Introduction

Today, businesses of all kinds are struggling to keep up with the breakneck speed with which data and technology are changing the commercial landscape. This places a newfound importance on corporate training, as organizations must continually look out for emerging skills and performance gaps, and find ways to keep departments, teams, and individuals up-to-date and competitive. But, in times of transition and change, knowing how to identify emerging training needs can be a challenge. Below, we share five methods – from company-wide to the individual level – for identifying and planning for your unique learning needs. 

5 Core Methods for Identifying your Organization’s Training Needs

Competitors & Industry – Look outside for ideas, innovation, and inspiration

When working to identify new training needs, try thinking beyond your own organization. Focusing on the performance of others in your industry, including direct competitors, can be another way to identify areas for improvement, innovation, or adjustment through training. An exploration of competitor best practices, service models, or performance measures can inspire new training programs.

Organization-Wide Analysis – Take an organizational performance deep-dive

Another way to stay on top of both newly emerging and persistent training needs is through organization-wide performance management deep dives. Thorough and frequent check-ins (at least quarterly, not just once a year) across different functions such as marketing, finance, HR and operations, can illuminate areas for improvement and help you identify ways in which training may correct high-level performance gaps.  

Teams & Departments Analysis – for evaluating cross-functional performance

Another way to identify your organization’s training needs is to evaluate how well – or how poorly – different teams and departments understand, communicate with, and help support one another. This can be assessed anonymously through an online survey, or could be discussed openly in meetings or focus groups. Understanding where cross-functional breakdowns occur, why they happen, and what might be done to correct them is an effective way to identify new training areas designed for improving performance. 

Job Analysis – for role-specific training needs 

Job analysis is another way to highlight more granular, job-focused training needs, and it has been used for decades within organizations to help inform training content for specific roles. Also known as task analysis, job analysis is performed to gauge the requirements of a particular role and the skill set required, and to then develop training content accordingly. 

Individual Performance Reviews – for individual, personalized training needs

Performance reviews are probably one of the most well-known and commonly used approaches to training needs analysis. Employee performance reviews can help you hone in on performance gaps at a micro-level that can then be addressed on an individual basis. One of the benefits to this approach is that it enables the creation of personalized learning content uniquely suited for individual learning styles and needs.

Conclusion

In today’s corporate landscape, effective training and corporate learning strategies are non-negotiable. Every company, regardless of size or industry, needs to consider where performance gaps lie and how to quickly and effectively improve them. Thus, knowing how to accurately identify your organization’s unique training needs is essential. If you would like to learn more about training needs analysis and how we can help you improve your corporate learning outcomes, please contact us today.