Understanding Skill Gap Analysis
Skill gap analysis is a critical process that helps organizations identify and address deficiencies in employee skills compared to role expectations. Without the right skills, employees struggle to perform efficiently, teams fail to meet goals, and businesses lose their competitive edge. A structured approach to skill gap analysis ensures that companies remain agile and future-ready.
We show how to conduct a skill gap analysis at individual, team and company levels.
Benefits of Skill Gap Analysis
A skill gap analysis identifies and prioritize skills to be developped. It brings following benefits to the company:
- Improved Employee Performance – Identifies skill deficiencies and provides targeted training to enhance job effectiveness.
- Increased Employee Engagement – Helps employees feel more valued and supported in their professional development.
- Better Team Collaboration – Ensures balanced skill distribution within teams, fostering better communication and productivity.
- Enhanced Business Agility – Equips organizations with the right talent to quickly adapt to industry changes and innovation.
- Strategic Workforce Planning – Helps companies identify future skills needed to stay competitive in the market.
Skill Gap Analysis at individual level
At the individual level, skill gaps can lead to frustration, decreased job satisfaction, and lower performance. Employees who lack critical competencies may feel undervalued or unprepared, leading to disengagement and higher turnover. Comparing an employee’s current skills with role expectations is the first step in identifying these gaps.
How to Identify Individual Skill Gaps
Individual skill gaps are the difference between current and expected skills. Expected skills can be:
- The skill that the employee would like to develop
- The skills required for its current role
- The skills required for a future role
The steps to identify skill gaps:
- Assess Current Skills – Use self-assessments, manager evaluations, or performance reviews to measure proficiency.
- Define Required Skills – Outline role-specific competencies and future skills necessary for advancement.
- Compare Current Skills with Role Expectations – Identify areas where employees fall short of job requirements.
- Develop a Personalized Plan – Provide targeted training, mentorship, or job shadowing opportunities to bridge gaps.
Example at Individual Level
The employee skill gaps are generally displayed in a spider diagram, like in Teammeter:
By doing an individual skill gap analysis, the employee can identify and prioritize the skills to develop in order to better perform and progress in his career.
Skill Gap Analysis at Team Level
A lack of necessary skills within a team can lead to miscommunication, inefficiency, and missed deadlines. Teams that lack the right balance of expertise struggle to collaborate effectively and achieve their objectives.
A team must ensure it has the proper competencies, but it must prepare for the future by anticipating leaves and identifying future skills.
How to perform a skill gap analysis at Team Level
A Skill Gap Analysis at Team Level is generally done in a skill matrix:
- Analyze Team Strengths and Weaknesses – Use the previous individual skill gap analysis
- Compare Against Team Goals – Determine which competencies are crucial for the team’s success.
- Spot Skill Deficiencies – Identify missing skills that affect performance and productivity.
- Use Skill Comparison Tools – Leverage skill matrices or competency frameworks to evaluate team capabilities.
- Address Deficiencies – Offer group training, cross-functional learning, or hire new talent to fill the gaps.
Example at Team Level
With Teammeter you can define exactly how many people are required in a team and for which skill level. This makes the skill gap analysis very precise, and help the team prioritize the skills to develop.
The team or manager can bridge the skill gaps by organizing knowledge transfer, training or recruiting people with the required skills.
By continuously monitoring skill gaps in the team, you ensure that the team is always able to deliver.
Company-Wide Skill Gap Analysis
At an organizational level, skill gaps can result in stalled growth, poor adaptability to industry trends, and difficulty implementing new technologies. Without a skilled workforce, businesses risk falling behind competitors. A company-wide skill gap analysis ensures that the organization’s workforce aligns with strategic objectives.
How to Conduct a Company-Wide Skill Gap Analysis
- Evaluate Workforce Capabilities – Aggregate the skill requirements in each team or department
- Define Future Skill Needs – Identify skills essential for upcoming projects, industry trends, and digital advancements.
- Compare and Identify Gaps – Map existing skills against required skills using workforce analytics.
- Develop Strategic Learning Initiatives – Implement training programs, upskilling strategies, and talent acquisition plans to close gaps.
Example at Company Level
To make a skill gap analysis at company level the requirements of each team are aggregated and the company defines strategic skills to be developped. The difference between the requirements and the available skills are shown as fulfillment percentage.
The skill gap analysis report at company level shows the number of people missing for each skill level.
AI can then group skills by category and identify development areas for the company.
Conclusion
Skill gaps are a significant challenge for individuals, teams, and companies alike. Without a structured approach to identifying and addressing these challenges, businesses risk decreased productivity, employee disengagement, and missed growth opportunities. By systematically comparing current skills with role expectations and implementing targeted training solutions, organizations can proactively close skill gaps and build a highly capable, future-ready workforce.
Conducting regular skill gap analyses fosters a culture of continuous learning and ensures that employees, teams, and organizations remain competitive in an ever-evolving business landscape.