Many organisations begin training planning by asking: "What training should we send our employees for?"
But that may not be the best place to start.
A more useful question is: "What problem are we actually trying to solve?"
Choosing a training programme before understanding the problem can result in employees attending a course that sounds relevant but does not address what is really happening at work.
Sometimes there is a genuine skills or knowledge gap. Sometimes the issue may be related to communication, unclear responsibilities, processes, expectations or management.
Before selecting a programme, it helps to understand what is happening now, what needs to improve and whether training can realistically help.
Don't start with the course. Start with the problem.
What are employee training needs?
Employee training needs are areas where additional knowledge, skills or capability may help an employee or team perform their role more effectively.
For example:
- An employee may need stronger Excel skills because their role now requires more advanced reporting.
- A newly promoted manager may need support handling difficult employee conversations.
- A project team may need stronger planning or stakeholder-management skills.
- Employees may need to understand a new system, process or technology.
In situations like these, training may help because there is something employees need to learn, practise or become more confident doing.
However, not every workplace difficulty automatically means employees need another course.
Training is useful when learning can help close the gap. But first, we need to understand what the gap actually is.
Start with the problem, not the training catalogue
Imagine a manager tells HR:
"My team needs communication training."
At first, that sounds clear.
But what does the communication problem actually look like?
- Are employees struggling to explain ideas clearly?
- Are managers avoiding difficult conversations?
- Are departments failing to share important information?
- Are instructions unclear?
- Are people misunderstanding their responsibilities?
These may all be described as communication problems, but they are not necessarily the same problem.
Sending everyone to a general communication programme before understanding the situation may not address what the team genuinely needs.
Instead of immediately asking:
"Which communication course should we arrange?"
Start with:
"What exactly is happening at work that we want to improve?"
That simple change can lead to a much better training decision.
6 questions to ask before choosing employee training
You do not necessarily need a complicated process to begin understanding your organisation's training needs.
Start with these six questions.
What problem are we trying to solve?
Try to be specific.
Instead of saying: "Our managers need leadership training."
ask what is actually happening.
For example: "Our newly promoted managers are struggling to delegate work and handle difficult performance conversations."
The second description gives HR, management and the training provider much more useful information.
Who is affected?
Avoid assuming everyone needs the same programme.
Consider whether the issue affects one employee, several employees, one department, new managers, senior managers, customer-facing employees, a technical team or the whole organisation.
Different groups may have different needs even when they appear to be facing the same problem.
What should good performance look like?
Define what you want people to be able to do.
Instead of: "We want the team to improve Excel."
a clearer outcome may be:
"We want the team to prepare reports more efficiently and reduce unnecessary manual work."
The clearer the desired capability, the easier it becomes to evaluate whether a training programme fits.
What evidence shows there is a gap?
Try not to make training decisions entirely from assumptions.
Useful information may come from manager observations, performance discussions, recurring mistakes, employee feedback, customer feedback, quality issues, missed deadlines, competency assessments, changes in technology, new responsibilities or future business plans.
One piece of information may not tell the whole story. Look for patterns.
Is it really a training problem?
Training can be useful when people need additional knowledge, skills or capability.
But some workplace problems are caused mainly by something else.
Before choosing a programme, investigate whether the issue is really a learning gap or whether processes, management, expectations, responsibilities or other factors may also be involved.
What should employees be able to do differently afterwards?
Before selecting a programme, try completing this sentence:
"After this training, participants should be better able to..."
For example, they may need to handle difficult employee conversations more confidently, prepare reports more efficiently, delegate responsibilities clearly or communicate expectations more effectively.
A clear desired outcome gives HR, managers, trainers and training providers something more meaningful to work towards.
Is it really a training problem?
This question deserves extra attention because not every workplace problem will be solved by sending employees to training.
-
Employees do not know how to use advanced Excel functions.
A skills or knowledge gap may exist. -
New managers lack confidence handling workplace conflict.
Training or coaching may help build capability. -
Employees understand a procedure but repeatedly choose not to follow it.
Training may not be the main issue. -
Two departments constantly duplicate the same work.
Role or process clarity may need attention. -
Employees repeatedly ask how to complete the same task.
Knowledge, instructions or process documentation may need improvement. -
Staff receive conflicting instructions from different managers.
Management or process alignment may need attention.
Before arranging training, ask: "What would this programme help our employees do differently?" If the answer is unclear, the training need may not yet be clear either.
Look at training needs at three levels
Employee development can also be considered from three connected perspectives.
Organisation level
What skills and capabilities will the organisation need to achieve its goals?
New technology, business growth or changing priorities may create new development needs across the organisation.
Team or role level
What does a particular department or role need to perform effectively?
HR, finance, operations, sales and management teams may all require different capabilities.
Individual level
What does the individual employee need to develop?
