The people in your team determine the success of the business. Your team needs to work together to hit targets and overcome obstacles. Each person should have valuable skills and experience to bring to the team. If you are missing a specific skill in the team, cracks will start to show. You may need to hire someone to bridge this skill gap.
Here are a few tips for managing a skills gap in your company.
Conduct a skill gap analysis
Write a list of the most important skills required for each role in your team. Ask your employees to write down a few skills they think are important for your workplace. For example, they value communication, analytic or leadership skills. Once you have made a list for each role, you can start to see where your team is lacking. For example, you might not have many employees with managerial experience. If you want to expand your company, you need employees to manage different departments.
Make a plan
Once you have identified the skills gap, you can start to make an action plan. Look at your budget and schedule and consider whether additional training could fill the gap. A training provider can help your team improve their skills and advance their professional ability.
Or, if there is a larger gap in your team, you might need to hire someone new. For example, you may have recently lost a manager and need someone to fill their role. Use an interim management service to find someone who can fill this role while searching for a permanent solution. Interim managers are often overly skilled at what they do.
Communicate with your team
You need to be open and honest with your team. They have probably noticed the gap in the team’s skillset as well. Sit down with your employees and explain that you are looking to bridge the skills gap in the team. Use a constructive approach and focus on their strengths and successes as a team. Explain that additional training and new hires will improve their work and help them to meet company targets.
What caused the skills gap?
Identify the reasons for the skills gap and when they started. Technology might be evolving at a rapid pace in your industry, and your staff members can’t keep up. You need to arrange training sessions to help your team with these technological advancements. Or, your company might be growing at a much faster rate than expected – and your team doesn’t can’t handle this growth. In this case, you may need someone more experienced to step in and help you navigate this transformative period.
Make your company the best it can be, and bridge the skills gap in your team.
