I work in a Healthcare sector. We have decided to outsource our e-learning requests to external vendors. I would like to create a document that will help me decide if the request that I get from business really needs an e-learning solution. It could be something like a document with a list of questions. By getting answers to those questions from our client we can decide if we should go ahead with an e-learning or not.
It would be great if you folks could share any similar document that you might have or any other ideas/suggestions that would work.
To clarify. which question are you trying to answer... What is the best method for delivering a particular training (eg Elearning vs Webinar)? Or is training needed at all?
Thanks for posting your first question in the community :)
Sounds like you might be looking for some guidance on how to do a proper training needs analysis. This is really a smart thing to do (training needs analysis up front) because it can save you tons of time and money by helping you avoid building (or in your case, outsourcing) e-learning that isn't needed or that is not going to improve a performance problem or the business's bottom line.
The thing is that managers, supervisors, etc. often sense there is a performance problem and think.. ah-ha! Training will solve this performance problem! But that's not necessarily true. A lot of factors can affect performance and cause a problem, and training will only help if the cause of the problem is a lack of knowledge and skills. How do you identify if there truly is a performance gap and if training will solve it? Through a training needs analysis...
I've written a lot of articles about this... Here's a few that might help you out!
The training request form you will hand out to requestors should cover things like...
Which group needs the training?
Why do they need the training?
What specific tasks will the training focus on and improve?
Has this group been trained on these specific tasks before? When and how much?
How will we measure success of training, and identify whether or not there's been an improvement?
Which KPIs or data points can we use to help evaluate or measure success of training?
What would happen if we DIDN'T provide this training?
Also.. it's helpful to know that there are a few situations where training is always required, and a needs analysis isn't really necessary. Those situations are...
1) When something is new. If there's a brand new system or equipment or process in place, training will be necessary. If it's brand new, the learners don't know it, and there's a performance gap for sure.
2) When it's mandated or required by law. Obviously, you're wasting your time with a needs analysis in these cases as well since .. it's ... well the law! :)
Hope you find this information to be helpful... training needs analysis is an area of focus for me in my career and something I'm passionate about :) What a boring thing to be passionate about, right? Anyways let us know if you have any follow-up questions! We're always happy to help in the community :)
4 Replies
Hi Ash,
To clarify. which question are you trying to answer... What is the best method for delivering a particular training (eg Elearning vs Webinar)? Or is training needed at all?
Hi Ashwin,
Welcome to E-Learning Heroes!
Thanks for posting your first question in the community :)
Sounds like you might be looking for some guidance on how to do a proper training needs analysis. This is really a smart thing to do (training needs analysis up front) because it can save you tons of time and money by helping you avoid building (or in your case, outsourcing) e-learning that isn't needed or that is not going to improve a performance problem or the business's bottom line.
The thing is that managers, supervisors, etc. often sense there is a performance problem and think.. ah-ha! Training will solve this performance problem! But that's not necessarily true. A lot of factors can affect performance and cause a problem, and training will only help if the cause of the problem is a lack of knowledge and skills. How do you identify if there truly is a performance gap and if training will solve it? Through a training needs analysis...
I've written a lot of articles about this... Here's a few that might help you out!
The training request form you will hand out to requestors should cover things like...
Also.. it's helpful to know that there are a few situations where training is always required, and a needs analysis isn't really necessary. Those situations are...
1) When something is new. If there's a brand new system or equipment or process in place, training will be necessary. If it's brand new, the learners don't know it, and there's a performance gap for sure.
2) When it's mandated or required by law. Obviously, you're wasting your time with a needs analysis in these cases as well since .. it's ... well the law! :)
Hope you find this information to be helpful... training needs analysis is an area of focus for me in my career and something I'm passionate about :) What a boring thing to be passionate about, right? Anyways let us know if you have any follow-up questions! We're always happy to help in the community :)
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Wow!!!! Just reading that post felt like I had a mini TNA session :) Thank you very much for this info, Nicole. This is VERY HELPFUL.
TNA, i must admit is quiet an interesting passion.
Have a great day!
Great!! So happy to help Ashwin :) Good luck with implementing this new process at your workplace.
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