An organization only moves as fast as its people. Skills drive execution, innovation, and growth. But skills never stay static. Jobs evolve, technology advances, and business priorities shift. Artificial intelligence alone continues to reshape roles across every industry. As a result, skill gaps emerge everywhere—even inside high-performing teams.
A skills gap analysis gives organizations a structured way to respond. When leaders invest in the right talent processes, they identify gaps early, strengthen employee development, and prepare their workforce for what comes next. Whether you want to reskill employees, improve partner performance, or educate customers, growth starts when you understand where capabilities fall short.
A skills gap analysis does more than reveal what people lack. It creates clarity. It identifies the skills your strategy demands, measures current skill levels, and highlights where to focus training and development. When teams understand individual skill gaps, they act faster and make better decisions.
So what exactly does a skills gap analysis involve, and how can you perform one effectively? This guide walks through the process step by step, shares real-world examples, and explains how to close skill gaps through targeted training. Bring these insights back to your learning and development team, and build a plan that aligns directly with business outcomes.
What Is a Skills Gap Analysis?
A skills gap analysis compares the current skills of a workforce with the desired skills needed to achieve business goals. The process identifies the skills that already exist, highlights gaps, and shows where development efforts should focus. Leaders use this analysis to understand how employees skills align with what the job requires today—and what it will require tomorrow.
Many organizations treat gap analysis as a one-time event. A sales team may compare junior reps to top performers. An HR team may assess skill sets across departments. In each case, leaders audit employees skills to uncover strengths and weaknesses and look for opportunities to improve.
That narrow approach limits impact.
Modern organizations use skills gap analysis as an ongoing practice. They assess employees, partners, and even customers on a regular basis. Just as internal teams need reskilling, channel partners and resellers also need support to sell, serve, and adapt effectively. Customers, too, benefit from education that helps them succeed with products and services.
“Skills gap analysis isn’t all about identifying what people lack; it’s about identifying the constraints that hold the business back,” explained Penny Carson, VP of Managed Learning Services at Clarity Consultants. “If you focus on the information or skills that certain people don’t have, you take away the mentality behind your analysis.”
A strong skills gap analysis looks forward. It supports strategic workforce planning, helps leaders identify gaps early, and connects learning directly to performance. Instead of cataloging deficiencies, the process clarifies what capabilities limit progress and where targeted training can unlock results.
Why a Skills Gap Analysis Matters
Skills gaps affect nearly every organization. According to the Association for Talent Development, 74% of talent leaders currently face a skills gap. At the same time, the World Economic Forum predicts that 39% of the average worker’s skill set will change or become obsolete by 2030.
These trends place pressure on leaders to act now.
A skills gap analysis gives organizations a way to respond with intention. When leaders identify skill gaps early, they align training investments with real business needs. They prepare teams for change instead of reacting to disruption after it hits.
The analysis also supports long term growth. As markets shift and technology evolves, companies that regularly assess skill levels stay agile. They identify gaps before they stall progress. They focus on critical skills instead of chasing every possible competency.
Carson emphasized the importance of mindset. “Leaders need to treat what gets generated as a planning tool, not as a report,” she said. “Your skills gap analysis is more about informing decisions and less about simply documenting gaps.”
When leaders use skills gap analysis to guide decisions, they improve overall performance, strengthen employee satisfaction, and build a culture that values continuous learning.
Examples of Skills Gaps at Work
Skills gaps can affect anyone, from entry-level talent to your senior leaders, channel partners, and customers. So, as you might expect, examples of skills gaps in the workplace are equally varied.
These examples show how two well-known companies approach skill development at scale.
1. McDonald’s
McDonald’s operates more than 44,000 locations worldwide, with 95% owned by independent franchisees. While the company employs about 150,000 people directly, millions more work inside franchise locations.
Over time, McDonald’s introduced self-service kiosks, expanded menu options, and rolled out AI-powered drive-thrus. Each change raised the required skill level for employees and owners alike. New tools, recipes, and processes created new opportunities—and new risks.
McDonald’s could have focused only on corporate staff. Instead, the company invested heavily in training franchise owners and frontline workers. That investment helped the organization identify skill gaps across its extended workforce and close skill gaps through consistent training and development.
By treating skills gap analysis as an ongoing effort, McDonald’s built a culture of continuous learning. That culture helped the brand adapt through technological change and global disruption.
2. Meta
Meta connects billions of people through Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. Advertising drives most of the company’s revenue, and advertisers must constantly adapt to new formats, algorithms, and trends.
To help businesses succeed, Meta launched Meta Blueprint, an eLearning platform powered by Intellum. The platform helps marketers build both technical capabilities and soft skills, such as creative thinking and problem solving.
Meta used Blueprint to identify gaps in advertiser knowledge and skill sets. The platform offers modular courses that assess skill levels, reinforce desired skills, and support continuous improvement. Since launching in 2015, Meta Blueprint has grown to millions of users and continues to drive measurable performance outcomes. Learn more about Meta’s success story here.
Benefits of Identifying Skills Gaps
Identifying skill gaps delivers value across the organization. When leaders understand where capabilities fall short, they create better experiences for employees and stronger results for the business.
