How To Conduct A Training Needs Analysis - Term Paper Example

? Chkmail_Assigment two_SB_#751063 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 3 2. 4 3. 6 4. 8 References 11 Training needs analysis can be defined as the process of conducting an in depth analysis and evaluation of how training of employees, staffs or other internal stakeholders of an organization can provide an upshot of increasing the value of the organization’s products, services and other business processes. It can be said that the training needs analysis helps in the process of understanding the training gap by the process of recognizing the difference between the performance standards attained and the desired standards of performance. The assessment of training needs is done by the process of evaluating the knowledge, skills, and attitude and motivation levels of teams or individuals in a particular working environment. Conducting a training needs analysis significantly helps in the process of evaluating the lacking areas of the teams and individuals of an organization and can significantly lead to the process of development of skills of the employees, thereby increasing their individual productivity as well as the productivity of the entire organization on a whole. Training needs analysis is increasingly considered as a highly important tool for planning and management as it aids in the process of growth and development of the individuals and the organization (Drummond, 2008, p. 5 - 6) Talking in terms of Wal-Mart, it can be said that since Wal-Mart is a global organization, with interests and stakeholders present in major and emerging markets of the globe, there are some specific areas of development that Wal-Mart can focus on for the process of providing better opportunities towards individual development and resources on a global note. The most important areas of development that Wal–Mart can focus on at the present moment are the processes of educating and developing the front line associates in the emerging markets to go for better customer engagements as well as imparting relevant product knowledge and required rack arrangement. Another important area where Wal-Mart can conduct a training needs analysis is the process of evaluating the need of technological and process developments in the emerging markets which can in return lead to achieving of better production and efficiency. The organization also needs to conduct training need evaluations of the customers in the emerging markets for the purpose of generating better responses in the e-retailing formats. Also, the company needs to conduct the analysis for the purpose of assessing the gap of technology experts’ team of the organization and their efficiency in generating the valuable insights from customer information by using data analytics technology. 2. It is of considerable importance to state that Wal-Mart is a global organization, which increasingly focuses on generating extreme value for customer through its product and service offerings (Annual Report, 2012, p.4). Hence, its key strategies are more focused in generating more value to the customer, while increasingly going through various evolutionary phases and individual development techniques of the internal stakeholders of the organization. Training Need Analysis for Wal-Mart is being provided through the following format Training Need Type of Training For Whom Objectives Front line associates of the various Wal-Mart outlets in some of the key emerging markets needs training in regards to style and fashion of involving in customer engagements. Role Playing Front line associates in Wal-Mart stores located in key emerging markets. To provide a superior shopping performance to the customers by providing high level of customer satisfaction through customer engagements. Front line associates of the Wal-Mart outlets in the key emerging markets needs training for rack arrangement as well as developing product knowledge. On job training Front line associates in Wal-Mart stores located in key emerging markets. To enable the front line associates to serve customers better by providing relevant product information as well as helping them acquire their product of needs. Training the local resource suppliers in emerging markets to improve their production quality levels by implementing new technologies and processes Group Training Local resource suppliers of the emerging markets To achieve better quality in production and increase resource efficiency. Educating and encouraging customers for online shopping in the emerging markets Online Training Videos Customers located in the emerging markets To establish considerable traffic and sales growth for the online formats in the emerging market economies Training needed for the in house technology experts of Wal-Mart to prepare them and develop their analytical skills in regards to effective use of the data analytics software package for generation of vital insights from the consumers’ information and thereby eradicating the need to hire external human resource at a high price Simulated training through case studies, live projects In house team of technology experts of Wal-Mart Developing a competent team of data analysts for the development of various analytical models and analysis of vital and relevant customers insights 3. There are various methods that can be implemented for the purpose of imparting training to the internal stakeholders of a company for the purpose of increasing productivity and efficiency of the individuals as well as the organization. Group Training It can be said that the process of providing training to a group of employees and suppliers of an organization within the confines of a class room or on the job training through the usage of various resources is called group training. It is one of the most conventional forms of training that are used by organization. Coaching/Lecturing The process of coaching is a form of skill training where the knowledge and skills transfer often happens in a one on one basis. This process includes live demonstration of various processes and skills