NEEDS ASSESSMENT for Organizational Success

Roger Kaufman + Ingrid Guerra-López

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Chapter 1 Needs Assessment

and Performance ImprovementWhat’s in This Chapter?

• Howtoclearlyjustifyyourorganization’sdirection

• Understandingyourassessmentchoicesandhowtorelatemeansandends

• Defining“needs”asagapinresults,notamethods,means,orresourcediscrepancy

• Therelationshipbetweenneedsassessmentandevaluation

• Howtoensurestakeholderparticipationandbuy-in

FindingYourWayItisimportanttomakecertainthatyouandyourorganizationareheadedintherightdirection;

thismeansthatyouhavejustifiedexactlywhereyouareheadedandyouknowhowtotellwhen

youhavearrived.Findingtherightdirectionisabsolutelyvital.Thischapterprovidesthebasic

conceptsandtoolstoassurethatwhenyoudoneedsassessment,youhavevalidandreliable

datauponwhichtomake,andjustify,decisions.

Theprecisedefinitionofwordsandconceptsareabsolutelyvital,andevenifsomewords

sound familiar,weprovideuniquedefinitions formany. It ismore thansemanticsandbeing

preciseiscentraltoyoursuccess.

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Introduction:SettingtheRightDestinationMostjourneyswetakeareconsideredsuccessfulifwearriveattherightplace,attherighttime,

andingoodcondition.The“rightplace”isvital.Identifyingwhereyoushouldheadandjustifying

why you should get therewill provide youwith the critical data uponwhich to do planning,

design,development,implementation,andmonitoringandevaluation.Likewise,performanceis

notmerelyaboutwhatwedoorhowwedoit,itisfirstandforemostaboutaccomplishments(or

“arriving”atadesiredandappropriatedestination).

Whenwetalkabout improvingperformance,wearetalkingabout improvingouraccom-

plishments,theresultsofwhatwedoandhowwedoit.Itdoesuslittlegoodtoimprovewhat

wedoandhowwedoit,ifitdoesn’timprovetheresultswewanttoaccomplish.First,wedefine

theresultswewanttoaccomplish;andthenweconsiderwhatweshoulddoandhow,inorder

toaccomplishthem.Andthatiswhereneedsassessmentcomesin.Itprovidesconcretedataon

whereyoushouldhead,whyyoushouldgothere,andhowtotellwhenyouhavearrived.Here

aresomejourneytipsandthoughtstoconsider.

Avoid flaws in conventional thinking and models. If thereisauniversalmistakein

howorganizationsdecidehowtoimprovetheireffectivenessandefficiency,it’sthattheytend

tostartdevelopmentwithoutaproperreviewto:

•Ensurethattheirobjectives(includingvisionsandmissions)arestillappropriateandhaveenoughspecificitysothatpeoplecanappropriatelyplantomeetthem.

•Providerigorousandclearcriteriaformanagement,development,evaluation,andcontinualimprovement.Conventionalpracticefororganizationalimprovementdeniesitselfthedataaboutwheretheorganizationshouldbegoing,howtoknowwhenitishavingsuccess,andhowtomanageimprovementintheorganization.

Ananalogymightbe ifanairliner left itshomeairportwithnobetterguidancethan“to

haveagoodtriptoSanDiego,”withoutapractical,tangible,andagreeduponnavigationplan

forgettingthere.Conventionalpracticevaluesquickactionundertheguiseofdecisiveness,and

often,quickactionleadstocostlymistakes.Quickactioninandofitselfisnotabadthing,ifit

doesn’tentailpickingsolutionsbeforeunderstandingproblemsandopportunities.

Start with a needs assessment to provide the data for front-end alignment to en-

sure you’re going to the right place.Thefirstactionproposedinthisbookisapragmatic

needsassessment.Theapproachinthisbookwillremedytheproblemslurkingincurrentap-

proaches by focusing on useful ends defined inmeasurable performance terms. If someone

didn’tchallengethestatusquoinmeasurableterms,wewouldstillbelivingonaflatearth.This

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bookdefersapproaches,methods,means,activities,andtoolsuntilallorganizationaleffective-

nessandimprovementpartnerscanmeasurablyarticulate,justify,andcommunicatewhereto

headandwhygothere.Thisapproachavoids“solutionsinsearchofproblems”andstartingout

a journeywithvaguenotionsofwheretohead(forexample,“beworldclass,”“excellence,”

“delightedcustomers,”“becomenumberone”).

