Skills gap analysis: step-by-step guide and template

The skills gap analysis template

SKILLS GAP ANALYSIS

Role or team:
People in scope:
Proficiency scale:
Evidence for current levels:
Owner:
Date of analysis:
Next review date:

SKILL 1
Skill or competency:
Required level:
Current level:
Gap:
Importance to the role:
Priority score:
Development action:

SKILL 2
Skill or competency:
Required level:
Current level:
Gap:
Importance to the role:
Priority score:
Development action:

SKILL 3
Skill or competency:
Required level:
Current level:
Gap:
Importance to the role:
Priority score:
Development action:

SKILL 4
Skill or competency:
Required level:
Current level:
Gap:
Importance to the role:
Priority score:
Development action:

SKILL 5
Skill or competency:
Required level:
Current level:
Gap:
Importance to the role:
Priority score:
Development action:

SKILL 6
Skill or competency:
Required level:
Current level:
Gap:
Importance to the role:
Priority score:
Development action:

SKILL 7
Skill or competency:
Required level:
Current level:
Gap:
Importance to the role:
Priority score:
Development action:

SKILL 8
Skill or competency:
Required level:
Current level:
Gap:
Importance to the role:
Priority score:
Development action:

How to conduct a skills gap analysis in five steps

The method is the same for one person or a hundred. The order matters: define the requirement before you look at anyone’s current level, so the standard is set by the role and not by whoever happens to hold it.

1. 1

   Define the skills each role requires

   List the five to ten skills or competencies that matter most in the role and set a required level for each on a single proficiency scale. If you have a competency framework, take the skills and the level descriptions from it; if you do not, write a short behavioural description for each level so two assessors would read it the same way. Where the role is changing, set the level the role will need, not the level it needed last year.

2. 2

   Assess the current level of each skill

   Rate each person against the same level descriptions, using evidence rather than impression: a manager assessment, a self-assessment, 360° feedback, work samples or certifications. Combining two sources, such as a self-assessment reconciled with the manager’s view in a one-to-one, catches most over- and under-rating. For a team, record both the average and how many people fall below the required level.

3. 3

   Quantify the gap

   Subtract the current level from the required level for every skill. A gap of zero or less means no action for the role, although individuals may still need support. Because both numbers sit on the same scale, the gap is comparable across skills and can be re-measured the same way at the next review.

4. 4

   Prioritise the gaps

   Not every gap deserves a programme. Score each skill’s importance to the role — 1 useful, 2 important, 3 critical — and multiply it by the gap to get a priority score. Sort by that score and commit to the top two or three. A small gap in a critical skill often outranks a large gap in a skill the role rarely uses.

5. 5

   Build the development plan

   Turn each priority into an action with an owner, a date and a way of measuring success. Gaps shared by most of a team suit a group programme; gaps held by a few people belong in their individual development plans. Some gaps are better closed by hiring or by redesigning the role. Set the date on which the same skills will be re-assessed, so you can see whether the gap actually closed.

Skills gap analysis example: one mid-size company, three teams

A worked example from a 400-person software company that runs the analysis once a year after its competency reviews. Three teams show three different outcomes: a commercial gap in an established team, a leadership gap across a cohort of new managers, and a gap created by a change the business is about to make. Levels use the 1–5 scale above; current levels are team averages.

The company, teams and figures in this example were written for this page to show how the analysis works. They do not describe a real organisation or any CLEAR Talent customer.