Tmp 15439 training and needs

Training Needs Assessment and Evaluation By Adua John Daniel Famonure 1

MBA Human Resource Development Limkokwing University of Creative Technology Email: fjohn_daniel@yahoo.com, adua.famonure@gmail.com

Article type: Conceptual paper

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Abstract Training and development of staff is a must for any organization or company that wants to maintain the competitive edge in a highly competitive todays business environment. In this paper I will discuss and analyze models that improve the training process starting with the fundamentals, which is the needs analysis. While all organizations have one deficit or the other, closing the gap or plugin the leak can be done through training, but one must duly asses the impact these needs have on the organizations and evaluate the intended training strategies. While training is important in human development one has to appraise so as to ascertain the efficiency of the training design being employed. This paper will also identify research gaps and make suitable recommendation on ways to improve and integrate training and development programs.

Key Words: Training, needs, assessment and evaluation

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Table of Contents 1. Introduction ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Page 4 2. Literature review ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Page 7 a. Needs assessment ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Page 7 b. Needs chain model ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Page 8 3. Research methodology ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Page 12 4. Conclusion and recommendation ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Page 13 5. Literature citation ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Page 14 Table of Figures and Tables 1. Fig. 1 Training and development flow chat ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Page 7 2. Fig. 2 Training needs analysis model ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Page 8 3. Table. 1 Needs chain model – Jonathan Gutman ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Page 9 4. Fig. 3 Integrated talent management framework ­ (Drucker, 2008)­ ­ ­ ­ Page 10 5. Fig. 4 Job analysis data framework ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Page 11

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Introduction In order to get the competitive edge in a highly competitive business world, organizations strive to equip themselves with the necessary skills and knowledge that give them the advantage. It is estimated that organizations in the United States of America spend an excess of $120 billion per annum on training and staff development.

Training in this respect, refers to a systematic approach to learning and improving team, individual and group outputs in an organization. Therefore development refers to activities that lead to the acquisition of knowledge influencing growth. And organization that does not train its staff can be said to be non­progressive and experiences a stalled growth.

While the importance of training and staff development cannot be over emphasized on, it is imperative that the source of the deficit (present or foreseen) be identified and measures taken to ameliorate. In order for these “deficits” to be identified, needs assessment has to be conducted and a suitable training program designed.

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This article highlighted three unique/major characteristics that differentiate it from other physiological based articles on the subject.

Firstly, the training field, area or coverage of training has significantly grown when compared to years back. The author described the change in growth as exponential, and states, “We cannot rely on the psychological literature to be the only or even main source of knowledge that has been generated.” In order to understand the effect and importance of training for individuals, teams and groups and the society as a whole, the author conducted an in­depth research and survey in which more than six hundred books, articles and journals where reviewed in fields and subjects ranging from psychology, human resource development and management, knowledge management, instructional design and human factors. The multi­disciplinary approach is essential given the increased specialization in today’s organizations.

Secondly, although psychological research on training in the traditional sense is an independent field with a dedicated amount of study going into it at the individual level of analysis and more recently ant the team level of analysis. Included in this review are also the organizational and societal levels of analysis pertaining to psychological training.

This article looks at psychological training beyond the traditional sense as noted by Kaufman & Guerra (2001), “we have entered a new era in which both achieving useful results and proving that they add value to the organization and our shared society are required” (p. 319) The third unique characteristic, thanks to cheaper faster more efficient ways of information / data acquisition and transfer using the internet, human resource development and training are now being taken on a global level. Thus human resource development and training cannot be limited to a particular region or country.

There is documented evidence showing the positive impact of training on both individuals and team output in an organization. Training activities are beneficiary

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towards developing individual and team outcomes regarding attitude, motivation, and skill and management empowerment.

Apart from job performance, training has other benefits. Although one must take not that these additional benefits of training are not totally disconnected from impact on job performance. As a matter of fact, in many cases they are indirectly related to job performance while in others they may be related to individual and team well being.

For example, there is a renewed interest in leadership training (Collins & Holton 2004, Day 2000). Dvir et al. (2002) implemented a longitudinal randomized field experiment, using cadets in the Israel Defense Forces, in which experimental group leaders received transformational leadership training. Transformational leaders exhibit charismatic behaviors, are able to motivate and provide intellectual stimulation among followers, and treat followers with individual consideration.

Results showed that transformational leadership training enhanced followers’ motivation (i.e., self­actualization needs and willingness to exert extra effort), morality (i.e., internationalization of their organization’s moral values).

