Needs Assessment: what learning and development do you need?
Bernie (they/them) is worried about their teams' performance, they just don't seem to be communicating, collaborating or sharing resources very well.
Bernie sets up a meeting with Jo (she/her), the learning and development (L&D) manager. At the meeting, Bernie:
Explains the problem.
Tells Jo it’d be great if L&D could develop a short eLearn on teamwork, something the team could do in their own time, ‘we’re really busy and haven’t got time for ‘training’.
During the meeting, Jo found out that Bernie has regular 1:1 meetings scheduled with each team member, and the team has weekly 15-minute stand-up meetings. When asked, Bernie wasn’t sure if the team knew there were concerns about their collective performance, 'I'm sure we've talked about it’. Bernie also let Jo know they didn’t see a need to do the eLearn themselves, ‘I’m really under the pump and haven’t got time to do this, plus I know how to communicate and collaborate, I just need L&D to fix the teams’ problem’.
Time for some needs assessment!
Jo let Bernie know that she wants to meet with the team to understand their perspectives + the success of any solution would need their buy-in = the team should have a voice in this.
Actual vs. desired performance
A needs assessment (aka analysis) is the foundation of all learning solutions. It is where the learning designer diagnoses the existence/extent of a problem affecting the workplace; or the learning an individual, team, organisation or industry sector needs to succeed. It involves a methodical investigation to identify the extent of the problem and the most appropriate solution, which may or may not involve formal learning programs.
Needs Analysis is a formal, systematic process of identifying and evaluating the learning and development needs of an individual or group of employees. Needs are often referred to as "gaps," or the difference between what is currently done and what should be performed. Also referred to as Gap Analysis or Needs Assessment. (https://trainingindustry.com/glossary/needs-analysis/).
A needs assessment answers three overarching questions:
Is there a performance gap?
Where does the gap exist?
Is L&D the answer?
The aim is to define any gap(s) between current and desired performance levels for the person, team, department, or organisation.
The levels of needs assessment include:
Individual-level - this analysis checks how each staff member performs in their role, and any differences between expected and actual performance.
Group and team level – staff don’t work as isolated individuals. This analysis helps identify the knowledge, skills and behaviours to work effectively as a collective.
Operational level – the learning and development that needs to be provided for staff to achieve a specified level of proficiency. This analysis helps identify the knowledge and skills required to perform specific jobs at the workplace.
Organisation level – this analysis identifies the learning and development that would help the organisaiton achieve its strategic business objectives.
Benefits
A needs assessment clarifies the true performance problem, provides insights into the best learning solution for moving organisations/people towards their desired performance and confirms how you will know the problem has been solved.
Other benefits include:
Identify knowledge, skills and behavioural gaps before they become a problem.
Align your learning and development with organisational objectives.
Plan your annual learning and development program.
Highlight learning you may not have considered.
Ensure your L&D is focused on the right areas.
Identify who should participate in which learning programs.
Prioritise L&D needs.
Provide a benchmark for training evaluation.
Reduce the risk of training failure.
Help manage L&D budgets effectively.
Needs Assessment Tools
A range of tools and data sources (quantitative and qualitative) can be used when conducting a needs assessment. These include:
Research – annual reports, audit reports (internal or external), job descriptions, employee surveys, industry reports, performance development plans.
Observation – direct or recorded, with or without questioning.
Consultation – talk with experts, senior leaders, managers, team leaders.
Questioning – surveys, interviews, focus groups.
It’s all about choosing the tools that will work for your situation and fit within your timeframe (and budget).
Asking the right questions
Designing performance solutions is a bit like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. Learning designers use a systematic and logical approach to ensure they have the necessary scoping information and consider the best learning and development options.
Here are some questions to help identify the performance problem:
What are your organisations' goals for the year?
What should your staff be doing now that they are not doing?
What are your staff doing now that they should not be doing?
When your staff are working most effectively, what does it look like?
What is preventing your staff from reaching the desired performance level?
What skills do your staff need?
What skills do your staff currently have?
What knowledge gaps exist within your team?
What learning and development has been provided?
What coaching and support have staff received?
Do staff members know the standards that are expected of them?
Are the standards reasonable and achievable?
Do your staff have the right job aids and other performance tools they need to work to standard?
What would help your staff to work more effectively?
What’s the expected timeline for developing new capabilities?
How will you embed the learning solution in the flow of work?
Jo met with the team - they had a ‘feeling’ that Bernie wasn’t happy with their performance but nothing had been discussed. The team understood Bernie was busy juggling priorities. They also felt their work wasn’t that important - their 1-on-1s were often rescheduled or cancelled, and Bernie often didn’t make it to the teams’ weekly stand-up meetings. The team could see opportunities for working better together but couldn’t see how it would work if Bernie wasn’t involved.
The needs analysis confirmed there were some issues with the teams’ communication and collaboration. It also unearthed some potential issues with Bernies ‘ leadership..
As a learning designer, Jo knew that:
Learning for behaviour change doesn’t happen through one-off events. For Bernie and the team to improve their communication and collaboration, the solution needed to be more than the eLearning module Bernie had put forward at the briefing meeting.
Bernie iwa as much a part of the problem and solution as the team.
Bernie's expertise was not in learning and development.
The solution needed to fit the flow of work and be spaced over time.
Shared group learning is a powerful way to build collective capability and generate behaviour change.
If Bernie was serious about improving their teams' capability, they needed to be a part of the solution – just helicoptering in an eLearn with the rallying cry of 'you all need to do this training, good luck!' will almost certainly not work.
Jo’s solution? A hybrid approach:.
Discuss what actions Bernie could take straight away to start making a difference, e.g.:
Make the teams 1-on-1 meetings a priority.
Be present at the team stand-up meetings.
Explore how Bernie is stepping into the role of leader and what support they may need to work more effectively with their team and, in turn, help their team to work better together. For example, does Bernie need a coach or a mentor? How are they at performance conversations? Are they clear communicators? Does Bernie give constructive feedback? How are they allocating the work? What team accountabilities are in place? How will Bernie lead the change they want to see?
Identify any barriers and how to remove them.
Facilitate a conversation with Bernie and the team to co-create an action plan for how the team will improve their communication and collaboration (which may or may not include a formal learning program).
Jo scheduled a meeting with Bernie for early next week to discuss the outcomes of the Needs Assessment. Jo’s solution was very different to Bernies’ mental model of a quick eLearn and she will need to think carefully about how she will communicate and influence Bernie to adopt her performance solution.