TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
NEED ASSESSMENT A Needs Assessment is a systematic process for 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. Need Assessment refer to the process use to determine whether training is necessary or not. There
are different types of training needs which can be classified into:
1. DEMOCRATIC NEEDS 2. ANALYTICAL NEEDS 3. DIAGNOSTICS NEEDS 4. COMPLIANCE NEEDS Our training need for Union Pacific Railroad comprises comprises of both Analytical & Diagnostics Needs because it adopts new and better ways to improve performance as well as focuses on the factors that lead to effective performance and prevent performance problems rather than emphasizing on existing problems.
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TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
WHY IS NEED ASSESSMENT NECESSARY? Need Assessment is the first step in the instructional design process. If it is not properly
conducted, many problems may arise. Need Assessment provides important input into most of the remaining steps in the training design. It helps to determine whether the company would outsource its training i.e. purchase training from a vendor or consultant OR design training through internal resources. Need Assessment provides information that helps the company to choose the appropriate Training & Development method and it also provides information regarding the outcomes that should be collected to evaluate training effectively.
FIGURE – 3.1: Causes & Outcomes of Need Assessment
The figure shows the three types of analysis involved in Need Assessment and the causes & outcomes resulting from Needs Assessment . There are many different pressure points that suggest that training is necessary. These include performance problems, new technology, internal or external requests for training, job redesign, new legislation, changes in customer preferences, new products, and employees’ lack of basic skills. Note that these pressure points do not guarantee that training is the correct solution. Only the lack of knowledge can be addressed by training. This Need Assessment process results in information related to who needs training and what trainees need to learn, including the task in which they need to be trained plus knowledge, skills, behavior, or other job requirements.
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TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN NEEDS ASSESSMENT? TABLE – 3.1: Key concerns for Upper & Mid Level Managers and Trainers in Needs Assessment
NEED ASSESSMENT PROCESS Training Needs Assessment is a systematic inquiry of training needs within an organization for
the purposes of identifying priorities and making decisions, and allocating finite resources in a manner consistent with identified programmed goals and objectives. Though beginning with training as the desired solution, it has been argued, diminishes the value of the Needs Assessment, the popularity of the term "Training Needs Assessment" has made it part of the
training and adult learning lexicon.
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TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT There are three levels of Training Needs Assessment:
1. ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS 2. PERSON ANALYSIS 3. T ASK ANALYSIS FIGURE – 3.2: The Needs Assessment Process
The figure illustrates the Need Assessment Process. Starting off, Organization Analysis is concerned with identifying whether training fits the company’s strategic objectives and
whether the company has the budget, time and expertise (context for training) for training; therefore it is usually conducted first. This stage also involves the buy v/s build decision. Buy Decision involves the hiring of trained professionals, externally. Build Decision involves training existing employees to develop them for the future changes or discrepancies. Person and Task Analysis are often conducted at the same time because it is difficult to determine whether
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TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT performance deficiencies are a training problem without understanding the task and the work environment. After the analysis of all these three aspects, the training and development method is determined that ensures the Evaluation, Learning Environment and Transfer of Training.
ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS Organizational Analysis is a tool used when trying to improve an organization’s efficiency, it looks at the structure and design of an organization and how it influences outputs. It involves three components:
1. COMPANY ’S STRATEGIC DIRECTION The strategic role of training influences the frequency and type of training and how the training function is organized; the training is expected to contribute to the achievement of business strategies and goals of the company. Union Pacific Railroad’s strategic direction is to increase productivity, timeliness and accuracy of shipping to customers by introducing new technology. Its aim is to maintain its position on the cutting edge of train technology.
2. SUPPORT
OF
M ANAGERS, PEERS & EMPLOYEES FOR TRAINING
ACTIVITIES Peer and manager support for training is critical along with employee enthusiasm and motivation to attend training. If Peers and Managers attitudes and behaviors are not supportive, employees are not likely to apply training content to their jobs. Union Pacific Railroad develops and delivers quality programs and services to attract, develop,
motivate and retain a skilled, diverse workforce. They do this with an emphasis on the Organization's most valuable asset, i.e. its Employees.
3. TRAINING RESOURCES Union Pacific Railroad has to identify its budget, time and expertise for the training.
Based on this identification it will have to make a decision whether to outsource its training purpose or provide training in-house. It has come across that Union Pacific Railroad is in an agreement with “ United Transportation Union” for its training
purposes. This agreement is a “Request For Proposal” (RFP) document that outlines for potential vendors and consultants; the type of service Union Pacific Railroad is seeking, the type and number of references needed, the number of employees who need to be
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TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT trained, funding for the project, the follow-up process use to determine the level of satisfaction and service, the expected date of completion of training, and the date when proposals must be received by the company. When outsourcing your training services it is also important to consider the extent to which the training program will be customized based on the needs of the organization i.e. Union Pacific Railroad .
PERSON ANALYSIS Person Analysis helps to identify employees who need training, that is, whether employee’s current performance or expected performance indicates a need for training. It also helps determining Employee’s Readiness for Training; that refers to the employee’s attitudes, motivation and beliefs towards training and also the work environment facilitation.
