Training Need Analysis – Part 2
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Training Need Analysis – Part 2
Note: The Contents of this report are Copy Right of UniTol Training Solutions Pvt. Ltd, India. No portion
of this should be copied or reproduced without the prior permission of UniTol Training Solutions Pvt.
Ltd., Hyderabad, India
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Training Need Analysis – Part 2
Introduction to Tools for TNI &A
Training Needs Identification and Analysis, as we had discussed in Part 1 of the White Paper
Series is an imperative for all organizations – invariant of the sector or size. And seen in part 1,
the absence of structured Training Needs Analysis impacts all the elements of the Training Value
Chain, thereby directly affecting the returns on training investments. (Click here to read part 1)
Training
Planning (TNA)
Program Design
Program
Execution
Post Program
Support
The Training Value Chain
Improper or non-systematic individual needs identification, will

See monies being spent without the due results

Strategic objectives of the organization not being realized

Long term competitive edge of the organization being lost

Individual learning requirements not being addressed

A general decline in employee morale (because of not being adequately and
appropriately moving along the professional development trajectory)
This brings up the question as to what are then the structured ways and means of doing a
TNI&A. What tools, techniques and methods are to be deployed to effectively and efficiently
carry out the process of TNI &A. Like any other management process, the overriding factor will
be the fine balance of cost, time and accuracy of the process – and like it is said, “planning
cannot take all your time, leaving little to execute”.
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Training Need Analysis – Part 2
While typically SME do not have access to structured methods for the TNI&A , larger
organizations usually capture the Training Needs of individuals through the singular means of
Annual Performance Review (APR). In this part of the series not only will we discuss the various
tools and methods, we will also look at the typical disadvantages of capturing individual
requirements using only a performance dialog.
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Training Need Analysis – Part 2
My Development Needs: The APR Dialog
Before we go into exploring the available methods for capturing the training needs, let us look at the
Annual Performance Dialog or Annual Performance Review, as a platform or as a method that is typically
used by organization for this purpose. The Annual Performance Review or Dialog, is essentially to take
stock of the individual’s performance in his/her job with reference to the goals established at the
beginning of the year. Let us look at typical charter for such a dialog or interaction:

Revisit the goals (usually referred to as the KRAs and KPIs) established at the start of the year

Review the individual’s performance – that is look at what was achieved and what was not

Identify and discuss the reasons or causes for the shortfall (if any) in the goal achievement
process

Dialoging or discussing on the performance rating (that is the overall rating scheme that the
organization may be using)

Identify the individual’s development requirements – typically in the context of what was
reviewed
The above stated items are a generic and there could be specific contours for individual organizations such as discussing the following year’s goals. But the
key aspect that needs to be noted is that, in most
(practically all instances), the discussion around the
individual’s development happens only towards the
end of the whole process.
APR as a Means of
Development Needs
Identification
And it becomes
adequately clear that by this time, both, the
reviewer as well as the reviewee or the employee
45
55
are exhausted and more or less logged out of the
discussion process – since the individual’s main
agenda in this discussion would have been to kind to
Useful
Not Useful
know or ensure that he/she gets a better rating. So,
what transpires as apart of this development dialog is more of a routine, going-through-the-motions
kind of thing and therefore not addressing the real issue. No wonder it has been found that APR has a
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Training Need Analysis – Part 2
method for the purpose of Training Needs Identification has been found to be faulty or wanting in more
than 50% of the cases (where such a system was being used). However, despite this, most large
organizations continue to use this as a method for the training and development needs identification
process. The reasons, while not explicitly stated, can be inferred to be something along the following
lines

Go with the flow: Many organizations believe, and may be rightly so, that the APR revolves
around performance, would it not be the most appropriate time to discuss about what hinders
or facilitates the performance aka the development requirements?

Paucity of time: Organizations would not want to invest in ‘another’ process for capture of
training needs, they would rather ‘get it done with in APR’
We have seen why the first point, while logically correct, does not serve the objective. Coming to the
second one, in part 1, we have covered in detail the importance of TNA to people and their
development. Successful organizations invest not just money, but time as well to ensure that the entire
process of people development is properly addressed.
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Training Need Analysis – Part 2
Tools, Techniques & Methods for TNI&A
Before diving into the details of the Tools and techniques that are used for the purpose of the TNI&A, it
would be worthwhile to quickly dwell on the hierarchy of training requirements. The Training needs
stem from multiple dimensions






