A training needs analysis workshop teaches L&D and HR professionals to find the skill gaps that block business goals and rule out non-training causes. It covers organisational, role and individual analysis, data collection tools, skills heat maps and prioritisation. Bodhih runs it over 2 days, with each participant turning a live request into a costed learning plan.
- Recommended: 2 days in person, or 4 x 3-hour live virtual sessions, customised to your L&D process
- Level: Intermediate · In person · Live virtual · Blended
- Designed with the ADDIE model and customised to your context
- Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions
Also known as: TNA workshop, training needs assessment training, learning needs analysis, skills gap analysis training
Where and how: training needs analysis training as an in-person workshop in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur; as a live online course; or delivered overseas in Dubai, Singapore and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Last reviewed by Siddharthan VGJ, Founder · Bodhih Training, Bengaluru
Why TNA is the step L&D cannot skip
Budgets are under scrutiny, and leaders want to know what training will change before they sign off. Skipping analysis leads to programs that people enjoy but that move no business metric.
With AI reshaping roles, the gap between current skills and future needs is shifting quickly. A training needs analysis workshop gives your team a repeatable method, so every program starts from evidence and has a clear success measure.
What participants will be able to do
Start from the business
Link training needs to specific business goals, metrics and problems that leaders already care about.
Diagnose the real cause
Use a performance gap analysis to tell skill gaps apart from process, tools, incentive or environment issues.
Collect the right data
Design interviews, focus groups, surveys and skills assessments that produce usable evidence.
Map skill gaps
Build a role-based skills heat map that shows where gaps are widest and most urgent.
Prioritise with leaders
Rank needs by business impact and urgency and agree priorities with stakeholders.
Write the learning plan
Turn findings into a costed plan with formats, audiences, timelines and evaluation measures.
Who should attend
- L&D managers and learning partners who build annual training plans
- HRBPs who field training requests from business leaders
- Training coordinators moving into a more consultative role
- Functional academy leads in sales, technology, operations or quality
- GCC L&D teams planning capability for new mandates and AI-driven role changes
- Plant training heads in manufacturing and pharma
Program outline
Recommended design, customised to your context after a short needs analysis.
01TNA as performance consultingModule 1 · 2 hours+
- From order-taker to performance consultant
- The three levels: organisational, role or task, and individual
- Exercise: reframing five typical training requests
02Is it really a training problem?Module 2 · 2 hours+
- The performance gap flowchart: skill, will, tools, process or environment
- Questions to ask managers before agreeing to a program
- Case: falling first-call resolution in a customer service centre
03Data collection methods and toolsModule 3 · 3 hours+
- Structured stakeholder interview guide and focus group plan
- Designing a short skills survey that avoids self-rating bias
- Using AI-graded assessments on AssessAll to measure current capability
04Role analysis and skills mappingModule 4 · 2.5 hours+
- Breaking a role into critical tasks and competencies
- Building a skills heat map in Excel by team and level
- Spotting future skills needs from technology and business plans
05Prioritising and costing needsModule 5 · 2 hours+
- Impact and urgency matrix for ranking needs
- Build, buy or borrow decisions for each capability
- Estimating cost and effort for each option
06From findings to learning planModule 6 · 2.5 hours+
- Writing a TNA report leaders read: findings, options and recommendation
- Setting evaluation measures up front, from reaction to business results
- Presenting a draft plan to a mock leadership panel for approval
Sample training plan: 2-day hands-on design
This two-day workshop turns L&D and HR professionals from order-takers into performance consultants. Each participant brings one live training request. They reframe it with the requesting leader, test whether it is really a training problem, design interviews and a short skills survey, build a skills heat map, prioritise and cost options, and write a report leaders will read. The workshop ends with each person pitching their plan to a mock leadership panel that pushes back.
Participants can reframe a request, test whether training is the answer and plan how to collect evidence.
- 09:30–10:00The request I got last weekEnergiser
- 10:00–11:00Reframe five requestsSkill drill
- 11:15–11:45Is it really a training problem?Concept burst
- 11:45–13:00Case: falling first-call resolutionCase clinic
- 13:45–14:45Hold the line with a busy leaderRole-play
- 14:45–15:30Design the evidenceBuild sprint
- 15:45–16:45Interview practiceSkill drill
- 16:45–17:30What my request really isReflection
Participants can map skill gaps, prioritise and cost options and present a needs analysis report that leaders approve.
