Why Every Company Needs a Training Needs Analysis

Are your employees learning the right skills or just staying busy? 

Even when you think your employees are learning, they might not be because of outdated training material and skills. And when teams don’t have the right skills, performance stalls, mistakes happen, and growth slows down. 

That’s where a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) comes in.

It helps you pinpoint exactly where skill gaps exist and what training will actually make a difference. Let’s break down how a solid TNA can transform the way your team learns and performs.

Key Takeaways: Training Needs Analysis (TNA)

• What it is: Training Needs Analysis is the process of identifying skill gaps between current employee performance and what’s required to meet business goals.
• Why organizations need it: Training often fails to deliver results. Companies waste time and money on generic programs, while employee performance and engagement remain stagnant.
• When to consider it: You likely need a TNA if you’re seeing signs like high turnover, disengaged teams, poor training outcomes, unclear roles, or new tech rollouts with low adoption.
• How Coursebox helps: Once training needs analysis is complete, companies can use Coursebox AI to generate professional training videos within minutes. 

What is Training Needs Analysis?

A Training Needs Analysis is the process of identifying the gaps between what your employees can do and what they need to do to meet business goals. It helps you figure out exactly who needs training, what kind of training is needed, and why. 

In simple terms, TNA makes sure your training solves the right problems. Even 49% of L&D professionals agree that skills have become a major crisis, as per the LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2025. 

By applying TNA to enhance employee productivity, organizations can reduce the skills gap and drive better performance across teams.

Why Most Training Fails Without TNA

Training is supposed to drive better performance, stronger teams, and smarter decision-making. But that only happens when the training is actually needed and clearly targeted. Without a proper training analysis, most training programs fall short. 

When organizations skip TNA and jump straight into training, they often face: 

• Low return on investment (ROI): Money is spent on programs that don’t solve the real issue.
• Disengaged learners: Employees are asked to sit through content that feels irrelevant or repetitive.
• Unchanged performance: Sometimes, after training, teams struggle with the same issues because the root cause wasn’t addressed.

Only 8% of CEOs report seeing a business impact from their Learning & Development (L&D) programs. That’s a clear sign something’s broken, and it usually starts with skipping the analysis step. 

Signs Your Organization Requires a Training Needs Analysis

Not sure if your team requires a Training Needs Analysis? The truth is, many organizations overlook clear warning signs until productivity drops or employee frustration rises. 

If you’re seeing any of the issues below, it might be time to step back and evaluate your team’s training needs before launching the next course or workshop. 

1. High Turnover or Disengagement

When employees leave frequently or seem disconnected at work, a lack of support and skill development is often a root cause. Many workers disengage not because they don’t care, but because they feel underprepared, unsupported, or unclear on expectations.

This is also proven by a recent survey that showed 74% of employees felt actively disengaged in their job due to a lack of support or development. 

2. Performance Gaps Despite Regular Training

If your teams are still underperforming even after training, it likely means the training was off-target. Maybe it focused on the wrong topics or wasn’t delivered in a way that addresses real challenges. 

3. Confusion About Roles and Required Skills

When employees aren’t clear on what’s expected of them or how to succeed in their role, it hinders team performance. This happens when job roles evolve, but training doesn’t keep up with them. 

4. New Systems or Technologies Being Adopted

Whenever you introduce a new tool, platform, or workflow, your team needs proper onboarding and not just a PDF or quick video tutorial. Without structured training, adoption suffers, errors increase, and ROI drops. 

Quick Checklist: Do You Need a TNA?

Ask yourself the following: 

• Are we seeing a rise in employee turnover or declining morale?
• Are we investing in training that doesn’t seem to change results?
• Do employees struggle with knowing what’s expected of them?
• Have we recently introduced new tools, systems, or business strategies?
• Are there inconsistent performance levels across departments?

*If you checked 3 or more, your organization likely needs a Training Needs Analysis.

How to Conduct an Effective Training Needs Analysis

Training Needs Analysis gives you a step-by-step way to figure out what skills are lacking, who needs support, and how training can actually make a difference. Let’s break it down in simple terms and explain why each step matters. 

Step 1: Define Clear Objectives That Tie to Business Goals

Before starting, ask yourself what you are trying to achieve as a business. If you keep offering training without a clear goal, you’re just flying without a destination. You may be able to cover a lot of ground, but never land anywhere. 

Your objectives should always align with a tangible business need. For instance, let’s say your customer satisfaction score has dropped from 4.5 to 3.6 over the last quarter. Now that’s not a training issue, it’s a business issue. 

In this case, your training goal could be to “increase average customer service ratings back to 4.5 within the next 90 days.” This matters because 59% of employees strongly agree that the training they receive improves their performance.

So, before moving forward, take the time to write down SMART learning objectives to keep everything on track. 

Step 2: Collect the Right Data From the Right Sources

In this step, you need to uncover why current performance isn’t meeting expectations. This means collecting information from multiple sources rather than relying on assumptions. 

Start by asking employees directly and use short surveys to understand where they feel confident and where they struggle. Tools like Google Forms or Microsoft Forms make this easy to distribute.

Also, review any performance metrics or system logs you have access to. You’d be surprised to know how much CRM dashboards, customer service ticketing systems, or internal KPIs can reveal. You can also do it by using a training needs analysis questionnaire and a free template. 

Step 3: Analyze Skill Gaps With Clear Comparisons

After you collect your data, it’s time to identify what’s missing. At this point, it’s all about understanding your employee strengths and what’s expected of them. In other words, what capabilities do employees need to meet business goals? 