1. Improved engagement
Employees perform better when they feel confident in their skills. Confidence grows when employees see clear paths for growth and believe their skill sets will remain relevant.
PwC found that workers who believe their skills will stay valuable feel nearly twice as motivated as those who fear obsolescence. Yet only 59% of employees feel they receive adequate learning and development support.
A skills gap analysis helps leaders address this disconnect. By identifying gaps and offering targeted training, organizations increase engagement and reinforce trust. Employees see that leaders invest in their development, which boosts motivation and commitment.
2. Stronger retention rates
Employee satisfaction plays a critical role in retention. A 2024 SHRM study found that a positive employee experience makes workers 68% less likely to leave.
Skill gaps undermine that experience. As automation and AI reshape work, employees value development opportunities more than ever. When leaders perform a skills gap analysis, they identify individual skill gaps and prioritize training that protects employees’ long term employability.
That investment strengthens morale, builds loyalty, and reduces turnover.
3. Higher overall performance
Skills gap analysis drives performance by aligning talent with strategy. When leaders understand what each job requires, they translate those requirements into critical skills and desired skill levels.
Organizations don’t need to wait months to see results. “New hires can provide a better signal on what qualities your existing people are missing,” Carson explained. “You can also look at high performers to see what they’re doing differently.”
By identifying gaps early and reinforcing strengths, leaders improve execution and sustain momentum.
How to Conduct a Skills Gap Analysis
Conducting a skills gap analysis takes time and focus. Strategic workforce planning requires preparation, collaboration, and follow-through. However, leaders can break the process into manageable steps.
Below are four steps for performing a skills gap analysis effectively.
1. Align on your strategy.
A skills gap analysis only delivers value when it connects to business outcomes. If leaders gather data without purpose, they create noise instead of insight.
“Start with the business outcome,” said Carson. “Figure out the critical pieces that are missing—not every possible skill.”
Leaders should begin by clarifying priorities. Senior stakeholders should define goals such as revenue growth, customer adoption, or operational efficiency. These goals guide the entire analysis.
Once leaders align on outcomes, they identify the critical skills required to achieve them. This focus helps teams avoid distractions and ensures the analysis supports real decision-making.
2. Take inventory of your talent.
After defining strategy, leaders examine their talent. Whether assessing employees, partners, or customers, the process starts broad and narrows over time.
Leaders gather data through surveys, interviews, performance reviews, and skills assessment tools. They assess current skill levels, soft skills, technical abilities, and behaviors tied to success.
For example, when reskilling resellers ahead of a product launch, leaders might conduct discovery calls to understand confidence levels and preparedness. These conversations help identify gaps and reveal patterns across the group.
The more data leaders collect, the easier it becomes to identify skill gaps and prioritize development.
3. Map skill gaps to business outcomes.
Once leaders understand both strategy and talent, they compare the two. This step transforms data into insight.
Leaders review findings and identify where existing skills support goals and where gaps block progress. They focus on capabilities that limit results instead of cataloging every deficiency.
“Think less about cataloguing big deficiencies, and more about figuring out where your capability limitations are,” Carson advised. “Focus on smaller gap analyses than boiling the whole ocean.”
Many teams use a skills gap analysis template to visualize results. Some create matrices that list skills on one axis and people on the other, with ratings for proficiency. Others use quadrant charts to show strengths and weaknesses.
Regardless of format, leaders should socialize findings with stakeholders and confirm priorities before moving forward.
4. Build scalable, personalized learning.
This step turns insight into action. Once leaders identify gaps, they design targeted training that addresses specific needs.
Learning teams translate gaps into personalized learning experiences. They may offer guided courses, modular lessons, skills assess tools, or problem solving exercises. Effective programs account for different learning styles and individual skill gaps.
Targeted training works best when it scales. Leaders should invest in sustainable content that evolves with the business. As roles change, learning programs should adapt without starting from scratch.
When organizations align learning with desired skill levels, they close skill gaps faster and improve performance across audiences.
How to Use a Skills Gap Analysis Template
Many organizations rely on a skills gap analysis template to streamline the process. Templates help standardize data collection, improve consistency, and support ongoing assessment.
A strong template includes:
- Defined roles and job requirements
- A list of critical skills and soft skills
- Current skill levels and desired skill levels
- Identified gaps and priority areas
- Recommended targeted training actions
Teams can revisit the template regularly to track progress and adjust plans. Over time, the template becomes a living tool that supports strategic workforce planning and continuous improvement.
Find and Close the Skill Gap—Faster—With Intellum
Skill gaps will always exist. Technology evolves. Markets shift. Roles change. The difference lies in how organizations respond.
Intellum is an AI-powered education platform trusted by the world’s leading brands. The platform helps organizations identify gaps, assess skills, and deliver personalized learning at scale. With powerful authoring tools and real-time content recommendations, Intellum supports employee development, partner enablement, and customer education.
Whether you want to upskill teams, strengthen soft skills, or support long term growth, Intellum helps you perform a skills gap analysis and act on the results.
Request a demo to see how Intellum can help you prepare your workforce—and your business—for the future.
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