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 DOI: 10.1177/009102600203100404

2002 31: 464Public Personnel ManagementW. David Patton and Connie Pratt

Assessing the Training Needs of High-Potential Managers  

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Assessing the Training Needs of High-Potential Managers W. David Patton Connie Pratt

T w o i m p o r t a n t i s s u e s p r o m p t i n g t h e c r e a t i o n of c o m p r e h e n s i v e m a n a g e m e n t d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m s in s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t a r e t h e p r o m o t i o n o f t e c h n i c a l l y c o m p e t e n t e m p l o y e e s t o s u p e r v i s o r y p o s i t i o n s w h o h a v e n o t b e e n p r e p a r e d t o m a n a g e , a n d t h e i m p e n d i n g l o s s o f s t a t e m a n a g e r s t o r e t i r e m e n t a n d t h e n e e d f o r s u c c e s s i o n p l a n n i n g . W i t h t h e s e i s s u e s in m i n d , t r a i n i n g n e e d s a s s e s s m e n t ( T N A ) is n e c e s s a r y t o u n d e r s t a n d b o t h t h e n e e d s of t h e o r g a n i ­z a t i o n f o r c o m p e t e n t m a n a g e r s a n d o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l s w h o a r e t o b e p r e p a r e d t o m a n a g e in s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t .

I n t h i s c a s e s t u d y , w e r e v i e w t h e a d v a n t a g e s a n d d i s a d v a n t a g e s of v a r i o u s T N A t e c h n i q u e s a n d s e l e c t f o c u s g r o u p s t o c o n d u c t t h e t r a i n i n g n e e d s a s s e s s m e n t f o r a c o m p r e h e n s i v e m a n a g e m e n t d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m . T h r o u g h s e v e r a l f o c u s g r o u p s e s s i o n s , t h e p e r s p e c t i v e o f p r a c t i c i n g m a n a g e r s w a s s o l i c i t e d f o r m a n a g e m e n t t r a i n i n g n e e d s t h r o u g h o u t t h e s t a t e . A l t e r n a t i v e s w e r e w i d e l y d i s c u s s e d a n d a s y n e r g y o f i d e a s c r e a t e d t h r o u g h t h e g r o u p d i s c u s s i o n f o r m a t . S t a t e m a n a g e r s b e c a m e m o r e i n f o r m e d a b o u t t h e p l a n f o r m a n a g e m e n t d e v e l o p m e n t a n d s u p p o r t f o r t h e c o n c e p t w a s g e n e r a t e d a m o n g i m p o r t a n t s t a k e h o l d e r s . S t a t e m a n a g e r s c l e a r l y w a n t e d t r a i n i n g t h a t w o u l d b e i m m e d i a t e l y a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e i r j o b d u t i e s a n d w a n t e d t h e t r a i n i n g d e l i v e r e d in a w a y t h a t is c o n d u c i v e t o a d u l t l e a r n i n g . W e f o u n d t h a t m a n a g e r s a r e m o s t c o n c e r n e d w i t h e f f e c t i v e l y p e r f o r m i n g t h e i r r o l e s a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s a s m a n a g e r s , a n d t h a t t h e y m u s t d e m o n s t r a t e l e a d e r ­s h i p a n d h u m a n r e l a t i o n s s k i l l s in t h e p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e i r r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s .

Management in Idaho state government, like many other states, is charac­terized by a system of promoting the better technical performers who often have limited management experience or education for supervisory

and managerial positions. Typically, these promotions are not only based on past per­formance, but also on an informal assessment of that employee's potential to perform as a manager. Agencies within state government vary widely in the amount and time they provide to train their supervisors and managers. These practices result in many supervisors and managers being left to develop their management skills on the job through trial and error. The differing levels of competencies among state managers is further complicated by the new challenge for public managers to meet the rapidly changing nature of government1 and the changes in the role of managers in govern-

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ment.2 Added to these conditions is the critical need to address the large percentage of Idaho state managers who are nearing retirement, as is the trend of public man­agers nationwide.? Over half the executive level managers and 28 percent of the other state managers in Idaho are expected to retire in the next five years.4 These condi­tions of differing levels of competencies and the acute need for succession planning speak to the need for a more comprehensive formalized management development program in Idaho state government.

To address these concerns, the new Idaho administration initiated a focus on the training and development of managers to improve the quality of management in state government, and to fill management vacancies with trained managers. Several approaches to management training were considered, but the comprehensive nature of the Certified Public Manager (CPM) program, offered in several states across the country, was used as a benchmark? to develop Idaho's comprehensive management training program. This paper outlines the approach taken by a team of human resource development professionals to assess the training needs for Idaho's compre­hensive supervisory and management development program, and provides the results of this assessment.