Aseriousorganizationmeasurablydetermineswhereitisandshouldbeheaded,andthen

concernsitselfwitharrivingontimeandingoodcondition.Thenitdecidesonhowtogetthere.

Allthreeareimportant,butfirstandforemostwedefine“wheretohead.”

Thesensibleroadmapforasuccessfuljourney—formeasurablyimprovingwhatyourorga-

nizationcontributes—isbasedonthegeneralperformanceimprovementprocess:Assessment,

Analysis,Design,Development, Implementation,andEvaluation (AADDIE) (Guerra,2003),de-

pictedinFigure1.1.ThisisamoreresponsiveframeworkthantheconventionalADDIEframe-

workbecauseitdoesn’tassumethatoneknowswhattoanalyze,butfirstassesseswhereone

shouldhead.

Themajoremphasisofthisbookisonneedsassessment,causalandothertypesofanalyses,

aswellastheongoinglinkagefromneedsassessmenttoevaluationandcontinualimprovement.

Choosingtheproperdestinationfororganizationalimprovementandorganizationaleffec-

tiveness involves change, choices, and consequences (Kaufman, 2006). Change is inevitable

anditisamatterofwhetheryoubecomethemasterofchangeorthevictimofit.Thisleadsto

choices:Doyouchoosetocreateanewandbetterfutureorjustreacttoit?Andthenthereare

consequencesofyourchoicesaboutthechange.Doyoumeasurablyaddvaluetoyourorganiza-

tionordoyousubtractvalue?

Thechoicesare yoursandyourorganization’s tomakeand theconsequencesare yours

torealize.Hesitanttomakechoices?Notmakingadecisionisadecision(Greenwald,1973).

Whenfacinguncertainty,whichseemstoalwaysbewithus,managementexpertPeterDrucker

advisesus,“Ifyoucan’tpredictthefuture,createit.”Thisapproachtoneedsassessmentwill

allowyoutodefineandcreatethebetterfutureforyouandyourorganization.Andthatmeans

tangiblydefininganddeliveringsuccess;successthatyoucanprove.

Defining and arriving at the right place (at the right time and in the right condition) is

facilitatedbyneedsassessments.We’lldefinewhatthatisandthentellyouabouttheunderlying

conceptsandtoolsthatcanhelpyoudeliverorganizationalimprovementandsuccess.

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Figure 1.1 AADDIE Model

Implementation• Prepareforchange• Implementsolutionsandmanagechange

Development• Producesolution/meansbasedondesignspecifications• Formativelyevaluateandmodifysolution/means

Design • Selectorderivesolutions/meansbasedonsolutioncriteria

Analysis• Identifycausesforgaps• Identifysolutioncriteriabasedongaps

Assessment• Identifygapsinresults(WhatIsvs.WhatShouldBe)• Prioritizegapsbasedonthecostsandconsequences

Evaluation and Continual Improvement

• Formativelyevaluateprogressandreviseasrequired• Summativelyevaluateimpactandcontinuetoreviseasrequired

Endsvs.MeansMeasurableperformance improvementstartswith identifying theendswewant toaccomplish

(not themeansweprefer) and thendeterminingour currentpositionwith regards to those

ends.Thedistinctionbetweenendsandmeanscannotbeoverstated.

•Endsareresults,impacts,andconsequences.Theyarewhathappensafterweuseanddosomething.

•Means arethewaysweachieveends.Theyarethehow-to-doit.

Both are important, related, and different. Ends definewherewe should finish and the

means(therightmeans)getusthere.Figure1.2furtherdefinesthesetwoimportantelements.

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Figure 1.2 Differentiating Ends vs. Means

ENDS are the results, impacts, or accomplishments we get from applying the means. They are what is achieved.

MEANS are the way in which we do something. They are processes, activities, resources, methods or techniques we use to deliver a result.

What’s the Difference?

MEANS

MEAN

NDS

END

Source:Kaufman,R.(2011).The Manager’s Pocket Guide to Mega Thinking and Planning.Amherst,MA:HRDPress.

WhatIsaNeed?Ifwearegoing toassessneeds,anduse them tosetourdirectionandplanning toachieve

organizationalsuccess,let’sdefinesometerms.First,let’sdefine:Whatisaneed?Aneedisa

gapbetweencurrentresults(andconsequences)anddesiredresultsandconsequences.

