Your mission, whether you would like to accept or reject it, is to create a training program for workers who are paid hourly. Focus groups are one of the simplest and safest ways to do a needs analysis, yet so many trainers overlook this option.

What is a focus group? It's a small group of people that meets with the trainer face to face at one time. You use a structured guide to ferret out the information you really want.

Because of the feeling that there is "safety in numbers," it is usually a non-threatening situation, and you get your data in real-time. Each response a person gives can then provide a building block for the response after that which provides richer and more abundant data than you might receive talking one-on-one.

You also get the give-and-take from those in the room. If someone disagrees with an observation, you'll hear that. Both respondents may help you get an even better 360 degree picture of the topic as they discuss and tweak the original comment. Because of this setting and the discussion synergy it generates, you see attitudes and issues surfacing and being clarified.

You can also use this option in each department when trying to determine specific foci.

This information is adapted from the Training for Impact seminar where participants will learn 51 different ways to do needs analysis, evaluation and training transfer. For more information on this workshop, click here.