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PSY219L Chapter 4: Needs Analysis/Assessment
WHY CONDUCT A TNA?
• Training needs analysis (TNA) – systematic method
for determining what caused performance to be less
than expected/required
• Organizational performance gap (OPG) = difference
bet. actual organizational performance (AOP) and
expected organizational performance (EOP)
o AOP – EOP = OPG
o AOP < EOP – “trigger” for TNA
• TNA – helps determine whether training can correct
performance prob.; does the ff.
o Increase chances that time and money spent on
training is spent wisely
o Determine benchmark for eval. of training: let you
compare performance before and after training
o Increase motivation of participants, and ensure only
those who need training attend
o Align training acts. w company’s strategic plan
WHEN TO CONDUCT A TNA
• TNA might not be necessary when: org. tries to
communicate new vision/address legal concerns
(train all), team requires team-building skills
• NA – increase relevance and effectiveness of training
THE TNA MODEL
• Input
o Organizational analysis – examination of org.’s
strategy, goals, and systems and practices in place
to determine how they affect employee
performance
o Operational analysis – examination of specific jobs
to determine reqs., in terms of tasks required to be
carried out and KSAs required to get the job done;
analogous to job/task analysis
o Person analysis – examination of employees in jobs
to determine whether they have the required KSAs
to perform at the expected lvl
• Process
o Expected performance (EP) – lvl of performance
expected in particular job; info provided by
operational analysis
o Actual performance (AP) – current lvl of
performance on particular job; info provided by
person analysis
o Performance gap – diff. bet. EP and employee’s AP
• Output phase: conclusion whether non/training
needs, or both
• Reactive TNA – focuses on current performance
problems (OPG currently exists)
• Proactive TNA – focuses on performance problems in
the future (OPG will exist at some point in future)
• If cause of PG is not a gap in required KSAs,
nontraining sol. is required to alleviate it
WHERE TO LOOK FOR OPGs [see Table 4-1]
• Company’s archival data – profitability, market share,
grievance lvls, productivity, and quality measures
(indicators of how it’s operating)
• Org. goals & objectives and budgets – standards
against w/c unit performance can be measured
• Labor inventory – useful to determine OPG in future
and types of training necessary to prevent such gap
• Org. climate indicators: absenteeism, accident rate,
etc.
FRAMEWORK FOR CONDUCTING TNA
• Inputs – conceptually distinct but in practice, much
info is gathered around same time and is closely
interrelated
• Org. analysis – focuses on strategies, resources/
allocation, and total internal environment (influences
that could affect employee performance); provide
info abt.
o Mission and strategies: align training w org.’s
mission and strategies; indicate priorities for
training (ex. budget)
o Capital resources: finances, equipment, and
facilities; depend on strategic plan
o Human resources
▪ General strategic needs assessment: current
employees’ capabilities so top mgmt. can factor
them into its strategic decision making; more
proactive
▪ Specific training needs assessment: focus on
employees working in areas contributing to OPGs
o Organizational environment: made up of various
structures (mechanistic/organic) and designs (ex.
workflow, division of labor, pay system, and reward
policies)
▪ Misalignment of structures w performance
objectives means even if employees have KSAs to
eliminate PG, they won’t use them
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▪ Environmental analysis – can’t be conducted til u
hav idea of what jobs are targeted either for their
performance probs. or bec. of future changes
o WHERE TO COLLECT DATA [Table 4-2]
▪ Nancy Gordon: Abt 85% of training requests ->
solvable w/o training
• Operational ana. – determines what’s required of
employees for them to be effective
o Job analysis – typical technique for obtaining task
and KSA data
o Most frequent: questioning employees doing the
job and their supervisors
1. What is the job?
2. Where to collect data? Job descriptions and
specifications
3. Who to ask? Incumbent and incumbent’s
supervisor (diff. perspective and useful info. in
case of discrepancy)
a. Job expectation technique – facilitating a
meeting bet. subordinates and supervisors to
discuss job responsibilities of subordinates;
goal: clarify job expectations
4. Who should select incumbents? Job analyst! bec.
bias if supervisors
5. How many to ask? Depends on method of data
gathering and amt. of time available
6. How to select? Best way: representative sampling
of all incumbents performing adequately/better
a. Random sampling – only effective when u have
large #s of similar incumbents
7. What to ask about?
a. Worker-oriented job analysis – focuses on KSAs
required on the job rather than on
tasks/behaviors
b. Task-oriented job analysis – identifies various
work acts. (tasks) required to perform the job ->
examine to determine necessary KSAs;
preferred approach for TNA bec. of justification
for KSAs
i. Job-duty-task method – job is identified first,
then each duty, then tasks and subtasks for
each duty -> KSAs -> how critical each task
and KSA is and how important it is to be able
to perform task/KSA at time of hire
8. *If there are no incumbents avail. – new
technology creates job that requires skills
distinctly diff. fr job it’s replacing
• WHAT YOU SHOULD GET FR THE JOB ANA. (EP)
o Tasks are also important for ff. reasons
▪ Identifying expected behavior that needs to be
performed on the job and PGs: provide
justification for the KSAs
▪ Developing actual training programs
▪ Making subsequent evaluations of training:
develop tests reflective not only of training but
also of the job
o Knowledge: concern – if job is reduced to individual
tasks, interrelatedness and complexity of job is lost
▪ Declarative – traditional job ana.
