What Is a Skills Gap Analysis?
Skill gap analysis is a strategic approach to analyze whether your workforce has the required skills to perform tasks with full efficiency. This tool helps in assessing the gap between the actual state and the future skills required to achieve the goals of the company. It is an important factor for HR to identify the skill gap and address the same to the organization. Further the company can indulge them in upskilling, learning and researching, discussions, plannings and so on.
A step-by-step approach to conducting a skills gap analysis
There are two methods through which skills gap analysis can be done- Qualitative and Quantitative method. The qualitative approach is based on the organization’s development process whereas the quantitative approach is done by yourself to identify you have the skill set required in the job role. Let’s take notes on how to perform skill gap assessment.
1. Clearly define business objectives & outcomes
To deliver what the company wants, it is important to know its goals and expectations. Therefore, the first talent gap analysis is done when you give a task to the candidate. If the task is done with satisfactory results, then the skill is noncritical but if the results are unsatisfactory then skill is considered critical.
2. Identify skills needed to achieve objectives
Once you have the result of the skills present in the candidate you can check whether they align with your business needs. Some questions that you can ask yourself in the analyzing process are:
- Which job roles within your organization can be automated?
- Which role in your industry is at its peak?
- Which job role does your company need the most apart from the existing ones?
3. Analyze the existing level of skills
After conducting tests or giving assignments to the employees, the HR Manager can analyze the skills they are lacking. They can organize seminars, workshops or training so that they can gain skills required at the future job place.
4. Prioritize who and how to train
The purpose of conducting skill gap analysis is to strategically find the work force so that the work can be done effectively. You can identify potential candidates by shortlisting resumes, taking feedback or assessments. Check the candidates meeting the criteria level required in your workforce. Make a priority list of skills ready as this will help you in up-skilling them.
5. Measure the training effectiveness
The L&D department of the organization might include some skill developments trainings, interviews and conduct panel discussions. To measure the effectiveness of the training, assessments can be conducted or track the progress. Also, they can be included in some of the running projects to see how they can implement the skills learned in real life scenarios.
Final Thought
Companies are constantly trying to improve their workforce to compete equally in the market. Skill gap analysis could be a great tool in finding the skill deficiencies in the existing workforce and taking action to upgrade them. If you want to upskill your employees then LMS (Learning Management System) is a great digital age learning option. It comes with various features that support remote learning. Also, blended learning could be a great option to learn in a collaborative environment.
