Training Needs Analysis (TNA): What Your Teams Actually Need

Stop throwing money at training programs that don’t move the needle. Our training needs analysis tells you exactly where to invest—and where not to.

The Problem: You’re Training Based on Hunches

Your team determines that sales needs better negotiation skills, so you roll out a negotiation course to hundreds of salespeople. Three months later, conversion rates haven’t budged. Why? Because the real problem wasn’t negotiation—it was lead quality, unclear pricing authority, or a dozen other things that course can’t fix.

Training needs and analysis cuts through the guesswork. We look at the numbers, talk to your people, and examine what’s actually blocking results. Then we tell you what training will fix and, just as important, what it won’t.

What You Get with a TNA When You Stop Guessing

A learning needs assessment shows you the gap between where your people are and where they need to be. Here’s what that actually means:

Training That Actually Connects to Business Goals

Generic training doesn’t solve your specific problems. You don’t need “safety training”—you need to cut recordable incidents by 40% before your insurance premiums jump again. Our performance needs analysis connects the dots between what’s not working and what skills would actually fix it.

Avoid Expensive Mistakes Before They Happen

Rolling out the wrong training program can cost millions. Not just in the program itself—in lost time, employee frustration, and zero improvement in the metrics you were trying to move. Training needs analysis (TNA) gives you certainty before you commit resources. Know what you’re solving, why it matters, and what success looks like.

Figure Out If Training Can Solve the Issue

Teams struggle because of broken processes, unclear expectations, or tools that don’t work. Needs analysis allows you to separate training problems from everything else. Sometimes your people know what to do—they just can’t do it because the system’s working against them. When that’s the case, we’ll tell you.

Stop Wasting Money on the Wrong Things

Training budgets get spread thin fast. A training needs assessment tells you where each dollar will actually drive results. It’s the difference between “we should probably train people on this” and “fixing this gap will increase productivity by 30%”.

Training Needs Analysis for Fortune 500 Companies

"[We had an] idea. Whether or not it could work then, we didn't know. So we needed to partner with a group like Roundtable Learning, pitched them our idea to say, this is what we would like for you to do. They saw the potential in it as quickly as we did, and that led us to where we are now."

Senior Learning Solutions Architect

WHS Learning & Development Team

Our Training Needs Analysis Process

01

We Talk to Your People and See the Work

We interview up to 10 key roles—frontline employees, supervisors, managers, whoever’s closest to the performance issues. Then we observe the actual work, either on-site or through job shadowing.

02

We Map Every Task and Competency

We break down what each role actually does and what competencies they need to do it well. Then we build a gap matrix showing current performance versus where you need them to be. This tells us exactly which gaps are training problems and which aren’t.

03

You Get a Roadmap with Real Numbers

You receive training versus non-training recommendations, an implementation timeline, cost estimates, and ROI forecasts with Level 3 behavioral metrics. You’ll know what training will accomplish, what it’ll cost, and how you’ll measure whether it worked.

What You Gain from Training Needs Analysis

Companies that do needs analysis before building training programs get better results with their L&D budgets. Here’s why:

Your Training Budget Works Harder

Money goes to initiatives that’ll move the needle. You stop funding training that makes people feel good but lacks results.

You Can Actually Measure Results

You establish baseline numbers and track what changes. No more wondering if that training program did anything—you’ll know.

Leadership Gets on the Same Page

When you’ve got data showing what training will accomplish, stakeholders stop arguing about pet projects. Everyone aligns around what matters.

You Make Decisions with Confidence

Instead of hoping the training works, you’re making calls based on evidence. You know what you’re solving and why it’ll work.

You Fix Real Problems

Instead of training people on what you think they need, you focus on what’s actually blocking performance.

You Move Faster

No months-long debates about what training to build. You’ve got clear priorities and a roadmap. You know what to tackle first and why.

Let’s Figure Out What Training You Actually Need

Schedule a call to talk through what’s not working and how our training needs analysis can help you invest in the right places.

Explore Our Work

AmerisourceBergen’s Customer Service eLearning: Customer Support Training for Empathy

VR Warehouse Training: Cutting Turnover While Saving Time & Money

Custom VR Handwashing with Advanced Hand Tracking

BNSF Train Engine Maintenance VR Training with Haptic Gloves

Kellanova’s Virtual Sales Training with Immersive VR

Service Technician VR Training for Telecommunications

Lincoln Electric’s Voyage Arc | Gamified Learning for the Next Generation of Learners

Superior Beverage Blended Learning Warehouse Program

Sally Beauty Gamified eLearning

FAQs

How long does a training needs and analysis take?

Depends on scope. A focused assessment—say, one department or function—usually takes 2-4 weeks from start to final report. If you need enterprise-wide analysis across multiple business units, figure 6-8 weeks. We’ll map out the exact timeline when we talk through your situation.

What's the difference between training needs analysis and learning needs assessment?

Mostly semantics. Both mean figuring out the gap between current performance and where you need to be, then determining if training closes that gap. Some people use “learning needs assessment” when they’re thinking broader than just immediate skill gaps—like long-term development needs. We handle both in our approach.

What if you tell us training isn't the solution?

Not every problem is a training problem. If we find that performance gaps are caused by process issues, tool limitations, unclear expectations, or management problems, that’s valuable information. We’ll tell you what needs to change and recommend appropriate fixes, whether that’s training or something else. Better to know now than after you’ve invested in training that can’t work.

Do we have to use you for the training after the needs analysis?

The analysis is yours, no strings attached! If you decide to build training internally or hire another vendor we’re happy to know we’ve done our job. Plenty of clients keep working with us because we already understand their context, but there’s zero obligation. Our job is giving you insights you can act on, regardless of who does the work.

What do we actually get at the end?

Roundtable Learning’s TNA report typically includes details and findings on:

Stakeholder interviews
Job/task observations or site visit
Full task and competency analysis for multiple roles
Current vs. desired performance gap matrix
Training vs. non-training recommendations
High-level implementation timeline and cost estimate
ROI forecast and Level 3 behavioral metrics framework