TRAIN THE TRAINER 1

UNIT 4 Developing a Training

Needs Analysis
Learning Objectives

At the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

o Understand the value of creating a training needs analysis
o Apply the ICE method to assess the situation and build your training needs analysis
o Create a simple yet thorough training needs analysis for your organization or client
TRAIN THE TRAINER 2

A Closer Look at the Training Needs Analysis

What Is It?

Defining Training Needs Analysis

A training needs analysis is a process to identify where skill gaps exist in your organization.
Sometimes it gets called a training needs assessment or a skills gap assessment, or something
similar. For example, let’s say that your customer service department is keeping customers
waiting far too long, so you install a new software program to help them do their job better.
However, instead of answering 100 calls an hour, their volume drops to 75 calls an hour.
Customer complaints are also up by one third.

A training needs analysis can give you the tools to identify why a skill gap exists and help you
identify ways to bridge it. When that analysis specifically reviews training, then it looks at how
training can help address the gap. In this case, it seems like the new system was installed but no
training was provided, so people are struggling to navigate the new software program and look
after customers at the same time.

No matter what process you use, your training needs analysis will be developed with up-to-date
knowledge of the organization’s goals and priorities, as well as knowledge about the needs,
skills, and circumstances that the training will address.

Therefore, before you start designing your training program, you need to consider how the
program will fit into the organization’s overall plan, how it can grow with the company, what
role it will play in the organization, and what support it may receive.

Fitting Into the Plan and Future Growth

A training program and its supporting curriculum should be used as planning tools that help
employees meet and exceed defined performance standards. As a planning tool, the program
must remain flexible to meet the needs of the organization as it changes over time.

The Program’s Role

Typically, courses offered as a part of a defined program are required or recommended for
certain roles or functions within the organization. More recently, many companies also offer
courses that are not directly related to a specific function, but that support the overall needs of
the organization. For example, courses might be supported if they will help employees lead a
healthier lifestyle (such as exercise, fitness, or achieving balance) or improve employee
satisfaction through development courses related to image (such as appropriate business attire
or business lunching tips).
TRAIN THE TRAINER 3

Support From Within

Traditionally, training has taken the form of workshops or classroom learning inside the
workplace. However, career counseling and tuition reimbursement plans (where you choose
the course you would like, make your case to your employer, and they reimburse you upon
successful completion of the course) may also be supported. Make sure you choose the method
of training that is right for your program. If the training you plan to offer is needed only by a
few employees and the program is offered by a local college, it may be best to consider
something like tuition reimbursement rather than developing the program yourself.

Developing the Business Case

A business case is needed when you need to weigh out the benefits of training versus another
approach to skill development. Your formal business case will be created in the form of a
training needs analysis.

There are several essential elements related to creating a thorough needs analysis, which will
lead to the development of a successful training program.

First, the training program needs to benefit the organization and employees in order to:
o Develop skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will enhance an employee’s ability to
perform the functions of their job
o Demonstrate an organization’s commitment to employee development
o Receive support from management and executives
o Encourage advance planning by managers for budgeting and scheduling
o Provide employees in similar roles with the same language and skills to meet their
objectives
o Have meaningful information that employees and their managers can refer to during
performance and evaluation meetings
o Reflect the current business plan
o Have a mechanism for managers to provide feedback and suggestions for ongoing
development needs of their staff

An organizational training program should provide the following learning opportunities:

o Enable individuals to learn about their current role and responsibilities
o Improve their effectiveness on the job
o Prepare for promotion or leadership opportunities

The curriculum may be divided into broad training categories in areas such as:
o Leadership (supervisory skills, coaching, performance feedback)
o Personal effectiveness (time management, goal achievement)
o Customer service (for internal and external customers)
o Equipment and technology
TRAIN THE TRAINER 4

o Industry-specific courses

A training program often provides courses that are mandatory, recommended for certain roles,
or optional. Mandatory courses are tied directly to performance standards, quality guidelines,
and in some cases legal requirements (for example, having the required number of staff trained
in first aid). The best way for you to determine what training is needed and why is by
conducting a training needs analysis.

