How to conduct a training needs analysis: Guide with examples

You spent months developing a training program, only for it to fall completely flat. Skills aren’t clicking, employees are still missing their targets, and… it’s frustration all around. What went wrong? Chances are, the problem started before you cracked open the coffee pot on workshop day. Without a training needs analysis, you’re guessing at what employees need instead of knowing for sure.

In this article, we’ll break down how to conduct a training needs analysis from start to finish, with a template to help you create a focused, actionable plan.

What is a training needs analysis (TNA)?

By breaking down workplace profiles into core competencies and comparing actual performance to target outcomes, a TNA helps you ensure that you develop relevant training modules and materials that align with bigger organizational goals. Instead of relying on assumptions, you’re building training based on data to deliver measurable results. 

Example: Acme Co. wants to boost customer satisfaction scores. A training needs analysis reveals that employees struggle to resolve complaints effectively. Acme Co. develops training focused on conflict resolution and active listening, leading to smoother interactions and higher satisfaction rates across the board.

A training needs analysis (TNA) is the process of identifying gaps between your employees’ current skill, knowledge, and ability levels and the level required to meet organizational goals. It’s a structured approach to understanding where you need to invest in more training and the specific areas where employees need to improve.

Why is conducting a training needs analysis important? 

Launching a training program without conducting a training needs analysis isn’t much different from launching a new product with zero market research. You have no idea if it addresses a real problem or if it solves that problem in the right way. That’s a big risk of wasted time and energy. 

A solid training needs analysis keeps your efforts focused on what really matters: your employees. It’s how you build a training program that resonates, delivers results, and actually sticks.  Here’s how it helps:

• Identify gaps: Understand exactly where employees need support to work more effectively and efficiently.
• Reduce employee turnover: Training that improves performance and leads to advancement or higher compensation inspires employees to stay put.
• Design learning and development programs: Build programs based on real data and insight, rather than guesswork.
• Ensure training aligns with business objectives: Feel confident that your training program supports big-picture goals and targets set by leadership.
• Detect skill and performance gaps in advance: Discover where and how employees are struggling and correct before it becomes a bigger issue.
• Find opportunities for cross-training: Enhance team flexibility and versatility by cross-training employees across related roles. 

Types of training needs analysis 

Mapping out what your employees need to learn starts with knowing what you’re assessing. Are you interested in what they know? What can they do? How do they approach challenges? Looking at your training needs analysis through the lenses of knowledge, skills, and abilities can help ensure a comprehensive approach that covers all your bases.

Knowledge assessment

A knowledge assessment focuses on what employees know and how well they understand important concepts, processes, and policies. It’s about measuring their expertise in specific areas, like technical knowledge, industry standards, or company protocols. This type of assessment can be especially useful for roles that require a strong foundation of theoretical knowledge or staying current with industry changes. 

Skills evaluation

It’s one thing to know something; it’s something else to apply it effectively. Skills evaluations measure how well employees leverage practical abilities like writing, coding, communication, or leadership to make use of their theoretical knowledge when performing tasks. Direct observation, simulation, and performance tests are a good fit for this type of assessment. 

Abilities assessment

An abilities assessment looks at broader capabilities like problem-solving, critical thinking, adaptability, and creativity to understand how employees approach obstacles and whether they have the mental and emotional tools to succeed. For leadership development or roles where soft skills matter as much as technical expertise, this assessment can be a game-changer for developing well-rounded, adaptable teams.

Training needs analysis methods

There’s no single “best” method for conducting a training needs analysis—it’s all about choosing the right one for the job. Different tools give you different insights, and combining them helps you develop a more complete picture of your employees’ needs.

Surveys and questionnaires

Employee surveys and questionnaires are a great way to gather widespread input fast. Easy to customize, straightforward to analyze, and ideal for collecting objective, measurable insights from responses. Employees may also appreciate the anonymity, which can encourage more open, honest responses.

