The Needs Assessment Playbook A Foundation of LMS Success

We’ve outlined our approach to delivering ‘frictionless’ learning through our Kallidus Readiness Model. We’ve done the research and learned that it is hardly ever (translated to “never) one person who makes decisions or influences the learning strategy of the organization. These decisions are influenced by leaders in Finance, IT, Operations, even Legal, and are ultimately made by Learning & Development, Talent, and Human Resources. We’ve taken all this into consideration and designed a model that you can use and share with leaders throughout your organization so that you have a framework within which to make the best decisions for your learners and your business as you contemplate the learning management system that works best for you.

The following document provides an outline of the process and tools to support this approach. There’s lots here, but nothing worth having is easy – right?

In fact, we wrote this playbook for people who find their current learning environment — to use the words from our L&D practitioner survey — “a little clunky”. Well, don’t worry! The friction that you feel now is what sparked you to look for something better. The good news is that we’ve done the heavy lifting for you, so now let’s get you moving toward frictionless learning experiences for all!

Conducting a learning needs assessment is a crucial step in designing effective learning and development programs. Here are five best practices to consider when conducting a learning needs assessment: 

Clearly Define Goals and Objectives: Before you begin the assessment, ensure you have a clear understanding of the organization’s goals and objectives. This will help you align the assessment with the overarching objectives and ensure that the identified learning needs contribute to the organization’s success. 

Involve Stakeholders: Engage relevant stakeholders such as managers, employees, subject matter experts, and executives. Their insights will provide a well-rounded perspective on the skills and knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. Involving stakeholders also increases buy-in and support for the assessment outcomes. 

Use a Mix of Data Collection Methods: Utilize a variety of data collection methods to gather comprehensive information. Methods could include surveys, interviews, focus groups, performance evaluations, and analyzing existing documentation and performance metrics. This multi-method approach helps capture diverse viewpoints and provides a more accurate picture of learning needs. 

Analyze and Prioritize Findings: Once you’ve collected the data, carefully analyze it to identify common themes, trends, and patterns. Prioritize the learning needs based on their relevance to the organization’s goals, the frequency of occurrence, and the potential impact on performance. Not all identified needs will have equal priority, so focus on those that will yield the most significant benefits. 

Consider Individual, Team, and Organizational Levels: Learning needs assessments should address needs at different levels – individual, team, and organizational. Individual needs pertain to specific skill gaps employees require for their roles. Team needs might involve collaborative skills or communication improvement. Organizational needs could relate to larger-scale competencies required for the organization’s strategic growth. 

Remember, a learning needs assessment is an ongoing process. Regularly review and update the assessment results to ensure that learning programs remain aligned with the evolving needs of the organization and its workforce. 

Here are some simple learning needs questions that can be used in a corporate learning environment to understand the training requirements of employees. 

1. What specific skills or knowledge do you feel are important for your role or department? 
2. What areas do you feel you need additional training or development to perform your job more effectively? 
3. What new technologies, tools, or processes would you like to learn more about to improve your job performance? 
4. What compliance or regulatory training requirements do you think should be addressed, now and in the future (new contracts need new certification)? 
5. What soft skills, such as communication, leadership, or problem-solving, would like to enhance through training? 
6. What career development opportunities or areas of professional growth are you interested in pursuing? 
7. What gaps are there in your current training or development programs that need to be addressed? 
8. How do you prefer to learn? (e.g., through in-person workshops, online courses, self-paced modules, mentoring, etc.) 
9. What specific challenges or obstacles do you face in your role where training could provide support or solutions? 
10. What industry trends or emerging topics, training approaches do you believe should be incorporated into our training programs? 

 

These questions can be used in surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one discussions with employees to gather their input and tailor learning and development initiatives to meet their needs effectively.  

Using a survey tool is super easy and can get you a bigger audience response. But again, less can be more! Don’t over complicate it. Even one-on-one conversations provide invaluable input to your overall project. 

These questions are purposefully open! Try not to change them to allow for one-word answers, we want some free text, open discussion that you need to collate and collect.  

Remember to create an open and supportive environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and suggestions.