Learning Needs Analysis in the age of Innovation & Disruption

Identify learning & development needs at a range of levels, and leverage the results??to enable greater business performance.

Clear, systematic and ongoing identification of how L&D needs relate to performance gaps is key in ensuring effective learning across an organization. However, this process can be seen as a rigid, box-ticking annual exercise unless its aligned with internal and external organizational drivers. The need for organizational agility means L&D professionals need to constantly recognize their organization’s performance needs.?

The key is in collecting and making use of data that goes beyond just the learning needs but takes into account learning experience, engagement & impact in a hybrid environment. Hence, its a continuous process throughout the year.?

Identifying L&D needs starts with knowing the organization's current and future capability needs, and then assessing existing levels of skills, attitudes and knowledge.??This can be assessed by using formal and informal methods. There also a difference between a learning needs analysis and training need analysis, while the latter is focused on a one-off isolated event as the needs will be for a specific skill or a training activity. While a LNA maybe seen as a current or future health check on the skills, talent and capabilities of a business and is carried out with multiple stakeholders.

Linking with the L&D Strategy - Creating an effective learning and development strategy is critical to ensure the L&D approach aligns with business needs.

A clear analysis of L&D needs that informs such a strategy is important because:

• Organizational performance depends on having the right people in the right place with the right skills at the right time.
• It can give insight into the realities of the learning environment employees experience.
• Providing relevant learning opportunities can build organisational effectiveness as well as enabling staff to achieve personal and career goals which can increase employee engagement.
• Having a clear idea of the performance standards expected provides a foundation for L&D professionals to evaluate effectiveness and demonstrate the impact and transfer of learning.
• Well-planned learning can be an effective retention strategy, particularly when linked into talent strategies.
• It is a base for creating learning journeys to ensure that the employees achieve their long-term career goals, stay up to date and increase their engagement and productivity.

*It’s important that, whatever the performance gap identified and learning needs agreed we consider all the appropriate ways to meet that need, rather than defaulting to ‘a course’

How do you prepare for a Learning Needs Analysis?

Engaging with a variety of stakeholders, including line managers, subject matter experts, and the teams , is vital and they need to be consulted from the outset. This also continues when the results are communicated hence, its an engagement that is continuous throughout the year.?

There are possibly three broad levels of LNA

The whole organization - analyse the amount and types of learning needed to ensure that all staff have the right capabilities to perform in line with the organisation’s or business strategy.

A specific project or a work-stream or a department/function - new projects and opportunities require new ways of working or reorganisation, and also new skills & knowledge that need to be acquired.

Individual level - linking personal L&D needs and aspirations to those of the business, often carried out as part of development review.

Ensuring that ‘RAM’ is at the heart of the Learning Needs Analysis.

Relevance?- How existing or planned learning provision will meet new opportunities and challenges for the business.

Alignment - If the L&D strategy takes an integrated blended approach, it’s critical for L&D practitioners to work with stakeholders about what their performance needs are and how to achieve them. Aligning with broader organizational strategy gives focus, purpose and relevance to L&D

Measurement?- L&D effectively and consistently measure the impact, engagement and transfer of learning activities as part of the evaluation process

Collecting the data on learning needs

After planning the frequency, extent and nature of the analysis, the next stage is to decide how the information can be collected. Potential methods include:

Organizational or Business data and intelligence – ‘mining’ the existing data that’s collated in the business is a great start point.

Formal interviews and/or focus groups with stakeholders - these will often be primary sources of information on plans, work organisation and changes.

Informal conversations with stakeholders – ‘coffee chats’ are a good source of finding out what is needed.

Team meetings - attending team meetings across the business can give insights on performance needs.

Observations – engaging with the learners’ current ‘real world’.

Questionnaire-based or other surveys -?However it’s vital that time is spent considering the questions that are asked, the likely response and what is done with the responses.

Existing data - for example from the learning management system, training feedback/evaluation reports.

Performance management data - refer to the data from performance reviews and development plans.

A mix of these methods at the same time will give the best results.

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