PARTNER for Training Success: ANALYSIS of Needs, Wants, and Identifying Gaps
The second step in the PARTNER* model is ANALYSIS: Determine the needs and wants of the different stakeholders. Identify the gaps and prepare to address them.
When following the PARTNER* model, the first step (PICTURE) should have answered the “where” questions … “where is the organization going?”, and “where does the organization want to be?” It is not unlike planning a trip and pulling out the map to pin point a destination. ANALYSIS then is like determining where we are currently located on the map.
So what steps or considerations are involved in analyzing the needs and wants of the organization? And how will you identify the gaps? Be sure to consider the following:
Who – When you begin analyzing needs and wants, determine up front who you will be including in the process. Joseph Schwab, an educator who developed a program design approach based on curriculum deliberations, believed that the lead curriculum-making specialist should have input from all concerned parties. In the world of corporate learning and development, that would mean subject matter experts, learners, trainer-facilitators, organizational leader(s), and human resource representatives. He did caution subject matter experts will frequently want to control the curriculum making process or will discount input from others, so a strong and focused curriculum lead is required. Schwab’s approach is sound and ensures that all involved parties have a voice.
Unique Issues – Having completed the PICTURE step, you should be aware of the organization’s unique challenges that arise from issues like culture or geography. In the ANALYSIS stage, you must also consider and be aware of unique skill or process issues and constraints. Are there health and safety issues, legal constraints, or ethical considerations? What role does the learner take in relation to these? How about the organization’s leadership?
Competency Maps – Have competency maps been developed for the different internal roles? A competency map is an outline, or listing of skills and traits required to successfully fulfill the requirements of a particular position. If competency maps are available, great! Review them to ensure that they are current and reflective of the positions that exist. If competency maps are not available, consider completing them as part of the ANALYSIS process.
Questions – Through this entire process, you will be asking yourself (and possibly others) questions. Be sure to keep a running list of those questions somewhere where you can refer to it. Review the list and determine which questions are important in helping to determine where the organization currently is (remember the map analogy above?).
Methods/Media – Reach out and engage with individuals at all levels within the organization that will be effected by and involved with any training initiatives. There are a variety of ways to do this:
- Paper surveys
- One-on-one interviews
- On-line surveys, using tools like Survey Monkey
- 360 or modified 360 feedback instruments
- Exit interviews
- Roundtables
- Focus groups
One note of caution … it is often tempting to take as gospel the anecdotal input provided by the organizational leadership, and make decisions based on only their input. Leadership team input is only one part of a thorough analysis or needs assessment step.
Roll Out – When preparing to undertake a needs assessment, consider how to position it. Depending on its purpose, consider having a senior member from the leadership team provide an introduction of the process to all those who will be participating. This could be a simple as an e-mail/memo or voicemail blast, or it could be as elaborate as an all-hands meeting. Attaching as much credibility to this process will help to ensure that you get the information needed to help make the necessary recommendations.
Evaluation – The final step in the ANALYSIS process is to collect, document, and present your findings (even if you are only presenting those finding to yourself). This is where you will be able to confidently say, “this is where we are, and this is where we want to (or need to) be.” In some cases you may learn that the organization and its people are where they need to be, or are very close to it; in other cases it will be quite obvious that a significant gap exists. From here, we will move on to the READY stage in the PARTNER* model and begin the process of determining how to get from “here to there”.
* The PARTNER model (Picture, Analysis, Ready, Train, Nurture, Evaluate, and Revisit) looks at each step in the development, design, delivery, and follow-up process and breaks it down into a simple to follow template.
This is post 3 of the PARTNER Model … view the others by following these links:
- PARTNER for Training Success
- Look at the big PICTURE
- ANALYSIS of Needs, Wants, and Identifying Gaps
- READY objectives, design, and delivery approach
- TRAIN delivery, context, and learner needs
Don’t Train for the Sake of Training
Have ever heard the statement, “if you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there?” You could also say it this way, “if you don’t know where you are, and you don’t know where you are going, pick a road.”
When it comes to learning and development in the workplace, the same principles apply. Have you considered what outcomes you are looking for? Do you know the current capabilities of those who will be participating as learners? So as easy as it might be to consider that offer from the nice learning company account representative that paid you a visit earlier today, hyping the special rates available on their super-duper-training-course, be sure that you are first clear about where you want your organization to be going.
In other words, know where it is that you want to go (let’s say Montreal), know where you are (let’s say Toronto), and then determine the most effective way to get there. Could it be flying? Perhaps driving? What about the train or bus? There are many factors that will consider into this decision, including time, money, and possibly personal considerations like a fear of flying. Some factors are qualitative, some quantitative; some may be based on anecdotal feedback from others that have taken the trip previously.
A little effort will put you in control of determining what training initiatives are truly necessary (if at all) for your organization. That means identifying the goals and objectives of the organization, determining where your employees skill sets currently fit, and their ability to accomplish the goals set out using those skill sets. From these determinations, and if necessary, you can develop an organizational training plan.
The bottom line is don’t train for the sake of training. If that is your intention, then by all means take advantage of the latest super-duper-training-course that the nice learning company account representative presented to you … after all, any road/training will get you to your destination … won’t it?
Training’s PARTNERship model
Douglas Conant, President and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company, said, “you can’t win in the marketplace unless you are first winning in the workplace,” (2007). And that means doing the right things, right. And when it comes to training programs, doing things right means using a model to ensure that what needs to get done, gets done.
So what will a model do for you? First, and most important, it will set you up for success. By providing you with a checklist that you follow, a model helps to ensure that all the time and effort put into building your training program results in a positive return on investment. Now be aware that a positive return on investment can be measured many different ways, but knowing how you are going to measure your results before you begin developing you program will help to ensure that as you build, you always know what your objectives are, both for learners and for the organization. There’s nothing more unfortunate that having to justify training programs after they have been delivered by searching to find any redeeming outcomes.
This is of course where I want to introduce the PARTNER model; a plan to be used when developing training programs that deliver results because the results to be delivered are known before the program begins. PARTNER is an acronym that breaks down as follows:
“P”icture
Look at the big picture; the context; the overarching objectives; the who’s who in the company, trainer, learner triumvirate
“A”nalysis
Just what are the needs and wants of the different stakeholders? Identify the gaps and prepare to address them
“R”eady
Define your objectives and write them down; design your program(s); prepare for an effective delivery through facilitator preparation (e.g. train-the-trainer initiatives)
“T”rain
Deliver the training; know the context and required delivery method (classroom, e-learning, experiential, on-the-job, mentorship, coaching, etc.); always consider the needs of the learner
“N”urture
Coach the application of learning; have a before, during, and after training learner plan; use different tools as applicable and appropriate (e.g. learner contracts)
“E”valuate
Know you objectives before you begin; understand what ROI is and why it is the cornerstone of your entire training program; use a proven evaluation model and work it to fit your needs (e.g. Kirkpatrick, Phillips)
“R”evisit
It’s not over until it’s over; measuring success means using all of the feedback generated from all the stakeholders to further refine and modify your program as required; engrain the concept of learning as vital to the work culture
Future posts will look at each component of the PARTNERship model in more detail.
