Assessing the training needs is very important for organizations due to a number of reasons. It effectively prevents the wastage of funds and time, the training of the wrong people or inaccurate training content and the wrong time or wrong jobs. Having no strategy for training needs and execution will leave the impression that training is unnecessary and that will have a major impact on employee motivation and would present the company in an unprofessional light to others. A training needs assessment is the best way for a company to find, and verify the need, focus, scale and target groups for training, and align them with the company strategy. The assessment will provide the company with the information about the problems that can be fixed through the introduction of training or practice and to reinforce knowledge and skills necessary for specific jobs. Also, it would provide information on what training and expertise (skills, education, and experience) will be needed in light of the future development goals.
Components of Needs Assessment:
The components of the needs assessment are stated below.
-
Organizational Analysis:
During this step, Maersk HR specialists work with the leadership of the representative departments to articulate the training priorities and requirements plan that aligns training goals with the business objectives. They compare the desired outcomes with specific skills and qualifications needed to achieve these outcomes. Existing obstacles had to be identified, minimized or removed if necessary. This step is reflected in the partner job posting of the CARE Business.
-
Task Analysis:
The HR systematically breaks down the job into components and try to establish a tasks list for the job and the skills necessary for it.
-
Person Analysis:
This analysis will determine who will be the best candidate for the position. It can identify who has mastered the skills as determined in the previous stage.
Importance of SMART Objectives:
All organizations should have the goals defined clearly in their business plans. These goals provide an insight into the future plans of the organization. The same should also be done for the internal determination of the needs, such as the expansion of the workforce and their training and motivation. The SMART analysis is very critical in this regard. The principles of a SMART plan have many advantages. Goal setting provides a clear focus for the management and employees by defining priorities they can adhere to when planning projects and organize tasks for the next quarter or year. Organizational goals can help to boost morale and increase the staff’s motivation, allowing them to work on improving efficiency and to strive for excellence.
Their efforts can be tied to a recognition and reward system for individual employees or workgroups. Another advantage of this organizational tool is that it helps to improve the cohesion of the group. It is imperative for all the employees to work together to achieve certain goals. Upon realizing that, employees will collaborate to achieve the goal.
Importance of Developing Learning Activities:
Learning activities, accompanied by training programs have several general, as well as company-specific advantages. The use of learning activities helps to increase the motivation of employees, improve their knowledge and skill set, and in turn boost their confidence and morale.
For Maersk, it is important that their representatives are the customers’ advocates, and are fully responsible for the satisfaction of customers while working closely with specific departments. The organization expects their customer service care representatives to build strong relationships with individual customers, gain an understanding of the customers’ business needs, and understand market needs while continuously considering new business opportunities. To equip their staff with the knowledge they need to accomplish these tasks, Maersk needs to design activities that allow their associates to acquire specific skills, information, and then practice how they can engage the customers.
Incorporation of Adult Learning Principles and Experiential Learning Methods
As the adult learning is self-directed and autonomous, it is imperative to allow the CARE team to make individual decisions and choices about their training. Representatives should be allowed to have a say in areas they feel need improvement and the areas they feel they have mastered. There could be testing methods that allow an individual to demonstrate mastery of a subject.
A mentoring program allowing the trainee to set specific learning goals with the help of her mentor would be a good option. Mentors could encourage and emphasize the importance of goal setting while monitoring the individual’s progress towards these goals. Exercises like role-playing will give, both trainer and trainee, a good idea about their progress and areas still needing improvement.
Maersk should encourage collaborative relationships among its trainees but also with the senior and experienced staff. The company should suggest that instructors and senior staff accept and treat trainees as colleagues rather than students. Adult learners thrive and become more productive if their contributions are recognized and they are viewed as an equal partner.
