Whole
Foods Market is a global grocery store chain and an organization of interest
for a needs assessment. Started in 1980,
the chain is a world leader in natural and organic foods, with 62,000 employees
in over 330 locations throughout North America, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
The locations
include retail stores, distribution centers, bake houses, commissary kitchens,
seafood processing facilities, a coffee roasting operation, and global and
regional support offices. In addition to
“in-store educators” and team trainers, Whole Foods Market has regional trainers
who are responsible for orientation and training of all new and existing team
members. (Whole Foods, 2012)
Prior
to conducting a needs assessment, I would make contact with regional trainers,
regional team leaders, store team leaders and facility leaders to ensure that I
received collaborative input. In the
meeting, I would inquire about current training programs as they relate to the
overall organizational strategic direction.
This would allow me to determine if training is supporting the strategic
goals. In order to obtain this
information, I would ask the following questions:
·
How might the training content affect our employees’
relationship with our customers?
·
How does this program align with the strategic needs of the
business?
·
Do we have experts who can help us develop the program content
and ensure that we understand the needs of the business as we develop the
program?
·
Will employees perceive the training as an opportunity? Reward?
Punishment? Waste of time? (Noe, 2010)
Throughout Whole Foods Market various learning
techniques are utilized for training, including personal one-on-one, group,
video, computer-based and printed study materials (Whole Foods Market,
2012). Along those lines, I would ask to
see lesson plans, training manuals, training records. The
size of Whole Foods organization and its vast locations demand that I employ
various methods in order to gather information.
The following techniques would be used:
questionnaires, interviews, observations, focus groups and online
technology.
Noe, R. (2010). Employee training and
development. (Fifth ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Whole foods market. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/careers/paths.php
Jaqueline,
ReplyDeleteNice layout for your blog. You stated you would implement several techniques in order to gather information. What specific documents would you review? And who are your stakeholders?
Patricia K
Jackie,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the fact that you'd start the analysis by meeting with the regional trainers and team leaders, as well as the store team leaders and facility leaders. These stakeholders , as you stated, will be able to help you to determine what training is working and what is not working to accomplish their strategic goals. I liked the initial questions you've established. Patricia Kuskos asked two very good questions. Besides the employees mentioned above who are the other stakeholders that you will want to collect data from during the needs analysis? Starting with existing documentation such as training manuals and training records is a good idea; how will you verify their accuracy?
Would you want to include the Suppliers for Whole Foods in the organizational phase of the analysis? What data collection tools will be used to determine if a gap exists between the existing training and the skills needed? What stakeholder would you involve in the Person analysis phase?
Mike