SC QUALITY GUILDTraining needs skills matrix
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Score each person against the level each skill requires, then see the gaps, the skills only one person can cover and where training should go first.
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Three levels of training needs analysis
A training needs analysis (TNA) finds the difference between the knowledge and skill people have and the knowledge and skill the work requires, and decides which of those gaps training should close. It is done at three levels:
- Organizational: what the strategy, new products, regulations or growth will require that the organization cannot do today.
- Task or job: what each job requires, taken from job descriptions, work instructions and process maps. This sets the required level in each column of the matrix.
- Individual: how each person compares with the job requirement. These are the rows.
Where needs come from
Common sources are surveys, performance reviews, regulations and customer requirements, audit findings, nonconformance data, and new processes or equipment. Recording the source lets you rank needs and gives the evidence ISO 9001:2015 clause 7.2 expects: competence determined from what the work requires, and the effectiveness of actions taken to acquire it evaluated.
Reading the matrix
Each cell compares a person with the requirement for their role. The gap points are the levels short, summed. The qualified row counts the people in the roles that need the skill who are at or above the required level.
- Nobody qualified: the work is being done without the competence it needs. Supervise it or bring in support while people train.
- One person qualified: a single point of failure and a succession risk. Cross-training a backup usually comes before deepening the skill of people who already have it.
When the gap is not a training problem
Training fixes a lack of knowledge or skill. It does not fix a lack of motivation, unclear expectations, missing feedback, poor tools, too little time or a badly designed process. A useful test, from Mager and Pipe's performance analysis: could the person do it correctly if it really mattered? If yes, look at consequences, resources and the process before booking a course.
On the CMQ/OE exam
Expect questions on the three levels of needs analysis, which source of information fits a situation, and recognizing when a performance problem should not be solved with training.