A learning needs analysis can help you address skill gaps in your workforce and prepare your learning strategy.
Imagine investing thousands into training programs; workshops, online courses, mentoring sessions, only to realise your team is still underperforming.
It’s not the content.
It’s not the delivery.
It’s that the training was never what they needed in the first place.
This is where a learning needs analysis (LNA) steps in. Not as a formality, but as a powerful diagnostic tool that uncovers what’s really holding your team back.
It’s less about ticking boxes and more about asking the right questions, digging deeper, and aligning learning with real-world impact.
Well, keep reading to learn:
- What a learning needs analysis is
- Why it’s important
- How it addresses the learners, the business and the learning itself
- How to carry one out
Let’s get started.
What is a learning needs analysis?
A learning needs analysis is an assessment to gauge the skills and abilities of your staff and any gaps there may be, with the aim of mapping those gaps to the right training.
It puts the learner at the front and centre and takes a deep dive into their skills and abilities, any areas of development, and uses this information to help develop individual training plans.
These insights make it incredibly helpful in upskilling and reskilling your teams, and ensuring skills map to business goals.
Learning needs analysis vs a training needs analysis
But wait, how does it differ from a training needs analysis?
Confusingly, these two names are used interchangeably, but they are different.
A learning needs analysis focuses on the learners and their skills and requirements, whilst a training needs analysis is purely about training and training plans, and tends to be all about the company’s needs and the training required to support that.
Why is a learning needs analysis important?
A learning needs analysis provides value in numerous different ways.
It addresses the learners, the learning and the business
First, it’s valuable because it addresses three key areas to an effective training plan: the learners, the learning and the business, and helps you answer these important questions:
Learners
- What are their current skills? What level are they at?
- What skill gaps are there? How do these skills relate to the company goals?
- Do these skills line up with employees’ personal L&D goals?
Learning
- What training plans are needed?
- What resources do you already have? Are they suitable for the job?
- What resources are you lacking?
- Do you need any supportive learning technology?
Business
- What skills are required to help the business grow and thrive in its industry?
- How are you going to use your L&D budget most effectively?
- How is it going to help your business perform and develop more effectively?
- How can you use this to create a positive learning culture?
You’ll discover the training each employee needs
It’s amazing how businesses often don’t look for the insights a learning needs analysis provides.
Yes, they want to help develop their employees and eagerly purchase training to do this, but they don’t stop to think about what each employee needs.
For example, they’ll buy a managerial training package for their managers.
But how do they know which of those courses are relevant to which managers?
They don’t.
They assume it’s a ‘one size fits all’ affair, yet each manager will be at a different level.
Why do we care?
Because employees get frustrated when asked to do training that isn’t appropriate to them.
A learning needs analysis helps combat this frustration, as it pulls together all the information needed to make a training plan that is relevant and worthwhile for each employee’s time.
You’ll make more of your L&D budget
A learning needs analysis will help a business find the best way to use the L&D budget, making sure that it’s directed towards the right areas.
And that means there’ll be a better ROI, which will keep your CFO happy.
It’ll help create a positive learning culture
LinkedIn Learning’s Workplace Learning Report 2023, says one of the top 5 factors that employees consider when looking for new jobs is the opportunities for career growth within the company.
So, why not encourage them to stay by giving them those career opportunities at your business?
Creating a positive learning culture is part of this.
And making sure they have the training they need is one way to help build that learning culture.
How do you perform a learning needs analysis?
A learning needs analysis gathers a lot of different information.
We believe that the best way to get this information is by talking to the right people.
You could use surveys or questionnaires, but we reckon it’ll be the actual conversations that will give you the valuable information you’re after.
So, how do you start?
Step one: Where does the business want to go?
Before you launch into figuring out the skills needed to help the business grow, you first need to think about where the business wants to go.
If you’ve been asked to do a learning needs analysis without this information, then we’d recommend you speak to the senior team about their vision.
Without this you won’t be able to know what skills are required.
(Don’t know where to start answering this question? Check out our blog on the key skills statistics for 2024.)
Step two: What skills are needed to help the business grow
Now you can assess what skills and roles are required to support this vision.
This will vary dramatically from company to company.
You might be looking at a department level, a role level, or a skill level.
To help, you can discover this by looking at job boards and see what competencies are required in jobs, or by talking to your staff about their thoughts.
Step three: Talk to your colleagues about their skills
You’ve discovered what skills are needed to progress, now you need to assess where you currently are – that means what skills your employees currently have, and what they don’t have.
Then you can find out where the gaps are between where you are and where you want to be.
Conversations really are key here.
You could probably automate it, or have an educated guess, but without talking to your employees, you won’t really know if you’ve hit the right conclusions.
This may sound like a daunting task – especially if you work for a big company – so why not ask the managers to get involved to spread out the work?
Step four: Analyse the data
Next, you’ll have to work through the data you’ve gathered and see where the gaps are.
This will give you an idea of how individual training plans will look, and what level of training they need.
Do some skills need a simple refresher, or training from scratch?
You’ll also be able to get a bigger picture of how the skills are distributed across the company and whether there are any big holes that need addressing quickly.
What happens next?
The next step would be to start designing and building the training plans.
Though designing training plans could be an article in itself, the data from the learning needs analysis should encourage you to think about the following sort of questions:
- Do we have the right training resources to support the skills gaps?
- Do we need to source extra?
- Do they need to be digital?
- Is any face-to-face training required?
- How are we going to house it all? Do we need a learning platform?
Key takeaways
Learning needs analyses allow you to take a deep dive into employees’ training needs and help you create training plans that can be tailored to each one.
And of course, there are huge benefits for businesses from helping you use your L&D budget effectively, to creating a thriving and positive learning culture to helping your business run effectively.
However, they need time and patience and some proper conversations.
They may not be the easy, quick fix we all want, but the depth you’ll go will be worth it.
FAQs
What is a Learning Needs Analysis (LNA)?
A Learning Needs Analysis is a structured process that identifies the gap between current performance and what employees need to know or be able to do to meet business objectives.
It evaluates required knowledge, skills, and abilities to close that gap with appropriate learning solutions
Why is LNA important for effective L&D?
Conducting an LNA ensures learning interventions are targeted and impactful, improving ROI. It prevents unnecessary training, supports performance improvements, aligns with organisational goals, and boosts employee engagement
How do you conduct a Learning Needs Analysis?
A reliable LNA includes these key steps:
- Gather context – Define business goals and why learning is needed
- Assess performance – Review data, conduct interviews, surveys, and focus groups with stakeholders and learners
- Identify gaps – Compare current vs desired skills/knowledge, and determine if learning is the right solution (as opposed to job aids, process fixes, etc.)
- Recommend interventions – Choose suitable formats (e-learning, coaching, etc.), prioritize based on impact, and define success measures
