Training Needs Analysis (TNA): What it is and how to do it

A Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is a structured process used to identify gaps between the skills, knowledge and behaviours employees currently have and those they need to perform effectively in their role. HR and L&D teams use TNAs to identify where training is needed, prioritise development efforts, and ensure learning programmes support wider business goals.

Unlike broader long-term learning and development planning, a TNA is usually focused on specific skill gaps, performance challenges, or business changes that need to be addressed within a defined period. A TNA differs from a broader learning needs analysis (LNA), which takes an ongoing, strategic view of organisational capability rather than focusing on a specific training need.

Training needs analyses are usually carried out at three different levels within an organisation:

This looks at the organisation as a whole to identify company-wide capability gaps, strategic priorities, and training programmes that may be missing or underdeveloped.

Focuses on the needs of a specific department, function, or role, including technical skills, collaboration challenges, process gaps, or changes affecting how work is delivered.

Focuses on an individual employee's skills, performance, and development goals, often using performance reviews, manager feedback, or one-to-one conversations to identify areas for support.

While the terms are often used interchangeably, a training needs assessment and a Training Needs Analysis are distinct parts of the process of developing effective training programmes.

A needs assessment helps identify where performance or capability gaps exist, while a Training Needs Analysis helps uncover what's causing those gaps and what type of training is needed to address them.

In simple terms, a needs assessment identifies that a problem exists, while a Training Needs Analysis helps you to determine the cause and the most effective response.

In practice, most organisations run a needs assessment first to identify that a gap exists, then conduct a Training Needs Analysis to determine the right training response.

The objectives of a Training Needs Analysis are to identify where skills gaps exist, align training with business strategy, and ensure learning and development resources are used effectively. 

A well-run TNA helps organisations make better decisions about where to invest time, budget, and support, so training stays relevant, targeted, and useful to the people doing the work.

Proactive development: A Training Needs Analysis helps you identify knowledge gaps and capability issues before they begin affecting productivity, performance, or employee confidence.

According to the UK Employer Skills Survey 2024, 12% of employers reported skills gaps within their workforce, representing around 1.26 million employees judged not to be fully proficient in their role. A TNA helps organisations identify these gaps early and prioritise the training needs that will have the greatest business impact.

You can also use the findings to build a training matrix, prioritise urgent development areas, and plan training more strategically across teams and departments.

Broader visibility: You don't always know where skills gaps exist until you start gathering structured feedback and performance data.

Looking across different teams and roles often reveals opportunities for upskilling, leadership development, and process improvement that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Targeted learning: Training programmes are more effective when they reflect the actual needs of your employees, teams and business.

A TNA helps HR and L&D teams create learning plans that are relevant, current, and tailored to specific roles, departments or individuals.

Strategic alignment: Over time, training initiatives can drift away from your wider priorities.

Running regular TNAs helps keep your learning programmes aligned with goals such as improving customer service, preparing for growth, introducing new technology, or supporting compliance requirements.

Better use of time and resources: Not every employee needs the same training.

A TNA helps you identify who needs support, what type of training is most appropriate, and where your development budget will have the greatest impact.

Performance and retention: Effective learning and development supports stronger performance, confidence, and motivation.

Research suggests that effective reskilling can lift productivity by 6–12%, while employees who receive relevant training are more likely to stay engaged and see a future within their organisation which supports retention.

Training is also one of the key drivers of employee engagement. When employees feel supported in their development, they are more likely to stay and grow.

Improved return on investment: Without a clear understanding of employee and business needs, it's easy to invest in HR training that delivers little measurable impact.

A TNA helps you focus budgets and resources on the areas that will make the biggest difference.

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A successful Training Needs Analysis combines business goals, employee feedback, performance data, and workforce planning. The aim is to identify where people need development, understand the cause of the gaps, and then build training that supports your people and the organisation.

Start by identifying what you want the training to achieve and how it supports wider business priorities, whether that's improving performance, preparing for growth, supporting new systems or addressing capability gaps.

At the same time, define the budget, resources and time available. This will shape the scope of your TNA and the methods you use.

You should also define the level of proficiency employees are expected to reach:

• Awareness: Employees gain a basic understanding of a topic.

• Application: Employees learn how to complete a task or apply knowledge in practice.

• Mastery: Employees develop a level of expertise that allows them to support or coach others.

Before deciding who is in scope, decide how you'll gather information about skills, performance and development needs.

Common methods include employee surveys, manager feedback, performance reviews, one-to-one conversations, observation, assessments and workforce planning data.

Next, identify which employees, teams or departments you want to include in the analysis. Gather feedback from managers and team leads, review performance data, and assess where capability gaps may be affecting delivery, productivity, or employee development.

Use the findings to prioritise the people and teams who would benefit most from support.

Once you've identified who is in scope, review the skills, knowledge and behaviours required for success in the role.

Use job descriptions, competency frameworks and performance expectations to build a clear picture of what good performance looks like. Keeping this information in one place (like Personio's document management) also makes it easier to compare expectations across teams and identify wider capability gaps.

Use performance reviews, assessments, feedback, and observation to evaluate employees' current capability levels against the skills required for their role.

Methods include assessments, structured surveys, performance review data, manager one-to-ones and observation. Together, they show where employees feel confident, where support is needed and which gaps are affecting performance.

Personio's performance and review tools can help HR teams gather feedback, track development conversations, and identify recurring capability trends across the organisation.

