The Talent Gap Analysis Playbook For Recruiting And Hiring

Everything you ever wanted to know about talent gap analysis

 

WTF is a “talent gap analysis,” you might ask? Well, it’s an essential tool for modern hiring, and if you’re not using it in your organization, you’re probably already falling behind the competition for top talent.  If you’re not familiar with talent gap analyses, don’t worry. We’ve got your back, which is why we’ve put together this handy guide on Talent Gap Analysis written with recruiting and TA professionals in mind. Don’t worry. It’s much simpler than it sounds.

The modern work environment is changing; and along with it, the skills needed to achieve stellar workplace results.
Today, remote work has become the norm rather than the exception. Most careers that young professionals aspire to pursue today did not even exist a decade ago. And entrepreneurs are exploring novel business ideas that require a different talent set than traditional roles.

In such an environment, hiring the right talent is imperative. However, even more important is recognizing exactly which form of talent and skills your business needs. That is where a talent gap analysis comes into play.
Performing an effective talent gap analysis is the best way to identify skills that your organization can benefit from. In this article, we are going to take a close look at what talent gap analysis is and how you can take advantage of one.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Talent Gap Analysis (But Were Afraid to Ask)

What Exactly Is A Talent Gap Analysis?

A talent gap analysis is also known as a skills gap analysis. It is a tool used to identify any gaps between an organization’s current and required talent pool. Through this process, a business can determine any disparities between present talent levels and the preferred talent levels.
A typical instance where a skills gap analysis can help would be this: suppose your business is looking to expand and needs to set up a complex sales process. In such a situation, a talent gap analysis will tell you whether you need to hire new talent for the purpose, or can retrain existing employees.

In several cases, such analyses can even identify previously hidden skills in the existing workforce. In short, a talent gap analysis can help prepare your business for meeting present and future skill requirements.

Worth It: 5 Advantages of Performing a Talent Gap Analysis

From the above, the significant advantage of a talent gap analysis is simple: it helps you identify skill gaps that you need to fill. When looked at closely, there are several other advantages to performing this exercise, as listed below. A talent gap analysis allows you to:

1. Streamline the hiring process and scale your strategy

As every hiring manager knows fully well, hiring the right talent is one of the most critical business functions. Naturally, the task is easier said than done, as most businesses find it to their disadvantage.
Conducting a talent gap analysis allows you to match your hiring needs to the ever-evolving digital work environment. This way, you can create effective hiring strategies and ensure that your hiring process goes as smoothly as possible. At the same time, it helps to ensure that any new talent you hire can contribute significantly to the long term company goals.
Part of having the right hiring process also comes down to ensuring that potential employees know they are safe when they get started with this process. Similar to promises organizations make to customers before they become so,  you need to make sure that you as an employer offer a fair chance, great development opportunities and a clear path to success.

Let's consider a very niched example.
A company that offers an at home STD test promises clients "CLIA Certified Labs", "Physician Reviewed" tests, and "Secure Data". While these are, probably, not promises that every organization can make, they are important to the client and give them a sense of security in the industry in which this company operates. 
Thinking along the same lines when it comes to making promises to potential candidates that apply to your company, you could consider offering (and featuring): 
●    A career growth path
●    State of the art work environment
●    The opportunity to work with the latest technologies
●    Continuous learning and development opportunities

2. All your talent, all in one place: The source of truth in TA

The next significant advantage of a talent gap analysis is that it helps you get a bird’s-eye-view of the entire organization’s talent landscape. Through this exercise, decision-makers can narrow in on skill gaps in any particular department or function. 
This, in turn, allows the C-suite to understand whether the organization or any specific department has the talent required to fulfill the company’s goals. It even allows you to understand whether there is a need to restructure the organization’s employee hierarchy.

3. Better insights, better recruitment outcomes

Hiring and training new talent is a costly and time-consuming task. Naturally, you will not be able to get the right talent, on-demand exactly when you need it. A talent gap analysis helps you create long term recruitment strategies. This way, you always have employees with the required skills at hand when you need them.

