The Learning Needs Analysis

Transcription

1 A sample activity from the Trainer s Activity Pack: The Learning Needs Analysis Written by Beverley Williams Thank you for downloading this sample activity. You are welcome to use this material in your training programs. This sample activity is just one of 17 contained in The Learning Needs Analysis, published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008

2 #3 - WHEN TO CARRY OUT LEARNING NEEDS ANALYSIS INTRODUCTION Learning Needs Analysis (LNA) is an ongoing process. Listening to colleagues, maintaining awareness of business activities and monitoring the impact of current training and development will ensure that constantly evolving learning needs are identified. In addition to this continuous process, there will be occasions when formal LNA programs will be needed to support specific changes or developments. A formal LNA program could be needed for a range of circumstances for example, when an individual staff member is promoted to their first managerial position or, on a larger scale, when hundreds of staff are expected to change roles as part of the centralization of administration procedures. This activity encourages participants to identify when LNA should take place to ensure that they adopt a proactive approach to planning their LNA program. During the activity, participants will actually book estimated LNA time into their diaries. PURPOSE To help participants become aware of those situations that need constant monitoring and those that will need an individual LNA program. This will enable them to be proactive rather than reactive and assess their workload more realistically. APPLICATION For use with participants who are responsible for identifying the learning needs of others and who understand the importance of LNA within the Learning and Development Cycle see Activity 1: Don t Worry, It s Not Rocket Science. They may be trainers or line managers with little or no experience in this role or those who would benefit from a more in-depth understanding of a task they already perform. Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams

3 This activity is of particular use to participants who feel that they are always fire-fighting training needs rather than planning for them in advance. WHAT HAPPENS You begin by telling the participants that they are going to consider when to carry out LNA. To help them deal with this large and sometimes vague area, you will introduce them to a structured approach that examines LNA in relation to four different levels: the organization as a whole; individual departments; individuals; the job. The participants then work in pairs to identify situations that would require LNA. For each situation, they decide whether or not it could have been foreseen and what would be the best method of dealing with it at the most appropriate time. You then lead a feedback session taking two or three responses from each pair before moving on to explore the range of examples in Handout 3.4: Situations Where LNA is Required Solutions. Next, the participants work in groups of three or four to list as many situations as possible where LNA is required and place them in two categories: those that can be foreseen and planned for, and those that arise unexpectedly. You take feedback on their findings and then continue by asking them to work individually to identify situations in which they will be personally involved and to book estimated LNA time into their diaries. The activity concludes with a review of the key learning points. At intervals during the activity, the participants work on their own action plans and finally, they each contribute one key learning or action point. You conclude by covering the key learning points of the activity. _ 2 Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008

4 IN PREPARATION Ask all the participants to bring their personal work planner diaries manual or electronic to the training session. If their planners are on their PCs and no laptops are available, ask them to print out monthly pages for up to a year in advance. TIME Total time: 2 hours. Introduction: 15 minutes Situations Where LNA is Required: 40 minutes Scheduling LNA Time: 55 minutes Key Learning Points and Summary: 10 minutes. MATERIALS & RESOURCES 2 Overhead/PowerPoint Masters: 3.1: Learning Needs Analysis For: 3.2: Events Requiring LNA Can Be: 4 Handout Masters: 3.3: Situations Where LNA is Required 3.4: Situations Where LNA is Required Solutions 3.5: Individual LNA Responsibilities 3.6: Summary of Key Learning Points Overhead projector or laptop with PowerPoint compatible software and screen. Flipchart and pens Paper and pencils for participants Space for group work. HOW DO I DO IT? Introduction Tell the participants that you are going to open the activity by thinking about when we should carry out Learning Needs Analysis in what circumstances and at what point in time. Explain that as the immediate, and not very helpful, answer to that question is all the time, you plan to deal with this large and sometimes vague area in a structured manner by examining LNA in relation to four specific levels. Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams

5 Show Overhead/PowerPoint 3.1 Learning Needs Analysis For: Read the overhead out and then ask participants to give you one or two examples of how each level directly relates to their own situation. You are looking for responses such as: the Midwest Bank Personal Loans Department myself the role of Loans Supervisor. Alternatively you may get: the Midwest Bank Training Department myself the role of Training Officer. Tell the participants that there are many different situations within these four levels that may call for Learning Needs Analysis. Write on your flipchart: level situation foreseen or fire-fighting? most appropriate time. As you write up each item, make the following comments. Level: Ask the participants quickly to give you the four levels again, but don t write them down. Situation: Give them the example of promotion to Assistant Manager. Ask them which of the four levels they think this best applies to. You are looking for the individual. 4 Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008

