How Needs Assessment Can Make or Break a Learning Strategy

  As learning and development (L&D) professionals, we are often asked about return on investment (ROI) for training initiatives and eLearning services and solutions.   Designing an eLearning solution, implementing the L & D plan, and evaluating the learning activity are important. Still, it can all be in vain if a proper needs assessment of any learning or training initiative is not thoroughly considered for its strategic approach.   The following are a few reasons needs assessment is crucial to business:

1. Ensures learning strategy is addressing the actual business need
2. Identifies accurate target audience, considering learning style, cognition, behaviour, etc.
3. Eliminates unnecessary material and focuses on training content
4. Highlights unidentified training not previously considered
5. Creates realistic training results and performance

Top Three Reasons that Needs Assessment Can Make or Break Your Learning Plan

  There can be many reasons an organization needs eLearning services. These services can update employees on new processes, technology, compliance mandates, diversity and inclusion, behaviour improvement, and upskilling. Learning activities can also improve competitive edge and close performance gaps.   Needs analysis identifies the areas of knowledge, skill, or behaviour change required to meet business goals:  

1. Identifying Business Needs Finding out why a learning plan is required for employees or even finding out the most relevant one.

2. Analyzing the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) Gap Assessing the current level of KSA and exploring the list of training options while determining the different factors involved and the best means of elevating from the current to the desired level.

3. Cost & ROI Weighing the cost of training in its different forms, prioritizing according to the current and future goals, and determining how long those activities pay themselves and provide significant ROI.

  Training needs assessment considers every detail, from the smallest to the largest, to achieve the best result. As much as importance is given to needs assessment, it generates profit from training strategies.  

Why Organizations Should Trust an eLearning Services Provider Who Does Proper Needs Assessment

  When creating a corporate L & D plan, companies often rush to jump into eLearning course development or rollout learning. They miss the most crucial element of any learning plan—needs assessment. This ground zero strategy lays the platform for effective course development or curation from an eLearning service:  

1. Input Organizations don’t want to compromise the quality of resources.

2. Process Organizations don’t want to have poor delivery of training materials to their employees.

3. Application Employers want employees to apply learning on the job.

4. Organizational Results Employers want training initiatives to include the evaluation of performance improvement, cost-benefit, and cost-analysis at the macro level.

5. Societal Outcomes Businesses need to have an option open to evaluating mega impact in the business goal as part of training at their mega level

What is Dr. Roger Kaufman’s Needs Assessment Theory?

  Dr. Roger Kaufman is highly regarded as the “father of needs assessment” in performance improvement. Performance has long been linked to and understood as the gap in products. Dr. Kaufman expanded the approach to include the need to identify the gaps between current and desired results. Training evaluation is a vital part of any L&D plan—it is often intended as the performance evaluation underlying any learning initiative undertaken by the organization.  

Kaufman’s model of evaluation

Out of all eLearning services elements, curriculum development is responsive and uses needs assessment information to revise and renew material for the learner. Needs assessment helps form a self-correcting and self-correctable system and has the primary features of Kaufman’s system approach.   At Ozemio, you will find thorough needs assessments to save you time, ongoing support, and knowledgeable subject experts to consult with the best eLearning services and solutions.