4. Hack employee performance and productivity

Talent gap analyses do not just help identify hiring requirements; they also enable reskilling and upskilling of existing staff. As a result, the productivity levels of your workforce increase significantly.
Another aspect of such analyses is the enhancement of employee morale. By improving employee skill levels, you stand to further their career development and increase loyalty and enthusiasm for the organization.

5. Make hires before the competition can

Through a talent gap analysis, you stand to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your workforce. This lets you bridge your organization’s gaps and plan ahead for better training of existing employees. 
As a result, you’ll be able to stay several steps ahead of the competition and get a competitive edge over them. Through smart hires and the creation of an innovative talent pool, your organization stays ahead of the hiring curve in your niche.

Performing a Talent Gap Analysis: 5 Steps for Success

The exact steps to perform a talent gap analysis will vary based on the size of the organization, its present and future needs, industry, and budget and time constraints. It can also get modified according to the company culture.
In the following, we will outline a five-step process for performing a talent gap analysis. Keep in mind that these are only guidelines, and the exact implementation will differ from business to business.

1. Pre-plan Your analysis

As with any analysis, effective planning is half the job done. When assessing talent gaps, the first step you need to keep in mind is the granularity level at which you should carry out the assessment.
For any business, talent gaps can usually be identified at three levels: individual, team/departmental, and organizational. Talent gap analysis at each level plays a different role and serves different purposes.
Analysis at the individual level can help to understand where employees lack skills specific to their job roles. Once identified, you can fill these gaps through reskilling or upskilling programs.
Next comes the skill analysis at the team/department level, which looks at specific employee clusters. Here, the aim is to identify collective talent gaps and fill the same through new hires or departmental training.
Finally, at the organizational level, talent gap analysis aims to understand whether the entire organizational hierarchy, from the C-suite to on-field workers, is aligned with company goals. Here, the focus should be on mapping organizational competencies to long-term targets.
In most cases, you’ll need to involve all workforce levels to get a comprehensive view. Depending on your planned granularity, you might need to talk with staff members, team leaders, and top-tier executives to take the task forward.

2. Clearly define long as well as short term goals

The fundamental question of what kind of talent you need revolves around what goals you are looking to achieve using such talent. So, it is essential to define and document both long and short-term organizational goals for proper talent gap analysis.
Ask yourself where you want to see your business in the next year. Then extend that vision to the next five, and then the next ten. Once you have a clear idea of the above, you need to envisage whether the current skill-set you have in employment is enough to get you there. If not, then where are the significant talent gaps, and how can they be fulfilled?
After you’ve answered the above questions, you now need to decide on skills acquisition priority. Naturally, the talent needed for short term goal accomplishment refers to immediate skills that you must acquire. 
For the long term, you need to focus on acquiring sustainable talent. And in both cases, be sure to keep applicability in mind, which is a practical translation of acquired talent from a training environment to the actual work environment. 

3. Understand where the future of work is going 

The modern workplace is nothing like it was even a decade ago. Today, we no longer have to travel to work physically. Documentation has moved from the realm of paper and pen to digital signatures. And algorithms are taking over roles that were previously undoable without human intervention.
Naturally, your organization needs to understand where the future of work is heading. Can some legacy functions be automated and the corresponding human resource redirected? What skills would these employees need to be sustainable in the future? And what are the roles that your business might need to create that it still hasn’t?
Understanding the above can help you realize which skill gaps can be fulfilled by technology and which are inherently human. You can then take the required steps to fulfill the need for those essential skills that can only be met by human talent and leave the rest to automation.

4. Take stock of the present talent pool

So, by this point in the analysis, you know the talent levels that your business should aspire to. But how do you realize the gaps? To do so, you need to take stock of the talent pool that you already have. Once you understand both the present and the required talent levels, you’ll be able to quickly identify the gaps, if any.
For this purpose, you can make use of multiple tools, such as electronically distributed skill assessments and surveys. You can also choose to conduct detailed interviews and performance appraisals of employees on individual and group levels.
Another method of understanding the present talent status is to examine employee KPIs on an individual level. This will give you an understanding of the degree of each employee’s contribution to the business.
You can also implement a comprehensive feedback process where the employees themselves let you know of perceived talent gaps. Organizational performance charts are also good indicators of where and what kind of talent your business lacks. 

