(Photo | Pixabay)
Employers across the country are struggling with skill gaps in their workplace, but few know how to close those gaps effectively. Many are quick to blame hiring problems for the issue, but that is not always the full story. Use these strategies to effectively close your skill gaps and maintain your competitive edge.
Identify Your Gaps — Managers often feel frustrated when they notice skill gaps, especially if they believe they have hired correctly across the board. However, skill gaps can creep in as seasoned employees leave the company or as technology and innovations advance. The first step in closing gaps is to pinpoint exactly what is missing.
Create an anonymous employee survey to uncover whether employees feel they have the right tools, whether they think they need to be trained in specific areas, and where they believe weaknesses lie. It can also be useful to conduct skill assessments and strength finders for existing employees.
Next, sit down with each team member and determine whether their daily tasks still match their job descriptions. Use this information as well as data collected from surveys and assessments to pinpoint actual skill gaps.
Leverage Training and Existing Strengths — To close gaps quickly, it can be useful to move responsibilities around based on the skill set of your existing team. Rearranging tasks to suit the individual allows each employee to work to their own strengths, and makes training somewhat easier. For example, forcing someone who isn’t a master of Excel to become an advanced user will be futile, time-consuming and expensive. However, shifting some Excel tasks to a more advanced user and training that person on exactly what you need, can be much more effective and efficient.
Make ongoing training a priority, as well. As technologies advance or as your industry evolves, sponsor training to ensure your team members are keeping their skills sharp. You can also sponsor employees to attend offsite trainings, seminars and conferences and reimburse them for earning certifications applicable to their roles.
How to Close the Gaps — When tasks have been reassigned, when employees are working to their strengths, and when you have training in place, you can identify remaining gaps that still need to be addressed.
Typically, you’ll have to hire new people to address those gaps. Partnering with an elite staffing firm like PrideStaff ensures access to a targeted pool of candidates who meet your needs. By transferring hiring to an outside expert, you can alleviate additional strain on your HR and management teams, shorten your time to hire, and be certain your new hires will close your remaining gaps.