Suppose your support team is expected to close 30 customer tickets per day. If most team members are closing only 18 to 22, that’s a clear performance gap. But instead of assuming they’re lazy or unmotivated, your TNA will help you ask the right questions. 

To get better clarity, list out the key tasks for the role, and beside each one, rate the current ability versus the expected level. This can be done simply in a spreadsheet, where you mark gaps as “High,” “Medium,” or “Low.” This kind of analysis turns vague concerns into actionable insights.

Step 4: Prioritize the Most Critical Training Needs

Not all gaps need immediate attention. Once you’ve mapped the missing skills, the next logical step is to decide which ones should be addressed first. This is where you prioritize based on impact, urgency, and reach. 

A performance gap that affects your top revenue-generating team and directly impacts customer satisfaction is likely a high priority. On the other hand, a minor technical skill used by just one employee might be less urgent. 

For example, if poor onboarding is contributing to high employee turnover, it's a red flag that needs immediate attention. Ineffective onboarding drains time, reduces morale, and increases hiring costs. On the flip side, a structured onboarding process can boost retention by up to 82%.

Step 5: Design the Right Training Plan for Real-World Use

Now that you know what to teach and who needs it, you have to choose how to deliver the training. You need to understand the format your employees will most likely engage with and actually learn from. 

For straightforward knowledge, you can go for an online tutorial or a short video. But for more complex skills, interactive sessions would be a better choice with coaching and role-play scenarios. 

Use tools like Coursebox that employ AI to make this step much faster. It can create AI-generated training videos within minutes by using your existing documents. 

Research shows that companies offering relevant skills training see a 17% increase in productivity and a 21% boost in profitability. It’s simply because people learn better when the content feels useful.  

Step 6: Measure Outcomes with Metrics That Matter

Training doesn’t end with the session, because you need to track whether it worked or not. To do this, set clear metrics based on your original business objective. For instance, if your goal was to raise customer satisfaction scores, compare those scores before and after the training. 

You can also apply Kirkpatrick’s Evaluation Model, which says: 

• Gather feedback on how employees felt about the training. 
• Test whether they actually learned something new. 
• Ask managers if behavior has changed. 
• Check for improvements in real business results. 

This measurement isn’t just about proving ROI. It shows what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to be adjusted next time.

Four Benefits of Training Needs Analysis

Here are the most important benefits of conducting a TNA in your organization: 

1. Aligns Training with Business Goals

When training is tied directly to organizational objectives, it delivers measurable results. TNA ensures you’re not training for the sake of training but targeting the exact skills that drive your business to the next level. 

According to Docebo, when L&D programs are aligned with business objectives, they become 9 times more effective. This shows how beneficial properly aligned training can be for your organization. 

2. Improves Learning Effectiveness and Retention

On average, humans forget 70% of the new information within 24 hours. It’s one of the biggest known issues with generic training. The best solution for it is TNA. 

It makes training more focused, personalized, and easier to remember. When training matches real needs, retention improves automatically. 

3. Maximizes ROI on Training Budgets

Without a TNA, training often becomes a blanket solution. But when you analyze training needs first, you spend only on programs that target real skill gaps and drive business results. This makes your learning investment far more efficient and impactful. 

The company that implements well-structured training programs gets a return of $30 for every $1 spent on it. This means every dollar invested in training can pay back thirtyfold. 

4. Helps You Adapt to Change Faster

In times of digital transformation or role shifts, knowing what skills are missing becomes urgent. TNA helps organizations stay agile by bridging skill gaps early before they become performance problems.

PwC’s survey also backs this claim. They found that up to 77% of workers are ready to learn new skills to grow. TNA bridges that gap, ensuring your teams evolve with your business, not fall behind it.

Turn Training Gaps into Growth with Coursebox

A well-executed Training Needs Analysis can transform how your organization trains, supports, and grows its people. It gives you the clarity to stop guessing and start solving real problems. But knowing what to train is only half the battle. You also need to deliver that training in a way that’s engaging, cost-efficient, and scalable.

That’s where Coursebox comes in. We help businesses like yours bring their training strategy to life with customizable content without the need for costly production or external trainers.

Sign up today for free to see how Coursebox can bring your content to life. 

FAQs

1. Which tools can help with Training Needs Analysis?

Some helpful tools that you can use for training needs analysis are: 

• Coursebox: For creating and delivering targeted online training programs with AI. 
• SurveyMonkey: For employee skill surveys and feedback. 
• Skills Base: For mapping and tracking employee skills. 

2. How do I know if our current training isn’t working?

If performance gaps remain despite regular training, or if employees seem disengaged, it’s a sign your training isn’t aligned with real needs. Look for recurring mistakes, low productivity, or poor results. These red flags suggest the content may be irrelevant, outdated, or not skill-focused. 

3. How often should we conduct a training needs analysis?

At a minimum, conduct a TNA annually. You should also run it whenever business goals shift, technology changes, or new teams are onboarded. Regular Training Needs Analyses ensure that your training programs stay aligned with current job demands and business priorities.

4. What’s the difference between skill gaps and performance issues?

Skill gaps refer to missing knowledge or abilities that prevent good performance. A lack of resources, motivation, or unclear processes may also cause performance issues. TNA helps uncover the true root of the issue, so you can address it with precision.

5. How long does a training needs analysis typically take?

A simple TNA for a small team can take just 1 to 2 weeks. However, larger organization-wide analysis may take 4 to 6 weeks, depending on how much data you collect. The key is to balance speed with accuracy. Don’t rush it, but don’t get stuck in overanalysis either.