Learning Organizations
Learning organizations foster continuous growth and development. However, in today’s economy organizational leaders may need to conduct a closer examination of the training and development needs of employees to ensure that training solutions are directly aligned to strategic objectives and job competencies. To this point, discuss the process organizations would use to: - Assess training and development needs of the employees, - Determine the most appropriate method for obtaining the required skills and competencies, and - Remove potential barriers to adult learning situations.
Document owner: S. Stanard, Ph.D.
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The use of assessment tools can provide the necessary support for decision making and should be part of any new program modification (Cervero & Wilson, 1994). In order to ensure that a program meets its specific objectives, its components should be matched to the organization 's mission and the needs of its customers. While a needs assessment and a needs analysis are conducted for different reasons, they utilize similar processes. Therefore, this review will define both terms and examine steps essential to conducting a results-oriented training needs assessment. The review will also provide strategies for helping organizations and employees identify the best method for filling gaps in skills and competencies and removing potential barriers to adult learning situations. Most importantly, readers will gain an understanding of the training needs assessment process, the benefits of conducting a needs assessment, and how an assessment can help organizations accomplish their goals and objectives. Brown (2002) defines a training needs assessment as “an ongoing process of gathering data to determine what training needs exist so that training can be developed to help the organization accomplish its objectives.” On the other hand, a needs analysis has been defined by Rothwell & Cookson (1997) as a “process of determining, how important and why the gap
Document owner: S. Stanard, Ph.D.
1
The use of assessment tools can provide the necessary support for decision making and should be part of any new program modification (Cervero & Wilson, 1994). In order to ensure that a program meets its specific objectives, its components should be matched to the organization 's mission and the needs of its customers. While a needs assessment and a needs analysis are conducted for different reasons, they utilize similar processes. Therefore, this review will define both terms and examine steps essential to conducting a results-oriented training needs assessment. The review will also provide strategies for helping organizations and employees identify the best method for filling gaps in skills and competencies and removing potential barriers to adult learning situations. Most importantly, readers will gain an understanding of the training needs assessment process, the benefits of conducting a needs assessment, and how an assessment can help organizations accomplish their goals and objectives. Brown (2002) defines a training needs assessment as “an ongoing process of gathering data to determine what training needs exist so that training can be developed to help the organization accomplish its objectives.” On the other hand, a needs analysis has been defined by Rothwell & Cookson (1997) as a “process of determining, how important and why the gap
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