Customised Assessments Solution for Training Needs Analysis with Yaksha
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of continuous learning in organizations is to ensure that the employees are not just up to date with the latest skills but also are equipped with new skills to take the organizations goals forward. However, what skills need to be learned or relearned is usually dependent on the roles and responsibilities of individuals and overall business goals. L&D exists outside the Business Units and most times are unaware of the requirements of learning except for what the delivery managers/tech team heads mention.
THE CHALLENGE
In the evolving world, L&D and BUs cannot work in silos when it comes to continuous learning. Often times, this becomes the reason why L&D cannot plan accurate training initiatives or sometimes are unable to achieve the intended outcomes of learning. Few challenges L&D professionals face are:
- Lack of complete understanding of skill gaps of employees
- Lack of clarity on the rationality behind choosing the right courses/programs for training initiatives
- Failing to map employee’s skill levels accurately in technologies needed for respective job roles
- No data to make decisions on prerequisite planning for training
- Gaps in understanding how the planned training programs are going to affect the performance of learners after completion of training
For example, If the tech managers suggest that their team needs to be trained in XYZ technologies, L&D professionals need to know what level of training is required in the said technology – Whether the employees’ skills need to be brushed up or they need training that covers the fundamentals too or do they need to also undergo prerequisite training. Currently L&D managers rely heavily on BU heads/tech managers to get this information; however, this leads to narrow focus on training initiatives and gaps in matching L&D goals with business goals.
THE SOLUTION
The solution for this is performing a training needs analysis. L&D professionals need to work closely with tech teams to establish a process to test the employees on their current skills, skills required on the job and identify gaps.
- A comprehensive assessment platform like Yaksha would support L&D professionals in setting up knowledge, skill, and application-level assessments across multiple technologies so that they can map the skill matrix of employees
- Since the reports provide accurate analysis of the skill levels and skill gaps, L&D professionals can make better decisions on training programs
- Assessments would also help L&D professionals hyper personalise the learning programs and journeys for maximum training impact
- Assessments used for training gap analysis identify precise and specific learning journeys for employees to optimize learning outcomes thereby marrying L&D goals with business goals.
In the Data to Decision era, we live in, assessments provide valuable insights into skill matrix of the organization and help L&D identify the gaps efficiently. Applied well, assessments could become an essential tool enabling data-driven decision making and growth in organizations.
