We're living through an exciting age, where new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence offer a new world of opportunities. However, adapting to change isn't always easy. Organizations require the right strategy, the right team, and the right skills.
A major challenge for leaders is addressing the widening gap between the competencies you currently have and those you will soon need. Tackling the skills gap today could be the key to unlocking success in the future.
What causes a skills gap?
A skills gap occurs when your team doesn't have the right mix of abilities and experience to deliver your strategic goals. Skills gaps often refer to technical skills such as IT, but your team can also run short of administrative abilities and soft skills.
Right now, we're seeing that skills gaps are driven by three key factors:
- Technology advancements: As businesses become increasingly digital, there's a greater focus on employees with IT skills. This applies to all roles—for example, HR professionals need to be skilled at working with HR technology.
- Evolving business needs: Rapidly changing markets can affect your organization's talent needs. For instance, if your company expands into a new international market, you may need staff who speak the local language.
- Demographic shifts: The Boomer generation is leaving the workforce and taking a lot of institutional knowledge with them. This creates a skills gap at the top, especially in leadership and strategic positions.
Issues such as these can be avoided with the right upskilling initiatives. If not tackled, then your organization might end up lacking the skill sets required to deliver your goals.
What are the consequences of a skills gap?
Every industry has certain hard-to-fill positions, with intense competition for skilled job candidates. Advances in technology have only made the situation worse:
- 87% of companies now report a technical skills gap
- 65% of employers need people with better soft skills, including communication and problem-solving
- 50% of all employees will need reskilling this year
Every employer faces a battle on multiple fronts as they attempt to recruit talented candidates while also helping their incumbent staff to develop their abilities. When organizations fall behind, a skills gap can emerge. This has serious consequences, including:
- Hiring difficulties: Jobs stay open longer, delaying projects and increasing costs
- Higher turnover: High-performers leaving due to limited growth opportunities
- Lower productivity: Employees lack the expertise to operate efficiently
- Manager effectiveness: New managers struggling with people leadership responsibilities or a lack of ready successors for key roles as experienced managers retire
- Workplace conflict: Increasing HR complaints related to communication or behavioral issues
- Competitive disadvantage: Lack of required skills means companies fall behind in innovation and growth
These are existential issues for any business, which is why it's crucial to plan ahead and ensure that you have the right mix of skills.
How to avoid a skills gap
Dealing with a skills gap is a long-term issue. It requires the right recruitment, the right training, and the right employee retention strategy. That's why it's better to start planning today, before it becomes a crisis. Here's what you need to do:
1. Review job frameworks against long-term goals
What skills will your team need in the future? To answer this question, you need to consider the high-level strategic plan and map out the teams required to deliver your goals. Will you need more IT professionals? Do you need a strong sales function? Will you need more skilled workers on your regulatory compliance team?
It's also helpful to consider your current job framework and existing job descriptions. Job descriptions naturally evolve over time, so you may find that some of your team needs to grow their skills, or that other team members are ready to tackle additional duties.
2. Conduct a skills gap analysis
The next step is to map your current skills landscape against your organizational needs. This involves a comprehensive assessment of your existing workforce's capabilities. Conduct detailed interviews, performance reviews, and skills inventories to understand the current state of your team's competencies.
Compare these current skills with the revised job descriptions, as well as the skills required to meet your strategic goals. Identify specific areas where your team is lacking, whether it's technical expertise, soft skills, or industry-specific knowledge. This analysis provides a clear roadmap of where you need to focus your talent development efforts.
3. Develop training plans
Once you've identified skills gaps, create personalized training plans that help employees grow. Work closely with individual team members to set clear, achievable learning objectives that align with both their career aspirations and the organization's needs.
Map out potential career paths and the skills required to progress. Offer a mix of training options, including mentorship programs, online courses, workshop opportunities, and cross-departmental training. The key is to make learning a collaborative and supportive process that empowers employees to take ownership of their professional development.
4. Provide learning resources
Invest in a diverse range of learning resources that cater to different learning styles and preferences. This could include subscriptions to online learning platforms, access to industry conferences, internal knowledge-sharing sessions, and partnerships with educational institutions.
Consider creating a centralized learning hub where employees can easily access training materials, video tutorials, webinars, and skill-building workshops. The goal is to make continuous learning convenient, engaging, and aligned with both individual and organizational growth objectives.
5. Build a culture of continuous learning
Transform your organizational culture to champion continuous learning and upskilling. Encourage employees to be proactive about their professional development by recognizing and rewarding those who invest in expanding their skills. Create an environment where learning is celebrated, not seen as a chore.
Implement programs that allow employees to share their newly acquired knowledge, such as internal presentations or mentorship opportunities. Managers should lead by example, demonstrating their own commitment to learning and growth. By making continuous learning a core organizational value, you'll create a dynamic, adaptable workforce ready to meet future challenges.
6. Align your hiring process
The steps above will help with your current time, but what about new talent? It's important that hiring managers and business leaders understand the need to build a future-proof team. You can help them by providing updated job descriptions, discussing your talent requirements, and ensuring that they know how to identify the right candidates.
Sharing your vision with candidates can also help. Make sure that your employer branding talks about your long-term goals. During interviews, talk to candidates about professional development options. Where possible, try to find people who will fit into your culture of continuous learning.
7. Work with outside experts
If this process sounds difficult and time-consuming, that's because it is. Building a team for the future can take a lot of time and effort, which is why it's helpful to bring in some outside help.
- Outside consultants can help with tasks such as:
- Assess current state and future skill needs
- Design career paths and competency frameworks
- Develop training programs personalized for learners
- Deliver training and coaching
- Upgrade L&D programs
HR specialists can also help with other areas, such as rethinking your hiring process to identify the most promising talent.
Get a competitive advantage with the right approach to training and development
As technological advancement continues apace, it's more important than ever to focus on skill development for your team. Senior stakeholders, working alongside capable HR leaders, can deliver educational programs that keep your company at the cutting edge.
Need some advice on your learning and development strategy? Book a call with Helios HR today and find out more about building a highly skilled team.
