1. Establish goals/a mission for your organization. ?Where you would like to be.?
2. Identify your company?s performance standards. (The written, measurable, and clear standards that are communicated to your employees.)
3. Predict any future demands/changes to jobs as a result of technology changes or changes in job process.
4. Determine the existing status of your workforce (Product knowledge, Skills compatible with company?s strategy/goals).
5. Identify the ?gap? between the current and desired skills of your employees.
6. Identify the causes of the gap and assess whether the gap is due to lack of skill or other factors.

Visit the following sites for more information:

• Training Needs Assessments
• Conducting a Training Needs Assessment
• TESTING AND ASSESSMENT: AN EMPLOYER’S GUIDE TO GOOD PRACTICES
• Assessing Employee Training Needs
• Needs Assessment: The First Step
• Steps to Becoming a “High Performance” Learning Organization
• pan Testing and Assessment Products