New to HR in the Plastic Industry: How Do I Start a Training Needs Survey?

Dear Members, I have recently joined the plastic industry in the HR department. My senior has asked me to conduct a survey to identify training needs or training opportunities for employees. Please advise me on how to initiate the training process.

Thank you.

Identify the training needs through competency mapping and the Performance Management System by determining the maximum competencies and skills required to perform activities.

Competency Mapping

Required Qualifications, Skills, and Experience (minus) Existing Qualifications, Skills, and Experience = Gaps (Gaps represent Training needs)

Competency Mapping should be conducted to identify gaps with the assistance of the Concerned Head of Department.

Regards,
Narayan

You can get relevant information on the training needs of employees from the documents you have with you. One such document is the performance appraisal document, which contains information about the current job the employee is handling, the report on their performance by their managers, and their recommendations about the training to be given to them.

Another source of information is the PINS (Personnel Information System), which contains all details about responsibilities handled and training received, etc. You can extract the information from the informative storehouse you have. If you do not have any such documents, then you need to prepare a document to collect details from the employees. This document should largely contain columns about the jobs held by them in the past and the present in the organization, the details of training received by them so far, the evaluation report of their manager on their performance, and the areas and skills they are lacking in, etc. This will enable you to assess the training needs. However, experts in training may provide more useful inputs.

Regards,
B. Saikumar

Please read all the "Appraisal Forms" from previous years. That will give you a fair idea of the training needs of your organization. Speak with various heads (Finance, Production, IT, Admin, etc.) and try to understand what their teams require. Based on my experience, all training needs typically come down to Leadership Training (Negotiation Skills, Coaching, Team Management, Emotional Intelligence, etc.) for Top Management. Senior Managers usually require Managerial Training, while middle managers benefit from Skill-Based Training. Junior managers need hardcore technical training that is often carried out on the job itself. Finally, there are certain statutory training needs such as safety, environmental, and health-related training.

Don't feel overwhelmed; as you progress, the path will become clearer.

For further information, you can reach me at [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons].

Regards,
Kulveer Singh
L&D Head
Premium Transmission Ltd.
Pune

Classifying Training Needs

Classify the training needs into technical and non-technical categories. For technical training, consider topics such as injection molding methods, properties of plastic, testing, quality, safety, machine operation, etc. For non-technical training, focus on areas like communication skills, safety practices, 5S methodology, leadership skills, Excel proficiency, etc.

These requirements can be identified through performance appraisals, individual skill mapping, discussions with process owners, and HODs.

Regards,
Muthu