89. Do your staff need training? To find out, ask74

Conduct a training needs analysis which truly represents the needs of those being trained.

The goal of training is to provide staff with knowledge and skills they don't have. To determine what skills and knowledge workers lack, you need to ask managers, employees, and clients.

Don't assume that management is responsible for knowing where all the deficiencies are. If a training is being designed to improve the skills of staff members, doesn't it make sense to ask them what skills the training should focus on? Similarly, if a training is planned in an effort to improve service delivery, then ask those who receive the service what needs to be improved.

Some tips for conducting a training needs analysis:

• Check out the complaints you're receiving from clients, for, complaints are symptoms of training needs.
• Monitor the work force for personal problems or concerns like health that could be met with a training.
• Provide exit interviews to employees who leave voluntarily and analyse the trends, wherein, they have found problems with the organisation.
• Administer an employee attitude survey which will yield important information about the need for employee or management training.
• Develop a simple questionnaire for managers with open-ended questions like, "What training programmes do you think we have to offer to improve the skills of our employees?"
• Examine the major deficiencies that are highlighted in employee performance reports.
• Conduct interviews, with both managers and employees, that probe deeper into training needs than a survey form.