Identifying training needs is a skill that training professionals have acquired either on the job or by attending a course or workshop. To recognize the need and express the assessment results to stakeholders, we must rely on a few soft skills mixed with technology.

When working with stakeholders, there are three things to keep in mind: Communication, transparency and data. Communicating will keep the stakeholders abreast of the situation or progress of a project. The purpose for transparency is providing information that may be important for decision-making. Gathering the initial data can illustrate a scenario that needs further investigation to decipher whether it is an organizational culture, performance matter, training need or a task/procedure issue.

Communication

Communication is extremely important because it fosters the beginning of a relationship. To develop a relationship, not just any type of communication will do. Carol Kinsey Goman, author of “The Silent Language of Leaders,” writes, “Face to face is undeniably the most effective (and richest) communication medium and remains the most powerful human interaction.” She also states, “For the highest level of group engagement or to communicate any message that has an emotional component, you need to make a human-to-human connection.” To communicate with stakeholders, you need to build relationships and trust. This requires face-to-face interaction. This form of communication may take courage for those not engaged in daily conversations with executives. Face-to-face communication can be especially intimidating if you are not delivering good news.

After the initial relationship has been established, there is no such thing as overcommunicating with lean communications (e.g., emails, blogs, and website/portal content) to the stakeholders. When thorough communication takes place, it does not allow anyone to say they did not receive the email or see the post.

On the opposite end of the communication spectrum, you will find poor communication. Did you know that poor communication is worse than no communication? It is hard to believe, but it is better to be ghosted than to receive a trickle of information given sporadically. According to Amir Ghannad who authored an article, “No Communication is Worse than Poor Communication,” states, “Lack of communication is a sign of disrespect for the other person(s) in the relationship.” When working with stakeholders it is important to be consistent with communication. It will help develop trust between you and the stakeholders.

Learning leaders looking to improve their communication and heighten transparency should look to project managers. Project managers typically have a spreadsheet that they rely on known as the “communication management plan.” They use this plan for their projects. This is an excellent tool to share with stakeholders because it provides transparency. Author Rita Mulcahy wrote in her book, “CAPM Exam Prep,” “The plan documents both the communication needs of stakeholders and a strategy for meeting those needs.” The communication matrix keeps it organized in terms of: what needs to be communicated; why it needs to be communicated; the best method for communicating, between whom; who has the responsibility for sending the communications and when and how often.

A communication management plan allows stakeholders to see who owns the creation and submittal of training-related announcements, reports and other documents or materials. Showing ownership of communications is vital to develop trust between you and the stakeholders. It is also an opportunity to be transparent.

Transparency

There is a level of transparency needed to work effectively with stakeholders. Being honest and accountable are imperative in building a trusting relationship. In the book, “Speak like a CEO,” author Suzanne Bates included the topic of telling the truth, writing, “This is a cardinal rule of rules. Always tell the truth. The truth is easy. Lies you have to remember, and the truth always come out anyway.”

Be prepared to tell the truth so the stakeholders understand the need for training. They must be aware of all sides: good, bad or indifferent. Once you have their trust, there is an expectation to be accountable. You must own your actions and be responsible to complete tasks in a timely manner.

The article, “8 Tips for Building Transparency in the Workplace,” states, “Every activity, task or initiative in your organization should have an owner. Otherwise, accountability will be hard to come by. Team leaders and executives are ultimately accountable for performance, but project- and task-level ownership increases transparency around who is doing what and what outcomes are expected.” This solid stance of being responsible and truthful furthers your relationship with the stakeholders. Those two attributes help create your professional image.

Data

As training professionals begin identifying training needs, they may discover it is not a training issue. It could be a variety of other issues. Training is not the answer to all problems. Some of us may have learned that lesson the hard way. To avoid wasted hours of training and receiving unfavorable results, training professionals will need to conduct a needs assessment to assimilate the real cause. The data may contain quantitative and/or qualitative information. Training professionals will look at that data to pinpoint any patterns.

When the assessment provides data to prove training has been identified as the way to correct the problem, this is where courage is needed to present that information to stakeholders. Many questions will be asked by stakeholders. You will need to provide the best course of action to correct the problem. Be prepared to give general recommendations, not final recommendations.

From the Training Needs Assessment certificate course offered by Training Industry Courses, training professionals learned to expect push-back, remain non-judgmental, use positive statements and establish goals with a timeline. It is important to consider the best way to present your findings. It is recommended to present quantitative data with visuals: diagrams, pie charts, or graphs. By using a visual source, highlighting valuable information will stand out for the stakeholder.

Conclusion

In conclusion, three key factors (communication, transparency and data) play into presenting your training needs analysis to your stakeholders. Be certain to communicate effectively, as a lack of communication is disrespectful and frustrating to all the parties involved. With only a little bit of information communicated, it leaves a feeling of distrust. Over-communicating will be better than only using one means of communication. You must keep in mind that not everyone has the same preferences for receiving information. Be prepared to learn how your stakeholders want to receive information.

Honesty is the best approach to explaining the training need and the analysis results. If you start with one lie, it will spiral into another “white lie.” Avoid being dishonest even if it’s painful to reveal unfavorable information.

Inform the stakeholders by providing a report. Be sure to include an executive summary. Stakeholders are busy and they prefer something short and to the point. Provide a brief statement of the problem. They will look to you to supply objectives, findings and general recommendations.

To obtain stakeholder’s buy-in, keep the communication channels open, be transparent with the information, communicate your findings with visual aids, and present data that is easily understood by a layperson. When you use the three key factors, you will notice positive results.