Organizational Strategies: The organizational strategies, while would cast the general blanket
over what kind of requirements in terms of skills and knowledge are required by the employees,
there will be, from time to time specific aspects that it would want to be addressed. For
instance, if the organization wants to implement a World Class Manufacturing (WCM) policy
because oversees customers would like to deal with a company with such standard, it would
imperative that the organization trains its employees in WCM and its attendant practices.
Organizational Values: While the Code of Conduct and organizational values are usually
something in which people are often trained (either formally or otherwise), an incident based or
an environment triggered event may necessitate a enterprise wide training in certain aspects.
Training on POSH or Prevention of Sexual Harassment is a case in point.
Divisional or SBU related: A particular division or SBU of the company may have to address a
specific aspect, which may be unique to it and for that may have to train all their employees in
the same. A conglomerate of chemical producing and chemicals selling firm, may have a unique
set of requirements for their production units, in say Safety & Environment.
Departmental: Unique departmental training requirements may come up because of
implementation of some new technologies or processes.
Teams: In case the organization has formed specific project oriented teams, then these teams
may require focused training.
Finally the Individual: The individual may require training both from the job related aspects, as
well as those which will enable him grow professionally.
As can be seen from the above, the process or methodology for the Training Needs Identification should
be such that it capable of capturing all the above pieces of information. Now let us see the various tools
and techniques that are used, and how these may fit into the overall scheme of things
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Training Need Analysis – Part 2
Survey Tools : Survey tools can be classified into two categories - the direct or specific surveys for
TNA&I and the indirect, e.g. a climate or engagement survey. A well designed direct survey tool can
help in the process of capturing the TNI appropriately, but the rider will be that sufficient thought
should go into the design of the entire process. The tool should be able to help employee known what
the needs that the organization, department and team are and in the process capture his/her individual
requirements as well. While indirect tools, do serve dual purposes (e.g. you could use the engagement
survey for purpose of designing organization development (OD) initiatives and based analysis of the
statements, capture also the enterprise wide requirements of training & development.) As can clearly
be seen, most survey of this nature (i.e. indirect) are done in an anonymous mode- therefore any
analysis to identify the training or development needs shall be at aggregated level and not an individual
level.
Assessments: Organizations which use competency models, take the Assessment route for the Training
Needs Identification. In this kind of an approach, the competency framework covering the leadership,
managerial & behavioral, functional and technical competencies is drawn up and then structured
assessment process is carried out, using one or multiple methods. Based on the results, the individual
assessment needs are identified and this is typically followed up with an IDP or Individual Development
Plan.
Multi Rater Feedback Mechanism: One of the emerging methods of Training Needs Identification,
especially for developing managerial & leadership aspects, is the multi rater feedback mechanism or
what is also known as the 360 Degree feedback process. Progressive organizations are using this
method, because it serves multiple purposes – (a) helps identify specific training needs - since most of
the 360 deg questionnaires are constructed based on elements, the need for individual can be zeroed
into specific item/requirement, (b) ensures buy-in, which especially in behavioral training is an
important aspect (people find it difficult to dispute the opinion of a majority of people), (c) helps design
the curriculum of the training program, and (d) finally can be used to aggregate the requirements so as
to create requirement maps at different levels.
Focus Group Discussions: Some organizations use the FGD method for the identification of training
needs. The key challenges to this method could be time and the availability of good moderators. Larger
organizations may find the FGD method to be quite challenging to plan and execute. Again, as in the
case of surveys, the FGD needs to be planned and managed efficiently. The key determinants of success
for using FGD as a process for capturing the training needs will be the capability of the facilitator, the
contour definitions (that is the boundaries for the FGD in the given context) and finally the
organizational culture which facilitates such open communication.
One-on-One discussions: A very select set of organizations do use this method of training needs
identification. While APR (which was discussed earlier) is one form of such a method, this is a variant,
wherein the discussion could be with either the HR or with the reporting manager. But again, this is a
method which is not usually adopted by organizations, because of the time constraints. This could be an
approach in SME companies with a fewer number of employees. However, it has to be noted that
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Training Need Analysis – Part 2
without proper training, the ability to capture the training needs through such a dialoging process may
not yield the expected results.
In-Direct Approaches: Inputs to the training requirements can be got from other sources, such as
process audits, safety audits, compliance surveys, regulatory checks (e.g. FDA audit in the case of
pharma industry). These again, may be aggregated requirements across the enterprise or over division
or function, but not at an individual level.
As can be seen, each of the method has it advantages and dis-advantages, and the choice of a particular
methodology has to be made factoring all relevant information into consideration.
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Training Need Analysis – Part 2
…Before Closing
To emphasize, Training Needs Identification and Analysis is an important aspect of the Human
Capital Development process and due focus has to be given to it to ensure success of training
endeavors. The choice of the tool or method to be used will depend on the organizational context
and the various constraints under which it operates. However, the following need to be ensured in
the selection and deployment of the tool




Will the usage of the tool enable capture the requirements in a wholistic manner?
Is the tool efficient to capture the requirements in easy and efficient manner?
Will the tool or method allow for appropriate process configurations? – that is say, there is a
need for validation of what the individual wants by the HR or plant head, can such (or
similar) configuration be built
Finally, can the tool or process ensure quick and easy analysis? Remember that TNI is just
the start, the end is the TNA
In the next part of this series we will explore some case studies to understand the application
perspective of different tools and methods.
TO BE CONTINUED
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Training Need Analysis – Part 2
The previous and upcoming articles in this series are
Training Need Analysis : A Luxury or Impetrative
Part 1
Doing TNA : Tools & Techniques
Training Need Analysis
Part 3
Some Case Studies and Success Stories
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Training Need Analysis – Part 2
In case you have any questions or would like to know more on
any of the issues mentioned in this article, you may kindly
contact, Rathna
Rathna.k@unitol.in
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