Finding the Right Fit with Needs Analysis

Men’s Wearhouse specializes in men’s dress clothes and is committed to customer satisfaction.  The company was founded by George Zimmer and the first store opened in 1973 in Houston, Texas.  Today, there are over 1,200 stores in the U.S. with a purpose of helping “people love how they look by providing a personal, convenient, one-of-a-kind shopping experience with compelling products and world class service” (Men’s Wearhouse, n.d.).

The company credits its success to their commitment in promoting employee growth through ongoing training programs that focus on personal and career development.  If this organization were seeking to improve performance, a needs analysis would need to be conducted.  The needs analysis is the first step in the instructional design process and is used to determine if training is the appropriate solution (Noe, 2013).

In order to determine if a training need exists, who it exists for, and for what tasks training is needed, key stakeholders like managers, trainers, employees, and subject matter experts (SMEs) should be involved in the needs analysis process (Noe, 2013).  Management would include upper management and middle managers while SMEs would consist of tailors and sales associates.  When stakeholders are included, it gives them a sense that their opinions are valued and increases the odds that they will agree to the recommended training needs and solutions.

Some questions to ask when analyzing the organization, personnel, and tasks would be:

What is the current state of performance?

What is the desired state or performance?

What is the organization’s rationale for spending on training?

What do employees need to do to accomplish the business goals? (Noe, 2013)

Who should be trained?

What jobs can training make the biggest difference in product quality or customer service? (Noe, 2013)

What tasks should be trained?

Historical data and company standard operating procedures (SOP) documents can be useful during the needs analysis.  Historical data from customer service can give indicators where service is not reaching the desired mark.  Also, training records and documents can help show who and what is being trained.

The needs analysis is a critical first step in determining the training need.  Instructional designers often use observations, surveys, questionnaires, and interviews to gather data from management and employees.  Many times, simply asking the target audience what they want and listening to what they tell you can bring light to performance problems and the solutions to improve performance (Jaenke, 2013).  The employees have first-hand knowledge of what is working and what is not.  Using their input will pay off during the implementation of the training because they will see it as useful and worthwhile.

References

Jaenke, R. (2012). Just Ask Them: Increasing Learner Engagement. T&D, 66(7), 30-31.

Men’s Wearhouse. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.menswearhouse.com/careers

Noe, R. A. (2013). Employee training and development (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

The 'Why We Train' Speech

Here is a hypothetical speech to a person that does not believe that training is important, complicated, or even necessary.

Hello, my name is Robert Martinez and I am a performance improvement specialist.  Did you know that many businesses miss out on profits and growth every year simply because they do not have a strategy for their training programs?  We have found that many training programs fail because of the lack of staff involvement.  When your managers are involved in the training decisions, they can help ensure that the training is related to your business needs.  As a result, there are two benefits, your business goals can be reached and the managers will be more willing to be involved once they see the positive outcomes from the training.

Another interesting fact is that businesses are more culturally diverse.  Employees and managers need to know how to work with people from different cultures.  When this doesn’t happen, you run the risk of losing talented people from your team simply because of the work environment.  Know that increased diversity can give your business a competitive advantage.

Now let’s talk about the aspect of customer satisfaction.  Consumers have access to information and reviews about your company and your competitors through social media and consumer rating sites.  If the ratings are poor, you could lose business just off of those reviews.  It is important for your staff to know how to interact with customers and have an understanding that they are a representative of your brand. 

Having quality training that is aligned with your business goals will keep your organization focused and on the right track.  Using different approaches and technologies to deliver training will be key in keeping your staff motivated and engaged.  I say, build your people and they will build your business.  I hope to hear from you soon so we can discuss a training strategy for your organization.