Fit the training to your needs

Here's how a Training Needs Analysis improved our performance

Energy and telecommunications consultancy provider, The Inenco Group Ltd, is based in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. The company underwent a management buyout last year.  Director Chris Lee explains how a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) allowed the company to tailor its training and boost staff motivation.

What we did

Assess current provision

"Our TNA originated with a staff survey conducted prior to the management buyout, which showed that staff felt under-developed and neglected. Training was one of the chosen means of addressing this issue, as well as being part of our aim to pursue Investors in People (IiP) accreditation. Training was previously available but it was conducted on an ad-hoc basis with no proper evaluation of whether it supported our business goals.

"We set up a focus group made up of departmental managers and began with a review of current training provision, coupled with an analysis of what skills the company needed in the light of our corporate objectives. This allowed us to identify skill gaps and areas for improvement. Recommendations were then passed to the Board for approval and our intentions communicated to all staff."

Conduct staff interviews

"We originally thought that we would have to interview all 140 staff to assess individual training needs. We approached Business Link for guidance and they recommended grouping staff according to their role.

"The group approach worked well, allowing us to identify specific skill sets for each role in a relatively short space of time. The meetings also enabled us to ask staff about their personal goals within the company and to explore the types of training that would be appropriate for different parts of the business."

Make decisions

"On completion of staff interviews, we set priorities and a timetable, which has now become a formal company training plan with an allocated budget. We got further advice on training methods from Business Link and now make much more use of external courses.

"We also use more internal coaching and mentoring schemes, which are proving highly cost-effective, and have formulated a post-training questionnaire to help us evaluate the success of the training against our objectives. Overall, staff morale and attitude have improved noticeably and we’re confident that this will decrease staff turnover."

What I’d do differently

Encourage initiative

"The management focus group we set up was useful for kick-starting our TNA, but we probably relied on it too heavily. These days, we encourage initiative among all staff members by holding regular review and feedback sessions.  This way everyone in the company takes responsibility for maintaining and improving training standards."

Simplify paperwork

"We wanted our TNA to be thorough and well documented. However, at one stage, we got bogged down with producing a series of over-complicated spreadsheets. Too much information, poorly presented, can stop you seeing the wood for the trees. Now, we stick to simple tables and include only the key points."

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Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Impact of training on business performance
• Identifying training needs
• Training methods to fit your business
• Training methods that suit your people
• Training resources - in-house delivery
• Training resources - distance learning
• Training resources - external delivery
• After the training
• Here's how a Training Needs Analysis improved our performance

 

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