Figure1.3illustratesthisdefinitionofaneedasagapbetweencurrentanddesiredresults

andtheconsequencesofthatgap.

The Inherent Conflict of Language Ordinary language usage provides a challenge for conducting a useful needs assessment.

Commonusageof“need”oftentakesustosolutions—weneed moremoney,weneedmore

time,weneedmorepeople,weneedtooutsource,weneedtoreorganize—andthisalways

leadsustoselectingandapplyingsolutions(moretime,moremoney,etc.)beforeweknowthe

problemandbeforeweknowwhatresultsweshoulddeliver.Thus,without thinking,people

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unknowinglyjumpintosolutionsbeforedefiningandjustifyingaproblem(aproblemisaneed—a

gapinresults—chosenforreductionorelimination).Thisbookhasanemphasisonresultsand

relevantevidence.Thequickwayforyoutobesuccessfulatneedsassessment—andmaintain

astrategicfocus—istoactontherealizationthatneed is a noun: a gap between current

results and desired results. It is not a verb.

Figure 1.3 Definition of Need

Needs, Ends, Means

• First select the NEEDS, then (and only then):

• Identify and select the means, solutions, or processes to close the gap in results.

Needs

Current Results

DesiredResults

ENDS ENDSMEANS

Source:Kaufman,R.(2011).The Manager’s Pocket Guide to Mega Thinking and Planning.Amherst,MA:HRDPress.

Ifweuseneedasanoun,wewillbeabletojustifybothusefulobjectivesaswellaswhat

wedoanddeliver.Wewillbeabletoprovidevalidrationaleandevidenceforeverythingweuse,

do,produce,anddeliver.Itistheonlysensiblewaywecandemonstratevalueadded.

By jumping into a solution (ameans,methods, intervention, technique, or tool) through

theuseofneed as a verb, disagreementsoftenbeginaboutwhat peoplewant, rather than

focusingstakeholdersonwhatmustbeaccomplished.Wecanarguealmostendlesslyabout

whichmeans is better—training, Six Sigma, benchmarking, technology—ifwe don’t define

whichgapinresultsafavoredmeanswillclose.Toreduceconflictandthepracticeofselecting

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solutionsinsearchofproblems,gobacktobasics:Firstdefinetheneeds(asgapsinresults)and

thenconsiderandselectthemeanstoclosethosegapsinresults.

The Need WordNeedisanoverusedword.Justlistentoeverydayconversation,includingperhapsyours.And

thewaythewordisusedconventionallyinneedsassessmentoftenleadsonetomeansbefore

definingandjustifyingtheendstobeaccomplished.Peopleconfuseneedsandwants(endsand

means)allthetime.Andtheconsequencesofgettingtheseconfusedarenotpretty.Everheara

familymembersaythingslike:

I need a new car.

I need more time.

I need him/her.

I need more technology.

I need more people.

I need a new dress/suit.

I need to go to the mall.

I need more money.

Thedifferencebetweenendsandmeansisclear,butitbecomesblurredwhenweuseneed

asaverb.Whenyouuseneedasaverb,itisverydemandingandtakesawayyourchoices.There

arenolongeroptions,justthesolution(moremoney,moretraining,morebenchmarking,new

technology)thathavebeenpre-selected.Thus,peopleareconstantlypickingsolutionsbefore

theyknowtheproblems.

Nowthatwehaveadefinitionofneed—agapinresults—wehavethebasisforstartingto

determinetheobjectivesforourorganization;foreverythingweuse,do,produce,anddeliverin

termsofaddingvalueoutsideourorganization;fordefiningandjustifyingtherightplaceforus

toheadandarrive.Thetoolforthisisneeds assessment.

WhatIsaNeedsAssessment?Aneeds assessment identifiesgapsbetweencurrentanddesired results—notmeans—and

placesthoseinpriorityorderonthebasisofthecoststomeettheneedsascomparedtothe

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coststoignoretheneeds.Thesegapsarecalledneeds,andneedschosenforresolutioncanalso

bereferredtoasproblems.Bydefiningneedasthegapbetweencurrentandrequiredresults,

wehavethebasisforjustifyingnotonlywhereweshouldheadbutalsotheevidenceforproving

the costs ofmeeting the need—getting to the ‘right’ destination—aswell as the costs for

ignoringtheneed.Wehavetooperateinanenvironmentoftrust,andtrustisbestbuiltthrough

objectiveevidence.