T r a i n i n g N e e d s A s s e s s m e n t The first step in the development of a management training program is the assess­ment of organizational and individual training needs. Training needs assessment (TNA) would seem to be a logical step in knowing what the organizational training needs are and providing that training for employees. However, research indicates that state agencies conduct substantially less formal assessment of employee training needs than the private sector.6

McGehee and Thayer's early work on needs assessment identified three levels of assessment: organization analysis, operations analysis, and individual analysis.7 TNA would look at organizational needs to determine what managers need to know to most effectively support organizational goals.8 The processes and systems of the orga­nization should also be a focus of the needs assessment so that training can address the specific nuances of organizational operations.9 The most common approach to needs assessment typically asks individuals to define their specific training needs.1 0

However, this third level of needs assessment is incomplete without considering the organizational and operational levels. The most effective needs assessments will give attention to each of these three levels.11

The obvious purpose of TNA is to determine the training needs of the group in question.12 This is effectively done using a gap analysis where the optimal perfor­mance levels are known and measured against the actual performance level of indi­viduals within the group. In addition to identifying training needs, the needs assessment has other valuable uses. A study of state government agencies found that the top three reasons agencies assess employee training needs are to 1) introduce new programs, 2) address performance and productivity problems, and 3) align

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employee performance with organizational goals.1 3 Allison Rossett describes six pur­poses of training needs assessment:14

• Seeking optimals and actuals to determine detailed discrepancies

• Grounding in the real world and perceptions of real people

• Seeking causes of a problem

• Seeking feelings/priorities

• Involving significant parties to achieve buy-in

• Training management in ways of looking at problems

TNA queries individuals who are actually working in the areas of competence under review, thereby analyzing real problems and concerns as opposed to those developed in theory or by those who may not be close to the real issues. TNA can help managers isolate probable causes of problems and help develop solutions that have a good chance of working. TNA can measure levels of competence, ranges of opinions, and degree of importance individuals place on problems or issues. TNA introduces information to individuals and allows people to actively think or work on a problem. This helps those who may have a stake in the outcome of the needs assess­ment to have ownership in the solution to the problem. Finally, TNA provides infor­mation that can be used to help management see real, documented organizational and individual needs that may or may not fit prior assumptions. The management training needs assessment conducted in this study utilized each of the six purposes of training needs assessment.

As in most government settings, time and resources are at a premium. The needs assessment in this case had to be done quickly with a limited budget, but it still need­ed to be effective in analyzing knowledge performance gaps among state managers.1? The central purpose of the needs assessment should be to understand what the train­ing program should be designed to address.16 A needs assessment in this case would be used to understand both the immediate and long-range needs for management knowledge and skills to improve management performance and prepare potential managers to assume managerial roles. 1 7 The assessment would query incumbents in management positions as well as those who work with managers as subordinates and superiors. The assessment would be used to raise the importance of management training and prioritize the need for specific training topics. An added but important consideration at this stage was the importance of buy-in among managers of state agencies and human resource professionals throughout state government that a com­prehensive management training program was needed, and that one could be designed to meet the needs identified. Finally, the assessment would be used to show agency directors and political leaders that management training was needed and important.

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T N A T e c h n i q u e s There are several techniques for conducting training needs assessment including observation, questionnaires, consultation (with subject matter experts), review (of rel­evant print media), interviews, group discussion, tests, reference (to organizational records and reports), and work samples.18 These can be divided into three groups: surveys, observation, and interviews — each with its own advantages and disadvan­tages.1 9

Surveys are probably the most common method of training needs assessment. In fact, surveys may have reached a level of saturation through over-use. Surveys can gather a lot of information from a lot of people, and there are established statistical inference methods available to analyze the data collected. Surveys are relatively sim­ple to administer and some forms of bias can be minimized.20 Important disadvan­tages of survey methodology are that they are slow and the results are often unclear.21

Survey results are often subjective since follow-up with the intent to clarify respons­es is difficult.22 A concern found in this study is survey-fatigue, contributing to our dis­inclination to conduct another survey. Many supervisors and managers within the state system said they "had been surveyed to death."

Training needs assessments can also be conducted by observation at the work site by skilled subject matter experts.2 3 Observation methodology can generate high­ly relevant information to the work setting, but requires a great amount of time and the observer must have both process and content knowledge.24 Because of the indi­vidual nature of observation, relatively few subjects can be observed; hence this tech­nique is usually limited to the study of a specific job classification.

