The following Seven Step plan, developed by EOWA helps you devise a skills audit and determine your training needs.
Your organisation may be new to Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace and just starting to develop a workplace program. Or there may be a workplace program in place but your organisation wants help to action any Training and Development issues. Perhaps your organisation has traditionally been a male or female dominated workplace and there is a need to identify the skills required for the job.
Wherever you’re at in your workplace program, EOWA’s easy Seven Step plan, in conjunction with their Training Needs Analysis and Skills Audit, can quickly identify any gaps in your employees’ skills level and help you adapt training programs to suit.
Step 1 |
How should I consult? |
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EOWA suggests that employers consult with all staff on an annual basis to assess organisational training and development needs. Depending on your organisational needs, budget and time factors, the way you consult could be via a focus group, one-on-one meetings, or a questionnaire. |
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Focus groups and one-on-one meetings involve a carefully planned discussion with a small number of participants and are designed to obtain thoughts on specific issues, programs or products in a permissive and non-threatening environment. They provide qualitative data, giving insights into attitudes, perceptions and opinions of participants. Information is sought through open-ended questions and through observing respondents during the discussion. Click for more information on How to Run a Focus Group. |
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Questionnaires provide quantitative information and the first level of broad data. Issues can be followed up in detail through other mechanisms such as focus groups. To get started straight away, the EOWA Training Needs Analysis and Skills Audit is available as well as more general information on How to Conduct and Analyse a Survey. |
Step 2 |
Analyse the survey results |
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After consulting with your employees, analyse the results of the questionnaire, focus group or one-on-one meetings to determine where the staff skill gaps lie. Compare skills already obtained with skills required to do the current job and those required for future development. You may find that an employee is better suited to a different role than that which they are currently employed to do. |
Step 3 |
Create a training profile |
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Create a training profile by recording your analysis in an easily retrievable format such as a table. Depending on the size of your organisation, you may wish to record data on a sectional or divisional basis. Identify the types of courses or on-the-job experiences requested, the number and levels of people requiring training (for example, shop floor, managers), and the number of sessions needed. Distinctions made between full and part-time staff will allow session times to be scheduled in working hours. |
Step 4 |
Devise a Training and Development plan |
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Once all requirements have been worked out, draw up a Training and Development plan to facilitate commitment to the process. The plan should list all of the courses scheduled, the types of employees identified as ideal participants, the dates, venue and session times. |
| Step 5 |
Publicise the Training and Development plan |
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Publicise the training and development plan to all staff, preferably providing individuals with personalised notice. This ensures that all employees are advised of the available learning opportunities and provides equal access to developmental opportunities. |
| Step 6 |
Implement the training |
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Subject to operational needs, make sure your organisation delivers the training sessions! |
| Step 7 |
Evaluate the training |
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Evaluate the effectiveness of the training at a specific later date to ensure management and employees are satisfied with the outcomes. Performance feedback sessions may also provide a good opportunity to assess whether all recommended training sessions were delivered. |
General Survey Information
The questionnaire (on the following pages) is divided into various parts to address a variety of organisational needs. Before you distribute the questionnaire, it is recommended that you amend the format to suit the individual job requirements by deleting any non-applicable sections.
Depending on individual preference, the questionnaire can either be completed separately by the staff member or done in conjunction with their supervisor. HR practitioners may also wish to use the questionnaire as a planning guide.
The areas covered by the questionnaire include:
- Confirmation of the staff member’s current job description
- A job analysis, if one is required to define the job
- Skills needed to perform the present job
- Skills needed to perform other roles in the organisation
- Future career aspirations
- The identification of prior learning obtained
- Agreed actions for training delivery
Organisation’s Name:
| Name of staff member: |
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| Section: |
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General
| 1. |
Are you a new employee or a long-standing employee of the company? |
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| 2. |
How long have you been in your present job? |
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Confirmation of Current Duties
| 3. |
Do you have a duty statement for your job? |
Yes |
No (Go to Q 6) |
| 4. |
Is your job accurately described in the duty statement? |
Yes (Go to Q 14) |
No |
| 5.A |
If no, what extra duties do you do that need to be added to your duty statement? |
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| 5.B |
What duties are no longer part of your job and can be deleted from your duty statement? |
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Job Analysis
| 6. |
Describe the tasks you regularly perform that are critical to carrying out your job effectively. |
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| 7. |
Describe the type of equipment you are required to use (for example, keyboard, machinery, tools of trade, etc). |
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| 8. |
Do you require a high degree of technical knowledge for your job? |
Yes |
No |
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| 9.
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How do you work? Please circle |
Alone |
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| Part of a team |
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| Other (specify below) |
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| 10. |
If you work as part of a team, do you perform the same of different work to members of your team? |
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To what extent does your job require you to work closely with other people, such as customers, clients or people in your own organisation? Please circle. |
Very little |
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| Moderately |
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| A lot |
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| 12. |
How much autonomy is there in your job, ie, to what extent do you decide how to proceed with your work? Please circle. |
Very little |
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| A lot |
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How much variety is there in your job, ie, to what extent do you do different things at work, using several skills and talents? Please circle. |
Very little |
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| A lot |
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Training Needs
| 14. |
To perform your current job: What training do you still need (either on-the-job or a formal course) to perform your currentjob competently (eg, Excel, bookkeeping, English as a second language, etc)? |
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To perform other jobs in the organisation: What other roles in the organisation would you be interested in doing if a vacancy became available (eg, transfer to another section, supervisor position, etc)? |
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To perform other jobs in the organisation: What training or experience would be required (eg, machine operation, negotiation skills, Occupational Health and Safety Awareness, etc)? |
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Future Development Needs
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What are your career aspirations? |
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What training or development do you need to help make this happen (eg, external degree study, formal meeting procedures, leadership training, etc)? |
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Recognition of Prior Learning
| 19. |
What training have you attended within the last three years? (This will help identify if any training sessions have been missed or if any refresher training is required.) |
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| 20. |
What training or skills have you acquired outside your current job that may be relevant to the wider organisation? |
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Action Plan
Agreed training and development to be provided over the next 12 months:
(Record the details of training courses, on-the-job experiences, buddy systems or mentor arrangements, and include the recommended dates the staff member can expect these to occur.) |
| Training |
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| Signature of Staff Member |
Date : |
| Signature of Supervisor |
Date : |
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Sources and References
This document was written by the Australia Government, Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency, Commonwealth of Australia.
The original document is available for free download by following this link
© Commonwealth of Australia 2001-2005
This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. All other rights are reserved.
Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to:
Communications Manager
Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency
PO Box 712,
North Sydney, NSW, 2059
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