Team Work for Training Need

8/8/2019 Team Work for Training Need

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"When teamwork kicks in, nobody can beat you."

Don Shula, Head Coach, Miami Dolphins

Only NFL team to attain a perfect 17-0 season

Whether it's two people, a department, or an organization, teams are the means by whichgreat things get done. Unfortunately, not all work groups exhibit teamwork. So, how can

our groups develop that sense of community and cohesiveness, or what was Don Shula's

secret? When and how does teamwork kick in? The key is effective teamwork training.

Our research and experience point to a need for managers to be both willing and able tobuild and maintain high performing teams. One key to regaining our competitiveness will

be how successful managers are in creating the climate for teamwork to grow and

develop.

We believe it doesn't just happen by accident. Teams work at building spirit and

commitment. They talk about how they are doing. They are willing to invest time andmoney to protect and enhance the basic team fabric and integrity. In a team, people care

about each other and are concerned about how their actions and attitudes affect eachother.

Managers report that they spend from fifty to ninety percent of their efforts on managing

individuals. Yes, most managers have little or no knowledge of group dynamics. With

CMOE's teamwork training programs, you will discover the inner dimensions and facetsof how groups become teams and how group dynamics can be managed. Observing

groups at work adds clarity to the very subtle and often subliminal concept of teamwork.

It is not magic and there is no secret; it can be explained and put into practice by any

manager.

Many of our teamwork training activities are instruments that allow participants to

observe and unmask the common enemies of teamwork. It helps if we can see more

clearly obstacles that all too frequently are created within a team.

Team afflictions can be widespread, including: destructive and over-chargedcompetitiveness, individualism, over-inflated egos, personal greed, and technology such

as computers that drive us into ourselves and have the potential of isolating us so we can

"do our own thing." Seeing the impact of these afflictions on the quality of teamwork isthe first step towards creating a more effective team.


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Next article

How to Conduct a Training Needs Analysis

Training needs analysis process is a series of activities conducted to identify problems or

other issues in the workplace, and to determine whether training is an appropriateresponse.

The needs analysis is usually the first step taken to cause a change. This is mainly

because a needs analysis specifically defines the gap between the current and the desired

individual and organizational performances.

Who Conducts Needs Analysis & Why?

An in-house trainer or a consultant performs a needs analysis to collect and document

information concerning any of the following three issues :

1. Performance problems

2. Anticipated introduction of new system, task or technology3. A desire by the organization to benefit from a perceived opportunity

In all three situations, the starting point is a desire to effect a change. Given this, you

must know how the people who will experience change perceive it. In the absence of a

needs analysis, you may find employees resistant to change and reluctant to training.They may be unable to transfer their newly acquired skills to their jobs because of the

organizational constraints.

A needs analysis often reveals the need for well-targeted training areas. However, wemust keep in mind that training is not always the best way to try to close a particular gapbetween an organizations goals and its actual performance. Those conducting the needs

analysis must get a clear idea of the problem, look at all possible remedies and report on

their findings to management before deciding on the best solution.

When properly done, a needs analysis is a wise investment for the organization. It saves

time, money and effort by working on the right problems. Organizations that fail to

support needs analysis make costly mistakes; they use training when another method

would have been more effective; they use too much or too little training, or they usetraining but fail to follow up on it. A well-performed analysis provides the information

that can lead to solutions that focus on the areas of greatest need.

Process of conducting a training needs analysis is a systematic one based on specific

information-gathering techniques. Needs analysis proceeds in stages, with the findings ofone stage affecting and helping to shape the next one. There is no easy or short-cut

formula for carrying out this process. Each particular situation requires its own mix of

observing, probing, analyzing and deducting.


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In many ways, the needs analysis is like detective work; you follow up on every lead,

check every piece of information and examine every alternative before drawing any solid

conclusions. Only then you can e sure of having the evidence on which to base a soundstrategy for problem solving.

A needs analysis is not a one-time event. Professional organizations administer needsanalysis at regular intervals, usually every year or two.

Methods of Identifying Training Needs

Training needs will differ with the backgrounds of the employees to be trained, and theirpresent status in the organization. Basically, a candidate for training may come from any

one of three groups :

1. New hires

2. Veteran employees

3. Trainees currently in the training pipeline ( currently in the training program )

Consideration of the varying needs of these groups provides a frame of reference for

discussing and suggesting the methods of identifying training needs :

New Hires

Addition of new employees creates high and low peaks in placing new persons into thetraining program. This problem may be solved by a program where progression is made

in different sequences. It will eliminate a jam that will occur if all phases of the program

must be taken in a definite sequence.

The new employees will normally be of somewhat different backgrounds. Being new,they are not familiar with their new employers. As a result, the earliest phases of the

training must concentrate on company orientation. During these phases, the organi-zation, organization policies and administrative details should be covered. It is also a

suitable time to acquaint the trainees with what will be expected of him, and how he will

be evaluated throughout the phase of training.