Finally, interviews and focus groups can be important sources of information to determine the training needs within an organization. Interviewing can include key consultation with persons who are in a position to understand the training needs of a group, individual interviews with those who will be the participants of training, and group discussion (or focus groups with individuals knowledgeable of training needs). Interviews allow respondents the opportunity to convey their views and feelings more completely than other methods while focus groups permit immediate synthesis of ideas, build support for the specific program under study, and help participants be part of the solution to the problems under discussion. Unlike other methods of needs analysis, focus groups allow for follow-up discussion to inquire into the rationale of suggestions or the genesis of ideas or comments. Disadvantages of interviewing and focus groups include the amount of time required and the skill necessary for the inter­viewer or facilitator of the groups.25 Because of its ability to serve a number of the fundamental purposes of needs assessment, the use of focus groups is one of the most widely used techniques for gathering information on organizational and individual training needs. 2 6 According to Rossett, TNA utilizing groups may be used to:

• Solicit opinions on optimals, actuals, causes, feelings, and solutions

• Open up options, determine a range of alternatives

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• Prioritize and make decisions

• Inform people about what is going on

• Solicit support for the effort

• Get more for your time and their time — synergy27

The goals of the management training assessment effort in this study matched the abilities of the focus group technique. Program developers needed to determine where current and potential supervisors and managers experienced gaps in needed knowledge and skills. Alternative solutions needed to be developed and the subject areas that would be considered for management training needed to be prioritized. A technique was needed that would encourage the synergistic development of ideas about program goals, procedures, and curriculum. Managers across the state needed to learn more about the state's efforts to encourage and provide more effective man­agement training, and support needed to be cultivated from state managers, agency directors, and the state's administration for a comprehensive management develop­ment effort.

After weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods of train­ing needs assessment, the assessment team decided to use focus groups to determine manager training needs in the state system.

M e t h o d o l o g y The training needs assessment effort focused on in this study was part of a larger pro­gram development process for planning, developing, and implementing a compre­hensive management training program in Idaho. In Governor Kempthorne's first State of the State address, he outlined "improved training opportunities for all employees"28

as a general state policy. After completing the TNA and presenting a plan for training state managers, the Governor issued Executive Order 2000-18 establishing the Certi­fied Public Manager program as "a preferred management development program for the State of Idaho."29

Initially, the individuals involved in program development were those most inter­ested in a comprehensive management development program (the authors, repre­senting the state's human resource management and the capital city university). A CPM development committee was created adding individuals representing the state's major agencies who had taken an active interest in a statewide supervisory/manage­ment training program. Subcommittees were formed out of the larger development committee to cover curriculum development, logistics, marketing, and program poli­cies and procedures.

The curriculum subcommittee planned the focus group sessions with the intent of involving state managers with particular insight into management development from as many state agencies as possible in each of the three major regions of the state. The objectives here were to obtain information useful in developing an effective cur­riculum as well as an understanding of the practical implementation needs of the pro-

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gram. Another objective was to be as inclusive as possible so that the program would not be perceived as being dominated by any single agency or section of the state. A letter was sent to each agency director and to agency human resource managers invit­ing participation in the focus groups from supervisors, managers, human resource professionals, and legal staff. The agencies were to submit names of individuals who would be particularly helpful in advising the curriculum committee on program devel­opment. Most of the state's agencies participated in one or more of the twenty focus group sessions. Some agency representatives were assigned by the director, other agencies sought volunteers to participate. The focus group sessions were held in six locations across the state, with most in the Capital where the majority of state employ­ees are located. In order to obtain as much information as possible, two sessions were dedicated to human resource/training managers and legal staff from the agencies.

Findings The focus groups were asked to respond to several lines of questions related to the content and operation of the proposed management training program. The first objec­tive for the focus groups was to specifically identify the most important training top­ics for managers to receive. This objective was accomplished through a variety of facilitated scenarios that included asking participants the following:

• What training topics would be most important for managers to receive?

• If asked to participate on a search team for a manager in your department, what skills, abilities, and characteristics would you be looking for?

• Considering the best manager you have had in your career, what skills, abilities, and characteristics made this person the best manager?

• Conversely, what made someone the worst manager you have had in your career?

• What education or training has been most important for doing your job?

• What education or training do you wish you had that you did not receive?

• What was the most important experience you have had that taught you about management?

• What are the most important areas of knowledge or training for you in your man­agement position?

• What are the most important topics you wish your subordinates could learn?

The suggestions made by the focus groups can be categorized into various gen­eral management areas. The Certified Public Manager Consortium groups manage­ment development areas into four categories ;3°

1 . General Administration and Organization. Areas such as an overview of the field of management; the role, functions, responsibilities, and skills of the effec­tive manager; managerial ethics and professionalism; planning models; the nature of

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organizational goal setting; organizational design; and organizational assessment, eval­uation, and change.

