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Prioritising learning needs
Once you have identified learning needs across the organisation you then need to prioritise them.
Answering these questions will help you prioritise your training needs:
- What impact will developing these skills have on our performance?
- What would be the costs and benefit of investing in developing these skills
- Which skills needs are the most important to our long-term success?
- Which skills needs are the most urgent?
You should record the research and decisions you make when analysising the costs versus the benefits of developing these skills in a quantifiable way - such as on a spreadsheet. It will be much easier to make the case for supporting learning to decision makers and funders if you have carried out a quantifiable cost/benefits analysis.
Potential gains might include:
- Reduced turnover and savings on recruitment costs
- Higher skill levels leading to more efficiency and fewer errors
- Reduced risk of accidents or breaches of legislative requirements
- Higher morale and levels of motivatio
- Impact on fundraising capacity through a higher skills base
- Improvements to the quality of your service and reputation
- Sustainability and succession planning
It’s worth remembering that investing in training or learning will not always be the appropriate solution for organisational issues. Carrying out a Training Needs Ananlysis and cost/benefit analysis of implementing the findings is likely to highlight areas where other solutions are required.