Needs Assessment for Southwest Airlines

Planning for a Needs Assessment

       Needs assessment is the first step that should be taken in the instructional design process, so it can be determined whether training is actually necessary.  The following is a needs assessment for Southwest Airlines.  To complete the needs assessment, organization, person, and task analyses were conducted.

 

Southwest Airlines Mission Statement

       “The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit” (“The Mission”, 1988).

 

Stakeholders Who Must Buy-In to Needs Assessment

Customers/Passengers	Community (Non-Profits)
Employees	Airports
Supplies	Government

Questions Asked During Organizational Analysis Phase

Managers

• How can training help us achieve our mission of providing the highest quality customer service?
• What organizational resources can be dedicated to training?
• Will training help us achieve our strategic goals?
• Who should develop/deliver the training?

Trainers

• How can our customers help us in developing the objectives and outcomes for our training?
• What elements in the work environment may be barriers to transfer of training?
• Whose support do we need?
• How will we get management to support the training?
• How can we design relevant training?
• How can we communicate to trainees that the training is relevant to them?

(Noe, 2010, p. 111)

 

Questions Asked During Person Analysis Phase

Managers

• Who needs training?
• How can we convey to the trainees why they are being trained?

Trainers

• Who needs training?
• Do the trainees have the ability, attitude, beliefs, and motivation necessary to learn?
• Can we offer a choice of training programs?

(Noe, 2010, p. 103)

 

Questions Asked During Task Analysis Phase

Managers

• What work activities are suffering from a performance gap?
• Are these activities performed frequently?
• Are these activities critical for successful goal achievement?
• How hard are the tasks to perform?
• Who can provide expert information on these tasks?
• Do these tasks help us to achieve our strategic goals and objectives?
• How are we choosing recipients for our charitable funds?

Trainers

• Do the trainees lack the knowledge and skills needed to successfully complete their work activities?
• Do the trainees need training under special conditions, such as long delays or in-flight emergencies?
• What tasks must be successfully performed to be certified in the job?
• How can we develop competencies that will help us be a leader in the airline industry?

(Noe, 2010, p. 124-126)

 

Documents/Records Required for Needs Assessment

Government Regulations	Performance Standards
Safety Commitment	Donation Records
Safety Records	Volunteer Records
Flight Records	Contract of Carriage
Customer Complaints	Customer Service Commitment
Environmental Commitment	Tarmac Delay Contingency Plan
Procurement Policy	Training Manuals/Records
Supplier Diversity Program	University for People Records

(“Our Commitments, n.d.)

 

Employed Needs Assessment Techniques

• Observation of employees at work (easy to be a passenger/blend in with passengers)
• Questionnaires to suppliers and charitable funds recipients
• Focus groups of passengers
• Study of above documentations

(Noe, 2010, p. 108)

Importance of Analysis Phase in Designing Training Programs

        The needs analysis phase of designing training programs is the most crucial phase.  Without a proper needs analysis, training may be developed that is not needed, training may be developed that is not effective or does not align with an organization’s strategic goals and objectives, employees may not be ready for the training, many resources may be wasted, and the training program’s reputation may suffer.

        The needs analysis phase may determine that training is not the answer to correct the performance gap.  If training is called for, the needs analysis pinpoints the tasks for which training is needed.

        The results of the needs analysis phase will be essential for the following steps in developing the training program.  Learning objectives and outcomes will be based on the results.  The results will be used to determine the most effective way to design, develop, and implement the training program.  Finally, the results will determine the appropriate evaluation criteria needed to ascertain the successfulness of the training program.

(Noe, 2010, p. 103-105)

References

Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5^th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Our commitment. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.southwest.com/html/about-southwest/index.html?int=GFOOTER-ABOUT-ABOUT.

The mission of Southwest Airlines. (1988). Retrieved from http://www.southwest.com/html/about-southwest/index.html?int=GFOOTER-ABOUT-ABOUT.

 

Elevator Pitch

It is important to educate workers at all levels of an organization of the importance of training and development.  Although there are many reasons why training is essential to achieve business strategies, I would like to focus on three reasons in my elevator speech:  globalization, diverse workforce, and technology's impact on work structures.  Organizations that can link training and development to their strategic goals are the ones that will be best positioned to survive in the rapidly changing business environment that faces all industries today.  If you do not believe me, please listen to my elevator pitch for more details.

90SecondElevatorPitch by suejohn

---

Text for 90 Second Elevator Pitch

Training and development is essential for our company to gain a competitive advantage.  After all, workers represent the largest cost to our company.  Even slight improvements in productivity can increase return on investment dramatically.

Today, I would like to discuss the following three reasons why training is needed:  globalization, diverse workforce, and technology’s impact on work structures.

Globalization means that we have more American managers working overseas with local employees.  Often, the culture in these countries differs significantly from ours.  Training is essential so these managers know how to attract, motivate, and retain highly qualified workers (Noe, 2010, p. 12).

Also, our workforce at home will continue to become more diverse.  Workers will have different work values.  Managers must know how to properly motivate and engage all workers.  Workers must be provided with training opportunities that will develop their skills, interest them, and give them a balance between work and home life (Noe, 2010, p. 17-19).

Technology impacts the need for training because it changes the work structure.  Workers must have the skills and knowledge to work the computers that control the robots that now assemble the goods.  Employees must have the skills to use new technology to communicate effectively with customers and provide outstanding service (Noe, 2010, p. 32).

Training definitely supports our organization’s strategy.  After determining the competencies needed by our workers to achieve our strategic drivers, we can definitely base our training on programs that will directly support achievement of those competencies and increase performance success.  These opportunities will develop a continuous learning environment in which our company will be poised to take advantage of the quickly changing business environment that we face today (Noe, 2010, p. 65).

Reference

Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

EIDT 6501 Introduction

Hi everyone

It's great to be starting a new year with you.  I look forward to learning more about effective and efficient training in the workplace. 

Sue