Increased organizational effectiveness requires a clear understanding of what separates the desired state from the current state. Identifying and understanding these two critical points and the gap between them is the objective and benefit of a thorough needs assessment. As a wise mentor once taught me: Answers are easy to come by. But the correct or best answers are more likely to be found when we start by asking the correct or material questions. This is the objective of an effective needs assessment—to ask the correct or material questions.
Needs Assessment Steps
The following is a brief outline of the steps utilized to complete an effect needs assessment:
- Understand, or as needed, define the organization’s overall vision, mission, values, and objectives/critical success factors.
- Assess the organization’s current state. This includes industry forces, resources, capabilities, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
- Identify the gap—what separates the organization’s current state from the desired state, in the following areas:
- Objectives/Critical Success Factors performance levels.
- Obstacles/barriers inhibiting desired performance. (Why aren’t we already where we want to be?)Resources required versus resources available.
- Current capabilities versus needed capabilities.
- Understanding the role the people, processes, and policies play in creating and closing the identified gap.
Multiphase Cascading Process
An effective organizational needs assessment requires that the outlined steps be completed at multiple levels, depending on the size of the organization. The following four levels are common for a medium sized organization:
- Enterprise (or whole organization)
- Division/Department
- Team/Functional Group
- Individual
Developing and Executing the Resulting Strategy
Once the needs are identified than plan can be developed and implemented to facilitate closure of the gap and achievement of the desired outcomes.
Conclusion
Progress toward achieving your full potential, whether as an individual or an organization, requires a periodic needs assessment. When was the last time you went through a personal and/or organizational needs assessment? Your time and financial resources are too precious to be expended on unnecessary or even limiting activities.