Skills Gap Analysis: Maximizing Employee Potential

Are you familiar with the term 'skills gap'? Are you feeling like you're playing a game of catch-up when aligning your Learning & Development strategy with the organization's strategic objectives? It may be helpful to consider a skills gap analysis. But what is it exactly, and why should you prioritize such an effort?

In this post, we will look at some key advantages of understanding skill gaps worth paying attention to!

Interesting statistic: 87 percent of businesses already deal with or expect skills gaps. That's where the analysis comes in. It helps you align training with your business goals, keep your team excited about learning, and outshine your competition.

Imagine a skills gap analysis as your secret weapon to bridge the difference between your team currently and the skills your business needs to thrive. It's like a treasure map that guides you to focus on the right training and resources.

Closing those gaps means you're not just in the game – you're ahead of it, with a skilled and successful team driving your business forward.

What are the benefits of performing a Skills Gap Analysis?

Improved Employee Performance: 

With technology reshaping jobs, 44% of skills will shift in 5 years. Training to bridge skill gaps tunes employees for success in their roles. Skills stay fresh, preventing obsolescence. 

Better Talent Retention: Growing skills = happy talent. Skills gap analysis finds training needs, boosting values and confidence. 

Better Alignment with Business Goals: Spotting skill gaps guides training. Workforce syncs with business goals, supercharging performance.

Enhanced Employee Engagement: Training fills skill gaps, showing value. Employees are engaged, happier, and performing better.

Better Recruitment and Hiring: Gap analysis identifies key skills for roles. Recruitment targets the right fit, aligning skills with needs.

When is the best time to conduct a Skills Gap Analysis?

The question of when to conduct a Skills Gap Analysis is essential, as the timing of this analysis can significantly impact its effectiveness. When should you dive into a Skills Gap Analysis? Let's break it down:

During the Hiring Process: Conducting a Skills Gap Analysis during the hiring process can help you identify the skills and abilities that are most important for specific job roles. You can then use this information to select candidates who best fit their needs.

During Employee Evaluations: Employee evaluations are an opportunity to assess employees' current skills and abilities and identify areas where further training and development may be necessary. Conducting a Skills Gap Analysis during employee evaluations can help you stay ahead of the co and prepare their workforce for future changes and challenges.

 Before Organizational Changes: Changes within an organization, such as restructuring or introducing new technologies, can impact the skills and abilities required for job roles. Conducting a Skills Gap Analysis before such changes occur can help you identify and address potential skills gaps, ensuring the workforce can prepare for the changes ahead.

After Employee Training Programs: Employee training programs can be an excellent opportunity for your organization to assess the effectiveness of their training efforts. Conducting a Skills Gap Analysis after training programs can help determine if the training has successfully closed skills gaps and if additional training is required. 

Annually: Regularly conducting a Skills Gap Analysis on an annual basis can help you stay informed about the skills and abilities of their workforce and ensure that their employees can prepare for future changes and challenges. It also helps identify and address emerging skills gaps before they become significant issues.

Steps to performing a successful skills-gap analysis:

The idea behind a skills gap analysis can seem intimidating, but when done right, it can go a long way to ensure that your staff's skills align with current and future company goals. Now, we'll outline all the tips and tricks you need to ensure you get maximum value from your next attempt at analyzing skill gaps within the workforce.

Step 1: Identify the Job Roles and Skills Required

Identifying the job roles within your organization and the skills and abilities required for each position is the first step to conducting a skills gap analysis. You can do this by reviewing job descriptions, conducting job analysis, and consulting with subject matter experts.

Step 2: Assess the Current Skills and Abilities of Employees

After identifying the job roles and required skills, the next step is to assess employees' current skills and abilities. You can combine methods, such as employee evaluations, performance reviews, and skill assessments.

Step 3: Compare Current Skills to Required Skills

In the next step, compare employees' current skills and abilities to those required for their job roles. It's accomplished by creating a matrix or table that lists the skills and abilities necessary for each job role and comparing them to the current skills and abilities of employees.

Step 4: Identify Skills Gaps

Based on the comparison of current skills to required skills, organizations can identify areas where there are gaps between the two. These areas represent the skills gaps you must address through training and development.

DOWNLOAD THE SKILLS GAP ANALYSIS TEMPLATE HERE

Step 5: Prioritize Skills Gaps

After identifying these gaps, prioritizing them based on their importance to the organization is the next step. Factors to consider when prioritizing skills gaps are:

• Their impact on business performance.
• The potential return on investment.
• The feasibility of addressing the gaps.
   

Step 6: Develop a Training Plan to Address Skills Gaps

With the skills gaps prioritized, organizations can develop a training program to address them. This plan can include a combination of training, development, and recruitment initiatives, as well as other solutions that may be appropriate.

Step 7: Implement and Monitor the Plan

The final step is implementing the plan to address the skills gaps and monitor effectiveness. You can perform it through regular evaluations, performance reviews, and skill assessments.

Closing Employee Skills Gap

Closing the skills gap among employees is a critical challenge for companies in today's fast-paced and constantly changing business environment. With the increasing demand for new and diverse skills, organizations must invest in their workforce and provide continuous learning and development opportunities.

Here are some effective strategies for closing the skills gap among employees after conducting your skills gap analysis:

1. Encourage continuous learning
   Enhancing knowledge and competency through continuous professional development is essential for keeping up with the changing demands of today's world. Companies can bridge this gap by investing in employee microlearning opportunities, like SMS-based courses, webinars, online courses, and face-to-face training.

2. Foster a culture of learning
   Fostering a culture of lifelong learning is essential for bridging the skills gap. Companies should make it a priority to recognize and reward employees who are proactively developing their knowledge, as well as encourage them to share what they learn with each other. It fosters growth in individual workers and helps strengthen an organization's collective expertise.

3. Provide on-the-job training
   Equipping employees with real-world knowledge and experiences is essential for thriving in a competitive business landscape. On-the-job training offers opportunities to boost employee capabilities through mentorship programs, job shadowing, and collaborative projects - making them invaluable assets within your organization.

4. Utilize technology
   Technology is revolutionizing how we learn and providing unprecedented access to educational resources. From cutting-edge SMS course deliveries and gamified learning experiences to online courses – there has never been a better time to close skills gaps.

5. Encourage collaboration
   By leveraging the collective intelligence of a team, collaboration can bridge any existing skill gaps in an organization. Organizations foster valuable learning opportunities that ultimately benefit everyone involved by encouraging employees to work together through activities like team-building and cross-functional projects. 

6. Measure progress:
   Evaluating employee performance, providing feedback, and assessing skills are essential to overcoming the challenge of a shrinking talent pool. Regularly measuring progress can help companies pinpoint improvement areas and update their training programs with industry trends.

 Conclusion

In conclusion, a skills gap analysis is essential for businesses to understand where their employees need improvement. By performing a skills gap analysis, organizations can significantly improve the effectiveness of their training programs and close any gaps in employee knowledge or skill sets. When executed correctly, a skills gap analysis can be beneficial for businesses in understanding how to train their employees better. If you're interested in improving your organization's training program, Brass Tacks can help. We specialize in designing comprehensive training programs tailored to the specific needs of your business. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you close the skills gap in your organization.

Resources: Mckinsey