developments, and
other issues facing the organization are attuned to,
training needs can be anticipated

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