Blog Post #2: Why is it important to make needs assessment an ongoing process? What are the implications of this?

  Performing a needs assessment is crucial for many reasons. The most imperative reason is that it answers the needs of both organizational management and the workplace learning professionals.  Without a proper understanding of the current situation and problem, a solution can’t be developed. If you implement this correctly you should be able to answer who needs to learn what, why do they need to learn it, and to what extent do they need to learn it. Through answering these questions you will be able to effectively design and implement any instructions that you or your company needs.  However, the wrong assessment could lead to the creation of improper learning or one that does not address the true problem. Millions of dollars each year are wasted on ineffective training programs because the needs of the company and employee are not properly identified.  Evaluating the strategic impact of a potential training program based on your companies specific needs will ensure that limited resources are deployed for maximum positive impact.

 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needs_assessment