BHR 4680 Unit II Assessment – Question 2

QUESTION 2

Who should be included in a needs-assessment, and why? Explain the three components of a needs-assessment.

Any person with a vital interest in the training and development process of an organization should be involved in a needs-assessment. The input of company leaders who are concerned with how training will influence organizational goals is needed to ensure training is aligned with these goals. Mid-level managers are crucial in deciding who will be trained, how much of their budget will be spent on training, and what type of training will be administered to have the greatest impact for the least amount of expenses. Trainers, who will administer the training, are generally the ones who decide on lesson plans, how the training will be administered, and who can benefit from the learning. Employees, the end-users of the training, are the ones who can answer questions such as what type of additional training is needed, whether the offered training is valuable to both the employee and the organization, and can remark on the complexity of specific training programs.

The three components of needs assessment are organizational analysis, person analysis, and task analysis. Organizational analysis, which identifies training needs to support business goals and the resources available to expend on training. Once the organizational analysis is complete, a company must identify who would benefit the most from additional training. This is achieved with the person analysis. Lastly, once the trainees are identified, the task analysis will aid in pinpointing which specific tasks can be improved by providing additional training.