2. Technical and Quantitative. Areas such as management accounting; the budgetary process and the budget system used in the jurisdiction; basic knowledge of the capabilities, limitation, and potential uses of computers; statutes and regula­tions that govern personnel management and the responsibilities and potential lia­bilities of a manager's actions; and the basic principles of administrative law.

3. Analytical and Conceptual. Areas such as problem solving and decision making models; research design tools; quantitative techniques necessary to solve problems and make decisions; and the tools necessary to analyze trends and patterns that enable managers to make reliable projections.

4. Human Skills. Areas such as effective interpersonal and organizational communication; leadership styles and the impact on employee morale and produc­tivity; motivation including employee performance, performance standards, and per­formance feedback; discipline and grievance handling; and the principles of effectively managing work groups including conflict management.

The ideas and discussions from the focus groups generally fell into these four categories, although there is considerable overlap in the topics. General administra­tion topics such as organizational goal setting and planning models are difficult to dis­tinguish from the Human Skills topics of leadership styles, productivity, motivation, and performance. We also found it difficult to place some of the important topics men­tioned into any category, most notably there was no classification for topics that were distinctly public-oriented. This was surprising for a Certified Public Manager program. Some of the participant responses that were public in nature included topics such as the political process, engaging the public, conducting public hearings, managing pub­lic perceptions, and public policy-making. Although these topics could be generally included under "General Administration and Organization," a public management development program should emphasize the distinctions in values, laws, and prac­tices that make the public sector unique in many ways.?1 Other topics could have been grouped into separate categories due to the frequency of response and the multi-faceted larger groups of topics. The groups that received significant attention inde­pendent of larger categories were leadership, productivity, communication, customer service, teamwork, and personal development.

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T a b l e 1 . F o c u s G r o u p R e s p o n s e s b y C P M C a t e g o r i e s

What training topics would be most important for managers to receive?

General Administration and Organization

Technical and Quantitative

Analytical and Conceptual

Human Skills

Management Skills & Responsibilities

Personnel Systems & Risk Management

Problem solving

Organizational & Inter­personal Communication

Roles and accountability

Personnel system Problem solving Listening

History/theories of management

Performance appraisal techniques

Understanding the root cause of problems

Internal/external Communication

Ethics training Harassment issues Decision Making Leadership

Meeting management Discipline procedures Real world decisions Integrity

Delegation Personnel rules Research Design Vision

Managing with available resources

Hiring procedures: Interviewing, references

Gathering information/ Collecting data

Good model

Employee retention Employment law Analysis Techniques Innovation

Dealing with personal problems

Depositions, giving testimony, etc.

Trend analysis and projections

Networking

Personality types Safety Systems theory Positive reinforcement

Recognizing on-the-job experience

Liabilities - risk management

Information/statistical analysis

Facilitation

Employee scheduling Documentation Conflict management

Program/project management

Rewarding in public sector

Managing change

Paying attention to details

Budget Systems and Accounting

Motivation

Behavior management Budgeting procedures Employee development

Emergency management Basic accounting Leadership styles

Reporting requirements Information Technology Mentoring/Teaching/ Coaching

Prioritizing services and resources

(no responses) Productivity & Performance

Efficiency Administrative Law Customer satisfaction

Organizational Development

(no responses) Discipline

Organization Culture Professional Competence

Cultural & Generational Diversity

Organizational assessment

Technical competence

Performance outcome measurement

Workplace violence Grant Writing Differences in employee work habits

Strategic planning (no responses) Completing fair appraisals

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T a b l e 1 . F o c u s G r o u p R e s p o n s e s b y C P M C a t e g o r i e s (continued)

What training topics would be most important for managers to receive?

General Administration and Organization

Technical and Analytical and Quantitative Conceptual

Human Skills

Management Skills & Responsibilities

Personnel Systems & Problem Risk Management solving

Organizational & Inter­personal Communication

Succession planning Contracting Customer Service

Politics and Public Administration

Contract management Assessing customer satisfaction

Media relations Dealing with angry clients

Politics in office Teamwork

Politics in government Coordinating work groups

Engaging the public Teamwork

Legislative process Personal Development

Public information Stress management

Career development

Time management

Table 1 demonstrates that the preponderance of responses fell into the "Gener­al Administration and Organization" and the "Human Skills" categories. Another large group of responses related to personnel practices while relatively few responses fell into the "Conceptual and Analytical" category. These results support the concept that adult learners are interested in subjects immediately applicable to their needs?2 — whether this be managerial skills or dealing with other people. The relative dearth of "Conceptual and Analytical" topics may also support the idea that public managers do not often consciously refer to theory or utilize rigorous analytical techniques when making decisions or solving problems. They may be more interested in administrative theory as it is packaged in more readable, popularized forms that emphasize particu­lar aspects of administration such as mentoring or team building. This finding demon­strates the need for further research on the differences between what is taught in educational institutions and training programs, and what is actually utilized by public managers.

