Training Needs Assessment - Unedited Version

Training Needs Assessment (TNA) is also known as training needs analysis. It is a process
that organizations use to determine the gap between the current and desired knowledge,
skills, and abilities of employees. It is an ongoing process of gathering data to determine what
training needs exist so that training can be developed to help the organization accomplish its
objectives. Conducting needs assessment is fundamental to the success of a training program.

The information gathered during a training needs analysis helps to get a bird’s eye view of
the company and determine which areas of learning and development need to be focused on
in order to improve overall performance. In other words, the process enables to identify the
knowledge, skills, and abilities employees are currently lacking in relation to the goals as a
company. This information can be used to design an effective development plan for
employees. Often, organizations will develop and implement training without first conducting
a needs analysis. These organizations run the risk of over doing training, doing too little
training, or missing the point completely.

An effective TNA addresses questions such as:

 Which employees need training?

 What kind of training do they require?
 How can you design an effective training program for them?
 What will be the impact of training be on employee performance?
  What level of investment and resources will be required to implement an effective
training program?

Benefits of training needs analysis

There are several benefits of implementing a process for analyzing the current and future
training needs. They are:

 Identify gaps: A training needs analysis can help to determine if the company has
any organizational issues that are caused by a lack of skills, knowledge and abilities.
Plus, focusing on both training and analysis can help to identify these issues before
they become a problem and have a negative impact on the business
 Plan: Conducting a training needs assessment can helps to plan the employee
training programs for the year in advance so that to align them with business activities
and budgets.
 Get creative: TNA process in HRM can help to think outside the box and highlight
training areas the company may not have considered before.
 Target the right people: TNA in HRM can also help to target the right people for
each training session, helping to design personalized L&D programs and workplace
mentorships that keep employees engaged and motivated to learn.

Training Needs Assessment Levels

  Organizational level TNA: It determines training needs related to performance
metrics, new employee knowledge at the company-wide level, and continuous
training to optimize company performance and productivity to achieve its goals. It’s
designed to address problems and weaknesses of the organization as well as to further
improve the company’s current competencies and strengths. More importantly, it
takes into account other factors like trends and changes in the economy, politics,
technology, and demographics.
 Group/job role level TNA: This type of analysis identifies specific training needed
to upskill a team, department, or business unit. Moreover, it determines which
occupational groups experience skills gaps or discrepancies and ways to eliminate
them.
 Individual level TNA: This training needs assessment is dedicated to an individual or
individuals in a team. It is conducted in conjunction with a project or changes that
could impact each team member. It is also used for an employee’s personal
development for future career advancement.

Methods of Training Needs Analysis

There are a variety of training needs analysis methods for actually conducting the analysis.
They are as follows:

 Questionnaires: Although self-reporting is notoriously unreliable, this can be a great

place to start. How competent do the employees feel? What would they like more
training on etc. can be asked to the employees
 Observation: When possible, regular observation can be a great training needs
analysis method. The key to this method is to conduct multiple observations over
time, making them informal and unannounced. Employees should know that these
observations aren’t punitive but for training purposes only.
 Interviews: Everyone from managers to parking attendants has something to say
about the company. While that kind of comprehensive interviewing is probably not
necessary, speaking directly with managers and supervisors on what they see can be a
great place to start.
 Examining the work: This is where everything comes together. Is the work being
produced reflecting the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities you expect for a
certain role or position? Is it high-quality or are there areas for improvement?
 Assessments: One way to quickly evaluate employee knowledge is with a short
multiple-choice assessment, delivered online.
  Look at the competition: It’s important to know where the company stand in the
industry. How are the closest competitor doing? Are their sales numbers higher?
Customer satisfaction rankings better? If so, what are they doing to make that happen?
This does not mean that change the entire business model, but maybe the employees
could use a quick refresher in one area that will make them more competitive.

Steps to conduct a Training Needs Assessment

 Define the organization goals: First step in conducting the employee needs
assessment is defining the organizational goals. What is the expected outcome from
the process need to be defined.
 Identify specific issues: Need to perform a gap analysis to assess the current state of
performance or skills of employees and department and comparing this to the desired
level. The difference between the existing state and the desired state is the gap. There
are many different methods for conducting a gap analysis like individual interviews,
focus groups, observations, HR records, surveys, questionnaires, self-assessments etc.
Areas of concern in terms of learning and development need to be identified. Also
discover the root cause of the issues.
 Define the required knowledge and skills: To make training programs more
effective define the specific skills that need to be acquired to achieve the set goals
 Assess the training options: After conducting the gap analysis and identifying the
requirements assess the training options. For this many factors like solution to a
problem, cost, return on investment, time, remaining competitive, legal compliance
etc. need to be considered. The current training methods and materials can be also be
analyzed.
 Report the training needs and recommend the training plans: After conducting
the training needs assessment report the findings and make recommendations for
short- and long-term training plans and budgets, starting with the most critical
priorities from the training option list. If there is a timeline for any of the trainings,
such as a deadline to satisfy training obligations for legal compliance purposes, then
they should be budgeted and scheduled accordingly. The report should include a
summary of why and how the assessment was completed, the methods used and
people involved, and the training recommendations with a general timeline.
 Considerations for the report and recommended training plans include:

 What training is already being offered, and should it continue to be offered?

 Will the training be conducted in-house or externally?
 Does it make sense to bring in a trainer to train several employees on the same
subject matter, rather than send everyone to an off-site training?
 Does the company have the subject matter expertise within HR, the training
department or another department to conduct the training?
 Can and should the training be conducted online?
 What is the learning style of the participants?
 Are all participants at one location or multiple locations, or are they
decentralized?

References

 https://factorialhr.com/blog/training-needs-analysis/
 https://www.presentationeze.com/presentations/quality-assurance-quality-
management/quality-assurance-quality-management-full-details/quality-assurance-
training/training-needs-assessment/
 https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/how-to-guides/pages/
conduct-training-needs-assessment.aspx
 https://www.edgepointlearning.com/blog/training-needs-analysis/
 https://www.ispringsolutions.com/blog/training-need-assessment-analysis
 https://www.aihr.com/blog/training-needs-analysis/
 https://blog.commlabindia.com/elearning-design/training-need-analysis-at-3-levels