“Fewer than 5% of all training programs are assessed in terms of their financial benefits to the organization (Swanson 2001).” This does not stand true for organizations known for periodic training programs. The majority of organizations recognized by ASTD for innovative training programs, measure training impact at some level of organizational effectiveness (Paradise 2007, Rivera & Paradise 2006).

Organizations measure the effectiveness of a training program by performance output, these output can be, increase profit and revenue generation. While there are ample resources and literature on individual and team level training impact, there is still limited and inconclusive data on organizational level training impact. Not only have there been relatively few empirical studies showing organizational­level impact, but those studies that have been done typically use selfreport data and unclear causal link back to training activities (Tharenou et al. 2007).

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Training and human development is not limited to any specific organization as it has an overall and long­term impact on the society and economy as a whole. Economists coined the terms “human capital” and “capital formation in people” in referring mainly to schooling and on­the­job training (Wang et al. 2002).

Overall, this body of literature leads to the conclusion that training efforts produce improvements in the quality of the labor force, which in turn is one of the most important contributors to national economic growth (e.g., Becker 1962, 1964).

Literature Review

Fig.1 Training and development flow­chat A needs assessment is a systematic process use in determining and addressing needs, or "gaps" between current conditions and desired conditions or "wants". The discrepancy between the current condition and wanted condition must be measured to appropriately identify the need. The need can be a desire to improve current performance or to correct a deficiency. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needs_assessment#Needs_chain_model] cited I:D 109021072 Adua John Daniel Famonure

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Conducting a thorough needs assessment before training is designed and delivered helps set appropriate goals for training and ensures that trainees are ready to participate (Blanchard & Thacker 2007). However, there continues to be little theoretical or empirical work on needs assessment (Kraiger 2003). One exception is a study by Baranzini et al.

A needs assessment is a part of planning processes, often used for improvement in individuals, education/training, organizations, or communities. It can refine and improve a product such as a training or service a client receives. It can be an effective tool to clarify problems and identify appropriate interventions or solutions. By clearly identifying the problem, finite resources can be directed towards developing and implementing a feasible and applicable solution. Gathering appropriate and sufficient data informs the process of developing an effective product that will address the group’s needs and wants. Needs assessments are only effective when they are ends­focused and provide concrete evidence that can be used to determine which of the possible means­to­the­ends are most effective and efficient for achieving the desired results

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Fig. 2 Training needs analysis Needs Chain model A needs chain model is a framework that allows organizations to consider the individuals needs within and organization as well as the organizations needs simultaneously in order to come to solutions to prioritizing resources and areas of improvement for the organization. Once the organization has completed the model, it gives them a better picture of the organization's priorities in a timely manner. One of the benefits of this model is that it can be used to help decision makers quickly come to solutions to priorities that may change over time.

In order to conduct a needs chain model, the organization must identify: Instrument needs, performance needs, conscious and unconscious needs on the organizational level and the individual level. The organizational level applies to behavior or outcomes, where as the individual level pertains to individual attitudes to things such as job performance or how they view the organization. The data about each of these levels comes from different data collection methods: 

Organizational level: Goals of the organization



Individual level: Surveys or interviews [34]

The most difficult data to collect in this model are the unconscious needs. In order to gather this information about the individual, careful methods must be used to allow for trust from the individual while discussing sensitive topics about their thoughts on the organization

Instrument needs

Unconscious needs

Conscious

Performance needs

needs

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Organizational level

Training/workshop

Work

Learning

consistency/tasks

Market share/sales revenue

clarity/management transparency Individual level

Real applications

Job satisfaction/

Knowledge

Sales target/performing

recognition/security

or skills

task effectively

/ Motivation

(English speaking skills)

Objectivity level

Must be high objective

Must be high

Must be high

objective

objective

Must be high objective

Table. 1 Needs Chain Model – Jonathan Gutman Needs assessment is the first and most important part of a training process and its benefits go beyond the individual, team and even the organization levels. They benefit the society in that it’s a continuous process and new angles are explored in training design to better equip staff and organization on needs as they arise.

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Fig. 3 Integrated talent management framework ­ (Drucker, 2008)

According to Drucker, knowledge workers are not homogeneous, nor should they be considered subordinates. Instead, knowledge workers are ‘associates’ with specialized knowledge that is critical to a company’s success, particularly in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace (Drucker, 2006, p.54)

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Companies compete based on the skill set or talent of their employees, Drucker proposed a management framework for employees focusing on: ­

Attracting

­

Selecting

­

Engaging

­

Retaining

­

Developing

An argument has been put up pertaining expertise and accuracy of job analysis and needs assessment data. According to Morgeson & Campion (1997), who reported that the accuracy of job analysis data might be compromised by up to 16 different systematic sources of error. These include social influence and self­presentation influences and limitations in information processing (cf. Ford & Kraiger 1995).

