Structured information gathering - a training needs analysis - is used so that we are able to detail the organization's goals and link these to a definition of the target job or jobs in question. Hence, training is then clearly specified and relates to what the job is, what is required, who does it, and the development of a protocol for evaluation. In doing this we look at the knowledge, skills and abilities required to do the job effectively, and the cognitive and interactional characteristics required to maximize an employee's ability to do the job - ie. how well an employee is likely to implement all the required competencies. Our approach also allows the matching of people, teams, and tasks to greatest effect.

With the structured approach we take, uppermost in the main thrust of our work is a determination of the organization's priorities and the level at which we need to specify training and intervene to promote them. Psychonomics, therefore, focusses on three levels of analysis. This helps us to pinpoint where, if it is actually required, a training program has to be instituted for maximum benefit:

Often, the training decided on as a result of our analysis will focus on a mixture of these levels. But, the key point about them is that they all relate to performance issues with the underlying notion that all parts of the organization - structure, people etc, - must function optimally, thus ensuring that training will be directed at the right part of the organization, as well as being correctly specified.