Another finding from the focus groups was that although all of these questions were designed to determine topics for the state's management training program, dif­ferent questions solicited different responses. The focus groups were asked to con­ceptually place themselves on a search team for a manager in their own department, then to consider what skills, abilities, and characteristics they would look for in the candidates.

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T a b l e 2 . M a n a g e m e n t T r a i n i n g C o n t e n t : M a n a g e m e n t S e a r c h

If you were asked to be on a search team for a manager in your department, what skills, abilities, and characteristics would you be looking for?

General Administration and Organization

Technical and Quantitative

Analytical and Conceptual

Human Skills

Management Skills & Responsibilities

Personnel Systems & Risk Management

Problem solving

Organizational & Inter­personal Communication

Prioritizes well (no responses) (no responses) People skills

Knows when to buck the system

Budget Systems and Accounting

Decision Making Good listener

Delegates Good fiscal manager (no responses) Articulate

Effective meetings Information Technology Research Design Good presentations

Appropriate management style

(no responses) (no responses) Leadership

Organizational Development

Administrative Law Analysis Techniques

Focus on the future/ big picture

Good planner (no responses) Policy analysis Goal oriented

Strategic planning Professional Competence

Sets high standards

Politics and Public Administration

Competent Communicates vision to employees

Politically astute Professional Supportive

Legislative process Technical aspects Confident

Grant Writing Coach/mentor

(no responses) Motivates employees

Contracting Flexible

(no responses) Appreciative

Trustworthy, trusting

Fair

Understanding

Empathetic

Integrity

Optimistic

Self-reflective

Maintains core values

Consistent

Credible

Accountable/responsible

Risk-taker

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T a b l e 2 . M a n a g e m e n t T r a i n i n g C o n t e n t : M a n a g e m e n t S e a r c h (continued)

If you were asked to be on a search team for a manager in your department, what skills, abilities, and characteristics would you be looking for?

General Administration Technical and Analytical and Human and Organization Quantitative Conceptual Skills

Productivity & Performance

Quality oriented

Process consultation

Performance measures

Rewards for performance

Customer Service

(no responses)

Teamwork

Collaboration

Understands small group dynamics

Personal Development

(no responses)

In this case, human skills dominated the responses. The ability to work well with employees by employing interpersonal and leadership skills was considered most fre­quently when deciding on the qualifications of a potential manager. Competence and strategic thinking were also important responses to this question. The notable list of leadership traits may be the result of the question's inclination to think of a manag­er's personal characteristics.

Another scenario used in the focus groups was to ask the participants to recall their best boss and describe the skills, abilities, and characteristics that made that per­son their best boss. The focus groups were then asked to use the lists created and inventory the topics that would best teach the skills, abilities, and characteristics of an excellent manager.

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T a b l e 3 . M a n a g e m e n t T r a i n i n g C o n t e n t : B e s t B o s s (continued)

Think of the best manager you have had in your career with the state. What skills, abilities, or characteristics made this person the best manager?

General Administration and Organization

Technical and Quantitative

Analytical and Conceptual

Human Skills

Management Skills & Responsibilities

Personnel Systems & Risk Management

Problem solving

Organizational & Inter­personal Communication

Explains how & why (no responses) (no responses) (no responses)

Not quick to judge Budget Systems & Accounting

Decision Making Leadership

Organized Information Technology

Recognizes the right information

Defines expected outcomes

Does not micromanage (no responses) Research Design Helps develop ideas

Organizational Development

Administrative Law (no responses) Begins training employees early in careers

(no responses) (no responses) Analysis Techniques Moves people forward

Politics and Public Administration

Professional Competence

Accepts responsibility

(no responses) Knowledgeable Maintains standards

Grant Writing Works in the trenches

(no responses) Leads by example

Contracting Uses power fairly

(no responses) Leads when things get tough

Supportive

Gives recognition

Manages change

Empowers employees

Draws from employees

Doesn't leave anybody out

Understands who they are managing

Understands employee strengths and weaknesses

Challenges the process

Commands respect

Trustworthy

Not condescending

Doesn't take self too seriously

Consistent

Inquisitive

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T a b l e 3 . M a n a g e m e n t T r a i n i n g C o n t e n t : B e s t B o s s (continued)

Think of the best manager you have had in your career with the state. What skills, abilities, or characteristics made this person the best manager?