- 09:30–10:00Guess the gapEnergiser
- 10:00–11:00Role breakdownBuild sprint
- 11:15–12:15Skills heat map labHands-on lab
- 12:15–13:00Prioritise and chooseGroup challenge
- 13:45–14:30Measures before contentSkill drill
- 14:30–15:15Write the reportBuild sprint
- 15:30–16:45Capstone: the leadership panelPresentation
- 16:45–17:30My 90-day TNA planAction planning
Every session’s activity, timings, outputs and materials, plus pre-work, a 90-day reinforcement plan and how impact is measured. Free, emailed to you instantly.
Recommended: 2 days in person (09:30–17:30), or 4 × 3-hour live virtual sessions, with each participant's live training request carried through and a report review at day 30. A sample design: every Bodhih program is customised after a short needs analysis.
How long is a training needs analysis workshop?
The recommended design is two days in person, from 09:30 to 17:30, or four live virtual sessions of three hours each. Each participant works on a live request throughout, and reports are reviewed at day 30. A one-day version suits HRBPs and managers who request training.
What activities are included in the training needs analysis workshop?
Participants reframe their own training request, diagnose a falling first-call resolution case, practise holding firm with a busy leader, build a skills heat map, prioritise needs within a fixed budget and pitch their report to a mock leadership panel.
How we deliver it
Bring a live request
Each participant works on a real training request from their organisation throughout the workshop.
Templates included
Participants receive interview guides, survey templates, a heat map workbook and a TNA report template.
ADDIE in practice
The workshop mirrors the Analyse phase of ADDIE that Bodhih uses on every program, so participants see it applied as well as explained.
Stakeholder role-play
Practice conversations with trainers playing busy leaders help participants hold firm on analysis before solutions.
Tailored versions
For L&D teams
The full two-day workshop, including skills mapping, costing and a complete TNA report on a live request.
For HRBPs and managers
A one-day version focused on diagnosing performance gaps and asking the right questions before requesting training.
Facilitated TNA project
Bodhih consultants run a TNA for one function alongside your team, combining learning with a finished deliverable.
How we measure impact
Following the Evaluate phase of ADDIE, participants complete a pre and post assessment of TNA knowledge and judgement. Each person's TNA report is reviewed against a quality rubric. At 30, 60 and 90 days we check with the L&D head how many requests went through the new process, how many were redirected to non-training fixes and whether the learning plan now links each program to a business measure.
Pair this program with AssessAll, Bodhih’s AI assessment platform, for pre- and post-program skill measurement.
Frequently asked questions
What is training needs analysis?
Training needs analysis is the process of finding the gap between the skills people have and the skills they need to meet business goals. It also checks whether training is the right fix at all, since some gaps come from tools, processes or incentives. The result is a prioritised plan of learning interventions.
What are the three levels of TNA?
Organisational analysis looks at business goals and where capability limits performance. Role or task analysis looks at what each job requires. Individual analysis compares a person's current skills with those requirements. Our training needs analysis workshop practises all three and shows how they fit together in one plan.
How do you conduct a TNA step by step?
Clarify the business goal, confirm there is a performance gap and whether training can close it, collect data through interviews, surveys and assessments, map the gaps by role and person, prioritise by impact, and then write a plan with formats, timelines, costs and success measures. Review the plan with stakeholders before building anything.
What tools are used for training needs analysis?
Common tools include stakeholder interview guides, focus groups, skills surveys, competency frameworks, performance data, observation checklists and skills assessments. Many teams use a spreadsheet heat map to visualise gaps. We also show how AI-graded assessments on AssessAll can give objective data on current capability.
How do you know if a problem needs training?
Ask whether the person could do the task correctly if their life depended on it. If yes, the gap is probably not skill, but tools, process, feedback, incentives or workload. Training fixes gaps in knowledge and skill. The workshop includes a simple flowchart to make this call with managers.
Can Bodhih conduct the TNA for us?
Yes. Besides teaching the method, our consultants can run a training needs analysis for a team, function or whole organisation. We often combine the two, so your L&D team learns by working alongside us on a real project and can repeat the process on their own.
How often should an organisation run a TNA?
Most organisations run a full training needs analysis once a year to shape the learning calendar and budget. Smaller, focused analyses should also happen whenever a new strategy, system, product or role is introduced. Quarterly reviews of performance data help L&D spot emerging gaps early, rather than waiting for the annual cycle.