Process Overview – The ICE Method

The Purpose of the Training Needs Analysis

A training needs analysis will help you identify:

o The objectives of the organization
o Gaps between what employees currently know and what they need to learn
o Training that is required
o Training that would be nice to have
o When training may not be needed
o When training is not the right approach
o The benefits and negative aspects of providing training
o The type of training that is appropriate
o The best approaches to deliver effective training
o A method for collecting feedback and evaluating the program

When is Training Not Appropriate?

When there are problems within an organization, the first answer may be to offer training to
staff. When staff are bickering and fighting, we may want to offer training in anger
management or conflict resolution. When a new process or tool is introduced, we offer skills
training.

Whether the training focus is knowledge, skills, or attitude (collectively known as KSA’s),
training may be the best approach. However, there are other factors that can lead to sub-
optimal performance on the job.

When these issues are present, training is not going to resolve the problem.
o Unclear feedback or unclear performance expectations. If people do not understand
what they are required to do, how will they meet the objectives?
o Lack of resources (tools, materials, equipment) needed to do the job.
o A poor match between the employee’s skills and the job requirements.
o Factors stemming from illness or injury, such as pain, depression, symptoms of
stress, or decreased ability to cope.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 5

Three Steps

When you are ready to undertake the training needs analysis, using the term ICE will ensure
that you include all of the necessary steps.
o Isolate the problem.
o Consult with appropriate stakeholders to assess the effect the problem is having on
the organization.
o Evaluate options and set up an action plan that meets organizational needs and
assembles the support that you need.

Isolating
Isolating the problem effectively will help you to determine whether there is one main issue, or
whether several smaller issues are having a significant impact. Several techniques are available
in this process, and each has its own benefits and shortcomings. Sometimes a mixed approach
is best if time and resources are available, in order for you to get the most comprehensive
answer.

Techniques may include observation of people as they work; questionnaires; consultation and
interviews; testing; reviewing work samples; and researching documentation included in
employee evaluations, policy manuals, audits, program reports, and so on.

You are looking for surface problems, such as an obvious need for skill development, where
employees need to learn new skills in order to perform their tasks effectively. You also have to
TRAIN THE TRAINER 6

be able to identify underlying problems. These underlying issues can be more difficult to
define, but they are an important part of a thorough analysis.

An additional benefit of isolating the problem is that it can help you to obtain background
material that you can draw on for training. Using real, concrete examples in your case studies
and training examples makes the training much more meaningful for participants. In addition,
trainees who do not enjoy training, or find it difficult to learn from artificial scenarios, are more
successfully engaged in training that uses real examples.

Consulting
Sometimes employees would like training, but that training does not support the needs of the
organization. You will find it very difficult to gain approval and resources for training that does
not fulfill the strategic plans of the organization.

At the same time, if the company is not aware of gaps in an employee’s knowledge, then part of
your role can include reporting where the problems are and resolving them by designing an
appropriate training plan. If you can identify the problem areas, relate them to the
organizational strategic plan, and demonstrate the value of training to the organization (their
return on investment, or ROI), then you are much more likely to receive support for the training
initiative.

For example, an employee with excellent technical skills who gets promoted to a supervisory
role needs to understand the dynamics of leadership, motivation, and performance
management. Training can help solidly establish the person in their new role, which can often
be challenging when a team is making a transition from having a co-worker become their new
boss. Training will also help the new supervisor gain confidence and understanding of their
leadership role. These key skills will help the new manager work more effectively, meaning the
company gets more for their money.

Evaluating
Next, you will thoroughly examine the results of your interviews and investigation to determine
what training is required. At this stage, you may discover that training is not the best option for
some issues. This can be the case where, for example, staff are not meeting their goals because
of performance issues, unclear expectations about their roles and priorities, or interference
caused by medical issues.

Depending on the needs identified, you will also determine the best methods of training to use
and include that in your training needs analysis. Adults learn in different ways, and using a
variety of training methods keeps learners engaged and interested.

