Training Needs Assessment is perhaps the most important Critical Success Factor in the process of designing training for people in a company. This statement is based on the fact that a good survey:
» It enables the setting of objectives that combine the needs of people with the results desired by the organization.
» It allows to establish the contents of a plan resulting from reality.
» Commits all levels to making the best use of available resources.
To make a good diagnosis, we must define what type of needs we want to identify.
What are the different types of needs we will address with the training plan?
There are several approaches to this topic. We suggest examining the following:
1. By its approach:
· Preventive needs
· Corrective needs
· Predictive needs
2. By your perception:
· Manifest needs
· Hidden needs
3. For its opportunity:
· Regarding time
· Regarding its importance
4. Due to its magnitude:
· Serious needs
· Tolerable needs
1. Because of its approach
Preventive training: This training is designed to prepare people to face future situations involving technological, operational, administrative, or attitudinal change. It aims to address, in advance, the disparities in the skills required by the new scenario.
Corrective training: Its objective is to solve manifest problems or correct deviations from expected performance standards (for example, in the case of complaints, rejections, rework, etc.)
Predictive training: It is used to maintain performance standards without deviation from expected levels of effectiveness.
2. By your perception
Manifest needs: These are those that are observed with the naked eye and do not require further analysis since their effects and causes are established immediately.
Hidden needs: Some problems are part of the organization's very culture and stem from a lack of training, especially for staff who have been in the same job for a long time.
3. For its opportunity
Regarding time: They have to do with the needs of the training user and are based on operational planning.
Regarding its importance: It is about distinguishing between what is urgent and what is important, and to do so, the company's strategic plan is used as a basis, seeking to provide training in those areas that the company considers essential.
4. Due to its magnitude
Serious needs: We refer here to the determination of current or potential causes that represent a serious risk to the members of a company or department. Examples here are those related to accidents, employment contracts, or neglect of competitors' activities.
Tolerable needs: These are those that do not significantly affect productivity and, consequently, do not require immediate action.
In closing, it's common to approach training based on the question users ask: What do you think you need training in? The results are generally a list of courses, with the most requested one offered first.
Our proposal is to use the content of the position, whether or not it is established in a formal description, as a basis for diagnosing training needs.
The cycle that describes the complete process of People Development under this approach can be diagrammed as follows:
