A needs analysis is used either to identify current needs or to forecast future demand. As a rule, it captures the need for services, goods (consumer and everyday products) or staff and derives the action required from it. Analyses of this kind are carried out both by private-sector companies and by public-sector bodies. On the one hand, the aim can be to identify and meet acute needs; on the other, to forecast future needs so that you can plan ahead.
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Needs Analysis: Definition & Areas of Application
A needs analysis is a method for identifying current or future needs. It is usually carried out to identify the needs, wishes and expectations of a particular target group (for example customers, employees, consumers or citizens) and, from these, to determine the demand for services, goods or staff. The analysis mostly relates to the need within a particular region, group of people or period, but it can also differ from this depending on the project. A needs analysis is suitable both for identifying current, acute needs and for anticipating needs in relation to future projects. Needs analyses are therefore often used to forecast future demand for services or consumer goods, for example. Accordingly, a needs analysis is frequently also about being able to draw conclusions, once the results have been analysed, regarding the future needs and expectations of (potential) customers, and about deriving corresponding recommendations for action.
In this sense, needs analyses are frequently applied as part of development processes (project development, staff development, concept development and so on), both in the private sector and at municipal level. In many cases, a survey of this kind can be conducted using online surveys. Consumers, end users or other specific groups of people are asked, for the purpose of forward planning, to state their needs, expectations and wishes with regard to future projects or developments.
What is the difference between a needs analysis and requirements determination?
The term requirements determination (Bedarfsermittlung) is often used as a synonym for needs analysis. Strictly speaking, however, requirements determination is a method for defining future material requirements in the field of product manufacturing. Whereas needs analyses are frequently carried out using surveys or online surveys, requirements determination (in the sense of quantity planning or material requirements planning) is based, for example, on past consumption figures, the analysis of inventory data or the subjective estimates of experienced planners.
Needs analysis = a data-collection method for identifying acute needs or forecasting future demand.
Requirements determination = a method for defining future material requirements in the field of product manufacturing.
Needs Analysis for Future-Oriented Planning: Use Cases & Examples
As a rule, needs analyses are used whenever strategic planning and future-oriented projects are involved. On the one hand, future-oriented planning requires a careful stocktake and analysis of the current situation. On the other, current needs should be identified and future demand derived wherever possible. In this respect, needs assessment and analysis is a proven method for supplying relevant data as the basis for the strategic planning of forward-looking concepts. A needs analysis can also be used as a supporting measure during processes of change. You will find further use cases and examples of needs analyses in the sections below.
Needs analyses as part of municipal planning
Needs analyses are often carried out as part of future-oriented planning. If, for example, long-term transport planning is to examine what the mobility of the future could or should look like in a particular municipality, surveying the local population is advisable. In this case, a needs assessment and analysis can identify both the current situation, including its weaknesses and strengths, and expectations of future developments, as well as people’s willingness to support the planned processes of change.
In the same way, municipalities can determine, for example, how many age-appropriate housing schemes or nursery places will need to be available in future in order to meet demand.
Needs analyses in the service sector
In the service sector, too, a targeted needs analysis can reveal the strengths and weaknesses of existing offerings and provide pointers for optimisation measures and further development needs. Using online surveys or online forms, the needs of (potential) customers can be identified and analysed.
Needs analyses in workplace health promotion
Future-oriented needs analyses are also used by companies in the field of workplace health promotion, for example. Here the focus is usually on planning preventive and health-promoting interventions. This involves establishing, on the one hand, whether existing measures are effective and sufficient and what shortcomings exist and, on the other, which problem areas are not yet being addressed. From the results of the needs survey, the action required can usually be derived, for example which additional health-promoting measures should be implemented.
Needs analyses using customer surveys
Needs analyses can also take place as part of customer surveys, in order to uncover the future needs and wishes of (existing, potential and future) customers and prospects. The aim of such an analysis is usually to recognise likely future needs so that you can respond to developments and trends at an early stage. Not least, then, it is about anticipating the future and taking it into account in long-term planning.
Needs analyses as part of staff development
Needs analyses with future-oriented planning are also applied in human resources, as part of staff development and planning. What are the company’s staffing needs at present and, above all, in future? One specific form of needs analysis within staff development is the training needs analysis. It focuses on employees’ need for further training and professional development within the company and can be carried out online in the form of an employee survey, with questions covering, for example, how familiar staff are with everyday work applications, their training wishes and the preferred format of the training or course. On the basis of the needs identified, education and development offerings for employees and/or recruitment measures can be planned and implemented in a targeted, future-oriented way.
Simply take our free questionnaire samples and templates as a starting point; you can of course also use them as a template within your LamaPoll account and adapt them individually as needed.
Needs analyses as part of citizen surveys
In the public sector, needs analyses are often carried out by means of citizen surveys. The focus is frequently on processes for developing or updating concepts. Because of demographic change alone, viable, future-oriented concepts have to be developed. For this purpose, the likely future need is determined alongside the current situation. Areas examined in this respect include, for example, needs in housing in old age, medical care in rural areas or municipal services. Likewise, a municipal citizen survey can identify the action required in areas such as local public transport.
Strategic needs analysis using the example of “housing in old age”: to forecast future demand for age-appropriate forms of housing (and to take into account which forms of housing residents favour), vague armchair estimates and gut feeling are generally not enough. Instead, decisions should be based on valid figures, which can be gathered as part of a needs analysis, for example.
You will find further information, with practical examples and tips on the topic of citizen surveys, on the following page: Create an online citizen survey
Needs analyses for identifying acute needs
Needs analyses can also be carried out to identify acute needs. A long-established form of needs analysis takes place, for example, in an advisory or sales conversation in bricks-and-mortar retail. Through targeted, often open questions and active listening on the part of the salesperson, the wishes, expectations and specific ideas as well as the buying motives and willingness to buy of the potential customer are captured as precisely as possible. The aim is to advise the customer well and meet their wishes so that a purchase is made – an approach that is common practice in bricks-and-mortar retail, whether in a fashion store or at a car dealership.
A needs analysis can also be effective as a supporting measure during processes of change within a company. If, for example, changes to the work process occur at short notice, such as increased working from home, a needs analysis coupled with an employee satisfaction survey can help to remedy acute shortcomings. On the one hand, this makes it possible to ask how satisfied employees are with the communication channels and, on the other, to establish the need for work equipment and the like. In this way, any shortfalls can be identified, the needs prioritised by urgency and, where necessary, remedied at short notice.
We have put together detailed information on the topic of “processes of change within companies” for you on this page: Employee surveys as part of change management
Questionnaire templates for needs analyses
When creating online surveys for needs analyses, feel free to use our free templates as a starting point. You can copy the questionnaires into your LamaPoll account with a click on “Use” and adapt them there however you like. You will find further questionnaire templates for a range of customer, employee and citizen surveys here: Questionnaire templates
With LamaPoll, surveys can be created quickly and easily. The tool offers many options for individual adjustments. The help pages are useful for solving many questions independently. For special requests, competent and easily accessible customer support is available.
What is LamaPoll?
LamaPoll is a survey tool for creating employee surveys, or employee satisfaction surveys, online. With us, you can create, conduct and analyse all kinds of employee surveys. Build your employee survey in just a few steps, adapt it to your company’s corporate design and invite your employees conveniently by email or via your intranet. In next to no time, you gather insights for improving employee satisfaction. You can sign up free of charge to our survey tool and run surveys for up to 50 employees straight away, with no obligation. If you need more responses for the questionnaire of your online employee survey, simply choose one of our monthly plans. Our templates and examples of questionnaires for employee surveys are also available to you.