On-the-job training, mentoring, workshops, seminars, conferences, peer training groups, cross-
functional experiences, teleconferencing, and webinars are just some of the ways to enhance
traditional classroom experiences. In addition, varying the time allocated or location can also
enhance training.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 7

Summary

As you undertake your training needs analysis, it’s entirely possible that you will find some
complex issues. A typical analysis works best with straightforward, quantitative issues. Don’t be
surprised if you find that multiple analyses may need to be done if the issue is multi-faceted.

Be sure to include members of your human resources and management team as you move
ahead. This will help you to feel out the amount of support they are willing or able to provide
training initiatives, and also helps lessen any surprises for them if your results are a bit hard for
them to accept. This might occur, for example, when training is not identified as the necessary
remedy, but giving employees clear expectations about their job role is.

Collecting Data

Step One: Identify the Future State

Recording the Data

There are a wide variety of templates and tools available to help you track the information
gathered during the training analysis process. The tool that you choose will depend on the
complexity of your analysis.

Here is a simple template that we will work through in the following sessions.

Future State Current State Gap Action Plan

The First Step

The first step in your analysis process is to identify your future state. What do you want the
results to look like when the skills gap has been bridged and training is complete? An easy place
to find the ideal future state is to look for competency statements in a job description or job
analysis conducted by your HR department. A good future state summary is objective, realistic,
and quantitative, just like a competency statement.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 8

Case Studies

Sample future state/competency statements for someone working in a contact center, for
example, could include a general competency statement that is further broken into individual
competencies. Let’s look at some examples.

Competency Group: Contribute to an environment that focuses on customer value.

Competencies required:
o Manage knowledge of the customer and the market
o Create value with every sales opportunity
o Communicate the value to customers
o Create and manage a customer retention plan
o Measure the value of the transaction

Competency Group: Maintain up-to-date product and technical knowledge.

Competencies required:
o Take learning and professional development opportunities to keep up to date
o Acquire up-to-date technical skills and demonstrate proficiency every four to six
months
o Be a lifelong learner
o Conduct product and marketplace research to stay current

Competency Group: Strong communication skills.

Competencies required:
o Able to speak clearly
o Capable problem solver
o Complete training on communication for difficult situations

Defining the Future State

You may also choose to use industry benchmarks, best practices, or standardized guidelines to
help set your future state. For example, if you are performing a training needs analysis on your
organization’s project management processes (a helpful tool when your workforce is being
grouped into project teams but has never done any project management training), you might
use a project management framework as your target.

In either case, here are some questions that can be used to narrow down the characteristics of
the desired future state.
o What would the ideal outcome of this training be?
o What metrics and results will help us measure the success of this future state?
o How will activities, processes, and employee tasks look in this state?
o What will business results look like in this state?
TRAIN THE TRAINER 9

Sample Project: Improve Response Times to Customer Inquiries

Future State Current State Gap Action Plan

Customer e-mail inquiries

will be replied to within 24
hours on average

Customer telephone
inquiries will be answered
within 5 minutes on average

Identify the Current State

Gathering Data

Next, identify how things currently look. This involves gathering data from as many sources as
possible, such as statistics, reports, interviews with stakeholders, surveys, etc. Focus on
quantitative measures that are equivalent to the desired future state. For example, if your
future state focuses on response time to customer inquiries via e-mail, the data that you gather
for the current state should focus on that as well.

Here are some questions that you can use to identify the current state.
o What is happening that makes us want to improve this situation?
o What metrics can we gather about this situation?
o What steps take place in this process?

You will need to access several data sets, including performance data (who does what, when
they do it, and how much they do). These numbers are often captured in annual or periodic
performance reviews, and may be called key performance indicators (KPI’s). You may also be
able to gather team statistics and electronic reporting (such as phone call volume and duration,
clicks on a keyboard, number of steps taken to complete a task, etc.).

Sample Project: Improve Response Times to Customer Inquiries

Future State Current State Gap Action Plan

Customer e-mail inquiries Average response

will be replied to within 24 time is 32 hours
hours on average
TRAIN THE TRAINER 10

Customer telephone Average hold time is 8

inquiries will be answered minutes
within 5 minutes on average

Note

These first two steps can be reversed depending upon the situation at hand. For example, if you
have been tasked with something vague like “improving customer service” and you are not
familiar with that department, you may need to first identify where things currently stand
before looking at the future state.

