Training Need Assessment

The purpose of a training needs assessment is to identify performance requirements and the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by an agency's workforce to achieve the requirements. An effective training needs assessment will help direct resources to areas of greatest demand. The assessment should address resources needed to fulfill organizational mission, improve productivity, and provide quality products and services. A needs assessment is the process of identifying the "gap" between performance required and current performance. When a difference exists, it explores the causes and reasons for the gap and methods for closing or eliminating the gap. A complete needs assessment also considers the consequences for ignoring the gaps.

RECAP provide Training Need Assessment  by:

• Identify key stakeholders
• Solicit support
• Describe desired outcomes that will contribute to mission objectives
• Clarify critical behaviors needed to achieve desired outcomes
• Define required drivers essential to sustain the critical behaviors
• Set goals/objectives for the needs assessment
• Evaluate organizational (agency) readiness and identify key roles
• Evaluate prior/other needs assessments
• Prepare project plan
• Inventory the capacity of staff and technology to conduct a meaningful training skills assessment and analysis
• Clarify success measures and program milestones
• Obtain needs assessment data (e.g., review strategic plans, assess HR metrics, review job descriptions, conduct surveys, review performance appraisals)
• Analyze data
• Define performance problems/issues: occupational group/individuals
• Describe critical behaviors needed to affect problems/issues
• Determine and clarify why critical behaviors do not currently exist
• Research integrated performance solutions
• If training is the best solution, determine best training and development approach(es)
• Assess cost/benefit of training and development approach(es); build a "business case"
• Include organizational drivers needed to reinforce the critical behaviors that will affect problems/issues
• Describe how the critical behaviors will be monitored and assessed after implementation of the improvement plan