Retaining & Upgrading Veteran Employees

The people in this category offer a real challenge to the training department. There- fore,the number and amount of training required by this category should be carefully

considered. Often the retraining and upgrading of former employees can be veryrewarding for training instructors. At least two schools of thought exist as to how theseemployees should be rekindled. There are advantages in keeping this group intact and

tailoring the program to their needs. On the other hand, this category of employees can

also make significant contribution to training if they are co-mingled with the new hires.

Pipeline Employee Requirements


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responses in depth. You can ask or clarification of comments and for examples of what

they mean. In this way, you obtain a full understanding of their performance deficiencies.

You also gain these benefits through interviewing :

1. You build credibility with your interviewees by asking intelligent questions andListening well to their answers

2. You obtain employees personal involvement and commitment to your efforts

3. You establish personal relationships with potential trainees who are important to your

success as a needs analyst and trainer

3. Questionnaires

A questionnaire is a sort of interview on paper. You create your own questionnaire by

writing down all the questions you want employees to answer for you. Then you mail itto them and await their responses.

The key advantage of a questionnaire is that you can include every person from whomYou want input. Employees can complete the questionnaire when and where they choose.

You need not travel and spend time with all respondents. Every employee is asked the

identical questions, and consequently data is very easy to compile and analyze.

Questionnaires can be useful in obtaining a big picture of what a large number ofemployees think while allowing everyone to feel that they have had an opportunity to

participate in the needs analysis process.

4. Job Descriptions

Before establishing a job description, a job analysis must be made. This job analysis

involves a thorough study of all responsibilities of the relevant job. It is company wide inscope and should be detailed to such a degree that those conducting the training can use

the job analysis as a yardstick for their course content. After the job analysis phase has

been completed, the writing of job description and needs analysis is a relatively simpletask. When an employees job description has been defined, the trainer can easily tailor

his training curriculum to a very close proximity of what will be expected of the

employees.

5. The Difficulty Analysis

The Job Analysis will focus attention on enumerating the numerous duties that a worker

must perform. On the other hand, the Difficulty Analysis establishes which of the duties

cause the employee the greatest amount of troubles and how this trouble can be reduced

through better training.


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A good Difficulty Analysis offers many advantages. For example .

It enables a needs analyst to weigh certain aspects of the training in relationship to the

expected difficulty that the worker will face in coping with those duties.

A well thought out Difficulty Analysis will provide the training program with anabundance of role-playing material and situations.

6. Problem Solving Conference

Another time-tested technique for gathering needs analysis material from employees is to

conduct periodic problem solving conferences which may take the form of or be part of aplan for a new product, task or technology, or tied in with a training program It is always

helpful to utilize an outside consultant to moderate such sessions. This outside

sponsorship has a tendency of letting the workers express their feelings about his

organization, and the session can then be geared to training needs. The current problems

will evolve that represent potential areas for training.

7. Appraisal Reviews

During the periodic counseling performance interview, an employee should be ques-

tioned regarding the duties and training of a worker. Comments rendered during theappraisal interviews normally are genuine, and can frequently assist in establishing the

needs, variations and penetrations that a training program should include. Feed- back at

appraisal interview time is valuable since it is timely information. Training needs differfrom worker to worker, and appraisal sessions allow the employee and supervisor /

manager to uncover the cause of weaknesses in performance. These deficiencies

represent areas for training.

8. Drive Pattern Identity

The extent of an employees development depends on his motivations. Identifying theforces that cause an employee to behave in a certain way may be useful in determining

his individual training needs and how to stimulate his desire to fulfill that need. An

analysis of this kind, for example, may determine that the employee has an urgent needfor self-confidence. His individual program should be made to stress the importance of

attitude, skills etc., and any other assets that would give him this self- confidence.

9. Analysis of Organizational Policy

Organization policy will affect the amount of training offered. An explanation of various

policies should be covered in the training program. Of particular concern are thosepolicies that involve change, alteration and major revamping of training programs. In

organizations undergoing merger activity, product diversification and new penetration, a

great deal of sensitivity must be placed on policies today and expected changes in thefuture.


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Whatever the method used to identify training needs, at least the following three

points must be kept in view :

1. These methods should be used in combination; that is, there should never be relianceon only one method

2. They may be used to identify training needs of each of the various groups

of employees

3. They should be applied to individual employees since training needs will vary with the

individual employee.

New article

Training Needs Analysis from Brefi Group

Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is an essential first step inmanagement development. If you wish to achieve the greatest

improvement in performance and best value from your investment intraining, development, practical experience or networking, you

should first undertake a comprehensive training needs analysis. Thiswill form the basis for designing a cost effective management or

talent development programme. Training needs analyses canincorporate a 360 feedback survey, or an analysis of current corporate needs. For

senior individuals an intensive interview programme, including work shadowing can

be justified.

Automate your 360 feedback Training Needs Analysis (TNA) with on-line

services using independently benchmarked competencies.