6 Foreseen or fire-fighting? Use the same example and ask if they think that it could have been foreseen. Both answers can be right. Bring this out by explaining that while the promotion and its associated learning needs could have been unexpected for example, replacing someone who left very suddenly if forecasting shows that there will be 15 such promotions this year, it could also have been foreseen. Tell the participants that fire-fighting is sometimes unavoidable and shouldn t automatically be regarded in a negative light. However, it s also exhausting and makes it very difficult to plan your time effectively, and so should be avoided wherever possible. Most appropriate time: Explain that it s important to think about the most appropriate time to be analyzing the learning needs. For example, the person being promoted to Assistant Manager needs to be given the appropriate initial training and development before taking up their new position. This means that the analysis of the needs will have to be addressed as far in advance of this as possible. Participants need to think about how to make sure this happens. Allow 15 minutes for this introduction. Situations Where LNA is Required Divide the participants into pairs and tell them they are now going to look at different situations within the four levels where LNA is necessary. Distribute Handout 3.3 Situations Where LNA is Required Read through the instructions to ensure that everyone is clear on what they need to do and allocate one level to each pair. (If you have only four participants, give each pair two levels. If six, give each pair one level and ask them all to work on one example for the remaining level.) Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams

7 It s possible that someone will mention that surely all learning needs are individual as it s individuals that will have to be developed. Agree that this is a valid point and accept that organizational and departmental training and development will eventually be carried out at the individual level. However, make the point that it will need to be analyzed at the larger level to ensure that the most appropriate resources are employed and that no unnecessary duplication of work takes place. Remind participants that they are not being asked to think about training solutions, just about situations that may occur and how to spot them. Tell them they have 15 minutes to work on this exercise. Coach only if needed during that time but be alert to people getting side-tracked by thinking about possible training solutions for their example situations. When the participants have completed the exercise, lead a 15 minute feedback session. Ask each pair to discuss the two situations they have worked on. Acknowledge that major organizational situations requiring LNA are normally planned well in advance. Ask probing questions to ensure that they have thought about the topic from all angles. Examples include: I like your idea of asking Personnel to let you know when a vacancy arises rather than when an appointment is made. Have you thought about how you can ensure that this actually happens? and I see that you have planned in LNA for the annual appraisals in August. Will you have to rearrange any other commitments to allow for this, bearing in mind that it s peak vacation time? As a trainer, be prepared to accept any ideas they may come up with that you don t currently use; a fresh pair of eyes can often assess existing situations in an unexpected and perceptive manner. Distribute Handout 3.4 Situations Where LNA is Required Solutions 6 Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008

8 Briefly read through two or three of the examples given, making sure that you acknowledge those already brought out by the participants. Make the point that situations requiring LNA are many and varied, and the most appropriate method needs to be carefully selected. For example, in the case of the staff member s promotion, a one-on-one interview is likely to be most productive, while a departmental restructure involving 200 people would probably need to have a questionnaire designed, distributed and analyzed. If you are planning to explore these and other methods in more detail later, you could mention this to the participants. Scheduling LNA Time Tell the participants that the work they have done so far shows that events requiring LNA fall broadly into two groups. Show Overhead/PowerPoint 3.2 Events Requiring LNA Can Be: Read through the overhead and give the examples that LNA using annual appraisals can be foreseen and planned for in advance, while a customer service problem that reached your ears via the grapevine may be of an unexpected nature. Divide the participants into groups of three or four. Remind them that they have looked at a few examples of situations at various levels and in some depth. What you would like them to do now is work in their groups to suggest the following: 1. As many events as possible that will require LNA and can be foreseen and planned for for example, the annual appraisals, and 2. Events that cannot always be planned very far in advance for example, unexplained slow customer service even though technical training has been given. Make sure they all have paper and pens, then ask them to work quickly for 10 minutes and to include all the examples Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams

9 that have already been mentioned. The most productive approach will be to generate as many examples as possible before trying to identify whether they could have been foreseen in advance. If your discussions have been wide ranging, this may result in a summary of whatever has been discussed; this is acceptable. After 10 minutes, take four or five examples from each group, then ask for any that have not been mentioned. Ask participants to add any new items to their lists. Distribute Handout 3.5 Individual LNA Responsibilities Now, ask the participants to work individually for 10 minutes to identify those situations or events in which they will be personally involved and to decide when the LNA should be carried out (Part A). They will probably have made group lists for the last part of the exercise and will need to refer to them to make their separate individual lists on the handout. After 10 minutes, ask each participant for one example and encourage them to give some detail by asking one or two probing questions for example, Will that be your sole responsibility?, Do you know when the deadline date for that is?, Will anyone be available to help with your normal responsibilities while you do that?. Next, ask the participants to look at their individual lists again and try to estimate the time that will be needed to work on the LNA for each situation and write it alongside each item (Part B). Acknowledge that the estimates will be very broad but ask participants to do their best. Agree that it s particularly difficult to allow for events that would come under the heading of firefighting and suggest, as a guide, that they think about how often they normally find themselves dealing with the types of situation they have listed. Activity 4: Planning the LNA Project looks specifically at the problems of estimating the time and resources needed. You might want to tell participants when you plan to cover this 8 Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008

10 activity, as they may get worried when they realize how much they have going on and how difficult it is to work out the time needed. Now, ask them to add up their estimated time. Write their totals on the flipchart, using vibrant colours such as red and bright blue alternately, and include words such as days or weeks. You are aiming for maximum visual impact. Ask participants how many of them have booked this much time for LNA into their diaries. You will probably find that very few of them have. Ask if anyone has booked time in for any of the situations. Hopefully, you will get a more positive response. Point out that even if you can t be sure exactly when you will need to work on LNA and exactly how much time you will need, allocating an estimated amount will give you more room to manoeuvre when exact dates and times are known. Emphasize the importance of thinking and planning in advance and tell the participants to put their work to practical use by spending 10 minutes booking LNA time into their diaries. Go over the following points before they begin. If they need to consult other people before scheduling time, they can make some tentative entries and also note the need to arrange those discussions in their planner. (Use pencil.) Suggest that planning for the unexpected can be as straightforward as booking an hour or two a month for Review of LNA requirements. This time can then be used for LNA review using the handouts from this training session as a guide or to deal with unexpected situations that require LNA. Emphasize that this is not a substitute for the proper planning required for situations that can be foreseen. Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams

11 At the end of the exercise, ask for a key learning point from each participant and write it on your flipchart. Your questions should ensure that they have thought it through for example: Who will need to be involved in that?, When will you be able to speak to your colleagues about that idea?. Key Learning Points and Summary Distribute Handout 3.6 Summary of Key Learning Points Read out each point, acknowledging those already brought out by the participants, and reinforce the learning by asking questions or making comments as follows. (Keep it short, as you are summarizing here rather than entering into any further discussion.) 1. Learning Needs Analysis can be undertaken at four distinct levels: the organization; the department; the individual; the job. Comment: A new computer system dealing with payroll would affect only the payroll department in terms of training. 2. Some situations may be foreseen in advance; others will require fire-fighting. Ask: Give me one reason why we don t want to firefight?. Possible responses: Exhausting, Difficult to plan time, Not able to think things through. 3. You can prepare for fire-fighting by setting aside regular periods for LNA review, but this is no substitute for the planning required for situations that can be foreseen. Ask: Can someone give me an idea of how much time you plan to set aside?. Possible response: Two or three hours a month. _ 10 Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008

12 4. It s up to you to look for situations that can be foreseen and aren t covered by others. If 10 supervisors resigned last year and the year before, plan for 10 new appointments this year. Ideally, this information will be passed to you by those responsible for succession and/or manpower planning. However, things are rarely that ideal. Comment: So next time someone springs something on you, think about whether it s likely to happen again. 5. Wherever possible, LNA must be planned in at the most appropriate point for each situation. Comment: Near enough to the training and/or development date to be current, far enough in advance to give needs analysis and the design of training and development thorough attention. 6. Procedures must be introduced to ensure that all situations requiring LNA are brought to the attention of those responsible. Make yourself part of the information chain wherever necessary. Ask: Can someone give me a quick example of an information chain that they need to be part of?. Possible responses: New initiatives coming from Project the Management Department ; New legislation coming from the Legal Department. 7. It can be difficult to predict exact LNA resource demands, but planning a reasonable amount of time for each project will give you room to manoeuvre when precise requirements are known. No need for an additional comment. Remind participants that the time they have planned for isn t extra time; it would have been needed anyway, but being more aware of their commitments gives them more control over their workload. Close by thanking participants for their work. Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams

13 Learning Needs Analysis For: 3.1 The organization The department The individual The job 12

14 Events Requiring LNA Can Be: 3.2 Foreseen and planned for in advance Unexpected and dealt with on a more immediate time frame Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams

15 Situations Where LNA is Required 3.3 You are going to spend some time thinking about when you should be carrying out Learning Needs Analysis. In what circumstances and at what point in time. This large and sometimes vague area can be dealt with in a structured manner by examining LNA in relation to four specific levels. the organization. the department. the individual. the job. Your task is to work on two situations that may call for LNA using the following pointers to guide you. LEVEL Your trainer will allocate one or more levels for you to focus on. SITUATION Think of two situations that could occur at the level you are working on that will require LNA to take place for example: centralization of administration procedures at the organizational level. FORESEEN OR FIRE-FIGHTING? Decide whether your examples could reasonably have been foreseen or whether you are likely to find yourself suddenly fire-fighting them. Remember that certain situations can be both. This is fine as long as you can explain why you have placed your examples in both categories. MOST APPROPRIATE TIME Decide on the most appropriate time to investigate learning needs for this situation for example, at least two months before the event and, crucially, what steps you could take to ensure that each situation was actually addressed at the most appropriate time. Remember, you are not being asked to think about training solutions here, just about situations that may occur and how to spot them. continued 14 Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008

16 Situations Where LNA is Required 3.3 Example 1 Level Situation Foreseen or fire-fighting? Most appropriate time continued Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams

17 Situations Where LNA is Required 3.3 Example 2 Level Situation Foreseen or fire-fighting? Most appropriate time 16 Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008

18 Situations Where LNA is Required Solutions 3.4 LEVEL LNA may be needed for: the organization the department the individual the job. Examples for each level could include the following: ORGANIZATION Situation A The centralization of administration procedures. Foreseen or fire-fighting? Foreseen. Most appropriate time This would depend on the size of the project and the numbers of people involved. The Training Manager with responsibility for LNA would need to be involved in the project from the beginning and LNA would have to be completed at least a month prior to actual training beginning to allow for the unexpected. A major project of this sort would need meticulous planning. Check with your trainer regarding Project Management training. This type of decision would have been communicated from the Board or senior management. Be sure that an effective information chain is in place meetings or circulated information and that you consistently check information for tentative or definite plans that will affect training. You can then arrange to gather as much information as possible to help you plan. continued Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams

19 Situations Where LNA is Required Solutions 3.4 Situation B The implementation of a development project for example, Investors in People. Foreseen or fire-fighting? Foreseen. Most appropriate time See Situation A. Department Situation A Customer service standards have been found to be unsatisfactory. Foreseen or fire-fighting? This should have been foreseen if standard quality checks to monitor individual incidents and trends were in place. You could find yourself fire-fighting problems if the unsatisfactory standards came to light unexpectedly for example, checks had not been carried out properly for several months. Most appropriate time LNA for this situation should be ongoing and varied to cover different aspects of customer service with each check. For example, if your organization wished to cover 60 separate aspects of customer service, 20 formal checks per month would mean that all aspects were covered quarterly. This system would need to be carried out by the different levels of management within the company, not by the training department. An annual customer service survey is another possibility. Informal monitoring of customer service via conversation and observation is also ongoing. There may be problems with the team leader s ability to motivate and delegate, and the trainer should actively be aware of this possibility when analyzing learning needs while being careful not to pre-judge any situation. This could be done on an ongoing basis and also as a specific exercise by deliberately analyzing appraisal documentation on a team-by-team or department-bydepartment basis. Asking Personnel for reports on exit interviews can also be useful. continued 18 Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008

20 Situations Where LNA is Required Solutions 3.4 As a trainer, you could ensure that this was done by checking documentation completed by managers, carefully looking for trends and carrying out some sample checks yourself. This would need to be done on a regular basis but remember, if it s not planned for, it won t get done until it becomes urgent. Team analysis, in addition to individual analysis, of appraisals can be planned into your appraisal LNA project. Formal requests to Personnel for feedback on exit interviews could result in problems being flagged immediately for urgent situations and monthly or quarterly meetings to discuss trends or less urgent problems. Situation B High error rate in a standard procedure. Foreseen or fire-fighting? See Situation A. Most appropriate time LNA for this situation should be regular and ongoing, and involve checking and sampling of work done. This checking system would need to be carried out by the different levels of management within the company, not by the training department. In this case you may also be dealing with de-motivated staff and so need to be alert for possible learning needs of the team leader. (See A for this and for ideas regarding management problems.) continued Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams

