Conducting a Training Needs Analysis

A competency framework is the backbone to conducting a training needs analysis. Only when the organisation is aware of what competencies are critical to the delivery of their business can they go on to conduct a training needs analysis, based on the identified competencies, to inform a training agenda.

The competency framework identifies critical skills; management prioritizes the importance and required level of competence needed in those areas of skill and the training needs analysis proceeds to identify where the company needs to focus their training efforts.

There are a variety of ways to conduct a training needs analysis. One popular way is to attach it to performance management. At the regular performance management interview the manager will look at the competencies required to perform the role and assess the worker against those competencies, generally on a sliding scale of level of expertise. If this method is used there needs to be a central database that is fed by the performance management process and which organises and records assessments against common competencies across the organisation. The competency framework is the driver of this system. When performance management is undertaken data is recorded within the framework to identify common areas requiring  attention and also individual needs for training. There are a great number of commercially available performance management systems that will address this need.

Another way to conduct a training needs analysis is to do regular, say yearly, audits of training needs through surveys of management and/or staff or both. It is often difficult to construct these surveys so there are some basic surveys that can be found on the internet or purchased online and downloaded. If the organisation is looking for something specific to their needs a training manager should be able to design a relevant survey, based on the competency framework.

A third way is to engage a consultant to develop the competency framework, the training needs analysis and the training plan.

It may seem like a lot of trouble to go to and can take a bit of time to accomplish, however the training needs analysis allows for focused training efforts that will ensure the training dollar is targeted to the company’s training needs. This will stop the slow bleed of training funds to training that may not necessarily contribute to the bottom line.

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