BuddyCoach - a no cost option for individuals, with suggestions of how to

improve performance. Get feedback from your colleagues and use it todevelop a personal development plan.

CorporateFeedback - a fully customisable system that allows you tospecify your own job roles, competencies and template. Esssential for 360

surveys of more than 10 people, when manual administration gets toocomplicated.

How do you design a TNA?First set your context. Before starting on a training needs analysis, it is desirable to

carry out an audit of the current situation, desired changes in job or responsibility,and probable technological and organisational developments. This will provide the

information needed to determine what is required of the individual, team ororganisation.

Then you can determine performance standards in terms of skills, contacts andpractical experience. There are many published
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management competencies and standards for directors that can be helpful here. Youwill find many useful forms and questionnaires in our learning resources section.

Simple questionnaires help you identify where individuals stand on a range ofcompetences in management, corporate goverance and director behaviour, and

corporate culture. Both the process of answering the questions, and the feedback will

contribute to self awareness, especially if the results include contributions from linemanager, peers and direct reports. The training need is the difference between thecurrent performance and the required performance.

Brefi Group can help you design a training needs analysis and also provide the toolsand administration for an independent confidential exercise. As well as interview and

paper based systems, we provide on-line computer based systems. This isparticularly helpful as the number of candidates increases.

360 feedback surveys

A 360 feedback survey helps the organisation obtain quality information aboutperformance and relationships by posing a set of standard questions to an

individual's line manager, peers and direct reports. This all around (360) approachidentifies any variation of behaviour in different roles and minimises personal bias.

The information can be collected on paper forms or using computer systems; theprint-out in either case acts as a third party report which managers or coaches and

their clients can discuss in a non-emotional manner.

Brefi group recommends that a 360 survey should precede any developmental

coaching programme. When reviewing an individual it is often best to ask openquestions such as: -

Keep doing: What are the things which 'name' currently does which help you

and which you hope (s)he will continue to do?

Do more of: What are the things you would like 'name' to start doing or do

more of? Do less of: What are the things which 'name' does which get in the way and

which you would like to be done less often?

Development needs: What are the areas upon which you feel 'name' should

really concentrate in order to improve the managerial performance of theorganisation? You may wish to highlight aspects of how (s)he manages or

specific objectives or accountabilities which you feel need attention.

Personal strengths: What do you see as the key strengths which 'name'

brings to his/her job?

This information can then be consolidated by an independent consultant and fed back

in a relatively unattributed manner.

However, for a larger or organisation-wide survey it is better to get numericinformation that can be analysed and presented by computer. Brefi Group hasdeveloped two on-line TNA analysis programs for this purpose.

BuddyCoach is a low cost on-line service for individuals - the basic service is free.Using standard questions based on competencies in personal effectiveness,

managing communications, managing people, effective directorship and corporateculture an individual can obtain an analysis of personal strengths and development

needs. For a small charge up to ten others - line manager, peers and direct reports
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for instance - can be invited to comment too. The graphical results contrast theresults from the different categories of feedback and also compare them with the

norm for our international database. For each competence result there aresuggestions of how to improve.

CorporateFeedback is a powerful tool for organisations to identify individual and

corporate training needs. It is a fully customisable on-line 360 feedback programwhich draws on a reservoir of independently benchmarked competencies formanagers and directors. The software is hosted on our servers but can be fully

integrated into your website or intranet within a template of your design.

CorporateFeedback offers a choice of job role, that can either be specified by the

client or draw on our standard list. Within each job role there is a choice of modules,such as managing people or managing finance. Again, these can be specified by the

client or draw on our existing selection. Each module comprises a number ofcompetencies.

Brefi Group has evolved a large selection of competencies, many based oninternational standards. Clients can draw on these and also include specific

competencies relevant to their own organisation. Each competence is represented byfour statements which are included randomly in the questionnaires with options to

agree or disagree.

The results are presented graphically, with options for department heads and HR

departments to view consolidated results and for learning recommendations to beincluded within each category.

Personal interviews

Personal interviews by a trained interviewer who is independent of the organisation

is a means of obtaining high quality information about an individual or members of ateam. Not only can the interviewer collect standard information, but he/she can ask

penetrating questions to identify the reasons for the feedback.

The information can be fed back to the subject in a non-attributable manner, butwith much more information, including not only actual quotes but theappropriate

voice tone and emphasis of the original quote. If the interviewer is alsocommissioned to coach the individual or team, this quality information will ensure

that real issues are properly dealt with.

Work shadowing

Work shadowing involves a coach spending time with an individual while he or she is

carrying out their normal work. The coach sits in on meetings and observes theindividual's behaviour in different circumstances. Feedback can then be immediate,

or compiled into a formal report. The instant feedback is a valuable part of the

coaching process.

What to do next

There are lots of detailed pages on this site, so if you have a specific interest, pleaseuse the search box at the top of the page. If you would like to know more about us

please complete our contact form, or visit our photo gallery to discover the range ofactivities and locations that we can arrange, or ...
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Documents

Team Work for Training Need