I found very useful all the information on needs assessment seminars/resources.
Thank you very much.
Per your request, I am including a compilation of all suggestions I got on and
off line (I asked for permission to those who responded off line to post their
replies as well).
Ivonne Chirino-Klevans
-----------------------------------------------------
Try several sources:
www.astd.org
workshops by Darryl L. Sink & Associates, Inc.; or based on the
teachings of
Bob Mager are solid
www.seminarinformation.com (put in search and find classes by titles,
dates,
locations)
Just make sure when you do the 'training assessment' you also look
for
organizational, technical and process issues that are affecting
performance!
Tom Bond
Senior Consultant
J. D. Power and Associates
Business to Business Division
1330 River Bend Drive
Suite 500
Dallas, Texas 75247
214-634-2104 x226
214-638-4823 fax
tom.bond@jdpower.com <mailto:
tom.bond@jdpower.com>
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I do hope you will share with the rest of us what you find out. I
have
always been skeptical about most approaches to needs assessment,
especially
those that are prefaced with labels such as "training" and
"development." So far as I know there are -- and always have been
two
basic approaches to needs assessment.
The first approach aims at finding out who needs what, whether what
they
need is training or development or whatever. It is a matching
approach;
that is, it attempts to match solutions (e.g., training or
development)
with the people who could benefit from those solutions. In some
ways, it
attempts to match solutions with problems (but that is a bit generous
on my
part).
The second approach starts by defining discrepancies in results.
These
"gaps" can be defined at various levels beginning with society and
working
all the way down to a specific function or process within an
organization. You can also start at a much lower level and expand
your
scope instead of narrowing it. Regardless of starting point or
direction
taken, you must do what I call "go up a click" and "go down a click"
--
that is, provide a minimum of three levels of analysis. The middle
level
is the level of the targeted system. One click up is the context or
suprasystem and one click down is the level of detail or the
subsystem. Regardless of level, you're looking for discrepancies in
results. These "gaps" constitute needs. Gaps that are selected for
closing represent problems to be solved.
The two approaches have nothing in common except the continued use of
a
similar sounding name.
In the first approach, one group of people often goes about trying to
determine what other people need with no attention whatsoever paid to
results.
The literature is full of stuff about how to conduct the first kind
of
needs assessment. So far as I know, the only person who has written
about
and still advocates the second approach (aside from myself) is the
fellow
who coined the term almost 30 years ago, Roger Kaufman. He's at the
Center
for Needs Assessment & Planning at Florida State University and I
encourage
you to contact him to see what he and his group might have to offer.
His
e-mail address is in the copy field of this message.
Fred Nickols
The Distance Consulting Company
"Assistance at A Distance"
http://home.att.net/~nickols/distance.htm
nickols@worldnet.att.net
(609) 490-0095
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A wide variety of tools for conducting formal training and
development needs
assessments are available at no cost from the U.S. Department of
Energy
(DOE) Carlsbad Area Office. These tools cover training needs of:
+ managers
+ organizational leaders
+ instructors
+ general employees
+ educational administrators
+ training managers
Each instrument contains instructions for administration and
interpretation.
To obtain the tools at no cost, complete an on-line application at
the
website that we operate for the DOE:
http://www.t2ed.com
Upon receipt of the application, we will send you a password and an
ID,
allowing you to download this and any other requested tools from our
website
to your computer.
Bill Keeley
Manager of Organizational Development & Research
Westinghouse WGSG/WID
PO Box 2078, GSA-213
Carlsbad, NM 88221
keeleyb@wipp.carlsbad.nm.us
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a member of the training profession since 1980, allow me to
suggest a
resource which should fit nicely in your reference library. The
Mager Six-Pack
is a six-volume set (paperback) containing information on assessment
with
emphasis on performance improvement. It is rather easy & engaging
reading. I
suggest it because it also contains volumes on what to do with that
assessment
once completed.
