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

2. Determining training and development needs
Chapter 5
Determining training and development needs

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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)

6. 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.

7. 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)

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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?

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

13. 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

14. 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)

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

16. Task analysis Nature: Aim:
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

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

18. Task flow-charting
Duplicate flow chart on page 140

19. Behaviour pyramids
Duplicate behaviour pyramid chart on page 141

20. 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

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

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

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

24. 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)

25. 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

26. 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