FIG – 3.3: Process for Analyzing the Factors that Influence Employee Performance & Learning
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TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT The figure shows the process for analyzing the factors that influence performance and learning. Person Characteristics refer to the employees’ knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes. Input
relates to the instructions that tells employees what, how, and when to perform. It also refers to resources that the employees are given to help them perform. These resources may include equipment, time and budget. Output refers to the job’s performance standards. Consequences refer to the type of incentives that employees receive for performing well. Feedback refers to the information that employees receive while they are performing. All these five determinants , that is, the trainees’ desire to learn the content of training influence the “Motivation to Learn”
programs.
1. PERSON CHARACTERISTICS It deals with Basic Skills which implied that Conductors at Union Pacific Railroad with high self-efficacy and cognitive ability are likely to be successful in training and accommodate themselves according to the changing technology trends. They also need to be aware of their career interests and goals so they take interest in the training and be productive. The individual should be motivated or else there would be no benefit of training.
2. INPUT At Union Pacific Railroad, Situational Constraints would be only in time as the training would be outsourced due to budget constraints. Also social support would be necessary to accommodate work schedules with training and other responsibilities.
3. OUTPUT A test would be conducted at Union Pacific Railroad, to evaluate the learning of the training. If poor results are found than new training design would be made to upgrade employee performance. Conductors would be clearly explained what they are supposed to do and how to perform in their respective tasks.
4. CONSEQUENCES At Union Pacific Railroad, a reward or incentive should be given to the conductors to motivate and indulge them in training practices to provide with work results or it may affect their learning in training programs.
5. FEEDBACK Feedback is necessary to improve employee performance because training would not be helpful if employees do not know of their respective responsibilities. At Union Pacific
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TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT Railroad, i t should be identified whether feedback is properly provided or not, after and
before the training, so the learning can be properly evaluated.
TASK ANALYSIS Task Analysis results in a description of work activities, including tasks perform by the employee and the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are required for completing the tasks. Other things refer to the conditions under which tasks are performed; these conditions include identifying the equipment and environment that the employee works in, time constraints for a task, safety considerations, or performance standards. At Union Pacific Railroad, current jobs would be analyzed and then compared with the future change in job responsibilities. Training would be designed according to the gap between these responsibilities after the incorporation of technology. Knowledge, skills and abilities would be evaluated and through it training would be designed. Furthermore, a questionnaire would be designed to find out the gap between work responsibilities, before and after, the incorporation of new technology. Also the questionnaire would evaluate the basic skills of each employee i.e. cognitive ability, self-efficacy and motivation level. Moreover, a focus group would also be formed, comprising of individuals who would be trained from before, so to judge whether the technology should be installed or not.
DETERMINING THE TYPES OF TRAINING DERIVED OUT FROM THE NEED ASSESSMENTS PROCESS The Need Assessment Process helps determining the types of trainings, conductors’ need to effectively use the new system. To help meet the strategic goals, the top-level managers introduced the new system at Union Pacific Railroad that constitutes computers and satellites to improve its 70 percent rate of timeliness and accuracy of shipping to customers. Therefore, to improve the performance standards, training activities were outsourced and conducted in the company for better implementation of the new system. The graph below illustrates the gap between the actual and desired performance after the incorporation of the new technology.
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TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT GRAPH – 3.1 80 70 60
e c50 n a m40 r o f r e30 P
Training Gap
Before adoption of technology After adoption of technology
20 10 0 1
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3
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Time
The Graph illustrates the Time and Performance indicators that are currently reflected in Union Pacific Railroad . The blue line shows the Actual Performance (without the adoption of new
technology) and the red line demonstrates the Required Performance (with the adoption of new technology). The Gap existing between the Actual and Required will be fulfilled through Training after the Need Assessment Process is properly conducted. The SME (Subject Matter Expert) will lead different types of Group Training Sessions to determine different elements that the adoption of new technology will cover, and the accomplishment of the goals that the company has set forth. The instructional designer meets with the SMEs to review the Learning Objectives. To keep the SMEs on track, Union Pacific Railroad will not only consider the information that is being communicated to the trainees, but also the problems that the trainees are confronting with the use of new system. Subject-Matter-Experts (SMEs) are employees, academics, managers, technical experts, t rainers and even customers or suppliers who are knowledgeable. In regard to (i) training issues including tasks to be performed; (ii) knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) required for successful Task Performance; (iii) necessary equipment; and (iv) conditions under which the task have to be performed. SMEs also must have information that is relevant to the company’s business and have an understanding of the company’s language, tools and products.
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TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT The Training Programs that will be required by Union Pacific Railroad to train its conductors for the adoption of new technology includes; Comprehensive Railroad Safety Trainings, Operating Rules Training, Technical Training, Derailment Investigation & Prevention Training, Customized Training Programs (according to Job Responsibilities), General Code of Operating Rules, Channel Code Of Operating Rules, Managing Information System course, and Software Handling Training Programs.
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