Needs Assessment

A needs assessment is conducted to determine whether or not training is needed and is the first step in the instructional design process. The needs assessment process should include mangers, trainers and employees (Noe, 2010, p. 105).

My Training and Development class this week required that I review a company on-line and describe a plan for performing a needs assessment. I chose to look at Southwest Airlines at http://www.iflyswa.com/. Below is my plan.

Background:

Southwest Airlines has been in business for 40 years and provides 3,300 flights a day, serving 72 cities in 37 states, and has a current workforce of 40,000+. Southwest Airlines has been recognized as being one of the safest airlines, a top company for diversity, and customer satisfaction to name a few. Gary Kelly, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO states “our people are our single greatest strength and most enduring long-term competitive advantage” (Southwest.com, 2011).

Southwest Airlines acquired AirTran Airways in 2011 and one of the goals for 2012, according to CEO Kelly is to continue to integrate AirTran Airways into Southwest with excellence (Gary's Greeting, 2012).

Based on the above, I would approach my needs assessment as follows:

Stakeholders Who Need to Buy-Into the Needs Assessment

1. Management
2. Employees
3. Trainers

Based on the fact that there has been a recent merger, there is the potential to increase training initiatives. All of the above individuals need to be on board with these training initiatives in order for them to be successfully implemented. “To be motivated to learn in training programs, employees must be aware of their skill strengths and weaknesses and of the link between the training program and the improvement of their weaknesses” (Noe, 2010, p. 120).

Questions to ask during the organizational, person, and task analysis phases:
Organizational Level:
Management:
1. Is training important to achieving business objectives?
2. How does training align with the business strategy?
3. Are you willing to invest in training in both time and money?
4. Are all levels of the organization committed to training?

Trainers:
1. What is your anticipated budget needs
2. What resources, other than money will you need?
3. Are you able to provide the training or should outsourcing be considered?

Person Level:
Management
1. Who needs training?
2. What are the goals and objectives of the training?
3. How will you measure transfer of training?
4. How often should training occur?
5. Would you consider purchasing a training program?

Trainers:
1. What are the skills required for the job?
2. What skills are currently possessed?
3. How will the training align with the goals and objectives of the business unit?

Task Level:
Management:
1. How will you facilitate transfer of training?
2. How often should training occur?
3. Would you consider purchasing a training program?
4. Are there alternative interventions other than training?

Trainers:
1. What do the learners already know?
2. What do the learners need to know?
3. What resources are available?
4. What is the appropriate training method?
5. How should training be evaluated?

Documents to Review
1. Safety records
2. Pilot logs
3. Customer call records
4. Training records/methods for: flight attendants, pilots, air traffic controllers,
customer service representatives
5. Surveys – booking online, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction

Needs Assessment Techniques to Utilize
1. Observation of employees
2. Questionnaires
3. Interviews
4. Documentation

References:

Southwest.com. (2011). Retrieved January 12, 2012, from http://www.southwest.com/html/about-southwest/index.html

Gary's Greeting. (2012, January). Retrieved January 12, 2012, from Southwest.com:
http://www.southwest.com/assets/pdfs/about-southwest/garys-greeting.pdf

Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee Training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

The truth about training

"This week I had to imagine I had just 2 minutes or so to give someone an "elevator speech" regarding the "truth" about training. Below is a transcript of my speech as well as the audio file."

Thank you for meeting with me today. It is my understanding you do not want to continue investing in training within the organization. I do understand your concern considering studies show that 10% or less of training investments results in transfer on the job (Stolovitch & Keeps, 2004, p. 13). However, this is usually because training is not always the solution or the only solution.

Let me help you have a better understanding why training needs to continue. As you know, healthcare has and continues to change. No longer are we just a stand-a-lone small community hospital, we are now part of a larger multi-hospital healthcare system and we will continue to grow. We are not only going to change in size, but we are changing where and how we do business. All business, including healthcare are in a constant state of flux. This is all partly due to the increase in globalization, workforce diversity, as well as the advances in technology. In recent years our physicians and nurses have been responding to disasters abroad such as the earthquake in Haiti; our workforce has become more diverse both in employee population as well as patient population; and technological advances has changed the way we do business, in particular the way in which we care for our patients.

Our staff must be prepared to deal with these forces to promote an environment that supports these changes so we may achieve our mission to become a leader in the healthcare industry. According to Noe, training that is centered around helping the organization reach business goals and objectives will help a company gain a competitive advantage (p.92). Thank you for your time and I ask that you reconsider the importance of training and how important it is to this organization’s success.

References:
Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee Training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Stolovitch, H. D., and; Keeps, E. J. (2004). Training ain't performance. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press.


Thetruthabouttraining by lfalanga