Volume 3, Issue 9 (September, 2014) Online ISSN-2320-0073 19 Available online on www.abhinavjournal.com Published by: Abhinav Publication Abhinav International Monthly Refereed Journal of Research in Management & Technology AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT – A PERSPECTIVE FOR IDENTIFYING GAPS AND AREAS OF NEED Kamala Saranya Senthil Prabhu 1 Research Scholar, Vels University, Chennai, India Email : saranmallika2088@gmail.com Dr. S. Duraisamy 2 Professor, Vels University, Chennai, India Email: sduraigg@yahoo.co.in ABSTRACT An assessment process is a diagnostic tool for determining what training needs to take place. It is an assessment that looks at employee and organizational knowledge, skills, and abilities, to identify any gaps or areas of need. Once the training needs are identified, then you need to determine/develop objectives to be accomplished by the training. These objectives will form criteria for measures of success and utility. This analysis can be performed by managers who are able to observe their staff and make recommendations for training based on performance issues or gaps between performance and objectives. This paper throws light on factors such as Job Re-design, Performance Appraisal by taking 50 employees as respondents from automobile industries using simple random sampling as sampling technique and descriptive & exploratory research as research design and fed to SPSS using ONE WAY ANOVA & Friedman test. Keywords: Assessment Gaps; Organizational Knowledge; Skills; Abilities; Re- Organization INTRODUCTION Why do we conduct a Training Needs Assessment/Survey? A needs assessment/survey helps an organization achieve its goals. It reduces gaps between employee skills and the skills required by the job and department. The training needs assessment survey can also form the benchmark for determining effectiveness of the training administered. Some sources to determine training needs are Needs Analysis, Employee Interviews, Employee Opinion/Climate Surveys, Changes in Procedures, Job Re-design, Performance Appraisal Results, Assessment Centres and Employment/Skills Tests. Gathering Employee Opinions for Training Needs Scheduling a meeting with employees in a particular department or job classification. During the meeting, they gather ideas from the employees about their needs and areas for professional development. Determine common themes and topics. Ask the employees to review the information gathered and determine which areas/needs are most important to receive training. Then determine the desired outcomes from the training to address these needs. These outcomes could serve as measures of success (validation) of the training.