How to Conduct a Training

Needs Analysis (with

examples)
A training needs analysis is a key tool for HR professionals. It
helps you establish what areas of L&D you need to focus on in
order to improve the skills, knowledge, and abilities of your
employees. With the data you acquire, you can build a solid
foundation for developing successful training programs that
help your company grow and develop. And these programs are
more important than ever in our current climate. Training and
reskilling your employees has become an essential tool that
can help companies emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis.
1. What is a “TNA” (Training Needs Analysis)
2. Why Do a Training Needs Analysis?
3. How Do You Conduct a Training Needs Analysis? Best Practices
4. Training Needs Analysis Template: An example of the TNA Process
5. Software for Performance Reviews ✅

In this article, we will discuss how to do a training needs

analysis, and why training needs analysis is necessary for
companies to succeed. We will also break down the various
steps involved in a typical TNA process to help you implement
a program that addresses the true needs of your organization.
 What is a “TNA” (Training Needs
Analysis)
A training needs analysis (TNA), also known as a training
needs assessment, is a process that organizations use to
determine the gap between the current and desired
knowledge, skills, and abilities of employees.

The information you gather during a training needs analysis

helps you get a bird’s eye view of your company and determine
which areas of learning and development you need to focus on
in order to improve overall performance. In other words, the
process enables you to identify the knowledge, skills, and
abilities your employees are currently lacking in relation to
your goals as a company. You can then use this information to
design an effective development plan for employees .

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?

Why Do a Training Needs Analysis?

Now that we’ve addressed the question “what is organizational
analysis in training need assessment?”, let’s look at some of
the benefits of implementing a process for analyzing your
current and future training needs:

 Identify gaps: A training needs analysis can help you

determine if your 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 you identify
these issues before they become a problem and have a
negative impact on your business
 Plan. Conducting a training needs assessment can help you
plan your employee training programs for the year in advance so
that you can align them with business activities and budgets.
 Get creative. TNA process in HRM can help you think outside
the box and highlight training areas you may not have
considered before.
 Target the right people. TNA in HRM can also help you target
the right people for each training session, helping you design
personalized L&D programs and workplace mentorships that
keep employees engaged and motivated to learn.

How Do You Conduct a Training

Needs Analysis? Best Practices
Before we share an example of the TNA process to help you
create your own, let’s take a look at a few tips and best
practices to keep in mind.

 Use workplace profiles to map out what knowledge and skills

workers needed to fulfill the responsibilities of their specific
roles.

 Search for performance gaps between current performance

and where you would like to be.

 Ask employees for feedback and suggestions. What are their

own personal desired learning objectives? What skills would
help them perform better? What’s preventing them from
performing better now?

 Don’t forget to consider compliance needs during your TNA,

especially in terms of training materials. Make sure any
training you offer is in compliance with federal, state, and
local laws.
 Don’t just consider where you are now. Make sure you take
into account your company’s goals for the next year, too.

 The best TNA doesn’t just address skill gaps in your workforce.
It should also focus on enhancing existing skills in order to
improve performance levels.

 Focus on majority goals. This includes prioritizing new skills

that will benefit the whole teams rather than specialized skills
that focus on one or two employees. This is especially true if
you have a limited budget. These skills will probably have a
bigger impact on your business as a whole and your success
during the year ahead.

Training Needs Analysis Template:

An example of the TNA Process
Let’s finish by looking at a training needs analysis example.

For your training needs analysis to be effective, you need to

break your training needs analysis process model down
into four key stages.

The best way to ensure you cover all bases is to use a training
needs analysis template (also known as a training needs
assessment template). This will serve as a handy checklist
that helps you stay organized so that you can get the most
from your L&D initiatives.
Take a look at the following example of what you should be
including in each of the four key stages.

Define Your Organizational Goals

The first step, before you conduct your employee needs

analysis, is defining your organizational goals. What do you
hope to get from the process? You should obviously focus on
measurable outcomes like financial performance, revenue,
profit, and share price. However, you should also consider
softer outcomes like customer
satisfaction and organizational culture.

A great place to start is by asking yourself the following

questions:

What is your organization trying to achieve in terms of overall

objectives?
Which of your organizational goals require the biggest change
in employee behavior?
Are any of your departments lagging considerably behind
others in terms of goal progress?
What about individual performance goals – are there any areas
of concern stopping you from achieving your organizational
goals?

Identify Specific Issues

The next step is matching your organizational goals with
specific issues in your company. This involves observation and
assessment. The best way to do this is to get your
departmental managers involved. Get them to hold interviews
and conduct employee surveys to help them identify areas of
concern in terms of L&D. A training needs assessment
questionnaire can be a great tool. It can help you find out what
areas your employees feel they need more training, support,
and resources.

You should also evaluate as much data as you can to

establish if there are any common issues that training can
address. Your HR records are probably full of valuable
information. Look at your exit interviews and performance
evaluations to see if you can spot any patterns or trends.

Finally, take a look at your company culture. Are there any

cultural cues that might be reinforcing undesirable behaviors
that prevent you from reaching your organizational goals?
What else might be having a negative influence?

Define the Required Knowledge & Skills

The third step in the process is defining the specific skills you
need to get where you want to be. The more specific you can
be here, the more effective your training programs will be. And
with the right training, you’ll nurture the behavior you want to
see and hit your goals in the future.

Remember that not everyone will need the same

training. Your finance department will obviously need a very
different set of skills, knowledge, and abilities than your sales
team. Make sure you identify specific needs for each
individual in your company, or at least at a departmental level.

Set Training Timelines and Priorities

The final stage is to develop your training program. Aside from

training content, you also need to set training timelines and
establish your priorities in line with your budget.

What are your goals and how quickly do you need to get there?
What format will you use to provide training? And how will you
monitor the effectiveness of your L&D programs to ensure the
training you provide is helping you reach your organizational
goals?

There are a number of techniques you can use to keep track of

the progress of your employees. You can use more traditional
organizational surveys and interviews, or more advanced
analytical techniques such as data mining.

If you’re just starting out, then the best tip here is to keep it
simple. Use an Excel spreadsheet such as Factorial’s
free skills matrix template to see how your team members have
developed, assess their level of interest in learning particular
skillsets, and compare learned competencies with overall
objectives. This is the best way to monitor how effective your
training is and whether your training needs analysis is helping
you reach your goals.