TRAINING NEED

ANALYSIS
Meaning and Purpose
• Training needs analysis is a systematic process of identifying which
kind of training is required and providing the details related to
training implementation.
• It is also known as a tool to identify the new skills, knowledge, and
attitudes that employees need to acquire in order to improve
performance.
A successful training needs analysis will identify those who need
training and what kind of training is needed. It is counter-productive to
offer training to individuals who do not need it or to offer the wrong
kind of training. A Training Needs Analysis helps to put the training
resources to good use.
• The term training needs analysis is often also
referred to as learning needs analysis in the human
resource department. 
HRM department always puts focuses on the idea that a
constant learning process is good for employees. It
keeps their skills updated and improves their
performance. The training needs analysis implies the
analysis of skill improvement required to perform the
current or future job with excellence.
Fundamentally the role of training needs analysis in HRM is to
understand the difference between the current and desired performance
of the employee and provide information about-
• Which employee needs training?
• What kind of training is required?
• How a company can design an effective training program for such
employees?
• What will be the impact of this training on the performance of the
employee?
• What will be the cost and resource requirement of these training
programs?
Advantages of Training Needs Analysis
1.It determines the population which needs the training most in order
to perform well in the organization.
2.It determines what kind of training is required in terms of skills,
knowledge, abilities, competency, and behavior of the employee.
3.It helps the management to direct resources to regions of greatest
priority of training.
4.It helps employees and organizations to  improve work productivity
5.It helps the company to improve their quality of services and thus
helps in customer retention.
 TNA at Different levels/Components of
Training Needs Analysis
The three Level Analysis is popularly used in the organization to understand the
big picture of learning and development. This model of training needs analysis of
three components at different levels which need analysis to identify the training
needs in the organization.
1. Organizational Level
• Providing training to employee which are not aligned with the business goals is
considered a wastage of resources. It is vital that training programs conducted in
the organization would help the employees to achieve the strategic business
goals of the organization. The organizational level training need analysis using
data sources such as business goals, skill inventory, employee inventory,
organizational culture, and customer satisfaction data to identify the training
needs of the employees.
The organizational level of training need analysis to provide answers to
the questions such as-
• Which department needs training the most?
• Which training program will act as a solution to resolve the business
issues?
At organizational level analysis, clear and measurable outcomes of
the training are identified to improve the success of the training
program.
2. Operational Level
• It is a job level analysis that is used to determine what kind of training is needed
by the employee in order to achieve the desired level of work proficiency. It
identifies the knowledge and skill required to execute a specific job in the
organization. The operational level training need analysis using data sources
such as work performance standards, job description, job specifications, and
analysis of operational problems to determine the training needs of the
employee.
• The operational level of training need analysis to provide answers to the
questions such as:
• What is the standard performance expected for the job?
• How an employee should execute the task to need the set performance
standards?
• What training program is appropriate to improve the skills, abilities, and
knowledge of the employee to complete the job successfully?
3. Personal/Individual Level
At the personal level, the training need analysis is done to
verify the way employee performs their job. The difference
between the expected and actual performance of the employee
is analyzed to arrive at the training need of the employee.
The Person-level training need analysis is done using data
sources such as performance appraisals, assessment of
employee skills, interviews and questionnaires, customer
surveys, and work samples to determine the training needs of
the employee.
The individual level of training need analysis provides
answers to the questions such as-
• Whether the employees have the essential skills and
knowledge?
• What are the barriers to proficient performance?
• What is the appropriate training program to help the
employee to meet desired performance standards?
 Approaches to Training Needs Assessment
a. Proactive TNA
The proactive TNA focuses on future human resource requirement. Two approaches
can be taken to develop needed KSAs:
• Prepare employees for promotions/transfer to different jobs.
• Prepare employees for change in their current jobs.
An effective, proactive procedure used for promotions and transfers is succession
planning. Succession planning is the identification and development of employees
who are perceived to be of high potential. The first step in development of a
succession plan is to identify key positions in the organization. These positions, if left
vacant for any length of time, would negatively affect organizational functioning.
Once the positions are identified, employees with the potential to fill these key
positions are identified. Information is then provided on employees’ readiness to fill
the position if it becomes vacant. This information becomes the base for TNA.
• When preparing employees for changes in their current jobs it
is important that the TNA identify the changes that are
expected based on strategic objectives.
• Once expected changes are determined new KSAs required for
that job can be identified. These future KSAs can be compared
with the incumbent’s current KSAs and an resulting
discrepancies can be addressed through training.
Thus, The proactive approach starts with the strategic plan and
objectives. The analyst tries to determine the best fit between
the organization’s current internal environments (structures,
policies, procedures etc) and the future expectations.
b. Reactive TNA
The reactive TNA begins with an existing discrepancy in job
performance. In this sense, represent a more complete picture of the
reactive process. A middle manager may notice that production is
dropping, a supervisor may see that a particular employee’s
performance declined, or human resources may note an increase in
grievances from a particular department.
In the reactive approach, the performance discrepancy is already
identified because it triggered the analysis. This discrepancy
determines where the focus of the TNA will be. From this initial
discrepancy, an examination is needed to flush out the cause of the
discrepancy.
Output of TNA
A training needs analysis takes the guessing work out of
your training and development. You know what skill
and knowledge gaps you need to fill within your
organization. It makes it easier to create a plan when
you know what training is needed and who needs it.
Classification of Needs
Methods used in training needs assessment
Rational Methods
i) Observation: training needs is based on observation made by specialists
or experts from normal organizational life.
ii) Informal talks: clues and indications gathered through informal talks are
used to identify training needs.
iii) Complaints: formal and informal complaints give an idea of the
performance problems where training is indicated.
iv) Comparison: on the basis of fixed performance criteria of effectiveness,
comparison and judgments are made between two groups. The
differences between the two groups form the basis of training needs.
v) Analysis of Annual Performance reports: annual performance records
become the basis in deciding training needs.
vi) Analysis of the new programmes/Strategies
Empirical Methods
i) Job analysis: identifying and recording critical information about the
functions and operations involved in the performance of a job, and
analyzing the extent to which the tasks that are accomplished can be
potential training needs.
ii) Performance evaluation: the performance of employees is evaluated
and training needs are arrived at.
iii) Checklist or Questionnaire Method: the training needs are assessed
based upon the opinion of the employees, subordinate superiors and
peers who respond to a well developed questionnaire or checklist.
iv) Tests: tests are developed to measure knowledge, skill, and the
attitude of employees, and the test scores are used to identify
training needs.
v) Critical Incident Technique: employees are asked to recall critical
incidents in their career in the last one or two years when they
found themselves practically ineffective in their job performance.
vi)Focus Group Discussion: focus group discussion can be held with
prospective clients who will provide inputs for training programme.
vii)Interview: the training organizer can conduct interviews to
identifying training needs.
viii)SWOT Analysis: the employees list out their strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats regarding their job.
Training objectives are designed to maximize their strengths and
opportunities; and to minimize their weaknesses and threats.
TNA MODEL