The Process
Needs Analysis is an important step in the design and development process and is used to identify employee performance and skills gaps, as well as business pain points, problems, and challenges. Meeting with key stakeholders helps implement an action plan to create customized learning solutions that close performance gaps, change behaviors, improve organizational culture and increase profits.
Below is an example of a needs analysis with a small company of approximately 300 employees. This company, referred to as Company X, provides call center support services for a large IT company.
Company X’s Challenge
The company’s pain points were gaps in employee performance and no clear pathways for continuous upskilling: professional development and career advancement. This contributed to unsatisfactory job performance and an increase in employee turnover, costing Company X thousands of dollars each month in lost revenue and negatively impacting employee morale.
Company X’s Solution
Company X urgently needed a solution that closed employee performance gaps, reduced employee churn, and improved morale by providing upskilling opportunities and clarity in work tasks. The steps listed below show how I collaborated with Company X to improve employee performance and organizational culture and profit.
Step 1: Conduct Needs Analysis
Company X and the I collaborated to conduct a needs analysis of the following jobs: ambassador, senior ambassador, and team lead.
Overview of the process:
The first step was getting clarity on work tasks for each of the three jobs. I worked with SMEs including senior ambassadors, team leads, and Operations leaders to create a list of core competencies and essential job duties. Then I broke these competencies down into sub-competencies. Each competency and sub-competency was analyzed to determine tasks that could be defined in specific terms of behaviors observed, as well as better understand any overlap in job duties.
Potential Benefits:
- Creating core competencies and clearly defined job duties facilitate creation of learning paths to allow employees to advance in their careers from ambassador to senior ambassador to team lead. Result: decreased employee churn
- Gaps in the current training programs demonstrate need for creation of continuing education programs to develop professional and personal skills such as leadership, time management, and conflict resolution. Result: improved employee performance
- Standardized job duties allow for efficient evaluation of employees for coaching and mentoring for employees performing unsatisfactorily and pay bonuses for those performing exemplarily. Result: improved employee performance and moral; increased organization profit
Step 2: Propose Solutions
After conducting the needs analysis, then I presented Company X with a training needs analysis proposal that outlined business pain points, problems, and challenges. Gaps were defined and recommended solutions provided. Some recommended solutions included clearly defined learning paths, process documentation and microlearning to include workshops, labs and self-directed courses.
Step 3: Implement and Evaluate
Company X and I worked together to implement recommended solutions. This improved business operations and closed employee performance gaps. The immediate value added was improved employee morale. After several months, Company X’s revenue increased, employee churn was reduced and employee performance significantly improved. Company X became the highest performing partner for this line of business.
Some of the changes and results are listed below:
Hiring the Right Employees
Change 1: Created ambassador core competencies to clarify job duties, which facilitated the creation of accurate job advertisements.
Result: New hire employees are a better fit and attrition decreased during onboarding and the first month of employment.
Sharing Resources in a Central Location
Change 2: Created a repository to share documents and resources needed during employees daily work flow. Also designated two stakeholders to maintain the repository and update when needed.
Result: Employees now have a dedicated space for quick access to information, resolving the issue of locating job aids and online resource links required for essential tasks.
Efficient New Hire Onboarding and Increased Job Readiness
Change 3: Created hands on labs and implemented in new hire trainings.
Result: New hire employees are more engaged and prepared for tasks they will encounter when they begin interacting with customers in their daily workflow. Future plans include adding more labs and collaborative learning assignments and reducing eLearning courses so that onboarding time can be shortened and new hires can begin generating revenue for Company X.
Curriculum Revisions to Include Soft Skills
Change 4: Audited pre-existing curriculum, Company X determined previous courses could be repurposed to provide training in soft skills, such as active listening, positive positioning, effective communication, building trust, and asking questions.
Result: By revising the curriculum, Company X not only saved money, but also reduced the time required for design and development. This efficiency facilitated the seamless dissemination of information to stakeholders, leading to the closure of skill and performance gaps.