There is no single “one size fits all” questionnaire that can serve
this purpose. Company requirements vary too widely, and any analysis of
an employee base must be tailored to that specific group and the unique
attributes of their work. That said, it is possible to share with our
readers examples of the kinds of things that assessment instruments ask,
with the understanding that these must of course be customized for the
particular workplace being analyzed.

Sample Surveys

The previous article mentioned several components that may be chosen
as elements of a TNA.  These approaches included observation,
interviews, surveys, job description analysis, difficulty-of-task
analysis, problem-solving conferences, identification of motivating
personality factors, and analysis of organizational policies.

For the sake of providing a useful example in this limited space, we
will focus on surveys. The reasons for this are threefold. First, no
matter how a TNA is constructed, at some point it must entail direct
input from the individuals who are candidates for training. Surveys
accomplish this handily, and are perhaps the most frequently used tool
in such analyses.

Second, a survey has arguably the broadest reach of any TNA
methodology applied throughout an organization, so it is a high-value
tool that offers a lot of “bang for the buck.”  Finally, once a survey
is created, any interviews which are conducted can use that form as a
starting point for more open-ended oral interviews. In this manner the
survey does double duty, supporting more than one TNA technique.

Defining Survey Scope

Before using any sample surveys – or most critically, when creating
surveys from scratch – it is important to be clear on precisely what the
survey is intended to analyze. This in turn shapes what questions are
invented, or what and how existing questions are customized.

The best way to achieve this is to first create a meta-list of the
areas of inquiry the survey should explore. For example, let’s assume we
want to assess the training needs of our customer service staff.  Even
before looking at any pre-written surveys, we consider what we know of
customer service operations and the nature of our business, and do a
little brainstorming about topic areas to be addressed.  Perhaps we
determine the employee survey should probe people’s knowledge of returns
policies, their ability to deal with unsatisfied customers, and their
judgment about when to escalate a problem to a higher tier of support.

Once this scope is defined, we might then expect to come up with a
survey in three sections, with detailed questions in each of these
subject areas.

We keep this in mind when evaluating existing surveys against our
needs, or when creating questions for our own original assessment
instrument. This ensures that the survey we use will be truly relevant
to our requirements.

Training Needs Analysis Survey Samples

A well-done TNA survey can be lengthy. Rather than reproduce them
here, the following links include a variety of examples in their
entirety.  A link to a sample survey does not indicate endorsement of
any associated products or services at that link.

IT Training: A Windows Office Suite self-assessment for computer users.

General Needs Assessment, Managerial and Office Skills

Common Business Needs:  Equal Opportunites, Sales, Health & Safety, more. Several samples online.

Skills Self-Assessment – portion of a larger TNA survey series