Definingneedasagapinresultsprovidesatriplebonus:

•Youdetermine“whatshouldbe,”whichisderivedonthebasisofperformancedata;thisbecomesyourobjectives.

•Youhavethebasiccriteriaforevaluation;youonlyhavetocomparethenewdistancebetweenWhat IsandWhat Should Bebasedontheneedsidentifiedandjustified.

•Youhavethebasisforunimpeachableproposalsbecauseyoucanprovideboththeconventional“costtomeettheneed”withthe“coststoignoretheneed.”

Takingthisapproachhasanadditionalorganizationalpoliticalbenefit.Ifyouprovidesuch

datainaproposalanditisturneddownbythepersonmakingtheprojectdecision,thenany

responsibilityforfailureandtheconsequencesshiftsawayfromyou.

NeedsAreNotWants,andMeansAreNotEndsItiscriticaltounderstandthatthereisawiderangeofperceptionsaboutwhatiscalledaneed

oraneedsassessment.Infact,manyso-calledneedsarenotneedsatall,butpreferredwants.

Likewise,manyso-calledneedsassessmentsarenotneedsassessments,butratherasurveyof

wants.Forexample,pickingtrainingasasolution,andthenaskingyouremployeestocomeup

with10reasonswhytheyneed trainingorinwhatareastheywouldliketrainingisnotaneeds

assessment.Thisisanexampleofhowtojustifypreferredsolutionsthroughincompletedata(in

thiscase,popularwants)withoutfirstcollectingevidenceaboutrealgaps,actualcausalfactors,

andarangeofrelevantoptions.

NeedsAssessmentvs.Needs(orPerformance)AnalysisVariations of this process have also been referred to as performance analysis (International

SocietyforPerformanceImprovement,2011;Pershing,2006),orassumedtobepartofafront-

endanalysis(Harless,1975),orafiguringthingsout(FTO)study(ZemkeandKramlinger,1982).

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However,wecautionaboutblurringassessmentwithanalysis, asoneseeks to identifygaps

inresults,whiletheotherseekstounderstandtherootcausesandessentialelementsofsuch

gaps.IfwerefertoabasicWebster’sdefinitionofanalysis,wefindthatanalysisisdescribedas

theprocessofstudyingthenatureofsomethingordeterminingitsessentialfeaturesandtheir

relations.Inthissense,bothneedsassessmentandneedsanalysisarepartofanessentialand

preliminarystageinanylearningandperformanceimprovementeffort.

Needsassessmentprovidesdataaboutgapsinresults,andthereforesetsuptheevaluation

frameworktobeusedwhenevaluatingthesolutionsthatwereimplementedtoclosesuchgaps

(Guerra-López,2008).Needsanalysisshouldcomeafteraneedsassessmentinordertoprovidedata

aboutthecausalfactorsofthegaps,andthereforecriticalinputaboutwhatsolutionalternatives

shouldbeconsideredtoclosesuchgaps.Indeedanalysisisanimportantandsupportingaspect

ofevaluation—andallperformanceimprovementphases—asoneshouldalwaysseektobetter

understandgapsbetweenWhatIsandWhatShouldBe(orwhatwasintended).

TrainingNeedsAssessmentCaveatItisalsoworthnotingthedistinctionbetweenaperformance-basedneedsassessmentanda

trainingneedsassessment.Thepurposeofatrainingneedsassessmentistoidentify“thethings

wemust knowbeforewe train….” (Rossett,1987,p.14),whichsuggestswealreadyknow

training is the solution to theperformanceproblem. Fromaperformanceperspective, needs

assessmentscanbeconductedatvarious levelsoforganizational results, includingstrategic

(externalimpact),tactical(overallorganizationalresults),andoperational(internaldeliverables),

independentlyofanypre-imposedsolution(s).

Withinaninstructionalcontext,needsassessmentscouldbeconductedatthelearnerlevel,

eitherlookingatgapsinknowledge,orpreferably,lookingatgapsinhumanperformanceand

behaviors first, and then seeking to identify the relevant gaps in knowledge so as to better

targetdesiredresults.ThisisechoedbyDick,Carey,andCarey(2009),whosuggestthatneeds

assessment,inthecontextofinstructionaldesign,beginsbyaskingwhatlearnersmustbeable

todoorperform,ratherthanwhattheymustknow(Guerra-LópezinRichey,2012).

