Effective Ways to Conduct Training Needs Analysis (TNA) for Employee Development

Hi,

I wanted to know how a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is conducted exactly. Are there any innovative ways of conducting TNA besides interviews, questionnaires, and observation? Examples of TNAs would really help to get an exact picture of how to conduct it.

Thank you.

Hi Narendra, thanks for giving me the full form. Somewhere down the line, I think I am forgetting things. Anyways, thanks for helping me recollect it.

Well Pallavi, you can obtain the details of training needs of the employees from their respective team heads or group heads. Depending on the incoming project, they may want the employees to be equipped with specific knowledge. They will inform you about the areas where they need enhancement, and then you can make plans to provide the necessary training. It is best to consult the team leaders, team heads, and project heads as they closely monitor these individuals.

Regards,
Sadhana

Dear Pallavi,

Following is the apt process.

a) Define what your organizational goal is for training: Why do you want to train people?

b) Kindly conduct a skill/competency gap analysis after discussing with the respective functional heads/business head.

c) Once the gap analysis is completed, focus on the individual staff members to be trained.

d) If the training need arises due to a total change of technology or a change in a business process (e.g., if the organization aims to implement SAP to replace many small ERPs in function), then a mass training needs analysis based on each sub-process is required.

e) Apart from observation, questionnaires, and meetings, another way to conduct it is by organizing group discussions or quizzes on specific sets of skills/competencies, involving the target group to participate and analyze the overall scores to determine where we stand on those skills and competencies.

If you require any further assistance, kindly revert.

Kind regards,

Dayanand L GUDDIN

Sr. Head - HR

BOBST INDIA

Hi Everyone,

This is my first posting on this site, so here goes. I have been reading with interest various threads over the last few weeks, and I would like to contribute the attached Training Needs Analysis PowerPoint presentation to perhaps help with this issue. I run a training company in China, and we use variations of this PowerPoint presentation as an introduction to clients of the training process.

Hope it helps.

Regards,
Ben

TNA could be conducted in a more participatory way through Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with employees and employers. Employees can express what they would like to learn, and employers can share their expectations from the employees. Another approach is to conduct a knowledge-based online or live quiz to assess the employees' understanding of a specific aspect or subject. This method can provide insights into the training needs of the employees. Subsequently, analyzing the gaps and challenges can be done through observation or by utilizing case studies.

Dear All,

Can anybody provide me with the training details for the promotions and Event Management industry? We are trying to start up the training and development for all the employees to achieve the organizational goals.

Please help me out ASAP.

Regards,
Ramesh

Hi everyone,

First of all, thank you all for your valuable input as it will be of great help. Can anyone upload any TNA attachment for a clear view? TNAs are conducted both before and afterwards. I often get a little stressed out about how an effective TNA can be conducted after the training since it's the result that proves the training effectiveness.

Thank you.

Regards,
Pallavi.

Hi Dayanand Sir,

First of all, thank you all for your valuable input as it will be of great help. Can you upload any TNA attachment for a clear view? TNA is conducted both before and afterwards, and I often get a little stressed out about how an effective TNA can be conducted after the training as it is the results that prove the effectiveness of your training.

Thank you.

Regards,
Pallavi.

Assessment of training needs is a difficult process even though the textbooks give several methods. In practice, it is best done by discussions with the line supervisors/managers. They would be the best persons to identify the training needs of those working under them. Another way is to conduct a competency gap analysis, which is much more challenging. The process of defining the competencies required for various categories of employees itself is difficult. We can also ask the employees themselves to indicate their training needs, which is easier. However, it is better to provide a menu in such cases for the employees to choose from.

As much as there are defined ways and methods to conduct a TNA, it's simply a case of persuading the client/department manager/employee to open up and to explain what they find difficult, what they feel uncomfortable doing, and openly discussing their jobs.

Group discussions, individual sessions, questionnaires, work-shadowing, opinions of co-workers, superiors, quizzes are all useful ways of collating information and determining where the performance gaps lie.

This TNA could be carried out in a broad sense company-wide to determine what performance gaps there are regarding all skills and abilities, or it could be limited to a skillset area that has already been identified as needing improvement (English language, sales techniques, presentation skills, etc.).