General Administration Technical and Analytical and Human and Organization Quantitative Conceptual Skills Management Skills Personnel Systems & Problem Organizational & Inter-& Responsibilities Risk Management solving personal Communication

Productivity & Performance

Good at discipline

Good work ethic

Values others' work

Customer Service

(no responses)

Teamwork

(no responses)

Personal Development

(no responses)

Although this question asked participants to describe their best boss, inevitably, best bosses and worst bosses were recalled. Once again, the results were dominated by comments about their bosses' human relations skills, particularly leadership char­acteristics. Subject areas such as fairness and employee support were common responses. Even when listed under the other major categories, the participants in the focus groups remembered good and bad experiences with their bosses that were defined in human terms.

One way of thinking about the topics most important for management training is for managers to consider the subject areas used in management positions that they were never taught in school or formal training programs. We asked participants to describe the education or training they wish they had, but were never taught.

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T a b l e 4 . M a n a g e m e n t T r a i n i n g C o n t e n t : T h i n g s Y o u W e r e N e v e r T a u g h t

What education or training do you wish you had to do your job that you did not receive?

General Administration and Organization

Technical and Quantitative

Analytical and Conceptual

Human Skills

Management Skills & Responsibilities

Personnel Systems & Risk Management

Problem solving

Organizational & Inter­personal Communication

Things not to do Hiring practices (no responses) (no responses)

Management as an art EEO/AA, ADA, FLSA, FMLA

Decision Making Leadership

Best practices Confidentiality (no responses) Facilitation skills

Getting/giving feedback Management liability Research Design Parenting class

Supervision skills Budget Systems & Accounting

(no responses) Grooming potential managers

Allow risk taking Budgeting Analysis Techniques

Productivity & Performance

Working with experts Accounting (no responses) Performance management

Project management Information Technology

Dealing with difficult or highly productive employees

Organizational Development

(no responses) Customer Service

Organization structure Administrative Law (no responses)

Cross-agency team participation

Legal issues/boundaries Teamwork

Politics and Public Administration

Grant Writing Working in teams

Political environment Grant writing process Personal Development

Significance of stakeholders

Contracting Stress reduction

Political ramifications of decisions

Contracting and partnering with the private sector

Having a mentor

Working with the Federal Government

Professional Competence

Asking questions

(no responses)

When participants considered subjects they needed on the job but were never taught, the responses tended to be oriented more toward the technical and adminis­trative categories. The administrative topics included the need to understand the political and policy-making role of public sector managers. Managers also saw a need for understanding basic organizational systems such as personnel and budgeting and the legal environment of public management.

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Participants were asked about their most important learning experiences. An understanding of influential experiences can provide information not only for train­ing topics, but also for simulating certain experiences in case studies or exercises that might help managers learn from practice or simulated experience.

T a b l e 5 . M a n a g e m e n t T r a i n i n g C o n t e n t : I m p o r t a n t L e a r n i n g E x p e r i e n c e s

What was the most important experience you have had that taught you about management?

General Administration and Organization

Technical and Quantitative

Analytical and Conceptual

Human Skills

Management Skills & Responsibilities

Personnel Systems & Risk Management

Problem solving

Organizational & Inter­personal Communication

Culmination of experien­ces providing a wide focus

Racial discrimination (no responses) Listening

Previous training that added to quality of experiences

Dealing with employees with disabilities

Decision Making Leadership

Learned from inconsistent management

Re-designing a new position

(no responses) "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" training

Working with other managers to learn from them

Defending a law suit Research Design "Enlightened Leadership" training

Ability to practice and apply training

Handling complaints Collecting data Trust

Gradually taking on more responsibility

Working through grievances

Analysis Techniques Keeping an open mind

Documentation Data analysis Productivity & Performance

National association seminars

Employee dismissal Making quality improvements

Organizational Development

Workers compensation claim

Customer Service

Transition training ADA situation (no responses)

Budget Systems & Accounting

Teamwork

Politics and Public Administration

(no responses) Team-building

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T a b l e 5 . M a n a g e m e n t T r a i n i n g C o n t e n t : I m p o r t a n t L e a r n i n g E x p e r i e n c e s (continued)

What was the most important experience you have had that taught you about management?

General Administration and Organization

Technical and Analytical and Quantitative Conceptual

Human Skills

Management Skills & Responsibilities

Personnel Systems & Problem Risk Management solving

Organizational & Inter­personal Communication

Information Technology Conflict situation

(no responses) Personal Development

Administrative Law Balancing the emotional side with management side

(no responses) Had an excellent mentor

Grant Writing Being able to let go and move on

(no responses) Separate work and home

Contracting Stress situations

(no responses)

Professional Competence

(no responses)

There is probably a relationship between managers' most important learning experiences (Table 5) and knowledge they wish they had learned (Table 4). Critical incidents in their professional careers most likely involved having to struggle through a difficult situation without adequate preparation. Responses to this question reflect this concept where managers had to deal with racial discrimination, lawsuits, griev­ances, employee termination, ADA situations, and personnel actions. Human relations skills were also considered frequently in responses to this question. Managers need­ed to handle stress and conflict, and learned from building trust and teams.

