NEEDS[horizontal ellipsis]WANTS[horizontal ellipsis]DEMANDS: PART 2

Is there anything that makes your heart sink more than having to do a house-wide educational needs assessment? Well, yes, there is-nuclear war, a comet strike, a few other things-but still, no one looks forward to doing a needs assessment. In the last column, we discussed assessing specific learning needs; doing a general needs assessment can be just as frustrating and sometimes seem futile.

The purpose of a needs assessment is to provide the information needed to plan effective educational interventions. Obtaining that information is the tricky part. Do you send a form (whether paper or computerized) with suggestions already listed and ask people to check off their level of interest in each topic? If so, how do you decide what to list? Most people choose topics that they believe are needed by the staff or those suggested by managers. The problem with this approach is that you often end up with things that the staff would rather have a root canal than attend. The end result is a large number of "would not attend" or "low interest" replies. This can lead to frustration, large numbers of mandatory classes, and even larger numbers of bored, angry staff members.

Other times, hospital-wide learning needs assessments are sent out blank, asking learners to write in classes they would like to attend. Usually, a handful of replies come in, most with "computer classes" scribbled on them. The compromise is, of course, to offer some suggestions and to ask for additional suggestions, and like most compromises, sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.

Some people recommend focus groups of selected employees, believing that the discussion engendered in such groups will lead to topics that no one would have come up with on their own. That is exactly what happened the two times I have tried this approach, but the downside is that the groups are time consuming and expensive and must be very carefully facilitated. If the facilitator fails to keep the group focused on the learning needs assessment, the session can turn into a gripe session about work rather than an exploration of learning needs.

Regardless of which approach you finally choose, I suggest making the topics very specific and eye catching. Rather than "Computer Classes," list titles such as "Intermediate Excel Skills," "BASIC Searching Using PubMed and Other Tools," and so on. Instead of listing "Disaster Class" or "Emergency Management," put "Disaster: Steps for Survival" or "Dealing with Large-Magnitude Earthquakes and Terrorist Attacks." What we are going for here is the "wow" factor. Catch the person's interest, and he or she may actually take the time to respond thoughtfully. I have also found that making classes very specific leads to better overall turnout when the class is held.

Once the results are in, analyze and prioritize based on numbers, on enthusiasm, and on needs. Some people believe that whatever employees want, employees should get. If the top vote getter is "More Elaborate Ways to Make Bayberry Candles," that is what should be offered. The problem with this approach is that staff can end up receiving more fluff than substance. If you have worked a bit on making the class titles sound interesting and provocative, you may get a bigger response than expected on topics that are important to better employee performance. Prioritizing classes based on the whole spectrum of staff wants and needs is better than just going by the raw numbers.

You have the list of things to be offered; now, publicize the heck out of them. This is where making the titles and class descriptions as specific and interesting sounding as possible really pays off in better attendance. We all know that just posting fliers is not going to get the turnout-how many times have you heard people say, "I would have liked to attend that class. I wish I'd known about it." (This is usually uttered while standing by the flier posted on the bulletin board.) By all means, use fliers. But advertise on the hospital-wide computer system-in fact, if you have animation capabilities on the hospital Web site, be sure to use them to catch people's attention (ask IS [Information Systems] for help if you need it). Enlist managers to announce classes and hand out fliers at department meetings. (If the managers will offer to give people requested days off to attend classes, that will be even more helpful.) Have education staff promote the classes everywhere they go, and, most importantly, make sure that each class is super excellent, regardless of topic. The most valuable and effective publicity tool is simple word-of-mouth. If another staff member says, "Hey, I attended that class, and it was really good!" when the flier comes out, that will influence employees more than any other kind of publicity.

The art of needs assessment is a tricky one, and we are all learning more about it as we go along. If you have discovered some great method that has worked for you, please send it to me at [email protected] and I will pass it on. Good luck with your learning needs assessments-may they all be fruitful.