Steps Three, Four, and Five

Step Three: Measure the Gap

Now that you have two points of comparison, it should be easy to measure the gap. This will
help you prioritize action items and focus on high-value items.

Sample Project: Improve Response Times to Customer Inquiries

Future State Current State Gap Action Plan

Customer e-mail inquiries Average response 8 hours

will be replied to within 24 time is 32 hours
hours on average

Customer telephone Average hold time is 8 3 minutes

inquiries will be answered minutes
within 5 minutes on average

Once you have identified the gap, you can perform additional interviews and analysis to identify
causes of the gap. You can use the five whys technique, SWOT analysis, and other problem-
solving tools to help you in your investigation. (See Session Four for more information.)

Continuing with our customer service example, you might gather the following information.
o Review e-mail response statistics, which show that e-mail inquiries are responded to
within 15 hours on the weekdays and within 40 hours on the weekend.
o Review e-mail response team staffing levels: 15 members on weekdays, 5 members
on the weekend.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 11

o Review telephone response statistics, which show that the average hold time
skyrockets to about 12 minutes during the lunch and shift changeover periods. The
average hold time outside of these periods is about 4 minutes.

Step Four: Create an Action Plan

It is now time to create an action plan to bridge the gap. Ensure that you have a clear idea of
what resources are available so that your action plan is realistic. A multi-phased action plan
may be appropriate depending on your project.
Sample Project: Improve Response Times to Customer Inquiries

Future State Current State Gap Action Plan

Customer e-mail inquiries Average response 8 hours Create e-mail templates

will be replied to within 24 time is 32 hours about the most frequent
hours on average inquiries

Conduct training on using

and customizing these
templates

Conduct problem-solving
training

Customer telephone Average hold time is 8 3 minutes Create electronic templates

inquiries will be answered minutes to replace paper templates
within 5 minutes on average
Conduct training on the
new templates

Provide customer service

reps with more clearly
defined authorization and
spending levels

Stagger lunch and shift

changeover times

Step Five: Implement and Follow Up

The final stage of the process is to implement the action plan. After the gap-reducing measures
are in place, gather data and evaluate the new metrics. It may also be appropriate to repeat the
training needs analysis to ensure that the gap has been successfully bridged.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 12

Making Connections

Case Study

Congratulations on your promotion! You are now the VP of Learning at AbleConnect, a fast-
growing call center operation that provides both inbound (customers calling with questions)
and outbound (call center agents placing calls to individuals and business) services.

AbleConnect was founded five years ago from the head office in Toronto, Canada, which is
where your office is located. The company is poised to do some work on their internal strengths
and infrastructure so that they can support future growth, including allowing for some offshore
operations.

Technology consulting firm CCMetrics has just released a definitive list of ten best training
practices for outbound and inbound contact center businesses:
1. Talent management plan in place to cover growth and training needs for the next 12
months.
2. Individually-based knowledge, skills, and attitude development plans created and
reviewed annually.
3. Team-based knowledge, skills, and attitude development plans created and reviewed
annually.
4. Classroom training on systems, processes, and procedures should be an integral part of
training.
5. Listening and observation of live calls should be part of the first week of training.
6. First week of being on the phones includes guided live calls with a team leader or trainer
(also called on-the-job training).
7. Communication skills training is completed in the first week of employment. This should
include active listening, asking questions, and dealing with difficult calls.
8. Contact center agents understand that call monitoring (recording actual calls) is done
for training purposes (e.g. to identify training gaps), to ensure call quality, and to
facilitate exceptional customer service.
9. Contact center agents who receive a performance score of 80 percent and higher on
skills exams receive an incremental pay increase.
10. Contact center agents who consistently score above the standard for call quality (80 or
90 percent, depending on the complexity of calls they take) receive bonuses including
pay increases, time off, or rewards of their choosing.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 13

AbleConnect is presently performing the following activities:

o Talent management plan in place
o Team-based knowledge, skills, and attitude development plans are created annually
o Classroom training is provided to all new agents
o First week of being on the phones includes guided live calls
o Communication skills training is offered every six months on a voluntary basis
o Expectations for behavior and limits to authority are communicated in training
o Incremental pay increases are issued annually, at the discretion of the manager

Note: If an item is not listed above, that means AbleConnect does not have that element in
place.

