How to run a skills gap analysis
Updated: 2 hours ago
A skills gap analysis is a structured comparison between the skills and competencies your organization needs and the capabilities its people currently demonstrate. Done well, it helps identify where capability gaps may put business priorities at risk, and informs decisions about development, hiring, career mobility, and workforce planning. A meaningful analysis starts with clearly defined role requirements, then compares those requirements with current capabilities. Here is a practical five-step approach.
What is a skills gap analysis?
A skills gap analysis identifies the differences between the competencies and skills an organization requires and the capabilities its people currently demonstrate. These gaps can be examined across individuals, roles, teams, or the whole organization to surface capability strengths, development needs, and areas that may require broader workforce action.
The five-step method
Step 1: Define the scope of your skills gap analysis
Start by identifying where a skills gap analysis will provide the most value. You might focus on a critical role, a job family, a team, a business function, or a group of roles affected by changing business requirements. Consider strategic priorities, emerging capability needs, workforce risks, and areas where roles or required skills are changing. A focused scope makes the analysis more manageable and helps ensure the results are relevant to real business needs.
Step 2: Define what each role requires
For the roles in scope, define the competencies and skills required for successful performance and the expected proficiency level for each. Focus on capabilities that are genuinely relevant to the work, and differentiate requirements where roles or levels differ. A clear competency or skills profile provides the baseline against which current capability can be assessed and gaps identified.
Step 3: Assess current capability
Assess current proficiency against the competencies and skills defined for each role. Ratings should be based on relevant evidence of demonstrated capability, such as work outcomes, observed behaviours, assessments, or feedback, rather than assumptions based on job title or tenure. Using consistent proficiency scales and rating criteria makes comparisons more meaningful and provides a stronger foundation for identifying gaps.
Step 4: Identify and interpret the gaps
Compare current proficiency with the required proficiency for each competency or skill to identify capability gaps. Consider both the size of each gap and its importance to the role or business need. Look for patterns across individuals, roles, or teams to distinguish isolated development needs from broader capability gaps that may call for a more coordinated response.
Step 5: Prioritize and act on the gaps
Not every capability gap requires the same response. Prioritize gaps based on factors such as their size, business impact, strategic importance, and the number of people or roles affected. Then determine the appropriate response, which might include targeted development, hiring, internal mobility, job redesign, or other workforce actions. Assigning clear ownership and timelines helps turn the analysis into action.
What to look for in the results
There is no single healthy pattern of capability gaps. The value comes from understanding where gaps exist, how significant they are, and whether patterns emerge across roles, teams, or critical capabilities. Results should help you distinguish individual development needs from broader workforce challenges, and provide a clearer basis for deciding where action will have the greatest impact.
Ready to put the five steps into practice? Download the Skills Gap Analysis Workbook to define your scope, define what each role requires, assess current capability, and identify and interpret your gaps, with the math calculated for you, then prioritize and act.
Frequently asked questions
How often should we run a skills gap analysis?
The right cadence depends on how quickly roles, skills, and business priorities are changing. A skills gap analysis should be refreshed often enough to keep role requirements and current capability information relevant. Organizations may also revisit the analysis when roles change, new capabilities become important, or workforce priorities shift. Technology can make it easier to keep this information current over time.
What is the difference between a skills gap and a competency gap?
The concept of the gap is the same: it is the difference between the level of capability required and the level currently demonstrated. Skills and competencies may be defined differently across organizations and frameworks, and either can provide a defensible foundation for gap analysis. Organizations can assess skills, competencies, or both, depending on their roles and talent strategy. Quinto AI supports both approaches, with a foundation of 14,000+ validated skills and 170+ research-backed competencies.
Who should do the ratings?
Ratings should come from people with sufficient knowledge of the individual's work and the capabilities being assessed. Depending on the purpose and context, this might include managers, employees through self-assessment, peers, or other relevant stakeholders. Where multiple perspectives are used, clear rating criteria and calibration help improve consistency and keep ratings grounded in evidence.
Ready to put this into practice?
See how Quinto AI helps organizations connect jobs, hiring, performance, career growth, and succession planning through one shared skills framework.