Once this information has been collated and analyzed, it is then up to the training company or HR/Training specialist/manager to devise a method to deal with the situation.

Remember, the answer is not always training; the solution could lie in an incentive scheme, a hierarchical reshuffle, or some other non-training idea.

A man is asked to dig a ditch that is two feet deep:

If the ditch-digger does not know how to dig a ditch two feet deep, then it is a training problem.

If the ditch-digger knows how but did not do it, then it is some other type of performance problem besides training.

Hi Ben and Pallavi,

Ben, a fabulous presentation on AIDDE. Thank you for sharing it. Also, you rightly said that problem identification is the first step of training. A really good example for a ditch digger.

Pallavi, there are many ways that one can conduct a TNA. One of the tried and tested ways is what Ben said through the PPT and the example above. At one point in time, I was also looking for help on TNA, didn't know the concepts of training earlier. I have been reading through Cite HR and came to know a lot of things.

I came across a 6-step TNA/TNI which I have attached. I have tried this at my workplace, and it has given me a good gist of what the training need/requirement is. Go through this and share your views.

Hi,

I'd just like to comment that I found Ben's presentation to be really good - I loved the flowcharts and decision trees. I am attaching a little exercise (and the suggested answer) that we use to help people develop the concept of a training plan. Have a go!

Hi Ben Newman,

Thank you for your valuable input on TNA. We appreciate insights from experienced individuals like you. The PowerPoint presentation you shared is excellent.

Hello Friends,

To add to the thread, TNA deals with assessing the needs, but here the point should be whether the need is perceived or real. Perceived need: An employee might think they should be trained in communication skills, but the real need could be for attitude shaping.

Feedback awaited.

Thanks,
Kunal Shrivastava

Hi!
TNA is the first step in designing a training program.
My management thesis was on T&D in IT industry. Here are a few excerpts from my thesis. For the purpose of confidentiality, I havenot mentioned the names of the organizations.Hope this might be of some use.

A training need exists when there is a gap between what is required of a person to perform his/her work competently and what he/she know. A training needs analysis is the method of determining if a training need exists and if it does, what training is required to fill the gap.

According to the study, it can be noted that in IT organizations, training needs analysis is conducted once in a year. However, the introduction of a new technology or assignment of a new project to a team might result in conducting a need-based training need analysis.

Sources of information for training needs analysis:
There are three levels of training needs assessment – organizational level, task level and individual level. Organizational level assesses the organizational effectiveness to determine training needs. Task level provided data on a particular job to identify the knowledge, skills and abilities required for optimum performance. Individual level assesses the performance of employees so as to determine the training needs.


Inferences:
Individual level: The study reveals that the performance appraisal of employees serves as the primary source of information to identify training needs. One of the organizations follow a systematic process of training needs assessment. At the beginning of every fiscal year, the employees draft their development plan after discussing with their respective supervisors. This is managed by an automated system known as E-Performance Management (EPM) which acts as an input for training design development.
The competency assessment also provides input to training needs identification. The skill metrics is an important source of training needs analysis. On a scale of 5, an employee is supposed to score 3 and above failing which he/she will have to undergo training in the particular skill enhancement.

Operational level: The business plan of an organization is considered as a primary source of training needs assessment as the project demands for a specific skill has to be fulfilled through training.

Organizational level: The training needs assessment of one of the organizations includes surveillance of internal as well as the external environment. It conducts a market analysis to identify emerging technologies and the probable clients who might adopt those technologies. This acts as an input to train employees.

Thanks and regards,
Vaishnavi Prasad

Recently, we conducted a TNA. It involved several steps. Firstly, we had a meeting with the Heads of Sections (HOS) where the employees are working to find out, in the opinion of the HOS, what are the training needs of those working in their sections. Secondly, we had a survey of the competency gaps at various levels of employees. Thirdly, we had separate discussions with various domain experts such as Production, Industrial Engineering, Personnel and Administration, Information Technology, etc. Based on the feedback received, we devised the training programs for the next year.

Hi,

Can someone help me by providing the steps for conducting a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and also explain the importance of conducting it?