The focus groups were also asked to make recommendations about the pro­gram's logistical issues such as what type of participants should attend the training program, the most effective number of participants, the best schedule and locations to meet their needs, and the appropriate cost of the program. Although the focus of this paper is on the information related to curriculum, a brief summary of logistical information obtained from the focus groups follows:

The consensus of the agencies represented in the focus groups said the program would be best suited for new and potential managers. The length (approximately two years to complete the 300-hour requirement of the CPM Consortium) and probable cost of the program would discourage its use for managers nearing retirement. Respondents generally agreed that the approximate class size should be around twen­ty to thirty participants for optimal participation and meaningful class discussions. Most responses to the schedule and location questions said the least disruptive plan

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would be to take two or three consecutive days per month, especially if travel were involved, and to train in at least the three major regions of the state to minimize the time of travel. In response to the question of cost, most managers said they were accustomed to paying at least $100 for one-day training seminars and often a great deal more. Some compared the cost to university classes that cost approximately $345 for a one-semester class (45 hours).

Resul ts The results of the focus groups' input was analyzed and formed into a curriculum that consisted of seven progressive levels of training. The training topics were organized according to three dimensions that reflected the objectives of the training: manage­ment of personal performance, management of organizational performance, and man­agement of relationships. The first two levels were composed of topics relevant to supervision, followed by managerial topics intended to progressively broaden partic­ipant viewpoints.

The themes of the five managerial levels are:

• Level Three: The Manager as Facilitator

• Level Four: Organizational Systems

• Level Five: The Learning Organization

• Level Six: Strategic Leadership

• Level Seven: Special Projects, Case Studies, and Practicum

The resulting program was presented to agency directors, bureau chiefs, and agency human resource managers along with a detailed overview of the CPM pro­gram's projected impact on their agencies. Participants were recommended by their agencies and selected according to space availability. The pilot cohort of the Idaho CPM program began classes in January 2001.

Conc lus ion The focus groups provided an abundance of information that contributed to our understanding of the training needs of state managers. Focus group participants pro­vided insight into the needs of future managers as well as what they would like to see in a management training program for themselves. One clear message was that state managers desired training that is applicable to their immediate and potential work needs, and they want it delivered in a way that is conducive to adult learning.33 We found that managers are most concerned with the technical demands of their jobs and that state managers must be human in the performance of management.

Different questions, or questions couched in differing conceptual scenarios, solicited somewhat different responses on the issue of training content or curriculum. When asked to hire the best qualified candidate or recall their best boss, leadership

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characteristics dominated responses. When asked about needed training that they never had or recall critical learning experiences, technical and administrative topics were most mentioned.

The use of focus groups proved to be very effective in deriving input from state managers for the variety of our objectives. Information was gathered that provided for organizational needs, the best means of operating the program, and the needs of indi­vidual managers who will lead their agencies into the next management generation.?4

In the end, the focus group approach accomplished multiple objectives important for the development of our statewide management training program including each of the purposes of TNA:?5

• The solicitation of opinions from relevant stakeholders regarding the current condition of management training in the state and the optimal plan for provid­ing a comprehensive training program.

• Development of a synergistic process to compound the generation of ideas and recommendations for the curriculum and logistics of the proposed program.

• A prioritized list of training topics according to various ways of considering train­ing needs.

• Informing dozens of influential agency directors, bureau chiefs, and managers about the state's intention of providing a large-scale management training pro­gram.

• Developing support from many of these managers through participation in the planning and development process.

Most likely the best approach to TNA would be a combination of methods, such as focus groups followed by observation that might reinforce or modify the findings of focus groups alone. Surveys have the advantage of being more conducive to quan­titative analysis, but the depth of responses and synergistic development of ideas was an important advantage of focus groups that would be missing in typical TNA survey methods. Considering our informational, political, and time-constraint needs, the focus group approach was effective in addressing a broad range of objectives.

N o t e s 1 Osborne, David and Ted Gaebler, Reinventing Government—How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is

Transforming the Public Sector. Reading MA: Addison Wesley Publishing Company, 1992.

2 Klingner, Donald E. and Dahlia Bradshaw Lynn, Beyond Civil Service: The Changing Face of Public Personnel Management. Public Personnel Management, 26, no.2, 157-174.

