An effective needs analysis and assessment starts a new training program on the right foot. During this process, you can:

• Identify learner needs, so you can produce customized training that boosts performance levels.
• Identify any organizational issues that might impact training, so you can strategize how to overcome the obstacles.
• Identify learner behaviors that need to be changed, so you can effectively address them in training.
• Determine the direct performance path, so you don’t waste time and money “over-training” unnecessary tasks.
• Determine the appropriate resources for your training project.
• Establish best practices and standards for all future training projects.

Answer the following questions to determine areas of your current training that you might want to target for improvement.

Offline training, such as instructor-led training

1. Does the training content require a more personal approach, such as team building, management development, personnel issues, customer service, etc.?
   Yes No
   
2. Does the training content require significant amounts of real-world or experiential stories from an instructor who is unfamiliar with these stories?
   Yes No
   
3. Does your training budget overlook required deployment, update and employee travel expenses?
   Yes No
   
4. Does your offline training require extensive travel by participants and the trainer?
   Yes No
   
5. Is the material heavily dependent on graphics, audio and/or video? If so, are there any limitations in your audio/visual technology?
   Yes No
   
6. Could the training be more “multi-purpose”, combining information delivery with exposure to company culture, change management, best practices, etc.?
   Yes No
   
7. Does your current training limit a learner’s hands-on, interactive experiences?
   Yes No
   
8. Do the existing training methods sway toward one type of learner (such as auditory), but ignore other learners (such as visual and kinesthetic)?
   Yes No
   

Online training, such as computer-based training, web-based training, e-learning and multimedia

1. Would employees benefit from a training program that is more
   flexible, accessible and convenient (in which employees determine the place and pace)?
   Yes No
   
2. Would employees benefit from a training program that better meets the needs of both local and global learners?
   Yes No
   
3. Do you face problems with the ease and speed with which training can be updated and made available?
   Yes No
   
4. Does your training budget include enough development costs but overlook required deployment, update, and technology expenses?
   Yes No
   
5. Could your training program more actively engage employees with a variety of interactions?
   Yes No