Subject matter experts can help validate skill requirements, identify knowledge gaps and shape more effective training programmes.

Their input helps ensure training reflects real business challenges and the skills employees need day to day.

Once you've identified the gaps, build training that supports both employee development and business goals.

This might include coaching, mentoring, workshops, e-learning, on-the-job learning or external courses. Choose the format that best fits the skills being developed and the needs of your learners.

Personio's training management capabilities help HR teams organise training activities, monitor participation, and track completion across the organisation.

A TNA shouldn't be a one-off exercise. As teams, technology and priorities change, so will your training needs.

Review outcomes against the original goals using performance data, learner feedback and business results. Use those insights to shape future workforce planning and development priorities into the next TNA cycle.

There's no single way to run a TNA. You'll usually get the clearest picture by combining employee feedback, performance data and workforce planning information rather than relying on a single source.

The right methods will depend on the size of your organisation, the skills you're assessing and whether the focus is organisational, team-based or individual.

Once you've decided how you'll gather information, the right tools can make the process much easier to manage.

Many HR teams use survey tools, skills matrices, competency frameworks, performance review systems and people analytics platforms to support their TNA process.

With Personio, you can gather employee feedback, analyse performance and development trends, and keep workforce data in one place. That makes it easier to spot capability gaps, prioritise training and track progress over time.

Other tools commonly used during a TNA include competency frameworks, training matrices, workforce planning documentation, and employee development plans.

A Training Needs Analysis questionnaire helps you gather structured feedback on current skill levels, development needs and training priorities. The responses can highlight capability gaps at both team and individual level, helping you decide where training will have the greatest impact.

You can adapt these questions depending on the size of your organisation, the roles you're assessing and the goals of your TNA.

• What aspects of your current role do you feel most confident performing?

• Are there areas of your role where you feel underprepared or would benefit from additional training?

• Are there any upcoming responsibilities, systems, or changes in your role that you don't yet feel fully prepared for?

• What is your preferred way of learning? (For example: workshops, e-learning, coaching, mentoring, reading materials, or on-the-job learning.)

• Are there any skills you would like to develop to support your career progression within the organisation?

• How well does your current training align with your performance or development goals?

• Do you feel you currently have the tools, resources, and support needed to perform your role effectively?

• What additional training or support would help you feel more confident in your role?

• Which members of your team have performance gaps that training or development could help address?

• Are there upcoming changes to team responsibilities, systems, technology, or ways of working that will require new skills?

• What skills or capabilities does your team currently lack that are affecting delivery, productivity, or performance?

• Have you identified any employees who are ready for progression and would benefit from targeted development support?

• Which areas of training or development have been most effective for your team over the past 12 months, and why?

Handle questionnaire responses sensitively, particularly where they highlight individual performance concerns or confidence gaps. Employees should understand how their responses will be used and who will have access to them.

Any data collected should be managed in line with UK GDPR and your organisation's data protection policies.

Personio's survey functionality allows HR teams to design and distribute TNA questionnaires, gather responses in one place, and analyse results without manual collation.

Running a Training Needs Analysis often means pulling together information from multiple places: employee feedback, performance reviews, workforce planning discussions, training records, and manager input. Keeping that process organised becomes much easier when the data sits in one place.

Personio helps HR teams gather and manage the information needed to run an effective TNA. Survey functionality can be used to distribute questionnaires and collect structured feedback from employees and managers, while performance and review tools help identify recurring capability gaps and development priorities at individual and team level.

Personio's people analytics and training management capabilities also make it easier to track development activity over time, monitor training completion, and maintain visibility across the organisation. This gives HR teams a clearer view of workforce capability, training progress, and future development needs without relying on disconnected spreadsheets or manual tracking.

See how Personio supports your people's development, from identifying skills gaps to tracking training outcomes. Book a demo.

Develop Staff With Ease

Track training attendance, progress and compliance across your organisation from one central, easy-to-use tool.

A training needs assessment identifies where a performance or skills gap exists. A Training Needs Analysis goes a step further by identifying the cause of that gap and the most appropriate training response. Day-to-day, organisations often carry out an assessment first, then a TNA.

The three levels of a Training Needs Analysis are organisational, job/task and individual. Organisational analysis focuses on business-wide capability needs, job/task analysis looks at the requirements of a specific role, and individual analysis assesses an employee's current skills and development needs.

A Training Needs Analysis can take anywhere from one to two weeks for a single team to six to eight weeks or longer for an organisation-wide review. The timeline depends on the number of employees involved, the methods used and the resources available to support the process.

Training needs analyses are usually led by HR or Learning and Development teams. In smaller organisations, an HR Generalist or People Manager will often lead the process with support from line managers. Senior leaders may also be involved when the TNA is linked to wider workforce planning or business goals.

The purpose of a Training Needs Analysis is to identify where training is needed and ensure learning and development activity supports business goals. It helps you prioritise development efforts, make better use of training budgets and focus on the skills that will have the greatest impact.

Start by identifying the information you need to gather at organisational, team and individual level. Use a mix of open and closed questions, keep the questionnaire concise and test it before wider distribution. Employees should also understand how their responses will be used and who will have access to them.

Sources: McKinsey — The economic case for reskilling in the UK

Institute for Employment Studies — Key drivers of employee engagement

UK Department for Education — Employer Skills Survey 2024 

GOV.UK  -- Government Skills rapid review (January 2025)