Chapter 5 Determining training and development needs

Managing training and development in South AfricaFOURTH EDITION Slides to accompany the workbook based on Erasmus, Loedolff, Mda, and Nel (2010)Slides compiled by Lukas Bock

Chapter 5 Determining training and development needs

Overview of Chapter 5 • Defining ‘training needs assessment’ • Levels of training needs • Types of needs assessment • Models for determining training needs • Techniques of needs assessment • Job analysis for training purposes • Identify learner needs • Skills audit and workplace skills plan

What is training needs assessment? • “Training needs assessment is the process of determining the gap • between what employees ‘must’ do and what they actually ‘can’ do.”(Erasmus & Van Dyk 2003:140) • Training needs assessment can be defined as ‘the process of discovering precisely what gaps exist between what people know, or feel they know and what they should know, do or feel in order to perform competently. The training needs assessment process can be thought of as an organisational intervention as it deals with identifying the gap between current and expected results.

External (environmental) factors • Internal training needs Levels of needs • Macro-level needs (national and international levels) • Meso-level needs (organisational level) • Micro-level needs (operational and individual performance level)

Macro-level needs Typically training needs found both nationally and internationally, stemming from the political, social, economic and welfare conditions, as well as technological developments Meso-level needs Typically focussed on the enterprise as a whole – an example would be derived from performance problems identified by managers, such as customer’s complaints, excessive waste during a production process or high accident rates among employees, absenteeism, or simply poor morale. Micro-level needs Typically training needs found both in the employee’s work or individual performance – it looks at the skills and competencies required by the employee to do his/her work. By defining the optimal employee performance skills- and knowledge-wise, and comparing that to what the employee does or knows, the training gap is identified.

Types of needs assessment • Organisation needs assessment (needs unique to the enterprise) • Group needs assessment (number of employees doing the same kind of job and who lack certain skills at a specific level) • Individual needs assessment (specific personal needs) • Job needs assessment (analysis of individual jobs and tasks)

Organisational needs assessment An organisational needs analysis is concerned with the system-wide components of an enterprise, including an examination of organisational goals, resources, internal and external constraints. This may include aspects such as government policy, economic realities and value systems, the enterprise’s future plans, the organisational training climate, facilities and resources. Group needs assessment Group needs are related to a number of employees doing the same type of work who lack certain skills, and refer to a specific job level or category of employees. This category of needs should enable the designer to identify requirements in respect of specific job-related training, interventions such as team-building programs, leadership and management training.

Individual needs assessment Individual needs are specific, e.g. an employee who lacks certain skills, understandings, or behaviours that limit performance, e.g. a secretary who does not know the basics of telephone etiquette. Such needs can be identified by analysing the background, education and training, aptitude, personality, experience, knowledge and skills of individual employees. Job needs assessment Job needs assessment entails the analysis of individual jobs and tasks in order to determine the content of training in terms of what the employee must be able to do, e.g. determining job-related needs of a lathe operator.

Graham and Mihal Step 1: requires a comprehensive list of tasks, competencies and characteristics that are related to the manager’s work. These characteristics can be general in nature and are submitted to different levels of managers to determine the importance of each task. During this process, managers are involved in their own tasks, and a job analysis is conducted; Step 2: Managers are requested to indicate what tasks they would like to perform more effectively, what areas of specialisation they would like to know more about what skills they would like to improve; Step 3: Managers are requested to place their needs in order of priority and to link objectives to these needs; Step 4: requires the immediate supervisors to evaluate tasks and to establish a final list of training needs.

Models for determining training needs Michalak and Yager Step 1: Identify contradictions Step 2: Analyse cost and value Step 3: Lack of skills or of knowledge? Step 4: Job assistance Step 5: Training Step 6: Practice Step 7: Change the job Step 8: Transfer or dismiss? Step 9: Reward/punishment imbalance? Step 10: Inadequate feedback? Step 11: System obstacles?

Techniques of needs assessment • Questionnaires • Individual interviews • Observation • Group discussion • Records and reports • Job description and analysis • Other

Criteria for selecting a needs assessment method • Criteria for the selection of a data collection method • and procedure for conducting a needs assessment: • Level of analysis (macro, meso, micro) • Involvement of employees and management • Time required • Cost • Type of data • Importance and sensitivity of the problem • Geographical distribution of the respondents

Job analysis and training purposes • Job analysis: Collecting, analysing and presenting information about the content of jobs • Job description: List of functions and tasks with in a particular job • Job: A collection of duties an employee must perform • Duty: A major subdivision of a job • Tasks: Activities that occur regularly in a job which take considerable time to perform, which has a beginning and an end and which are aimed at meeting an objective with predetermined standards • Subtasks: Smaller elements within a task (movements, steps or procedures)

Techniques for task analysis • Tasks analysis forms • Task flow-chart • Behaviour pyramids • Functional analysis

Task analysis • Nature: • An intensive examination of how people perform work activities – • breaking down tasks into task elements and sub-tasks • Aim: • Provide comprehensive description of critical activities performed on the job • Isolate the required behaviour • Identify conditions under which behaviour will occur in the work situation • Determine criteria of acceptable performance

Format for task analysis Duplicate format on page 139 of text book

Task flow-charting Duplicate flow chart on page 140

Behaviour pyramids Duplicate behaviour pyramid chart on page 141

Functional analysis • Functional analysis process: • State key purpose of overall area of competence • Determine what must happen for this to be achieved • Determine key roles involved • Generate further breakdown into units of competence and divide further into elements • Accompany element of competence with performance criteria, knowledge and evidence requirements and examples of evidence

Identifying learner needs • Types of learner needs • Normative needs • Felt needs • Expressed needs (or demands) • Comparative needs • Anticipated needs • Critical incident needs

Data gathering for the identification of learner needs • Sources of data • Production / output records • Performance appraisals • Supervisors • Employee

Data gathering for the identification of learner needs (Continued) • Methods of collecting data • Interviews • Observation • Focus groups • Questionnaires and surveys • Document analysis • Tests

Workplace skills plan • Outlines the training and development requirements for an organisation for one year and approved by SETA • Training needs and requirements are identified • Uncover talent and skills • Organisation gets returns on investment (levy grant system of the SDL Act)

Requirements of the workplace skills plan • Information to be included in WSP: • Number of persons to be trained by occupational group and race • Enterprise’s strategic priorities for the skills development • Qualitative information relevant to skills planning • Training and education needed to ensure business and employee development • Issues relating to employment equity in the enterprise

Skills audit • A preliminary investigation undertaken to determine actual skills of the current workforce in order to define the skills gaps and skills requirements of the organisation • Part of developing a workplace skills plan • Requires workforce planning • Proper job analyses • To determine actual skills of the workforce • Identify and define skills required by enterprise • Identify skills programmes • Implement workplace skills plan • Monitor, evaluate and report on WSP • Establish QA system

Chapter 5 Determining training and development needs