which is often accompanies by the lecturing to cover the essential working functions and related vitalities (McConnell, 2003, p.284 ). On Job Training On job training is a process of training that is often used by organization to increase the skill set of individual. However, it has to be said that on job training is most relevant and are often provide to new employees of an organization for the purpose of getting acquainted with the company’s processes. Role Playing Exercise This kind of training program is highly effective for the purpose of increasing the level of efficiency in handling customers and engaging customers with the related product or service in a more efficient manner as this process increasingly involves the active participation of the candidates and thereby gives a perfect feel of relevancy of the customers’ situation. Videos Imparting of training through the use of instructional videos that are made available to the participants of the training process is another mode of training the candidates. The most advantageous factor in regards to the training videos is that the candidate can focus on the process of the skills and knowledge development at his own time, without being bounded by the confines of class room or on job training scenario. Simulation Exercise The simulation exercise can be closely defined as the process of simulation of real life scenarios to the training candidates and participants while increasingly having a significant control over various valid and important variables that can introduce significant amount of change in the real life situations. It can be said that the simulation exercises are highly effective for the purpose of imparting skills to candidates in a highly charged by environment, because of the real life like situations that are being provided and making them better prepared to tackle real life challenging situations (Kusluvan, 2003, p. 322). Now, talking in terms of increasing the skills and focusing on the development of the stakeholders of Wal-Mart in the emerging markets, it can be increasingly said that a combination of the training strategies has to be applied for the purpose of effective implementation of the training program. For the purpose of increasing the skill sets of the front line associates, role splaying and on job training will help in enhancing customer engagement as well as developing better merchandise arrangement skills. For implementing training to the local resource suppliers in the emerging markets, group training methods can be used to educate them about the new production methods. For increasing awareness to the customers of the emerging market about the online format, Wal-Mart should focus on effective online instructional videos. However, for the process of imparting training for the development of analytical skills to the in-house team of technology experts of Wal-Mart, the company should focus on simulation based training sessions, in order to give them a real feel of the complexity of the entire situation. 4. It can be said that the implementation of computer based training for globally present Wal-Mart’s internal stakeholders can be increasingly seen as a highly innovative step for the purpose of implementing the necessary skills and training. However, it has to be increasingly considered that the success factors of imparting computer based training to the employees of various levels of the organization is highly variable with the kind of market, Mal-Mart is focusing on. In this particular case, it can be said that the training need analysis outlined that there are requirements of training at various levels of the organization, starting from the front line associates to the highly qualified technology experts of Wal-Mart. It also has to be considered that the level and kind of training is not exactly relevant and compatible for the purpose of implementation of computer based training. Talking in more specific terms, it can be said that the process of imparting training to the various front line associates in the stores located in the emerging markets using the traditional training methods would have been more cost effective. However, for the purpose of imparting relevant training to the other stakeholders like the resource suppliers and in house team of technology experts of Wal-Mart, a computer based training program and module would have been highly effective. Also, talking in terms of the increasing awareness of the electronic retail format to the customers, the implementation of online training videos using the computerized format is highly relevant. However, it can be said that for the purpose of successful implementation of computer based training in an emerging market, there are multiple pitfall’s that are present on the road ahead. High Implementation Costs For the purpose of implementing a computer based training program, the implementation costs in regards to resource acquisition are tremendously high However, in an attempt to overcome this particular cost, it can be said that the low priced tablets can be implemented, which will act as a platform for distribution. Possibility of Misuse Another barrier related to this particular initiative is the misuse of the company’s resources for personal needs like web browsing, movie and music downloading, improper gadget handling. However, in an attempt to tackle this particular problem, various kinds of free monitoring software that are available in the market, can be downloaded and installed in the gadgets for the purpose of effective monitoring of the needs. References Drummond, K. (2008). How To Conduct A Training Needs Analysis. (Sixth Ed.) Australia: Gull Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Annual Report. (2012). Walmart 2012 Annual Report. Retrieved from: http://www.walmartstores.com/sites/annual-report/2012/WalMart_AR.pdf McConnell, J.H. (2003). How to Identify Your Organization's Training Needs: A Practical Guide to Needs Analysis, Volume 2. (Vol 2). USA: AMACOM Kusluvan, S. (2003). Managing Employee Attitudes And Behaviors. New York: Nova Science Publishers Read More