Coaching Wants Evaluation Secrets and techniques Revealed
Fixing skills gaps will keep you from slowing down
A good training needs analysis is like a mechanic’s inspection report. What is causing the clunky noise? What to break and stop your car when you don’t upgrade? What is using your engine or your tires more than necessary?
The skills of the employees are a key factor for the smooth operation of a company. Having enough employees with the right skills avoids workflow bottlenecks and prevents certain employees from bearing disproportionate burdens. Employees who are current experts in their field can provide insights into the possibilities of the future and move your company forward. Fixing skill gaps will keep your business from slowing down and becoming less relevant.
A training needs analysis will identify the skills required to take advantage of a highly skilled workforce at the forefront of their field. At the end of the analysis, companies usually have a roadmap showing which people need which types of training and in which order they need to be completed. A good plan can cover several years of employee development roadmaps.
Tips to get the most out of your TNA
This article covers some of our best unusual tips to get the most out of your training needs analysis.
The most important steps are before you begin
This analysis process is no small feat, which is why investing the time to get it right is important. This isn’t something that you have to complete again less than a year later – the process takes patience. Depending on the steps you take with your training needs analysis, it can take up to six months or more to establish a final plan for the next required training steps.
Understand corporate goals
Because of this, one of the most important steps in analyzing training needs is done before the process even begins. So make sure you understand the business goals for the next three to six years. It is not always easy for the L&D department to get an ear for the C-Suite. In this case, however, it is necessary to understand the company vision so that the training included in the plan can help put the company on the right track.
It’s easy to make assumptions about what a company will do next. The reality is that things change quickly and the company’s plans for the future can include drastic changes over the next few years.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
Another important aspect is how to prevent skills gaps from building up. When creating a plan for your training needs analysis, it may also be worthwhile to examine the steps you can take to help your company develop a learning culture. Employees who feel they have the time and support to complete a training and who are motivated to do half of your work for you. People who work locally often have the best idea of what they need and what they can expect for the future of their field. Employees today also understand that skill growth is the key to job security in a world where technology is moving so rapidly. A learning culture can make needs assessment a less frequent task, which is good because it is time consuming and difficult.
Talk to your top performers
We have found that local people often have the best idea of the skills and training they need to keep up with the changing world. One of the biggest mistakes companies will make is not to consult their employees about training gaps. And I’m not talking about middle managers, I’m talking about the employees who do the day-to-day work.
High-performing employees are motivated and competent, so they are likely to notice a lot about how the company currently works and are at the forefront of their field. By interviewing these employees, you will get a great idea of which skills the company needs more to maintain a balanced workflow. You may also have ideas of what people in similar roles in other companies are learning in order to continuously develop their skills.
Hearing from these employees can include an interview or survey. Just make sure the survey gives employees room to express themselves freely. You are likely to have thoughts that are beyond the imagination of the person who wrote the survey questions.
Get a third party perspective
Your best employees offer a great internal perspective, but the perspective of someone who isn’t blinded by being too involved in day-to-day operations can also provide valuable insights. Third parties working on training needs analysis have likely looked at the details of how many different companies are doing things and can provide some unique insights into your skills gap situation.
A third-party perspective can also help you develop a plan for a successful needs assessment. You may only do a needs assessment every few years, but the needs assessment consultants do it all the time. They know how to run a smooth operation that brings profound results.
See what employees in other companies can do
Sure, you don’t know your competitors’ secrets or the projects they’re working on. And your company has its own vision – you don’t have to copy someone else. However, paying attention to the type of skills they are hiring for and the type of training their employees are receiving can potentially provide inspiration for your training needs analysis.
A network conference is one of the best places to learn about other companies’ activities. This is an environment where people love to share what they’re up to and exchange tips. Everyone wants to connect.
Another way to get some insight into this topic is through professional networking sites. People like to keep their skills updated on these websites. When you see the people in your field who you admire, listing skills that are unusual in your business, it may be time to take notice.
All of the training needs analysis secrets have one thing in common: do your research
When in doubt, it pays to err on the side of thorough research at every stage of preparing and conducting your training needs analysis. Consulting with the experts will surely help you conduct this research and make the most of this time-consuming process.