Task

Use the template below to perform a gap analysis in order to bring AbleConnect in line with
the best practices outlined by CCMetrics.

Future State Current State Gap Action Plan

TRAIN THE TRAINER 14

Session Four: Diving Deeper Into the Data

So Many Questions

Setting the Stage

Is there such a thing as too much data when it comes to developing a training needs analysis?
The answer is – it depends! It depends on who has requested the analysis and how much data
they want to sift through before making training decisions; it also depends on who is paying for
the analysis and how far they want you to go.

That being said, you must always collect and review data prior to making training
recommendations so that you know that you are looking for training in the right areas. None of
your stakeholders wants employees to say that their training was a waste of time, missed what
was important, or an unnecessary repeat of something they did before. Also, even though the
data you collect prior to training may seem like a lot of work, it’s a very important step when
you analyze that same training to make sure it was exactly what was needed, and that it was
retained by the participants.

In Session Three we discussed collecting data in a way that reflects the current state of things
and considers the future (desired) outcomes. To do this, you need to design a data collection
plan. Your plan should incorporate two key steps: designing the data collection process and
gathering the required information.

Data Collection Design

Think strategically as you decide who you need as part of the process. You will need to include
your client (naturally), because the more involved they are, the more likely they are to stay
committed to the outcome. The only downside to a high level of participation is that it can also
invite a lot more advice than you need/want, and it can raise expectations about what you can
deliver. However, some of this advice can create opportunities for you to do even more
effective data gathering.

While you work with your client, decide how the data gathering will be achieved. Determine
criteria for participants, and stay aware of any issues with candidate selection. If you aren’t
getting a valid cross-section of the organization, the results will be invalid. You’ll need a
selection that reflects the number of men and women and the diversity of the organization. If
you aren’t getting balanced input, you’ll have to request a broader sampling of participants.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 15

Gathering Information

When you conduct a training needs analysis, you can use any or all of the five primary data
collection methods:
o Interviews
o Focus group discussions
o Surveys and questionnaires
o Document and statistical analysis
o Observation

To get the information you need, you might be able to select a “vertical slice” of the
organization (top management, middle managers, and front line workers), or a representative
sampling (full-time, part-time, and casual employees). Or, you might interview everyone. You
might also use a blended kind of approach, which might involve interviews for top
management, focus groups for middle management, and questionnaires for front line workers.

As you consider your questions and your approach to data collection, make sure you use words
that your participants will be familiar with, and stay away from your own training-related
jargon. You’ll build better rapport and have a higher level of credibility with everyone.

Training Needs Analysis Questions

Here are some sample questions that can be adapted for frontline workers, middle
management, and executive team members.
o What are the key goals and targets for your group in the next six to twelve months?
o What are the challenges/barriers that you face in meeting these goals?
o Describe the type of person who can contribute the most in meeting these goals.
o Think of your own knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA’s). Do you have what you
need to meet these goals?
o What are your weaknesses for meeting these goals?
o What additional KSA’s would help you to be successful?
o When someone new starts working in your area, what information and training
would be most helpful to them?
o Beyond training, what else could be done to help you and your fellow team
members to be successful?
o Identify training needs that will assist employees in developing KSA’s to perform
better and meet goals more effectively.
o Is there anything you would like to add about your own personal training needs, or
that you think would be important for us to consider?
TRAIN THE TRAINER 16

Note that as you progress higher up the organization, the time frames get longer: frontline staff
can usually consider the next six to twelve months based on what they know about their job.
Middle management looks 12-24 months ahead, and the executive team looks up to five years
ahead through strategic planning.