21 Situations Where LNA is Required Solutions 3.4 Individual Situation A Promotion to first managerial position. Foreseen or fire-fighting? This should have been foreseen if succession planning was in place. You may find yourself fire-fighting if no structured Introduction to Management development procedure exists or if a surprise appointment to the role is made. Most appropriate time LNA should have been completed one month prior to the time when training is to begin. Ideally an Introduction to Management program should be in place for staff to attend as soon as they are identified as ready for promotion or as having management potential. (NOTE: Be careful not to raise expectations that cannot be met if there are no opportunities for promotion in the foreseeable future.) If fire-fighting, then LNA should take place as soon as possible. You can make sure that you stay ahead of this situation by being part of the information chain for manpower and succession planning, and for resignations, appointments and promotions. Situation B Problems with managing others have been highlighted in exit interviews. Foreseen or fire-fighting? This will almost certainly be unexpected and will need to be dealt with urgently. However, you will need to review the entire situation of support and coaching that the failing manager has received in the past to see why these problems were not picked up on earlier. You also need to act on things that you hear in training sessions; it may be the only forum where problems are aired. continued 20 Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008

22 Situations Where LNA is Required Solutions 3.4 Most appropriate time LNA to be carried out immediately. Review procedures regarding management development and coaching and appraisal documentation as part of wider LNA. If information from exit interviews has reached you unofficially, arrange to put a more structured system in place. The Job Situation A Changes in legislation are to be imposed. Foreseen or fire-fighting? Normally these can be foreseen as legislation is often subject to lengthy discussion before implementation. Most appropriate time As far in advance of the changes as possible. It is crucial that you comply with legal changes, so allow plenty of contingency time for emergencies and alterations. Exact periods of time will depend on the scale of changes and the number of staff to be trained. You must be part of the information chain from the appropriate bodies or departments that deal with legal issues in your organization for example, governing bodies, Health and Safety, legal or compliance departments. Establish your place in the system. continued Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams

23 Situations Where LNA is Required Solutions 3.4 Situation B Advances in technology need to be incorporated. Foreseen or fire-fighting? These should be carefully planned in advance. However, things can go wrong for example, computer systems that are unable to cope with leap years. Most appropriate time Well in advance of the planned training time. Exact times will depend on whether you need to develop the training material or will be giving the specifications direct to external IT trainers. Remember that the time needed will vary dramatically depending on whether you are training 10 people or 1,000. Ideally, work on the LNA project in partnership with the project team normally IT who will be responsible for implementing the new technology. Keep ahead of technology changes by asking IT to keep you informed of changes that may affect training. Make sure this happens by attending meetings that may affect you and by asking to be put on meeting minutes circulation lists. 22 Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008

24 Individual LNA Responsibilities 3.5 Please work individually to undertake the following: Part A 1. Identify those situations or events that will require LNA and will involve you personally. 2. Decide when the LNA should be carried out and give reasons for your decision. If you have already developed a group list of situations, please refer to them to help you with your individual list. Part B Now look at your individual list again and try to estimate the amount of time that will be needed to work on the LNA for each situation and write it beside each situation. The estimates are likely to be very broad as it is particularly difficult to allow for events that would come under the heading of fire-fighting. It may help to think about how often you normally find yourself dealing with the types of situation you have listed. Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams

25 Summary of Key Learning Points Learning Needs Analysis can be done at four distinct levels: the organization; the department; the individual; the job. 2. Some situations may be foreseen in advance; others will require fire-fighting. 3. You can prepare for fire-fighting by setting aside regular periods for LNA review, but this is no substitute for the planning required for situations that can be foreseen. 4. It s up to you to look for situations that can be foreseen and aren t covered by others. If 10 supervisors resigned last year and the year before, plan for 10 new appointments this year. Ideally, this information will be passed to you by those responsible for succession and/or manpower planning. However, things are rarely ideal. 5. Wherever possible, LNA must be planned in at the most appropriate point for each situation. 6. Procedures must be introduced to ensure that all situations requiring LNA are brought to the attention of those responsible. Make yourself part of the information chain wherever necessary. 7. It can be difficult to predict exact LNA resource demands, but planning a reasonable amount of time for each project will give you room to manoeuvre when precise requirements are known. 24 Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008

26 Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. 163 North Port Road Port Perry, Ontario L9L 1B2 Toll Free: Fax: Website: Learning Needs Analysis, Published by Owen-Stewart Performance Resources Inc. Beverley Williams 2008