How Job Descriptions Identify Training Needs - Returning to Basics

Training exists in many forms. Beyond these, organizations also use training to enhance job performance and overall capability.

A simple but powerful concept developed in 1995 by me and Japanese counterparts summarizes :

Training Needs Analysis (TNA):

Expected Ability minus Current Ability = Training Needs

Although simple in expression, its application requires alignment across key elements such as Job Descriptions (JD), Roles & Responsibilities (R&A), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and Job Safety Analysis (JSA).

In practice, these elements are often managed in silos, leading to misalignment.

Recruitment requirements may not fully reflect actual job roles, interview expectations may differ from the documented JD, and JDs themselves may drift from the original role intent over time. Similarly, safety requirements in JSA may not be fully embedded into competency expectations within the JD. These gaps create confusion when determining real training needs.

Going Back to the Basics

The true purpose of TNA is to use the JD as the primary reference point to define:

- What the employee is expected to do (required competencies)

- What the employee can currently do (existing competencies)

- What competencies are missing (gaps)

Training should focus on closing these gaps, rather than repeating already competent skills except for refresher courses or legally mandated certifications or for CPD purposes.

This alignment is critical for performance management. When JD expectations and actual job execution are not aligned, performance evaluations become inconsistent or misleading. Poorly derived training needs can lead to misaligned KPIs and KRAs, ineffective training investment, employee frustration due to unclear expectations, and uneven competency development across departments.

Many organizations also complicate the system by introducing overlapping frameworks such as Balanced Scorecards, departmental objectives, performance management systems, and competency frameworks. While useful individually, they often create confusion when not integrated with the JD and real work execution.

Ultimately, the Job Description should remain the central anchor for competency and training development. When properly aligned with actual job execution, it enables accurate training identification, effective performance evaluation, clear role expectations, and sustainable workforce development.

Simplicity in principle leads to clarity in execution provided all systems are properly integrated rather than operating in isolation.