Some organisations still persist in pursuing ad hoc training programs or just second guessing employees’ training needs. Teresa Russell looks at how a thorough and detailed training needs analysis can contribute to a successful L&D strategy
Some organisations still persist in pursuing ad hoc training programs or just second guessing employees’ training needs. Teresa Russell looks at how a thorough and detailed training needs analysis can contribute to a successful L&D strategy
Ad hoc training is at best a waste of money and time and at worst, diminishes the value of training in the eyes of both employees and management. Queensland Building Services Authority (QBSA) had ad hoc training initiatives, no performance management system and was having its training budget stripped each year at the time it performed its first training needs analysis (TNA).
“The link between individual and organisational performance was poor and the organisation’s commitment to learning was low,” admits Tony Gibson, manager, human resources for QBSA. However, a new general manager, Ian Jennings, who had a strong commitment to learning, had just employed Gibson at QBSA. So the inaugural training needs analysis was initiated in 2002.
QBSA, which took out the Australian HR Awards 2004 Best L&D Strategy Award, is the state regulator of the building industry in Queensland. It employs about 230 technical, professional and administrative staff in nine locations across Queensland. Its remit is to provide protection against and home warranty insurance for defective residential construction for up to $200,000, if a licensed contractor performs the work. It also provides education and advice for consumers and contractors.
The State Library of NSW faced a similar problem to QBSA before it undertook its first training needs analysis in 2003. According to Pascale Guillaume, acting workplace development coordinator, the training courses that had been run in the past did not necessarily target the skill gap that existed in the organisation. This situation evolved in part because HR used to own and run learning and development, rather than involving managers from the beginning. The training needs analysis supported L&D’s request for increased funding and reinforced management buy-in, as managers became much more involved in training development and design.
The State Library of NSW is a public sector organisation operating within the Ministry for the Arts. With origins dating back to 1826, it now employs about 400 staff that care for about five million collection items. The advent of the internet has changed service delivery in the last decade, with much more offsite access to the collection as well as enquiries being handled electronically.
Methodology of TNA
Gibson surveyed all the QBSA staff as part of the training needs analysis. The results were akin to a wish list, with a menu of courses staff felt they needed to attend. At the same time, he introduced a performance management and development scheme (PMDS) using an existing competency model developed by the Commonwealth Public Service.
“As part of the creation of individual PMDS agreements, managers and staff developed competency profiles and identified skills gaps. These were also fed into the training needs analysis via individual development plans,” Gibson says.
QBSA also undertook some extensive customer research to help identify the skills gap perceived by its customers. It then developed a program called Creating Business Relationships, which included a module on mediation skills.
Guillaume says that the first training needs analysis performed at the State Library of NSW had to be comprehensive and needed to include managers at all levels. “We wanted management to be the decision-makers. HR was just facilitating the process and providing expertise and advice,” she explains. Strategic projects and public sector compliance requirements were also taken into account.
“There was some training delivered about five years ago that was not perceived by either the staff or HR as successful. I tried to understand why that failed by questioning those who attended the training,” says Guillaume. The final stage of the training needs analysis used staff, supervisors and managers as ‘subject matter experts’ to prioritise needs and customise the training.
The analysis identified three major areas that required up-skilling – excellent client service skills, handling difficult clients and managing conflict.
Budget and ROI
The State Library of NSW used its internal HR consultants to conduct the training needs analysis. Part of the training budget was reallocated to the divisions to give them the resources to support the new (training) strategy. “The most difficult resource to manage was not money, but time. We had to get commitment from management and subject matter experts to invest their time in both identifying training needs and helping to customise the course material,” says Guillaume. No formal ROI model was used to assess the training needs analysis.
There were no budgetary constraints at QBSA with regard to the training needs analysis. However, Gibson says that he was able to show that the money spent on L&D would have a positive return on investment as well as deliver the required business outcomes. Working with L&D coordinator, Tony Wiggins, they developed a model that predicted investment in specific L&D programs would generate a significant ROI, which ended up being $1.7 million in the first year.
Given that many L&D professionals struggle to demonstrate a direct link between training expenditure and measurable outcomes, this QBSA case demands further investigation. QBSA employs 25 building inspectors as well as accredited dispute service managers and coordinators to mediate between home owners and builders. In the past, if the parties to the dispute could not agree on an outcome, QBSA had to pay out insurance claims to the home owners.
“The TNA identified a gap in these people’s ability to mediate disputes. We worked with QUT to develop a three-day, customised mediation skills course, which these staff attended. They now take a proactive role in settling disputes and saved QBSA $1.7 million in insurance payouts in the first year,” Gibson explains. Additionally, staff turnover dropped from 14 per cent three years ago to just 8 per cent in the last year.
Challenges of TNA
One of the biggest challenges Guillaume faced was getting managers to allocate the time to help customise the training. The other issue was more operational. The library runs on rosters to cover its day, night and weekend opening hours, so rostering staff out of the library and onto training while maintaining service levels was difficult. Guillaume ended up running training for seven different teams of 20 people, which helped reinforce teamwork – another training objective.
The level of staff interaction with customers is very diverse throughout the library. Some may have minimal contact with the public, while others may spend an hour with one client assisting them with particular research. Guillaume found it challenging to pitch the level of client service training appropriately, given everyone’s different skill levels and needs.
At QBSA, the greatest challenge was the existing information systems, although this has recently been remedied with the installation of Aurion HRIS.
Links to business strategy
In both the State Library of NSW and the QBSA, the training needs that were identified were readily linked to each organisation’s broader business strategies. The State Library has a mandate to deliver a high quality of service to the people of NSW, so developing a training course that is designed to improve its staff’s client service skills is almost a no-brainer. The other two courses on handling difficult clients and managing conflict (which are both security and safety issues) also dovetail into the mandate.
QBSA has delivered courses ranging from leadership development and project management to mediation skills and time management. Each can be easily linked to the organisation’s business strategies, which include building organisational capability, improving and responding to current and future relationships and developing its people.
Tips for successful TNA
Guillaume says it is vital to involve managers as much as possible – especially in the training needs analysis. “I’d also strongly advise finding a consultant who you feel comfortable working with who can adequately customise any training program to your specific organisation’s needs and style. It’s also vital to continue doing training needs analyses every year, review the resulting plans regularly and evaluate the impact and quality of the programs,” she advises.
Gibson says that before commencing a training needs analysis, an organisation must have an integrated system of performance and learning in place, linking strategic, operational and individual performance plans. “You should also have a competency model that not only identifies required behaviours, but can support your career management and succession planning as well,” he says. Although QBSA did not have an effective HRIS in place at the time of its initial training needs analysis, Gibson says he would recommend one.
One of the strengths of QBSA’s training needs analysis was the rigorous evaluation strategy it adopted, including behavioural, attitudinal, and ROI outcomes. It does not matter whether the tools you use to do a training needs analysis are focus groups, interviews or questionnaires, Gibson says. “It is vital to have effective collaboration with managers and to get effective sponsorship across your entire organisation.”
