Training Needs Analysis

TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS

Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is a review of learning and development requirements for employees, volunteers and trustees within in your organisation.

It considers the skills, knowledge and behaviours that you or the people who work for the organisation need, and how to develop them effectively.

Training needs analysis is ideally undertaken at 3 levels:

Organisational level

Team/departmental level

Individual level

These three levels are interlinked, and using this structure will help ensure a balanced analysis that takes into account the strategic picture as well as the specific needs of individuals.

Organisational Level

Training/learning needs analysis at this level would start with a review of the organisation’s strategic and operational plans. Once you have a strategic picture of the organisation’s objectives, performance and future direction, this can be reviewed from the perspective of the knowledge, skills and behaviours that can help your organisation to build on its strengths and address weaknesses.

Team Level

Analysis of training/learning needs should also be undertaken at department/team level. This usually means reviewing the competency needs within a team against the team’s own objectives. It will involve taking into account both the needs of individuals, but also anything that can help the department/team to work together as effectively as possible. This will generally include consideration of information gained from appraisals or performance reviews. Reference can also be made to relevant competency frameworks for jobs or types of work. Competencies are general statements of effective behaviour in meeting a particular outcome.

Individual Level

Appraisal and supervision one-to-one meetings allow individuals to reflect on their own training/learning needs in relation to their work objectives and what additional skills and learning they need to improve what they do.

Our professional team can carry out a training needs analysis involving a range of depths and sophistication. This can include a full three-level analysis of all jobs or an organisational analysis can be conducted and supported by samples at team and individual level.

Methods that may be used to identify learning needs include:

Analysis of existing strategies and plan to identify what skills are needed for delivery

Questionnaires – paper-based or online

One to one interviews

Focus groups – facilitated small group discussions with a representative sample of people

The outcome of the training needs analysis will enable the creation of a robust learning and development plan, linked to organisational, team and individual objectives.