3 Office of Personnel Management, Executive Succession Planning Tool Kit, 1995.

4 Moberly, Dennis, Compensation Manager, Idaho Division of Human Resources, interview April 5, 2001.

5 Paddock, Susan C , Benchmarks in Management Training, Public Personnel Management, 26, no.4, 441-460, Winter 1997.

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6 Gray, George R., McKenzie E. Hall, Marianne Miller, and Charles Shasky, Training Practices in State Government Agencies, Public Personnel Management, 26, no.2, 187-202, Summer 1997.

7 McGehee, William, and Paul W Thayer, Training in Business and Industry, New York: Wiley 1961.

8 Wright, Phillip C. and Gary D. Geroy, "Needs Analysis Theory and the Effectiveness of Large-Scale Government Sponsored Training Programmes: A Case Study," Journal of Management Development, 1 (1992): 1-27.

9 Moore, Michael L and Philip Dutton, "Training in Business Analysis: Review and Industry," Academy of Management Review, 3, (1978) 532-545.

i» Gray, 1997.

1 1 Holton, Elwood F., Reid A. Bates, and Sharon S. Naquin, Large-Scale Performance-Driven Training Needs Assessment: A Case Study, Public Personnel Management, 29, no.2, 249-267, Summer 2000.

1 2 Kaufman, R., Rojas, A.M., and Mayer, H. (1993). Needs Assessment: A User's Guide. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Educational Technologies Publications.

» Gray 1997.

1 4 Rossett, Allison, Training Needs Assessment, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Educational Technology Publications, 1987.

1 5 Rossett, 1987; Zemke, Ron, How to do a Needs Assessment When You Think You Don't Have Time, Training, 35, no.3, 38-44, March 1998.

1 6 Barron, Tom, When Things Go Haywire, Training & Development, 53, no.2, 24-27, February 1999.

1 7 Freeman, Jean M., Human Resources Planning - Training Needs Analysis, Management Quarterly, 34, no.3, 32-34, Fall 1993; Sleezer, Catherine M., Training Needs Assessment at Work: A Dynamic Process, Human Resource Development Quarterly, 4, no.3, 247-265, Fall 1993.

i« Steadham, 1980.

1 9 Goldstein, Irwin, L., Training in Organizations: Needs Assessment, Development, and Evaluation, 3 r d . ed., Pacific Grove, CA:Brooks/Cole, 1993.

2 0 McClelland, Samuel B., Training Needs Assessment Data-Gathering Methods: Part 1, Survey Questionnaires, Journal of European Industrial Training, 18, no.l, 22-26, 1994a.

2 1 Brethower and Rossett, 19—.

2 2 Gray, 1997

2 3 McClelland, Samuel B., Training Needs Assessment Data-Gathering Methods: Part 4, On-Site Observations, Journal of European Industrial Training, 18, no.5, 4-7, 1994d.

2< Goldstein, 1993.

^ Goldstein, 1993.

2 6 McClelland, Samuel B., Training Needs Assessment Data-Gathering Methods: Part 2, Individual Interviews, Journal of European Industrial Training, 18, no.2, 27-31, 1994b; McClelland, Samuel B., Training Needs Assessment Data-Gathering Methods: Part 3, Focus Groups, Journal of European Industrial Training, 18, no.3, 29-32, 1994c.

2 7 Rossett, 1987 176-177.

2 8 Governor Dirk Kemphorne, State of the State Address, January 11, 1999.

2 9 State of Idaho, Executive Order No. 2000-18, "Establishing the Certified Public Manager Program." December 29, 2000.

3° National Certified Public Manager Consortium, Bylaws, as amended June 2000.

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31 Yates, Douglas, Jr., The Politics of Management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1985.

32 Knowles, Malcolm, The Adult Learner-. A Neglected Species. Houston: Gulf Publishing, 1978.

33 Sims, Ronald R. and Sebrenia J . Sims, "Improving Training in the Public Sector," Public Personnel Management, 20 (1991): 71-82.

34 See McGehee and Thayer, 1961.

35 See Rossett, 1987.

A u t h o r s

W. David Patton, Ph.D. Director, Center for Public Policy and Administration Boise State University 1910 University Drive Boise, Idaho 83725

Professor Patton is the Director of CPPA serving public officials in the mountain-west with applied research, handbooks, and training services. His academic interests include public HRM, labor relations, leadership, and urban politics. He is the lead author of Human Resource Management in the Public Sector by Houghton Mifflin.

Connie Pratt State Training Director Idaho Division of Human Resources 700 W. State Street RO. Box 83720 Boise, ID 83720

Connie Pratt is the State Training Officer for the Division of Human Resources, State of Idaho. She administers statewide workforce development programs including manage­ment development. Holding a MPA degree from Boise State University, Connie has been involved in training and development in the public sector since 1980.

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