ABSTRACT
Learning experiences through training, mentoring, job experiences, and informal activities should begin with what needs to be learned so that a systematic plan can be developed to meet those needs. Chapter 3 describes the steps required for a comprehensive needs assessment to determine the best course of action to produce the desired learning outcomes. There are three components of an effective needs assessment system: organization-wide analysis, an analysis of the work performed, and an analysis of the persons performing the work. Most of this chapter is devoted to a discussion of these individual components but clearly the quality of the needs assessment process as a whole is dependent on how linkages across these components are made. Organization-wide analysis involves a “learning audit” for the company including current learning needs as well as an analysis of future needs. A work analysis identifies what tasks, knowledge, skills and capabilities are required whether one is talking about a particular type of job such as an electrical engineer or flight crews completing team tasks. A person analysis targets the individual employee or team members to identify specific gaps between what the current level of learning and development (on the road to expertise) is for employees and what is the desired level. There are a number of approaches organizations can use to conduct systematic needs assessment based on the three types of assessments described above. The last section of the chapter provides three case examples to give a picture of how learning needs assessments have been conducted.
