How to Identify Your Training Needs?

Any organization will certainly want their employees to have a high level of productivity and efficiency. That is why they offer training programs. However, there are a few questions that need to be answered first.

What kind of training do those employees require? Do they need training on specific skills or do they lack specific knowledge about their jobs? On answering these questions, more will appear. What learning styles do the employees prefer? What is the level of instruction that they need? Finally, there is the ultimate question. Will the training solve the problem? After all, sometimes external factors are responsible. For example, sales training will not help if people are not buying the product due to a poor economy.

By identifying and understanding training needs, you can answer all of the questions above and more. Training needs is also essential in ROI Methodology. It helps answer many of the questions you will encounter in Level 0: Input. With training needs analysis, you can start aligning the intended training programs with the business needs of the organization. It will also help you in selecting the right solution.

Here are a few tips to help you identify your training needs

Determine Business Outcomes and Link to Employee Behaviors

One of the first things you need to do while designing a training program is to determine what business outcomes are being expected from those programs. Then you can start to identify the competencies that are associated with the business outcomes. These can then be linked to the employee skills. To do so, you must understand the tasks that the employees are supposed to do. Then, consider what skills or knowledge is necessary to complete those tasks. 

Identify Skill Gaps

Reducing skill gaps is necessary to get the most out of your workforce. Before you can do so, you must first measure the current skill levels. Several tools are available for measuring skill gaps such as interviews and surveys. After identifying the skill gaps, you can focus on the training methods necessary for mitigating them. Do not forget to offer task-based learning sessions where the trainees can apply their new skills and knowledge.  

Evaluate Current Resources

After identifying the training objectives, you must consider the current resources available for the programs. It is entirely possible for some courses to be out of reach due to a lack of proper resources. In such cases, it becomes necessary to invest in upgrades. You may also choose to outsource to a training vendor. 

Calculate the Costs

No matter what kind of training you choose, there will be expenses involved. This is where you need to evaluate your training budget and find a balance between the training needs and cost-effectiveness. Some of the potential expenses you can encounter are as follows.

• Costs of training design and development
• Travel and hospitality expenses
• Equipment costs

There are also certain indirect costs that you should consider. For example, there will be a loss of productive hours on the job when your employees are busy with training. 

Identifying the training needs is only one step towards an effective training program. To get the most out of it, you must consider evaluation with ROI Methodology®. Consider investing in ROI Workshops or ROI Certification with ROI Institute India.