▪ Strategic and procedural: examining mental
models of experts (high-performing
incumbent/someone performing same job in
another context)
o Skill – should be identified as to the lvl of mastery
required (compilation vs. automaticity)
o Attitude – ask incumbent; ex. + attitude toward
helping people
• COMPETENCY MODELING: identify key competencies
of job
o Competency – cluster of related KSAs that
differentiates high from avg performers (North
America)
▪ What someone needs to be doing to be
competent at their job (UK & AU)
▪ Place equal weight on attitudes and motivation +
KS
o Traditional job ana. – identifies tasks (the “what”)
done on the job -> KS but not As
o Competency-based approach – focuses on all
characteristics underlying successful performance
o Why competencies? When compared w KSAs,
competencies
▪ Are more general in nature: identify capabilities ->
applicable to more than one job though expected
behaviors are diff., advantageous to ever-
changing jobs
▪ Create common vocab. to discuss successful
performance
▪ Help employees better understand how to target
their efforts
▪ Promote dialogue bet. managers and employees
that focuses on performance
▪ Have longer-term fit
▪ Include KSAs, and motivation
▪ Tie into corporate goals
o How you develop competencies: abt 70% of
competency models are just a list of + attributes
obtained in a ½-day meeting w sr. mgmt.
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1. Meet w upper mgmt. to
a. Determine strategies, goals, specific challenges,
/specific focus
b. Generate tentative competencies
2. Identify specific jobs
3. Meet w high performers of those jobs and their
supervisors to
a. Determine critical incidents that make “high
performers” diff. fr avg ones
b. Focus on aspects that tie into strategic direction
of company
c. Formulate tentative competencies
4. Determine overlapping competencies w upper-
mgmt competencies
5. Verify proceeding info w another grp of high
performers + supervisors
6. Link info to job ana. info obtained fr job to
articulate specific KSAs that make up competency
– ensure competencies are valid, able to stand up
in court, needed to develop training
o Issues related to competencies
▪ competency models continue to be developed,
particularly for TD, bec.:
✓ Training based only on task ana. can become
dated quickly
✓ Hourly paid employees are expected to
participate much more in decision making, etc.,
rather than simply produce a product
✓ Move away from tight to more flexible job
design
✓ Competencies help HRD focus training
▪ Human resource info. system (HRIS) – provides
info on individual managers in terms of positions
they held, training they received, performance lvls
rel. to competencies, and required competency
training for managers; makes identification of
training needs, employee strength and
weaknesses, and # of ppl who need training easier
▪ Orgs. using competencies should not abandon job
ana. – for link bet. relevant KSAs and
competencies
• Person ana.: identify incumbents who aren’t meeting
performance reqs. and why; difficult: whether they
have KSAs needed to meet EP
o Reactive ana.: EP – AP = PG
o Examine ind. diff. in trainee population – might
affect training u offer (ex. self-efficacy)
o WHERE TO COLLECT DATA (AP)
▪ Operational ana. – what and how to measure,
dev. of measures
▪ Performance appraisal
• supervisors – often completers but ratings
suffer fr lack of reliability and validity bec.
o Lack of supervisor training on using appraisals
o Lack of opportunity to see substantial amts.
Of subordinate’s performance
o Rater errors
o Poorly developed appraisals and processes
• Minimize probs. w supervisor ratings thru
o Have the appraisal system be relevant to the
job
o Be sure supervisor has access to relevant info
to make accurate appraisals
o Provide incentives for supervisors to
complete accurate ratings
• The more the perspectives, the better the pic.
▪ Self-ratings: inflated ratings – f’n of rating
instruments rather than individual attempting to
sound better
• More likely to agree w supervisor ratings when
they understand performance system
▪ 360-degree performance review: con – time and
cost
• Must be incorporated properly into org.
▪ Performance assessments designed to focus on
dev. – more likely to provide accurate data
▪ Cognitive test – measures job knowledge
• Speed test – given if speed is important to job
• Power test – need some sort of time limit
• Declarative knowledge – factual
o Paper-and-pencil test – might reflect reading
lvl when it ain’t important
• Procedural knowledge – learner begings to
develop meaningful ways of organizing info into
mental models (cognitive maps, knowledge
structures, task schemata)
o Paired comparisons (determine rel. bet.
topics), configuration of linked concepts
• Strategic knowledge – deals w ability to
develop and apply cognitive strategies in prob.
solving; assesses trainee’s lvl of understanding
abt decisions trainee must make
o Probed Protocol Analysis – subject matter
experts define prob. and strategies necessary
to solve it then trainees are asked to explain
step-by-step what to do to solve prob.
