When was the last time you had to travel to a new location? Most of the time, we don’t give much thought to the fact that we can just punch in our destination and watch as the route magically unfolds before our eyes as we follow the directions provided by our navigation app. Unfortunately, there is no map application to guide your training process.
When it comes to the eLearning resources at your disposal, a training requirements analysis is the most similar thing to navigation. Instead of striking out in the dark, a training needs analysis can help you map out your organization’s most efficient and effective course of action.
Too frequently, businesses skip the step of doing a requirements analysis before launching a training program, leading to unintended consequences such as the introduction of further skill gaps. While doing a thorough analysis may require some effort up front, it’s similar to using navigational skills to avoid obstacles and get your trainees where they need to go more quickly and easily.
Why Perform a Training Needs Analysis?
It’s easy to go headfirst into a new training program, particularly if you’re enthusiastic about it. However, failing to do a training needs analysis beforehand might reveal holes in your plan.
Taking the time to assess, design a plan, and test viable solutions before deploying them company-wide lets you concentrate on your learners’ most important requirements. In addition to letting you know what the learners need, an in-depth examination will:
- Find learning gaps;
- Improve manufacturing efficiency;
- Improve training development.
Four Steps to a Training Needs Analysis
In a poll conducted last year, 55% of workers stated they needed more training to be more effective in their jobs.
A training requirements analysis is the greatest method to begin a new learning project and is probably simpler than you think to discover the missing elements. You can use a training needs analysis template to make sure you don’t miss any steps and stay organized. Your study will provide suggestions for improving eLearning with the use of the appropriate data, insight, and technologies. Here’s how you can get started.
Determine the Organization’s Objectives
Planning your training is next to impossible until you know what you want to achieve from it. It will be much simpler to specify how to attain the outcomes you need if you think about your organization’s objectives on both a micro and macro level.
Discuss your plans for the following 3, 6, 9, and 12 months with your managers and the top brass, and determine if your current routine is helping you reach those objectives.
Determine Your Need Type
The same method may not work for every training situation or goal. After you’ve established your organization’s objectives, you can choose the training that will help you achieve them. In most cases, there are three broad types of training requirements, including skills, knowledge, and practicality.
How you design and deliver your training content will depend on the nature of your primary training needs. Outline the most appropriate method of education, bearing in mind that you may need a hybrid strategy.
Collect Information
Don’t keep your training needs assessment a secret; get as many individuals as possible involved. Learners are a never-ending well of information, so tap into their knowledge as much as possible. There’s no shame in admitting you don’t know what kind of training you need. Sending out a survey, having impromptu interviews, or assessing existing learner abilities can provide you with the data you need to start making the case for greater training.
Even casual observation can offer important details about your students’ processes and the gaps that may be hindering their progress. After amassing as much information as possible, it’s easy to see how to apply what you’ve learned toward your objectives and requirements.
Establish Criteria for Success
Return on investment is one of the most undervalued aspects of a training needs analysis. The reason for this is the difficulty in determining a monetary value for training. After all, you can’t put a price on having more self-assurance, greater soft skills, or a larger body of knowledge. However, you should also consider what constitutes a desirable training result as a part of your investigation.
You can wrap up your session with a quiz to determine how much the participants learned. Perhaps a higher-than-average training completion rate or constructive responses to a post-training survey are indicators of success. Use your chosen success metric(s) as a compass to guide your actions as you go forward.
Final Thoughts
A training needs analysis allows your organization to take a step back, gain some perspective and make a plan that will help you prepare your employees for the challenges that lie ahead. By doing this you are ultimately helping them become better learners, which will lead to greater opportunities for improvement and advancement at work.