Fig. 4 Job analysis data framework I:D 109021072 Adua John Daniel Famonure

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Research Methodology This study was based on article reviews and papers, gotten online. In the study I focus on training needs, assessment and evaluation. It is important to forecast needs, before they arise.

Conducting a thorough needs assessment be­ fore training is designed and delivered helps set appropriate goals for training and ensure that trainees are ready to participate (Blanchard & Thacker 2007). However, there continues to be little theoretical or empirical work on needs assessment (Kraiger 2003). One excep­ tion is a study by Baranzini et al. (2001), who developed and validated a needs assessment tool for the aviation maintenance industry. A second example of a theory­based approach to conducting a needs assessment is a study by Fowlkes et al. (2000), who evaluated an event­based knowledge­elicitation technique in which subject matter experts (SMEs) are asked about team situational awareness factors in re­ sponse to a military helicopter operation. Re­ sults showed that more experienced experts identified a richer database of cues and were more likely to identify response strategies, sup­ porting the conclusion that using SMEs during a needs assessment maximizes the benefits of training. The finding that expertise affects the quality of needs assessment data is consistent with the conclusions of Morgeson & Campion (1997), who reported that the accuracy of job analysis data might be compromised by up to 16 different systematic sources of error.

These include social influence and self­presentation influences and limitations in information pro­ cessing (cf. Ford & Kraiger 1995). More em­ pirical research is necessary to understand how the quality of training design and delivery is af­ fected by systematic and random influences on the quality of needs assessment data.

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Conclusion and Recommendation In conclusion, it is important for a needs assessment to be conducted before a training program is instituted. After the needs are indentified, the training has to be designed and tailored to fit the scenario and an effective and efficient training delivery method employed. After that a training evaluation should be conducted to ascertain the effectiveness and impact of the training program on the individual, team, organizational and societal levels.

The Kirkpatrick four­levels approach to training evaluation continues to be the most widely used training evaluation model among practitioners (e.g., Sugrue & Rivera 2005, Twitchell et al. 2000), although the approach continues to be criticized by researchers (e.g., Holton 2005, Kraiger 2002, Spitzer 2005).

Also identified were future directions of training on the individual, team, organizational and society as a whole and how it directly and indirectly influences the economy.

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LITERATURE CITED Herman Aguinis1 and Kurt Kraiger2 1The Business School, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado 80217­3364; Email: Herman.Aguinis@ucdenver.edu 2Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523­ 1876; Email: Kurt.Kraiger@colostate.edu Annu. Rev. Aguinis H. 2009. Performance Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. 2nd ed.

Aguinis H. 2004. Regression Analysis for Categorical Moderators. New York: Guilford Aguinis H, Beaty JC, Boik RJ, Pierce CA. 2005. Effect size and power in assessing moderating effects of categorical variables using multiple regression: a 30­year review. J. Appl. Psychol. 90:94–107 Aguinis H, Branstetter SA. 2007. Teaching the concept of the sampling distribution of the mean. J. Manag. Educ. 31:467–83 Aguinis H, Mazurkiewicz MD, Heggestad, ED. 2009. Using Web­based frame­of­ reference training to decrease biases in personality­based job analysis: an experimental field study. Pers. Psychol. In press

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Aguinis H, Pierce CA. 2008. Enhancing the relevance of organizational behavior by embracing performance management research. J. Organ. Behav. 29:139–45 Aguinis H, Sturman MC, Pierce CA. 2008. Comparison of three meta­analytic procedures for estimating moderating effects of categorical variables. Organ. Res. Methods 11:9–34 Alliger GM, Tannenbaum SI, Bennett W Jr, Traver H, Shotland A. 1997. A meta­analysis of the relations among training criteria. Pers. Psychol. 50:341–58 Arag ´ on­S´anchez A, Barba­Arag ´on I, Sanz­Valle R. 2003. Effects of training on business results. Int. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 14:956–80 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needs_assessment#Needs_chain_model Drucker, P.F. (2001), The Essential Drucker, Harper Collins Publishers New York, NY. Drucker, P.F. (2006), Classic Drucker, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA. Drucker, P.F. (2008), Management: Revised Edition, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, NY.

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