The author is Robert F. Mager and it is published by the Center for
Effective
Performance. ISBN # is 1-879618-15-X. It retails for around $100, I
believe.
Your local bookstore should be able to order it.
On a personal note, I have no affiliation with the author or
publishing house.
I work for an electronic circuit board manufacturer. I just know a
good
resource when I see one & thought it might be helpful to share it
with you.
kiska
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
20 years of experience has led me to the following 3-tiered model for
needs
assessment data
1. Identified Needs:
* Quality Improvement data (from any source, including job
performance
analyses) reveals the need to improve or enhance skills, knowledge,
and/or
ability of individuals/teams/work groups. Information can be
collected from
any source with access to this data
2. Presumed Needs: information is derived from organizational goals
&
objectives, strategic plans, etc.
* Training & Education required to maintain existing process,
such as
"mandatory" activities related to regulatory compliance
* Training & Education related to organizational changes
(services,
technology, etc)
3. Defined Needs: Training & Education requested by individuals
This approach really helps determine how to prioritize... depending
upon
your department structure. For instance, organizational-level T&D
departments would give greatest priority to #'s 1 & 2, while the #3
needs
would usually be a priority for department-level folks. I currently
manage
organization-wide T&D services, so we normally don't address defined
needs
unless they impact a large population of our employees.
When you send out blanket "surveys", you normally only get #3 needs
on a
wish list that may not have anything to do with organizational needs.
T&D
must add "value" to the organization - it is dangerous (and
potentially
career limiting) to do otherwise. Therefore, we need to be very
careful
about a shotgun approach for needs identification and service
delivery that
is not clearly connected to organizational goals. - It may make
participants giddy with happiness, but not be 'visible' to
organizational
honchos (who dole out the budget $s)... We have to remember that
they are
our most important customers. Sorry if that sounds cynical.
Robbie Bezemek
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I use the DACUM process with end users to identify General Areas of
Competency that are needed and then to develop the enabling skills
necessary to meet those needs. This leads to task analysis for
teaching/learning situations.
(DACUM stands for Devlop A CUrriculuM and is a specific process
designed
to produce clear, measurable and achievable outcomes for a particular
job
description. More info can be found at the following URLs
http://www.cva.ca/dacum/
http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/stammen/uswest/about_grant/html/dacum.htm http://www.uis.edu/~iscc/dacum.html
http://www.wa-wbl.com/resources_educators/skill_standards/sectioniv.htm
This will theoretically meet the industry side of the needs. ;-)
It is important to factor in the desires and interests of the
trainees to
actually ensure than the training/education is effective. This is the
part that is done during and through instructional design and makes
the
experience _learning centred_.
best regards
alice
*****************************************************************
* Alice Macpherson, TQ, ID phone: (604) 599-2426 vm 9954 *
* Kwantlen University College email:
alicemac@kwantlen.bc.ca *
* 12666-72nd Ave, Surrey, BC, Canada, V3W 2M8 *
* "Life Long Learning includes Everyone, All the Time" *
*****************************************************************
I have done considerable research on managerial skills assessment
and development using the Survey of Management Practices. You can
find an annotated bibliography of my work on the web site listed
below.
The Booth Company of Boulder, CO distributes this questionnaire. It
is the only one of many different 360 instruments that the Center for
Creative Leadership has consistently recommended. I am going to copy
this e-mail to Dan Booth to introduce you to him. The Booth Company
(800 332-6684) also conducts qualification workshops on how to
conduct management and leadership development using 360 feedback.
If you would like copies of any of my publications, please let me
know and I will send them on to you.
Frank Shipper, Ph.D.
Professor of Management
Perdue School of Business
Salisbury State University
Salisbury, MD 21801
Phone: (410) 543-6333
FAX: (410) 546-6208
E-mail:
fmshipper@ssu.edu
Home Page: http://perdue.ssu.edu/~fmshippe/home/welcome.htm