Direct observation

Watching employees perform their jobs gives you a firsthand look at where things are running smoothly and where there might be some bumps. This method helps you understand how employees apply their skills in real time and what kinds of challenges they encounter. It works best when you have clear performance criteria to guide your observations.

Performance evaluations and feedback reviews

Evaluations and feedback reviews help you appreciate how well your team’s skills and abilities match up against the business’s performance standards. Looking over past evaluations, you may start to see patterns: recurring issues that training could fix or areas where employees consistently exceed expectations. Incorporating insights from performance management cycles can further broaden your perspective. You can also use this tool to track improvement over time once employees complete your training program.

Work analysis and task examination

Breaking down tasks into their smallest components can surface gaps in knowledge or skills you might otherwise accidentally overlook. This method works especially well for technical roles or complex processes where understanding each step is mission-critical to ensuring that your training covers all the fundamental skills needed to perform the job. 

On-the-job training review

Reviewing how well employees apply their training on the job may be the best way to gauge the effectiveness of your training program. If there are gaps between what’s taught and what’s needed on a daily basis, you’ll see them and have a good idea about what tweaks you need to make to course correct.

How to conduct a needs assessment: 5 steps

If you want your training needs analysis to make a difference, you need to have a plan. Without one, you’re just guessing at what your team needs, and that’s a recipe for wasted time and effort. Breaking the development process down into clear steps helps you focus on what matters most, build training programs that deliver real results, and ensure everything aligns with your organizational goals.

Step 1. Establish organizational objectives

Everything starts with understanding what your company is trying to achieve. Define your organizational objectives clearly so you can easily connect them with broader goals. Think of these as the north star of your training program and remember that every action you take needs to move your employees and your organization closer to achieving these outcomes.

Step 2. Identify key job behaviors

Once you know the big-picture goals, your next step is identifying what job behaviors best support them. Do employees need to excel at certain jobs or tasks to meet your business’s objectives? What are the essential skills or knowledge needed to perform them at a high level?

Step 3. Determine necessary knowledge and skills

Understanding what your employees need to master to reach full potential goes beyond checklists of ‘hard’ or technical skills. It’s about looking at the bigger picture: communication skills, problem-solving abilities, industry-specific knowledge, and even how well they fit your company’s values and culture. The idea is to take a holistic approach that ensures your employees have everything they need to succeed, not just on paper but in real-world scenarios.

Step 4. Design training programs

Now it’s time to actually build your training programs. That means deciding on the training methods, materials, and timelines that fit your employees’ needs. Whether you plan to offer workshops, online courses, employee training software tools, or one-on-one coaching, it’s important to get input from your stakeholders and employees about what works best for them.

Step 5: Monitor and adjust training programs

Training isn’t a “set it and forget it” process. Regularly evaluating and adjusting your programs helps ensure your material stays topical and relevant. Check your KPIs, collect feedback, and be willing to make changes if something isn’t working. 

Training needs assessment best practices

Whether you’re building a new training program from the ground up or fine-tuning an existing one, a few smart strategies can make all the difference. From tapping into employee feedback to staying compliant with legal requirements, the tips below can help you build something that pushes your business and your employees closer to their goals. 

1. Use workplace profiles to identify required knowledge and skills

Take a look at the workplace profiles for each role you’re analyzing. These profiles outline the key skills, knowledge, and competencies for success. Comparing those requirements to how employees typically use their time helps you identify discrepancies more quickly. Plus, it can help make your training programs more tailored and relevant to your audience.

2. Identify performance gaps between current and desired outcomes

Half the work in developing a training program involves figuring out what’s missing. Compare current performance levels to where you need them to be. Are employees meeting job performance targets and other KPIs? If not, what’s holding them back? The more precisely you can identify what’s getting in the way, the easier it is to create training programs that tackle the problem creatively. 

3. Gather employee feedback on learning objectives and challenges

Who knows better than your employees what’s working, what’s confusing, and what kind of training would clarify matters? No one. Using surveys, focus groups, or interviews to take their input can give you a clear sense of which training programs are hitting the mark—and where they fall short. Equally important, feeling heard can significantly increase employee buy-in.

4. Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local training regulations

Staying legally compliant isn’t optional. Make sure your training needs assessment takes into account any requirements set out in federal, state, or local regulations. Whether it’s health and safety requirements or industry-specific rules, regular compliance training helps you avoid legal headaches and keeps your company operating smoothly.

Example training needs assessment questions 

Asking the right questions is everything when it comes to developing a training needs assessment. It’s how you learn what’s working and what’s not and pinpoint knowledge or skill gaps with precision. To keep things methodical, it helps to break your questions into categories: strategic alignment, job behavior, skill application barriers, and training design. Covering these key areas keeps your training program well-rounded and aligned with business objectives and can help ensure that you don’t overlook an important aspect of the design process.

Strategic alignment questions

These questions help you make sure your training needs analysis is on the same page as your company’s goals. Before you dive into building training programs, you need to understand what success actually looks like.

• What are the company’s short-term and long-term goals?
• How does this training align with strategic objectives?
• What key performance indicators (KPIs) will measure success?

Job behavior and core values questions

This is all about making sure people’s day-to-day behaviors match up with your company’s core values and cultural standards. It also helps you pinpoint gaps in employee skills and knowledge by comparing what’s expected with what’s actually happening.

• Do current employee behaviors reflect our mission and values?
• Are there gaps between expected and actual job behaviors?
• What behaviors are critical to achieving organizational success?

Barriers to effective skill application questions

Even the best training programs won’t work if something’s blocking your employees from applying what they’ve learned. Maybe it’s a lack of management support, outdated technology, or too many competing tasks, but understanding what’s getting in the way ensures that you develop training solutions that are actually practical, not just theoretical.

• Are there workplace barriers preventing employees from applying their training?
• Is there sufficient management support for reinforcing learned behaviors?
• What external factors (e.g., culture, workload, technology) impact skill application?

Training design and development questions

Here’s where you figure out the best way to deliver knowledge to your team to make it stick. It’s about clarifying skills gaps, setting objectives, and seeing what resources you already have to communicate new concepts.

• Do we have a clear understanding of employee skill gaps?
• Have stakeholders provided input on training objectives?
• Are there existing training materials or resources that can be leveraged?

Training needs analysis template example

Job to be analyzed: Content Manager

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With Rippling you can:

• Automatically assign courses, track progress and send reminders as needed, and stay up-to-date with reports and analytics
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• Use AI-powered discovery tools to find the right training for your teams from a robust library of 80,000+ e-learning courses.  
• Improve engagement and learning retention with an employee-centered, user-friendly training experience.

Training needs analysis FAQs

What are TNA tools?

TNA tools are tools you can use to gather and analyze information about your company’s training needs. Common ones include surveys, interviews, focus groups, performance appraisals, questionnaires, and good old observation. Together, these tools help you collect data, pinpoint skills gaps, and evaluate job performance. For example, surveys and interviews can reveal employee insights, while performance appraisals and observation can measure real-world achievements. Picking the right tools makes your training needs assessment more accurate and more effective.

What are the three types of training needs analysis?

The three types of training needs analysis are: individual analysis, organizational analysis, and task analysis. Individual analysis digs into employee performance to identify skills or knowledge gaps. Organizational analysis focuses on your business’s big-picture goals and how training can help achieve them. Finally, task analysis looks at the skills and knowledge required for specific tasks. Together, these approaches help you prioritize goals and objectives for your training programs. 

How to do TNA and TNI?

Training needs analysis and training needs identification involve assessing skill gaps and defining learning objectives. Start by collecting data through surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Then, evaluate employee performance, identify competencies, and determine organizational goals. From this information, you can develop training solutions and implement effective training programs. Finally, evaluate the results of your initiatives to ensure alignment with business goals. Using a structured approach promotes effective employee training that enhances job performance and moves your organization forward. 

This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of April 8, 2025.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.