Itisalsoworthnotingthatalthoughsometimesthetermsneeds assessmentsandevalua-

tionsareusedinterchangeably,theyarequitedifferent.

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NeedsAssessmentandEvaluation—RelatedbutDifferentWhileassessorsandevaluatorsmaysharedatacollectiontechniques,thetypesofquestionsthey

seek to answer differ. In this sense, the roles of assessor and evaluator differ in purpose or

function,ratherthanimportanceandmethods.Needs assessorshelpdefine,justify,andcreate

the future by providing hard and soft data for the identification of performance-based vision,

alignedmissions,andbuilding-blockobjectives,aswellasthegapsbetweencurrentanddesired

results.Additionally, theyhelp identify thebestsolutions forclosing thesegaps,and thereby

ultimatelyreachingtheorganizationalvision.

Ontheotherhand,evaluatorshelptodeterminewhetherwedidinfactreachthefuture

wesetouttocreateduringtheneedsassessmentprocess.Oneoftheprimarywaystheydothis

isbydeterminingtheeffectivenessandefficiencyoftheimplementedprogramsandsolutions,

aswellasthecausalfactorsassociatedwithanygapsbetweenexpectedandaccomplished

results.Measurably improvingorganizationaland individualperformancedependsheavilyon

thesetworolesandprocesses.

While both assessors andevaluators collect datawith regards to the current results of

process or activity, evaluators collect data to determine whether current results match the

results expected from solutions (such as new programs, new technologies, new processes,

training,oranyothermeansweselecttohelpusachieveourobjectives)thathavealreadybeen

implemented.Theassessor,incontrast,seekstoanticipatetheexpectedreturn-on-investment

ofpotential interventionsbefore theyare implementedbycollectingdatabothaboutcurrent

results (What Is)aswellas thepotential results (WhatShouldBe).With thisdata,decision

makersareablechooseamongcompetingalternatives(Guerra-López,2008).

StakeholderParticipationandBuy-InAnysuccessfulorganizational improvementeffort isdependentonthe involvementandbuy-in

ofitsorganizationalpartners.Needsassessmentisnodifferent.Youwillwanttoincluderepre-

sentativesofallrelevantstakeholdergroupsinyourneedsassessment.Iftheverysamepeople

chargedwithdefiningandaccomplishing the results that theorganization commits to deliver

arenotpartoftheprocess,theywilldoubtfullybeawillingpartnerafterthefact.Moreover,the

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needsassessmentfindingsandrecommendationswilllikelybemetwithskepticismandresent-

ment,whichonlyleadstofailedimprovementefforts.

Whilenoteverystakeholderhastobephysicallypresentinneedsassessmentactivities,

itiscriticalthattheyfeeltheirinterestsarewellrepresentedandconsideredintheprocess.A

comprehensiveandrepresentativestakeholdergroupshouldbe identifiedfor revisions, feed-

back,andapproval.Asubsetofthisgroupshouldformamoreactivecoreworkgroupthatwill

collaboratecloselywiththoseneedsassessors.

Asyoureadthrougheachoftheneedsassessmentlevels,keepinmindthatalleffortsare

tobecarriedoutasaneedsassessmentandplanningteam.

Needsassessmentensuresthatyouareheadedintherightdirection,providesthecriteriafor

designinganddeliveringsuccess,andprovidesthecriteriafordeterminingifyouweresuccessful.

ChapterSummaryOrganizationalimprovementandorganizationalsuccessreliesondefiningandjustifyingwhere

weareheadedandhowtoknowwhenwearrive.Needsaregapsinresults,notinprocesses,

methods,ormeans.Needsassessmentsidentifythegapsbetweencurrentresultsandtheir

consequencesanddesired resultsandtheirconsequences.Theyalsowillprovide important

datasowecan identify thecostsofmeetingtheneedsascomparedtothecosts to ignore

them.Needsassessmentsarenot thesamethingasneedsanalysis,performanceanalysis,

orevaluation.Inthenextchapterwewillintroducethebasictoolsyourequiretobeginyour

needsassessment.