Assessment of HRD Needs

Prof. Kalagi Shah

Goals of HRD
Solving Problems
Preventing Anticipated Problems
Including as participants those individuals
and units that can benefit most

Why Do Needs Assessment?

Question:
Why is needs assessment information
critical to the development and delivery
of an effective HRD program?

Definition of Needs
Assessment
Need Assessment is a process by which an
organizations HRD needs are identified &
articulated.
It is the starting point of the HRD & Training
process.

Purpose of Needs Assessment

A need assessment can identify:
An organizations goals & its effectiveness in reaching these
goals
Discrepancies or gaps between employees skills & the
skills required for effective current job performance
Discrepancies or gaps between employees skills & the
skills required for effective job performance in future
The conditions under which HRD activity will occur

Needs Assessment
Figuring out what is really needed
Not always an easy task
Needs lots of input
Takes a lot of work
Do it now or do lots more later
First step in both the ISD and HRD process
models

Unwillingness to Perform
Needs Assessment
Can be a difficult time-consuming process
Action is valued over research
Incorrect assumptions are made that a needs
assessment is unnecessary because available
information already specifies organization
needs are
Lack of support

What is a Need?
A discrepancy between expectations and
performance
Not only performance needs involved

Various Types of Needs

Performance
Diagnostic

Factors that can prevent problems from occurring ,

rather than emphasizing existing problems

Analytic

Identify new or better ways to do things

Compliance

Mandated by law or regulation

Needs Assessment
Strategic/Organizational Analysis: suggests
where in the organization training is needed &
under what conditions it will occur

Task Analysis: Explains what must be done to

perform a job or complete a process successfully

Person Analysis: reveals who need to be trained

& what kind of training they need.

Levels of Need Assessment :

Strategic/ Organizational
Analysis
Needs assessment at the organizational level
is usually conducted by performing an
organizational analysis
Organizational Analysis is a process used to
better understand the characteristics of an organization
to determine where training & HRD efforts are needed
the conditions under which they should be conducted

Organizational Analysis
Components of OA: This type of analysis requires a broader view of an organization & what it is
trying to accomplish
An OA should identify: Organizational goals and strategy
Organizational resources (financial, facilities, resources)
Organizational culture/climate
Environmental constraints

Organizational goals and

strategy
Understanding organizational goals and strategies is the
starting point in identifying the effectiveness of an
organization.
Monitoring to ensure opportunities for improvement and
potential problems are identified early.
HRD focus in areas where goals are not met using effective
areas as models.

Organizational Resources
Awareness of resource availability in establishing
HRD needs
resources would be amount of money available,
facilities, materials, expertise within organization
resources availability can dictate some options to
be considered in designing and implementing
HRD programmes.

Organizational climate
An important factor in HRD success
Unfavorable climate will hinder design and
implementation of HRD programmes
resulting in reduced training effectiveness
Favorable climate will encourage skill
transfer back to the job

Environmental constraints
Includes Social, Technological, Economic, Political and
Legal issues (external environment) faced by an
organization.
Knowledge of legal issues can ensure that an HRD effort is
in compliance & will not itself be a source of problems
E.g. equal employment opportunity goals should be considered
when determining how people will be assigned to training
program, especially if the program is a perquisite for entry
into a particular job

Data Sources for Organizational Analysis

Part 1 of 3
Data Source
Recommended

Training Need
Implications

Example

Organizational Goals,
Objectives and Budget

Where training emphasis To maintain a quality

can and should be
standard of no more than 1
placed.
reject per thousand

Labor Inventory

Where training is needed Thirty percent of our truck

to fill gaps caused by
drivers will retire over the
retirement, turnover,
next four years
age, etc.

Data Sources for Organizational Analysis

Part 2 of 3
Data Source
Recommended
Organizational Climate
Indices

Grievances

Absenteeism
Accidents

Training Need
Implications

Example

These may help focus on

problems that have
training components
Items related to
Seventy percent of
productivity are useful in
determining
grievances are
performance
related to behaviors of 6
deficiencies
supervisors
High absences in clerical
staff
Accident rate for line workers
increasing

Data Sources for Organizational Analysis

Part 3 of 3
Data Source
Recommended
Analysis of Efficiency
Indices

Training Need
Implications
Can help document
difference between actual
performance and desired
performance

Cost of labor

Changes in System or
Subsystem

Example

Labor costs have increased

8 percent in the last year
New or changed equipment
may present training
problem

The line has been shut down

about once per day since the
new machinery was installed.
Waste has doubled since
using the new cutting tool

Why Strategic Assessment is

Needed (Advantages)
Ties HRD programs to corporate or
organizational goals
Strengthens the link between profit and HRD
actions
Strengthens corporate support for HRD
Makes HRD more of a revenue generator

Not a profit waster

Sources of Strategic
Information

Mission statement
HRM inventory
Skills inventory
Quality of Working Life indicators
System changes
Exit interviews
Questionnaire surveys
Discussion with training committee on training requirements and
priority areas
Direct observation

