Training needs analysis (TNA) has left the checkbox era behind. In a world of hybrid work, generative AI, cultural fluidity, and a workforce spanning five generations, TNA has evolved from a compliance exercise to a strategic enabler.
The question is no longer, “What training do we need to run this year?” but rather, “How can learning align with business strategy, accelerate innovation, and prepare us for disruptions not yet visible on the horizon?”
Training Needs Analysis: From Basics to Breakthroughs
To understand how far the discipline has come—and what that means for leaders today—it helps to look back at how TNA itself has evolved.
- 2010–2015: The Check-the-Box Era | TNAs were compliance-driven and reactive, focused on ticking boxes rather than driving performance. Methods included surveys, interviews, and manager feedback—often disconnected from strategy.
- 2016–2020: The Data Awakening | Organizations began integrating performance metrics and leveraging digital learning platforms for richer insights. TNAs became semi-digital but remained largely annual and static.
- 2020–2023: The Pandemic Pivot | Remote work forced L&D to go virtual overnight. TNAs expanded to include remote collaboration, resilience, and digital fluency, with well-being entering the framework for the first time.
- 2024–Present: The AI Inflection | Generative AI and automation reshaped skill priorities. TNAs now emphasize hybrid skills—technical plus human—and use skill-mapping platforms to enable continuous, real-time analysis.
Each stage brought greater precision, yet most models still stopped short of anticipating what comes next. That’s where a new dimension of analysis is emerging—one focused on readiness for change itself.
The Fourth Dimension: Strategic Future Readiness
Traditionally, a TNA process follows three levels (McGhee & Thayer, 1961—still widely referenced):
- Organizational Analysis: What the business needs
- Task Analysis: What the job demands
- Individual Analysis: What the employee requires
In other words, if business is cricket, organizational analysis defines the match strategy, task analysis ensures each player knows their role, and individual analysis checks whether the batsman can actually handle a bouncer.
But the 2025 version of TNA demands a fourth dimension: Strategic Future Readiness Analysis. This analysis focuses on the skills and mindsets that will be critical tomorrow, particularly in light of AI, sustainability, and global competition.
Conducting Effective TNA in a Global Context
With this expanded framework in mind, the question becomes how to apply it consistently across borders and business units. Global organizations clearly cannot afford cookie-cutter approaches to workforce development and readiness any longer. To develop effective TNAs in today’s world, L&D teams must:
- Link Learning to Business Strategy: L&D leaders must sit at the strategy table, not just in the “support function” corner. For example, if a bank’s future strategy involves adopting digital-first customer journeys, its TNA should prioritize data literacy, AI ethics, and digital collaboration instead of customer service soft skills.
- Leverage Data and Analytics: Employee surveys, performance data, attrition analytics, and AI-powered skill-mapping platforms can pinpoint not just what skills are missing, but also where and how urgently. For instance, PwC’s Global CEO Survey (2024) noted that ~52% of CEOs worry about talent with the right digital skills—a clear sign that TNA should have a strong tech-skills lens.
- Adopt a Global-Local (GLOCAL) Lens: Multinational organizations need to balance global priorities with cultural nuances. A TNA in Europe may highlight sustainability leadership, while, in Asia, it may focus on automation readiness. “Think global, act local” shouldn’t just be an HR cliché.
- Engage Multiple Stakeholders: Leadership insights reveal business priorities, managers highlight performance bottlenecks, and employees voice their development aspirations. Cross-pollinating all three ensures a TNA that balances today’s business needs with tomorrow’s employee engagement.
- Use Technology to Scale: AI-based skill assessments, digital learning diagnostics, and adaptive learning platforms make TNAs agile and ongoing. Instead of annual exercises, TNA should become a real-time pulse check.
Together, these practices turn TNA from a diagnostic snapshot into a dynamic capability-building system. Of course, even the most sophisticated analysis is only as effective as the team translating insights into action.
The Role of L&D: From Order-Takers to Strategic Partners
Traditionally, L&D teams were treated like caterers at a corporate event: “We need training. Please serve.” That narrative is shifting. In progressive organizations, L&D is the chef, nutritionist, and strategist all rolled into one. They don’t just serve up learning experiences; they design them to fuel business performance.
L&D must:
- Translate leadership’s vision into skill pathways.
- Educate leaders on the ROI of learning (no, not just attendance rates).
- Use data to prove how learning interventions close business-critical gaps.
- Become cultural custodians – ensuring that learning aligns with organizational values and global inclusivity.
This shift reframes learning from a transactional service to a strategic function—one measured not by seat time, but by impact. As Josh Bersin (a global HR thought leader) quipped, “In the future of work, L&D isn’t about learning—it’s about performance and growth.”
The Future of TNA
As organizations navigate an AI-driven, globally interconnected future, TNA will continue to evolve. The next wave of TNA will be focused on creating adaptive, personalized, and ethically grounded learning ecosystems. Here’s what’s on the horizon.
- Human-Guided, AI-Augmented: AI will automate diagnostics, but L&D leaders must bring context and empathy. Machines can say “X% of workforce lacks data skills,” but only humans can say, “Here’s how to upskill without overwhelming people.”
- Personalized Development Journeys: Tomorrow’s TNAs will be hyper-personalized. Imagine Netflix-style recommendations: “John, based on your role, interests, and market trends, here are the top three skills you need to future-proof yourself.”
- Continuous, Not Episodic: TNA will evolve from annual exercises to live dashboards, much like financial reporting.
- Integration of Non-Technical Skills: The 2023 WEF Future of Jobs Report predicts that by 2030, soft skills like emotional intelligence, resilience, and adaptability will be as important as technical ones. Future TNAs will measure mindsets as much as skills.
- Sustainability and Ethics Lens: With ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) becoming boardroom priorities, TNAs will increasingly include training needs in climate literacy, ethical AI, and sustainable business practices.
Future Proofing Starts with Training Needs Analysis
TNA is no longer a backstage HR process; it is the strategic spotlight guiding where organizations must invest in their most valuable asset: people.
For global organizations, the challenge is two-fold: conducting TNAs that are rigorous enough to inform strategy, yet flexible enough to adapt to cultural nuances. The role of L&D is not just to identify training gaps but to champion continuous learning cultures, partner with leadership, and drive measurable impact.
As the professional world accelerates into an AI-augmented and disruption-prone future, one truth remains constant: without a well-executed TNA, even the best strategy risks becoming a paper tiger. Or, to borrow from Peter Drucker, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I’d add: “But without TNA, you won’t even know what’s cooking in the kitchen.”
About the Authors
