The Value of Needs Assessment in Instructional Design

Before embarking on any instructional design, it’s critically important to start with a needs assessment.   Noe (2010) describes needs assessment as the process used to determine whether training is necessary. The needs assessment is also important because, whether training is involved in the performance improvement mix or not, its outcomes inform the rest of the design process.   A needs analysis should include analysis of the organization, person (learner), and task as it relates to a performance issue(s).  Information outcomes should include the identification of performance improvement interventions, target learner groups if training is appropriate, recommendations for appropriate training methods and the feasibility of buying versus developing new training (Noe, 2010).   Training & Development professionals use several methods to gather this information including surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, and examination of existing documents.   The key is to collaborate with stakeholders to ensure accuracy (Noe, 2010).      I’ll attempt to demonstrate the process with a hypothetical scenario.     

Whole Foods Market is the leading distributor of natural and organic foods in the United States.  The company was founded in 1980 with one store in Austin, Texas.   Since then, Whole Foods has expanded through an aggressive strategy of acquisitions and mergers. Today, Whole Foods has stores in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom.   Its corporate culture is steeped in collaboration and cooperation as reflected in its Declaration of Interdependence (Whole Foods, 2012). Whole Foods’ business mission is to sell the highest quality natural and organic products available while creating wealth through profits and growth.  In the process, the organization is committed to working with all of its stakeholders in a way that respects the customers, employees, vendors, and investors.    This commitment is evident in the chain’s green initiatives and financial support for local farmers.    When it comes to employees, Whole Foods recognizes that its success is dependent on the collective energy and intelligence of all of its team members (Whole Foods, 2012).  The company offers profit sharing, ongoing learning opportunities, and opportunities for employees to participate in self-directed teams to discuss issues and solve problems.   The company’s mission and values are best expressed in its motto: Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet.  

If I were doing a Needs Assessment for Whole Foods, I would start with focused collaboration to identify business needs.  Being familiar with its mission to provide quality natural and organic food while wealth building for the future, I would meet with key members of upper-management to confirm the business strategy for the immediate and long-term future.   In the past the company has grown through mergers and acquisitions, so I’d be interested to know how this strategy has impacted training needs in the past and if they planned to continue with this strategy.  After confirming the business strategy, I would meet with mid-level managers to determine where performance gaps exists and which gaps, if closed, would provide the greatest impact toward reaching company goals.   I would also evaluate existing performance records to ascertain this information.   For instance, the organization should have a record of sales per store by month as well as number of customers, employee exit interviews, customer satisfaction surveys, etc.   
Organization analysis should yield information about priorities, problem areas, and causal factors.   Once I had a clearer picture where performance improvement opportunities exist, I would define the targeted performance improvement group.  For example, if the company’s priority is employee retention, and it is determined that certain stores are suffering from high turnover due to interpersonal skills deficiencies on the part of store managers, I would recommend training in this area for under-performing store managers.   I would then move to the person analysis to gain more information about the background, experience, learning needs, and motivation of the learner group. This information might be retrieved from electronic surveys and/or focus groups with a sample of store managers.  I would also work with middle-managers to identify Subject-matter experts (SMEs) to help with task analysis.  

The goal of task analysis is to identify the important knowledge, skills, and behaviors that need to be emphasized during training (Noe, 2010).  Every task does not require training resources, so it’s important to rank tasks in terms of the frequency of performance, importance, and level of difficulty.  Tasks that are performed infrequently might be better supported through other methods (i.e., job aids and resource guides).   Once tasks have been prioritized, I would continue working with SMEs like successful store managers to determine how they developed their interpersonal skills and how they use them on the job.    
Armed with the information from a quality needs assessment, I would be prepared to make recommendations about training requirements.   If the company decided to pursue training, the rest of the instructional design process ─ design, development, implementation, and evaluation ─ would stem from this foundational information.  

References  

Whole Foods Market (2012), Declaration of interdependence. Retrieved July 5, 2012 from: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/declaration.php

Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.