Methods of OA
Business-led approach
Focus on those needs that arise from business needs or the
business drivers; information about HRD needs to the board;
business strategy influenced by HRD strategies;
communication of strategic decisions to unit managers

Problem centered approach

Identifying the major present organizational problems that
HRD is most relevant to deal; focus of HRD on responding
to these problems

Methods of OA
Comprehensive approach
Determination from functional managers of their diagnosis of
the needs facing their units/departments; agreement on those
needs which HRD can address; focus of HRD on meeting
these needs

University of Michigan developed 2 instruments- the

survey of organizations & the Michigan organizational
Assessment questionnaire- that are supported by substantial
reliability & validity data

Task Analysis
It is a systematic collection of data about a specific job or
group of jobs used to determine what employee needs to
know to perform a job or jobs to achieve optimal
performance.

How to Collect Information For

a Task Analysis
Job descriptions
Task analysis
Performance standards
Perform job
Observe job
Ask questions
Analysis of problems

Task Analysis Process

Develop job description
Identify job tasks

What should be done

What is actually done

Describe KSAOs needed

Identify potential training areas
Prioritize potential training areas

Conti
1. Develop an overall job description
Job description: is a narrative statement of all major activities involved in
performing a job & the conditions under which these activities are
performed

HRD professional should obtain & review the description. Without upto-date job descriptions it may be necessary to conduct a job analysis
A job analysis is a systematic study of a job to identify its major
components

It generally involves observing a job being performed, asking a job

incumbents & supervisors questions about a job, tasks, working
conditions & examining its outcomes

Conti
2. Task Identification:

The major tasks within the job;

how each task should be performed (performance standards)
the variability of performance (how the tasks are performed on a day-today basis).

Some methods of identifying tasks:

1.
stimulus-response-feedback;
2.
time sampling;
3.
critical incident technique;
4.
job inventories;
5.
job-duty-task

Conti
3. Identify what it takes to do the job
Information on KASOCs
Knowledge: An understanding of a body of information that
makes for successful performance of
a job.
Skills: An individuals level of proficiency in performing a
specified task, usually expressed in numerical terms
Ability: The power to perform a physical or mental function
Other characteristics: Including personality, interests and
attitudes

Conti
4. Identify the areas that can most benefit from
training
5. Prioritize training needs

Task Analysis for HRD

Position
Job title: HRD Professional

Specific duty: Task Analysis

Tasks

Knowledge and Skills Required

1. List tasks

Subtasks
1. Observe behavior

List four characteristics of behavior

Classify behavior
2. Select verb

Knowledge of action verbs

Grammatical skills

3. Record behavior

State so understood by others

Record neatly

2. List subtasks

1. Observe behavior

List all remaining acts

Classify behavior
2. Select verb

State correctly
Grammatical skills

3. List knowledge

3. Record behavior

Neat and understood by others

1. State what must be known

Classify all information

2. Determine complexity of skill

Determine if a skill represents a series of acts that must be learned in a

sequence

SOURCE: From G. E. Mills, R. W. Pace, & B. D. Peterson (1988). Analysis in human resource training and organizational development (p. 57). Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley. Reprinted by permission.

Person Analysis
Determines training needs for specific individuals
Peers, customers and subordinates in addition to supervisors
may also be in a position to provide information called 360degree performance appraisal. Other sources of PA includes
direct observation, tests, questionnaire & critical incidents
Components of PA
Summary Analysis

Determine overall success of the individual

Diagnostic Analysis

Discover reasons for performance

Performance Appraisal
Can be a valuable tool for collecting person
analysis data
Relied on heavily in person analysis
Difficult to do
Vital to company and individual
Should be VERY confidential
Based too often on personal opinion

Performance Appraisal Process

Determine basis for appraisal

Job description, MBO objectives, job standards,

etc.

Conduct the appraisal

Determine discrepancies between the standard
and performance
Identify source(s) of discrepancies
Select ways to resolve discrepancies

Prioritizing HRD Needs

A needs assessment reveals multiple needs, management &
staff must prioritize these needs.
There are never enough resources available for HRD
activities
Must prioritize efforts
A central question is to ask in this process, what is the
potential gain or return on investment from various options?
The projected impact on organizational performance must
always be kept in mind while prioritizing HRD needs.

Conti
Participation in prioritization process
Need full organizational involvement in this process
The HRD Advisory Committee
One way to continuously reflect the needs of employees &
assist in prioritizing needs is to establish an HRD advisory
committee
The role of this committee is meet regularly & review needs
assessment & evaluation data & offer advice on the type &
content of HRD programs to be offered

Warning!!
HRD must respond to corporate needs
HRD should be focused on performance
improvement, and not just training

Exercise: Conducting a task

Analysis
Question:
You have been asked to perform a task analysis
for the job of secretary, cashier or any job familiar
to you. Which method(s) of task analysis do you
think are most appropriate for analyzing this job?
What are the major tasks or responsibilities you
have identified for this job? What KSAOs to
perform each of these major tasks?