Are you ready for an organizational transformation? As organizations work toward reducing the barriers associated with bureaucracy and increasing the flexibility of employees and work teams to accomplish the organizational mission, you now need a world class trained, responsive workforce capable of meeting tomorrow's challenges: drastically improving your culture, quality of work and service to your customers.

Culture is the critical limiting factor to the success of a training & development reorganization.

Are you ready to take the leap? This movement brings human resources development (HRD) to the forefront of your organizations workforce agenda.  As your organization looks at training and development as a mandatory investment in people, you must assess priority needs of the organization and direct training dollars to these areas.

This is most effectively accomplished through a process to systematically determine training needs and organizational culture.

The purpose of a Training & Development/ Culture Analysis is to assist you and your organization in the planning and implementation of effective world class training systems. Our assessment provides practical guidance, models, tools, and strategies to help you link your HRD functions to your organization's mission and goals.

The purpose of a needs assessment is to identify performance requirements or needs within your organization in order to help direct resources to areas of greatest need-those that closely relate to fulfilling organizational mission, improving productivity, and providing quality products and services. The very best approach to needs assessment is one based on the identification of agency mission needs, cultural climate and critical occupational and individual performance requirements.  Therefore, we strongly recommend a systematic process that includes three levels of assessment:

1. Organizational Mission and Culture Assessment
2. Occupational (Training & Development Department) Assessment
3. Individual Assessment

A T & D/Cultural needs assessment:

• Focuses on the required or desired performance of your organization, organizational unit, occupational group, or the individual being assessed.
• Determines the difference between required or desired and actual or current skill levels.
• Explores the cultural causes and reasons for any existing discrepancy or gap as well as the strategies to eliminate it.

Sample Needs Assessment Tools and Techniques

• Survey Questionnaires
• Interviews
• Focus Groups

Our assessment is a “step-by-step” approach based on proven principles and "best practices" in needs assessment to support your organizations needs assessment efforts.

Preliminary Research

1. Determine the Multi-level Needs Assessment Process
2. Determine Levels of Needs Assessments
3. Define Roles in Needs Assessment

Step 1  Determine Organization Benefits of Needs Assessment

• Sub step 1        Identify Key Stakeholders
• Sub step 2        Soliciting Support

Step 2  Plan to Conduct Needs Assessment

• Sub step 1        Set Goals/Objectives for the Needs Assessment
• Sub step 2        Evaluate Organizational (Agency) Readiness
• Sub step 3        Identify Key Roles in HRD and the Agency
• Sub step 4        Identify Potential Problems/Pitfalls
• Sub step 5        Evaluate Prior/Other Needs Assessments
• Sub step 6        Prepare Project Plan to Conduct Needs Assessment

Step 3  Conduct Needs Assessment

• Sub step 1        Obtain Needs Assessment Data
• Sub step 2        Analyze Data
• Sub step 3        Define Performance Problems/Issues: Occupational Groups/Individuals
• Sub step 4        Research Integrated Performance Solutions
• Sub step 5        Determine Best Training and Development Approach(es)
• Sub step 6        Assess Cost/Benefit of T&D Approach(es) "Business Case”

Follow-Up Activities

1. Plan Solutions to Performance Issues
2. Implement Training and Development Solution(s)
3. Evaluate Needs Assessment Process and Performance Outcomes