One employee may need technical knowledge while another may need stronger communication, confidence or management skills.
Looking across these different levels helps prevent a training calendar from becoming nothing more than a collection of course requests.
HR should not have to identify every training need alone
Training and development should not sit entirely with HR or L&D.
Managers usually see employees' daily work more closely.
They may notice:
- tasks employees repeatedly struggle with;
- recurring mistakes;
- areas where people lack confidence;
- new responsibilities requiring different skills;
- changing customer requirements; or
- capabilities the department may need in the future.
Employees themselves should also have an opportunity to contribute.
They may recognise areas where they lack knowledge, exposure or confidence.
HR input + manager observations + employee feedback + performance information can provide a much clearer view of development needs than relying on one questionnaire or one person's opinion.
Are you building a training calendar — or just filling one?
It is easy for an annual training calendar to become a list:
- January — Leadership Training
- March — Communication Skills
- June — Excel
- August — Team Building
- October — Time Management
There is nothing automatically wrong with any of these topics.
The more important question is why each programme is there.
For every proposed training programme, ask:
- Why this topic?
- Why these participants?
- Why now?
- What workplace problem or future capability does it address?
- What would we like people to do differently afterwards?
This shifts training planning from:
"What courses can we buy?"
towards:
"What capabilities does our organisation genuinely need?"
When does in-house training make sense?
In-house training can be useful when several employees share the same development need and the programme would benefit from being shaped around the organisation's environment.
For example:
- a group of newly promoted managers needs similar people-management skills;
- a department needs the same technical capability;
- company-specific examples should be discussed;
- participants share similar workplace challenges;
- internal terminology or processes matter; or
- the programme needs to be adapted to the participants' experience level.
The advantage of in-house training is that the programme can be shaped more closely around the organisation's actual challenges, participants and objectives.
Learn more about In-House Training Malaysia →
When might public training be more suitable?
Public training may make more sense when:
- only one or a few employees need development;
- a suitable scheduled programme already exists;
- extensive company-specific customisation is unnecessary;
- the organisation does not currently have enough participants for an in-house programme; or
- participants could benefit from learning alongside professionals from other organisations.
For smaller groups or individual employees, this can be a practical way to access structured professional development.
Explore Public Training Malaysia →
How GoFlex approaches corporate training needs
At GoFlex Events, we prefer to understand the problem, participants and objective before recommending a programme.
Sometimes an organisation already knows exactly what training it needs.
In other situations, the first conversation helps clarify the challenge before an appropriate topic, trainer or training format is considered.
We also consider trainer suitability based on factors such as relevant experience, topic knowledge, credibility, participant fit and the practical value the trainer may be able to provide.
The objective is not simply to fill a training calendar.
It is to make a more informed decision about what employees genuinely need to learn and what type of development may be appropriate.
Learn more about Corporate Training in Malaysia →
Frequently asked questions
What is a Training Needs Analysis?
A Training Needs Analysis, often shortened to TNA, is a structured way of identifying the difference between the knowledge, skills or capabilities currently available and those needed by employees or the organisation.
It can help an organisation decide what development is needed and whether training is an appropriate response.
How do you identify employee training needs?
Start with the workplace or business problem. Identify who is affected, what good performance should look like and what evidence shows that a gap exists.
Then investigate whether the gap relates to knowledge or skills, or whether another issue such as process, role clarity or management may be involved.
Does every performance problem require training?
No. Some performance problems may be caused by skills or knowledge gaps, while others may relate to systems, workload, management, processes, motivation, unclear expectations or responsibilities.
Training should be selected when learning is genuinely part of the solution.
Who should be involved in identifying training needs?
Depending on the organisation, this may involve HR or L&D, managers, department heads, employees, senior management and other relevant stakeholders.
Different people may see different parts of the problem.
How often should training needs be reviewed?
Training needs do not necessarily need to be reviewed only once a year.
They may change when employees take on new responsibilities, technology changes, new systems are introduced, business priorities change, employees are promoted or new performance gaps emerge.
Is public or in-house training better?
Neither format is automatically better.
Public training may suit individuals or smaller groups attending an existing scheduled programme.
In-house training may be more appropriate where a larger group shares the same development need or when the programme should reflect the organisation's workplace context.
Start with the problem, not the programme
Corporate training can be a valuable investment in people.
But choosing a course should not necessarily be the first decision.
Start by asking:
- What is happening?
- What needs to improve?
- Who needs support?
- What capability appears to be missing?
- Can training realistically help?
When those questions become clearer, it becomes much easier to choose an appropriate programme, trainer and learning format.
Not sure what training your team needs?
If you know your employees need development but are not yet sure which programme would be appropriate, start by telling us about the challenge, participant group and objective.
GoFlex Events provides corporate, in-house and public training programmes for organisations in Malaysia.