5. Document and execute

The above four steps were all about collecting the data; now, it’s time to document and make sense of it. The best way to document talent gap analysis data would be a visual, chart-based representation. This will allow you and any business associates to make better decisions. 
Once you’ve identified and documented all the talent gaps, next, it’s time to execute based on those findings. You can plug any talent gap in two ways: reskilling existing employees or hiring new talent.
Both avenues involve a significant investment of time, human resources as well as money. Which avenue you choose will ultimately depend upon how big the gap between your current and required talent levels is. In some cases, you can opt for a combination of the two.

Mind the Gap: 5 Tips, Tricks and Tools for Success

Merely carrying out a talent gap analysis for the sake of it is not enough. You need to ensure that the exercise is carried out effectively. As the new decade rolls on, skills gaps continue to widen. Business owners need to realize this and act accordingly. The following are specific tips to keep in mind for an effective talent gap analysis.

1. Be proactive

When it comes to closing talent gaps, HR managers and decision-makers need to be proactive. Please don’t wait till the talent gap becomes apparent and then rush reactively to fill it. Instead, research industry trends, build a habit of continuous expertise improvement and enhance skills as a matter of course. Only then can the talent gap be genuinely overcome.

2. Lay focus on workforce requirements

The data that you gather during the talent gap analysis can reveal valuable insights about your workforce. By understanding their needs and wants, you can develop a deeper connection with your employees beyond mere skill analysis. 
Such understanding needs to go over and above regular survey data and take into account global socio-economic and industry trends. This way, you’ll be positioned to gain a collaborative, comprehensive view of your workforce’s talent needs.

3. Leverage online tools

Once you’ve identified the talent gaps, technology can be your best friend. Through the power of online courses, you can provide your employees with engaging content for acquiring new skills.
Using popular online course platforms, you can create customized courses for your organization’s employees. These can focus on specific talent gaps you need to fulfill, and at the same time, also lead to the creation of content that can be repurposed for marketing.
The same applies to other tools that you can use to your advantage. Email marketing platforms will allow you to set up campaigns that specifically target prospective talent that may help plug your identified gaps. The great thing is that once you write the emails that you want to go out at regular intervals, the platforms will automate the process for you.
You can also use SMS marketing to reach out to a larger audience and talent pool with lesser effort. With this type of marketing having high open rates (since everyone checks their phone regularly), you’re more likely to get your message across to a larger number of people.

4. Don’t be afraid to experiment

As the corporate ecosystem evolves, wider, more disparate talent gaps are bound to emerge. In such a situation, you’ll need to hire fresh talent and train them for furthering your business goals.
However, new talent will come with new challenges and work cultures. As a business leader, you’ll need to adapt to these changes and also be open to experimentation at the workplace. Not everything will succeed, but the lessons learned from them can be invaluable in the long run.

5. Never allow complacency to creep in

Talent gap analysis is not a one-and-done exercise. Instead, it’s a continuous process that must be carried out to maintain a relevant talent pool. That’s why you should never stop the process of identifying talent requirements and always be on the lookout for fresh skill sets. This way, you’ll be able to maintain a workforce that’s ready to handle present and future challenges.

Final Words  

Technology today is advancing faster than at any other time in human history. As a result, traditional skills are becoming outdated faster than you can keep track of.
In such a scenario, it’s only natural for talent gaps to arise. However, it’s essential to understand that identifying talent gaps is not a cause for concern but rather an opportunity to improve. The very fact that there’s a gap between your current and future organisational skill sets means your business is progressing. 
What remains is for you to grab this opportunity and stay ahead of the curve.

Author Bio

Hanson Cheng is the founder of Freedom to Ascend. He empowers online entrepreneurs and business owners to 10x their business and become financially independent. Visit Freedom To Ascend Connect Hanson Cheng Follow @HansonCheng