Designing Valid Questions

If you know your client and their organization well, there’s a reasonable chance that you will
inadvertently “help” participants with their answers. In order to get the best information
possible, create questions that are objective. Avoid asking questions that are hard to
understand or answer. While you are interviewing, don’t finish people’s sentences for them, or
use body language or verbal language that is sympathetic. You want to take in their answers,
and not have them tainted by your own insights. You can add your perceptions to your report
afterward.

Adding Value to the Process

If you do your data collection well, and use a variety of sources, you can provide a very accurate
picture of the current state. You will also likely uncover important, crucial issues for the client
that they had not expressed or recognized. This is just some of the value that you can add
through the training needs analysis.

In some circumstances, you can also add more value to the process by reporting back critical
information as you uncover it, such as misperceptions, miscommunication, and other issues.
For example, one health care provider was performing a review to make sure that their staff
completed their annual mandatory training. During the process, they found out that one entire
team of employees was accidentally excluded from a notification about voluntary training that
was also available. They only found out about this course that they missed after the rest of the
company attended and reported what a great experience it had been. Being missed was
devastating to the team, who spoke about it openly in their first focus group. They thought they
were being punished by not receiving the invitation, and therefore felt uncomfortable about
reporting it to their own director. The analyst reported the information to the client almost
immediately, and of course the problem was fixed.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 17

The McKinsey 7S Model

About the Framework

There are many moving parts in an organization that must align in order for it to be successful.
Many of these parts need to be examined and addressed in your training needs analysis to
ensure that a long-term solution can be put in place.

The McKinsey 7S model can help us identify all of these elements and make sure that we have
addressed all possible issues. It presents seven elements of an organization as interdependent
entities, where one change affects all systems.

The 7S Framework
TRAIN THE TRAINER 18

About the Elements

Let’s break down each of the elements in the diagram.

Shared Values
A shared set of values and focused goals are at the heart of any successful organization. These
are typically laid out in the mission statement and brought to life through the strategic plan.

Strategy
This element outlines how all other elements will bring the shared values to life. This includes
overall business strategy as well as the strategy of specific teams and departments.

Structure
This encompasses how the organization is laid out, including reporting hierarchy.

Systems
This refers to the processes and procedures used by the organization’s members to get work
done and achieve the goals laid out in the strategy to fulfill the shared values.

Style
What is the general attitude and feel of the organization, in particular its leadership style and
work ethic?

Staff
Of course, the specific people working for the organization are a key part of its success.

Skills
Last but not least, the skills of the staff are also an important part of organizational alignment.
In most positions, people need a particular set of core skills in order to be successful. Training is
an essential component of this structural element.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 19

SWOT Analysis

What is SWOT Analysis?

SWOT stands for:

o The strengths of the target of the analysis
o The weaknesses of the target of the analysis
o The external opportunities that could strengthen the target of the analysis
o The threats facing the target of the analysis that could weaken it

A SWOT analysis is often organized using this type of matrix:

SWOT analysis is a valuable tool that you can use during a training needs analysis to map out
the current state as well as the possible future state.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 20

Sample SWOT

You are the training director for a small accounting firm. You are about to develop the
company’s training roadmap for the next year in order to align with the local regulatory body.
To begin, you use SWOT analysis.

From here, we can easily identify the future state that has top priority (bringing training
materials into line with the new standards) and develop an action plan. Related items (such as
budget and resources) can be addressed as part of the implementation phase.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 21

Five Whys

The Five Whys Technique

Another helpful technique that can be used during analysis is the five whys. This technique is
simple: keep asking “why” to get to the root cause of a problem or gap. (Five is a good number
of “why” questions to ask, but you may need more or fewer questions than this.) Each answer
should be factual and precise to ensure that you get to the true cause.

Example

Here is a simple example of the five whys technique.

Why were you late for work today?

I was late for work because my car ran out of gas.

Why did your car run out of gas?

My car ran out of gas because I didn’t put gas in it.

Why didn’t you put gas in your car?

I didn’t put gas in my car because I didn’t have any money.

Why didn’t you have any money?