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▪ Behavioral tests – measure skills; important
means of determining training needs
• Work samples – work situations designed to
reflect what happens in workplace
• Assessment centers – involve several work
samples and other tests along w assessors who
evaluate individuals in diff. situations; costly, 2-
3 days off-site, for top mgmt. only
• Simulations: equipment simulators, role plays,
business games, etc.
• Compilation: difficulty in developing scoring
standards
o Specific output: compare what was produced
w required
o Other skills: structured role-play scenario
o Inter-rater agreement is important
• Automaticity: skill must be so well learned it
can be done quickly and w/o much thought
o Speed and quality of response – method to
determine
▪ Attitude measures: better to use well-developed
scales found in the literature
• Gathering data for the TNA: Final thoughts
o Sources of 3 input stages overlap
o Effective TNA: employee development is high
concern of individual and org.
▪ Developmental appraisals separate from
appraisals for other personnel decisions
▪ Self-appraisal
▪ High value on developing subordinates by
rewarding supervisors who do so
▪ Opportunities for employees to receive training
and mentoring
o Subordinates’ perceptions – must be + and believe
training to be useful
OUTPUT OF TNA
• Nontraining needs
o NONTRAINING NEEDS THAT HAVE NO KSA GAP:
Causes of these PGs = uncovered in org. and
operational ana.
▪ Performance consequence incongruence –
working at expected lvl could be punishing
• Fix: training supervisor how to motivate all
employees or have systems in place to motivate
supervisor to reward employees appropriately
▪ Inadequate/inappropriate feedback: supervisors
gen. dislike giving negative feedback
▪ Barriers to performance – conditions in
workplace that obstruct desired performance (ex.
receiving material too late, worn-out machinery,
constant interruptions, etc.)—need to be
removed
o NONTRAINING SOLUTION CHOICES FOR A KSA GAP
▪ Job aid – set of instructions, diagrams, or other
form of providing info. that’s available at job site;
purpose: guide worker esp in complex tasks
▪ Practice w coaching: important tasks but
performed infrequently—periodic practice
sessions w coaching to ensure gap doesn’t
continue
▪ Redesign job – job requires KSAs that are difficult
to impart through training
▪ Termination (ex. lack of motivation despite
opportunity to improve) or transfer to more
suitable job
• Training needs: KSAs – list and describe clearly (used
to develop training objectives)
o Non-training factors – usually also present even if
training need is identified; principle determinants
for transfer of training
APPROACHES TO TNA
• Proactive TNA – focuses on future HR reqs.; org.’s
strategic plan -> unit objectives -> unit strategies ->
required KSAs
o 2 approaches to develop needed KSAs: Prepare
employees for…
1. Promotions/transfers to diff. jobs
2. Changes in their current jobs
a. Change in performance expectations -> new
KSAs (compared w current KSAs and resulting
PGs are addressed thru training)
o Succession planning – identification and
development of employees perceived to be of high
potential so they can fill key positions in company
as they become vacant
1. Identify key positions – often high-lvl mgmt.
2. Identify employees w potential to fill key
positions
3. Info is provided on employee readiness (diff. bet.
what is expected in new job vs. what employee is
currently capable of doing)
o ORG. ANALYSIS: starts w expected changes and any
new objectives; determine best fit bet. current
internal environment and future expectations and
objectives
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▪ Questions abt in/formal structures and
procedures – asked at all lvls in org. specifically
dept. lvl (more meaningful data)
o OPERATIONAL ANA.
▪ Strategic job ana. – identification of KSAs
required for effective performance in a job as it is
expected to exist in the future; identical data
gathering w traditional job ana. + “gather info. on
the future” section (changes in societal values,
political and legal issues, economics, etc. and how
those changes affect job); info fr ff. is necessary
✓ Person involved in corporate strategy and
closely tied to job in question
✓ Someone aware of how competition structures
job (technologically and from HR standpoint)
✓ Efficiency expert (internal tech/communication)
✓ Someone who worked way up through the job
✓ Forward-thinking incumbent – willing to suggest
new ideas
▪ ^guide; revision of tasks and KSAs + person ana. =
future training needs
▪ 1st step: identify critical jobs
o PERSON ANA. – identical for both pro/reactive TNA
• Reactive TNA: determine whether PG is worth fixing
w/c could be based on finances/significant effect to
company
o Distinction among 3 input analyses is more blurred
bec.
▪ Focus is primarily on 1 dept.
▪ Those who demonstrate the discrepancy are the
key persons to be interviewed abt all 3
components
▪ Discrepancy focuses issue on a particular part of
the job
o ORG. ANALYSIS: can uncover 3 issues (incongruent
consequences, feedback probs., performance
barriers) Fig. 4-1
o OPERATIONAL/PERSON ANA. – identify cause of
current gap bet. EP and AP; conducted consistent w
earlier descs.
• Reactive versus proactive
o Systems perspective: proactive > reactive
o Most effective: combination of pro/reactive
strategies
o Proactive – more important for market leader orgs.
than cost leader orgs. bec. they need to be much
more aware of environment
o Reality: reactive is more common