Patricia:
A needs assessment is a systematic exploration designed to identify the gaps between what is and what ought to be (Boiarsky, 2004). It is the tool of choice of consultants because it provides a means of discovering what clients, consumers, and customers perceive as their needs (Boiarsky, 2004). Additionally, it may be used to determine the cause of a problem. Rather than institute a costly solution that may be inappropriate because the cause has been misdiagnosed, consultants can use needs analysis to uncover the actual reasons a problem has occurred (Boiarsky, 2004). A need assessment tool serves as an excellent vehicle for meeting many of the objectives of a consulting project. Two common need assessment tools exist for consulting projects are Front End Analysis (FEA) and Evaluation.
Front End Analysis (FEA)
As organizations are being asked to do more with less, appropriate needs assessment is a key to cost-effective and efficient development among employees. Front End Analysis is a technique used by business and industry to analyze deficiencies in job performance. If an organization hires a consultant to determine the cause of employees’ poor performance, consultants can use a front-end analysis model to analyze staff development problems and report the outcomes of using front-end analysis to assess training needs in that organization. The need should provide information necessary to create the report, like, where are we? (current status), where do we want to go? (future status), and what is the best way to get there? (present analysis of alternatives). While the FEA process is a joint intervention, where consultants work in partnership with clients through all phases of the project (Kemp, 2023), professionals in organizations still fail to execute seriously this crucial element (Stolovitch, 2020). Stolovitch explained the challenge of getting clients and sometimes colleagues to focus on what appears to be one of the less-glamorous activities of performance improvement: FEA but stressed the importance of it. The author advised us on how to begin championing FEA and described what we should and can do. Namely, accept responsibility, seek out opportunities, seize the initiative on projects, support and participate, adopt an “account management” approach to clients, and emphasize results more than the characteristics of a solution.
According to Stolovitch (2020), in accepting responsibility, it is the consultant’s responsibility to provide clients with clear arguments, precedents, and examples of the value of FEA. Doing an FEA on every project has the potential to stretch further into other areas such as devising strong implementation plans or integrating sound evaluation methods and worth/ROI calculations. It is up to the consultant to seek the opportunities and make the most of them. Whether consultants are internal to the organization or an external resource, seizing the initiative on projects by critically examining work requests, early project planning, and requesting proposals to identify weaknesses in the front-end logic and opportunities can demonstrate the value of strong implementation planning. Here the consultants can emphasize the steps beyond design and development that will lead to desired performance results. Assuming the responsibility for project success while insisting on all the necessary activities that will ensure desired results are also crucial elements to consider.
As consultants, we need to build strength and expertise in ourselves in FEA. Support activities such as reading, attending seminars, meeting with specialists, collecting credible cases, and identifying mentors who can help us progress in our professional capabilities are great ways to do so. In adopting an account management approach consultants can (1) demonstrate how past implementation inadequacies decreased results or increased costs, and (2) offer planning methods for avoiding these problems on new projects (Stolovitch, 2020). Finally, an FEA can help a consultant to emphasize results more than the characteristics of a solution. Using FEA helps build business cases for learning and performance solutions (Stolovitch, 2020).
Evaluation
The only reason consultants create learning and performance interventions is to produce desired accomplishments efficiently (Stolovitch, 2020). To know you have achieved success is through evaluation. Evaluation is a tough sell but consultants committing to a thorough evaluation of what their creative learning and performance interventions produce allow for a greater understanding of the benefits that evaluation data can provide (Stolovitch, 2020). One method for evaluating a consulting project is to perform a cost-benefit analysis of the plan and its implementation.
Cost/Benefit Analysis
A cost-benefit analysis looks at the investment into a project and what the return might be. This is a valuable project management technique to help decide which projects are viable and which ones are better off being passed (Landau, 2022). In this analysis, consultants compare the monetary benefits of consulting intervention to the costs, using a ratio called the benefits/cost ratio (BCR). The BCR compares the annual economic benefits of the consulting project to the cost of the project. A BCR of 1 means that the benefits equal the costs. A BCR of 2 indicates that each dollar spent on consulting yields two dollars in benefits (Phillips et al., 2015). There are no standards that constitute an acceptable benefits/cost ratio from the client’s perspective. However, consultants should establish a standard for specific types of consulting intervention to determine whether the project is worth pursuing. A 1:1 ratio (breakeven status) is unacceptable in many consulting projects (Phillips et al., 2015). A benefit-cost analysis is a data-driven way to make decisions as opposed to betting on your gut (Landau, 2022).
Experts Opinion
Need assessment tools can be undertaken for many reasons, so their purpose should be defined and should determine the method used (Grant, 2002). Makivic et al., (2023) shared the same sentiments in that when choosing an appropriate assessment tool, it is important to focus on the ultimate goal the service is aiming to achieve.
References
Boiarsky, C. (2004). The needs assessment. Business Communication Quarterly, Volume 67, Numbe 1, March 2004 58-69. DOI: 10.1177/1080569903262026 © 2004 by the Association for Business Communication
Grant J. (2002). Learning needs assessment: assessing the need. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 324(7330), 156–159. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7330.156
Kemp, T. (2000). Front-end analysis (FEA). Revision: November 2000.
Landau, P. (2022). Fifteen projects management tools and techniques for project managers. www.projectmanager.com
Makivić, I., Selak, Š., Kragelj, A. (2023). Which needs assessment tool to use? Review of the needs assessment tools for service evaluation, European Journal of Public Health, Volume 33, Issue Supplement_2, October 2023, ckad160.1592, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckad160.1592
Phillips, J., Trotter, W. & Phillips, P. (2015). Maximizing the value of consulting: A guide for internal and external consultants. Somerset, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISNB: 978-1-118-92310.5
Stolovitch, H. (2020, January). Front-end analysis, implementation planning, and evaluation: Breaking out of the Pamela syndrome. Performance Improvement. Volume 41. Number 4
Brian:
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