I don’t have any money because I spent it all on the weekend.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 22

Creating the Report

After the training needs analysis has been completed, you may be asked to present your
findings in a report. Although the contents and length of this report will vary depending on the
complexity of the analysis, there are some essential elements that should be included.

Executive Summary

Although this will be the first part of your report, it should be written last. This section will
summarize the current and future state, gaps, and the action plan. It should be no longer than
one page. You may also want to include the overarching goal of the training analysis project.

Reason for Analysis

If the goal for the training analysis is complex or requires background information, you can
present that data in this section. If the reasons are simple, this information can be included in
the executive summary.

Description of Future State

In this section, describe the desired future state. Remember, good future state summaries are
objective, realistic, and quantitative. Competency statements, industry benchmarks, best
practices, and/or standardized guidelines can help you craft these statements.

Description of Current State

Next, describe the current state. Back up statistics and data with sources and let the reader
know where to find this information. (If your source list is lengthy, use footnotes and add a
bibliography to your report.)

Description of Gaps

Now you can compare the current state to the future state. Make sure that you are comparing
similar metrics with similar samples when drawing conclusions. State each gap in neutral terms
that do not imply a solution or make an assumption. Use facts and data rather than opinions.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 23

For example, rather than saying, “Customers wait on hold longer when employees are at
lunch,” state, “On average, customer hold times are eight minutes longer between noon and 1
p.m.”

Recommendations and Action Plan

If appropriate, include your recommendations and action plan for bridging the gap. This is also
the place to identify possible risks and barriers (although if this list is lengthy it can be included
as a separate section.) Be clear about what is realistic and what additional resources will be
required. You may want to list your recommended actions in priority order.

This is also where you can suggest follow-up measures and metrics to track that will evaluate
how successful the company has been in bridging the skills gap.

Conclusion

Wrap up the report with a conclusion that sums up the gaps, recommended actions, and next
steps. Include the date you are going to follow up with the reader, so they know you are an
action taker, and they are encouraged to do the same.

Extra Elements

As with any other business report, a title page and table of contents at the beginning of the
report will make it more attractive to readers. You may also want to include a bibliography,
glossary, and/or index at the back of the report.

Designing Evaluations

Why Evaluation is Important

Performing evaluations at the end of training is quite standard, and usually takes place to
ensure that the concepts and new behaviors taught in training have been fully adopted in the
workplace. Your evaluation of the training needs analysis process is similar. It gives you an
opportunity to determine whether the organization has accepted your recommendations, why
they made the decisions they did, and whether the business needs were achieved as a result of
those decisions.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 24

Evaluation Levels

Many trainers use Donald Kirkpatrick’s four levels of evaluation to assess the results of training.
These levels correspond to the stages of training needs analysis that we discussed earlier. Be
sure to design an evaluation strategy that takes in all of these elements.
TRAIN THE TRAINER 25

Personal Action Plan

I am already doing these things well:

I want to improve these areas:

I have these resources to help me:

As a result of what I have My target date is… I will know I have I will follow up
learned in this workshop, I succeeded when… with myself on…
am going to…
TRAIN THE TRAINER 26

Recommended Reading List

Biech, Elaine. ASTD’s Ultimate Train the Trainer. ASTD Press, 2009.
Charney, Cy, and Kathy Conway. The Trainer's Tool Kit. AMACOM, 2005.
Gupta, Kavita, Darlene Russ-Eft, and Catherine M. Sleezer. A Practical Guide to Needs
Assessment (3rd Edition). Wiley/ASTD, 2013.
Leigh, David. The Group Trainer’s Handbook (Third Edition). Kogan Page, 2006.
Sparhawk, Sally. Strategic Needs Analysis: Instructional Systems Development. ASTD, 2002.
Tobey, Deborah. Needs Assessment Basics. ASTD, 2006.
Vaughn, Robert H. The Professional Trainer: A Comprehensive Guide to Planning, Delivering, and
Evaluating Training Programs. Berrett-Koehler, 2005.
West, Edie. The Big Book of Icebreakers: 50 Quick, Fun Activities for Energizing Meetings and
Workshops. McGraw-Hill, 1999.