Performance Needs Assessment

A systematic approach to success

Performance improvement is a systematic approach to determining what people need to do to contribute to the success of their organization. This information can be used to develop training programs and interventions that encourage workers to learn new skills and behaviors that help employers achieve their full potential.

Performance improvement training is linked with the organizational and human performance needs of the organization. It provides skill training that supports the organization’s performance improvement goals, such as reducing costs, improving quality, increasing output, and meeting deadlines. The content of the training focuses on the skills, abilities, and on-the-job behaviors of incumbent workers that contribute to ideal performance as defined by the employer.

A Performance Needs Assessment identifies what is preventing optimum performance, e.g. people factors (attitudes, skills); environmental factors (processes, job design); lack of knowledge, skills and ability; and offers solutions to achieve the employer’s goals.

Performance Perspective

Identify measurable goals
Determine necessary performance
Identify performance gaps
Validate if training is needed
Identify appropriate solutions
Determine actions to transfer skills
Evaluate and measure impact
Identify additional services

Performance Improvement Grid Questions

Business Needs	Performance Needs
How does the problem described impact your business? If the problem was resolved, what would you hope your business results would be? How does that compare to results right now?	What do you want employees to do better or differently? How does this compare to what employees are doing right now? What are employees doing or not doing that you would like to see change? Where does the problem appear? When does the problem appear? How long has the problem existed?
Learning Needs	Work Environment Needs
Has training been conducted in the past? If so, what were the results? Could your employees do this right now if their jobs depended on it?	Other than lack of skills, do you know of any other reasons for this performance gap? What solutions other than training have been tried to solve this problem? If we were to provide a class in (_____), can you think of any other reasons employees would not perform as expected?

The California Conservation Corps has been partnering with California’s community colleges for years, but with inconsistent success throughout our network of centers. Working with the California Corporate College has provided us with that single point of contact we were looking for so we could develop green career pathway programs for our corpsmembers … high quality training programs that could be delivered, still in partnership with the community colleges, but now consistently across all of our centers.

Brad Duncan
Chief, Pgm Dev & Support Div
California Conservation Corps