HOW TO Develop Strategic Training Programs for Teams & Leaders

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Often, when CEOs or managers hear their employees describe a team challenge, there’s an impulse to immediately jump in to solve the problem with an off-the-shelf training. That’s understandable given the pace at which information is flowing, productivity is measured, and results are desired.

However, if learning and development professionals aren’t intentional and deliberate about first exploring and analyzing issues more deeply, putting teams through unnecessary training can hurt more than it helps.

Instead, a thorough training needs analysis sets the stage for valuable, targeted training and ensures the training is meeting the right needs at the right time.

Let’s count the ways…

A training needs analysis:

  • can help identify what type of training solution will achieve specific results;
  • can highlight behaviors and skills necessary to improve outcomes;
  • helps L&D professionals figure out what competencies are needed to meet performance expectations;
  • aids in pinpointing who needs what training and for how long; and
  • helps to identify strategic goals or key performance indicators that the training supports.

Once L&D professionals have that information, they are able to determine what is is the highest priority for development and what training topics are most important to the team, culture, and the organization.

“In my experience, about 80 percent of the time, what a client requests turns out NOT to be what they need,” says Tara Powers, CEO, Powers Resource Center (PRC). “A training needs analysis is absolutely necessary to gather a holistic view of the true problem, opportunity, and best solution. While many times we also discover additional training needs when we complete an analysis.”

A training needs analysis is an assessment of the gaps between the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that leaders and teams currently possess and the knowledge, skills and attitudes that they require to meet expectations or objectives. It enables organizations to channel resources into the areas that will contribute the most to employee personal and professional growth, and bolster organizational performance.

In truth, if you aren’t doing a training needs analysis, you’re not focused on the right areas of employee development. This is costing you time, money, and energy, not to mention engaging in training solutions that aren’t needed.

Unfortunately, the absence of a thorough needs analysis can worsen team and leadership issues, creating even more conflict, performance challenges and fatigue. By identifying the “real” skill gaps that are affecting team culture or the company’s bottom line, you can strategically prioritize training for the biggest business impact.

And NOW you can train YOUR trainers and subject matter experts to design in-house programs and workshops that DELIVER RESULTS. Join PRC’s Level Up Training Master Class, incorporating brain science, adult learning principles, and micro-learning options. Receive a FULL package of workshop design and development resources that you can use, rinse, and repeat over and over again.

Contact us to get started! 

As talent development experts, PRC can help your L&D teams learn to conduct a thorough needs analysis and develop the right training for your teams. Don’t miss our Level UP Master Class program that incorporates proven tools, plans and strategies to enable your L&D teams to build training programs that have an impact and help your teams thrive.

 

 

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